How the planner works
Leads = clicks × conversion rate
Budget needed = (leads ÷ conversion rate) × CPC
Sales = leads × close rate
Why the benchmarks are a starting point, not an answer
The figures behind the "starting point" box are published medians from WordStream's yearly benchmark reports: 1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026, 13,474 US search campaigns for Google Ads search, and 1 Apr 2025 to 30 Jun 2026, 452 US lead gen campaigns for Meta lead generation. They are US campaigns in US dollars, converted here at the live exchange rate. UK click prices tend to be a little lower than US ones in most categories and Pakistani prices much lower, so the benchmarks will usually be on the cautious side for our markets. They are also medians: half of all accounts beat them.
That is why the planner shows three scenarios rather than one number. If your plan only works when clicks are cheap and the landing page converts well, it is a hope rather than a plan. Budget for the cautious row and treat anything better as upside.
Worked example
A Manchester dental clinic picks Google Ads and "Dentists & Dental Services". The benchmark fills in a CPC of about £6 and a conversion rate of 10.7%. With £3,000 a month that is roughly 500 clicks and 53 enquiries at about £56 each. The cautious row says 32 enquiries at £94; the optimistic row says 88 at £34. If one in four enquiries becomes a £600 treatment plan, even the cautious case returns £4,800 on £3,000 of spend, before the management fee.
Replace the benchmarks as soon as you can
Two to four weeks of real data beats any published table. Once you have your own CPC and conversion rate, type them in, share the link with whoever signs off the budget, and plan from there.