Online advertising cost in Japan – typical rates and how to split a small budget

Online advertising cost has three parts

When people talk about ad costs they usually mean the money paid to the platform. In practice you should plan for three items, and lining up quotes in these three buckets makes them easy to compare.

• Media spend: what you pay Google or Meta for clicks or impressions, capped by the budget you set
• Management: keyword and audience setup, ad copy, checking numbers and adjusting. If you run ads in-house, this is your staff's time
• Production: the landing page visitors arrive on, banners or video, and tracking tag setup

Agencies in Japan typically charge around 20% of media spend for management, often with a monthly minimum, so the percentage is higher on small budgets. Our page on ad management fees compares the common pricing models.

Typical rates for Google, Instagram and Facebook ads

Most online ads are paid per click or per thousand impressions, and rates vary widely by industry, region and competition. As a general guide:

• Google Search ads: tens to a few hundred yen per click. Competitive fields such as legal, real estate, medical or repairs can exceed 1,000 yen
• Google Display ads: tens of yen to around 100 yen per click – cheaper, with fewer people ready to inquire right away
• Instagram ads: tens of yen to around 200 yen per click, and a few hundred to about 1,500 yen per 1,000 impressions
• Facebook ads: run from the same Meta Ads Manager as Instagram with similar rates; often used for audiences over 40 and B2B offers

Use these numbers as a starting point for your own plan. For how search ad prices are set, see search ads cost; for Instagram and Facebook billing, see Meta ads cost.

Work out your ad budget from a target

The most reliable budget starts from the results you want each month and what one result is worth to you. You need four numbers:

• Target volume: inquiries, bookings or orders you want per month
• Acceptable cost per result: based on profit per sale, order value and repeat rate
• Expected cost per click: from the rates above or the platform's planning tools
• Expected conversion rate: the share of visitors who inquire or buy – typically planned at 1–3%

At 100 yen per click and a 2% conversion rate, each result costs about 5,000 yen, so ten results a month need roughly 50,000 yen. If one result is only worth 3,000 yen to you, you either choose a cheaper channel or improve the page to lift the conversion rate. Run this calculation once before you raise any budget.

How a small business should split its ad budget

With 30,000–100,000 yen a month, splitting evenly across three platforms leaves each with too little data to learn from. Put most of the budget on the channel that fits your business, and add a second one once the first shows results.

• Services people search for urgently (repairs, dentists, legal, renovation): 70–80% on Google Search, the rest on Instagram or Facebook for awareness
• Products chosen by look (salons, cafes, fashion, gifts): 60–70% on Instagram, the rest on Google for people searching your name or products
• Older customers or B2B: start around half Google Search, half Facebook, then shift toward whichever brings more inquiries
• Local shops: target your trading area only, start small and keep your Google Business Profile up to date

Meta can deliver one campaign across Instagram and Facebook; with automatic placements, spend flows toward whichever performs better. Its optimization needs a steady number of conversions, so avoid slicing the budget too thin. Review the split once a month by comparing cost per result.

Prepare before you spend

The same budget can perform very differently depending on what you set up first. Check these before launch:

• GA4 and each platform's conversion tags are installed and tracking inquiries or sales
• The landing page shows a price guide, photos of your work or process, and a clear contact button
• The page loads fast on a phone and the form is easy to fill in
• Target region, hours, excluded keywords and age ranges are decided
• You treat the first month as a learning period and set aside two to three months of budget
• Ad and billing accounts are in your company's name; if someone else runs them, they get shared access

The landing page is the step most often skipped. Ads bring people in, and the page has to do the convincing – so get it ready before you switch the ads on.

How UNANOBO helps: a free landing page demo and budget plan

Before you spend anything on ads, UNANOBO builds a free demo of the page your ad visitors will land on. Tell us about your business, your current site and what you want more of, and you get a page in your brand that you can try on a computer and a phone. Together with it you receive a budget estimate worked back from your target and a suggested split between Google, Instagram and Facebook.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles everything personally – the demo, the ad setup and the adjustments after launch – so you keep one contact. Everything runs by message, in Japanese or English. Ad and analytics accounts are created in your name, so you stay in control.