How Much Should a Small Business Budget for Marketing?

The key to a successful small business marketing budget isn’t how much you spend but where you invest it.

You know that old saying, it's not what you have, it's how you use it.

I’ve spoken to hundreds of small business owners over the last 12 months, and most haven’t thought about or allocated a structured marketing budget.

Yet, they all want to:

• Generate a stable lead flow

• Get off the tools and hire staff

• Provide stability & certainty for their families

• Build a predictable business that scales without the emotional rollercoaster

In 2025, if you want predictable growth, you need to set aside a clear digital marketing budget that aligns with your business goals and long-term marketing objectives.

In a previous post, I outlined the main reasons why every small business needs a marketing plan. In this post, we’ll get into specifics: the amount, the timeline, and the expectations you should set.

Bear in mind, this article is a rough guide to help you build clarity. If you want a tailored breakdown of your marketing efforts, book a marketing strategy session with our team for a in-depth analysis of your business and online presence.

Marketing Expenses - How much do you need to move the needle?

Budget Baseline: $1,000 – $3,000 (Ad Spend + Agency Fee Monthly)

This is the minimum to stay visible, but only if your website and marketing assets are dialled in.

For many businesses moving into 2026, this baseline razor-thin end and 90% of the time is not enough to grow the businesses and future-proof or penetrate market share.

Note

If your website needs work, factor in an initial investment to get it up to scratch. Your marketing performance depends on your website and core offer. If you're presenting well online and have trust badges or proof of work, this budget will work.

What service can I expect from this budget?

At this level, you’re typically investing in one or two marketing activities:

• Paid media management for(Google Ads or Facebook Ads)

• Or foundational SEO to increase organic website traffic and brand awareness

Scaling & Growth: $3,500 – $10,000 (Ad Spend + Agency Fee Monthly)

This is the range where things start to scale. It varies depending on your industry, service offering, and how many leads or sales you need to sustain growth.

• If your service price point is $100 – $1,000, expect to scale around the $3,500 mark.

• If you offer services between $1,000 – $10,000, you’ll likely be in the mid-range.

• If you operate at enterprise level or across multiple locations, your marketing spend could easily exceed $10,000+.

What service can I expect from this budget?

At this level, you’re getting a full omnipresent ecosystem:

• Ongoing website development and SEO

• Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)

• Paid media management across multiple social platforms

• Creative strategy and content creation (blogs, videos, and social media ads)

• Email flows & customer lifecycle journeys

Your marketing campaigns become interconnected, each channel supporting the others for a stronger return on investment.

Business at this range have an enormous amount of leverage. You're positioned as an authority, building trust, creating new digital infrastructure and future proofing your business.

At this level of investment we can get fun and creative.

Key Variables That Impact Your Budget

Your marketing investment will depend on these factors:

• Website aesthetic, performance and domain authority

• The number of marketing assets and intellectual property your business has

• Cost per click in your industry (Google Ads and PPC campaigns are more expensive for premium services)

• Market saturation and competition

• Skepticism of your target audience

• How long does it take for leads to convert into new customers (Sales cycle)

Where Should I Start?

It depends on the factors above and where you are in your business lifecycle.

Your website is the most important piece in the puzzle, bearing in mind you have strong branding, good offer and have your businesses fundamentals in place.

Due to the complexity of the digital landscape and the different variables that impact success, it's impossible to give you a general place to start.

For instance, if you're business is just starting you should invest in a brand identity and a strategy deck. This will inform your steps moving forward and how you communicate to the people that matter most.

Or let's say you're in your 3rd year and you have a proven offer and client base but you're having issues with lead flow. Here we'd have to look at your online visibility, your website and your position in the market.

Discover

Your website is the cornerstone of your marketing efforts, and it must come before paid advertising.

Learn more

Businesses are playing monopoly online; they just don't realise it yet. Watch a video where I uncover this core concept and show you how we booked out Bespoke Landscapes 3 months in advance.

Why Landing Pages and Conversion Rate Optimisation Are Paramount If You Want To Succeed Online

Every marketing dollar you spend will eventually lead traffic somewhere, and that destination is your landing page.

A landing page is where your ad spend, social media campaigns, and email marketing efforts convert into measurable outcomes.

If your landing pages aren’t strategically built with strong headlines, persuasive copy, and clear CTAs, you’re wasting money.

Best practice for landing pages:

• Optimise for user experience (fast load time, mobile-friendly design)

• Align copy with ad messaging to boost conversion rate

• Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar to track performance

• Continuously A/B test and adjust content

We've seen well-designed landing pages lift conversion rates by 20–50%, dramatically improving marketing ROI.

Score your landing page

Access our in-house checklist for key things your landing page needs to convert. This checklist is generating millions in sales & making 1 in 3 clients have to lower ad spend because they can't handle the lead volume.

Is Search Engine Optimisation Relevant Going Into 2026?

A lot of clients and prospects are wondering whether SEO is still worth it. It is but don't rely on it as your sole acquisition channel.

SEO is a long-term, compounding investment that drives organic growth without ongoing ad spend.

For small businesses, SEO does three things:

• Increases visibility on Google for high-intent keywords

• Builds brand authority over time

• Generates consistent website traffic that supports other marketing channels

The thing is Google is prioritising paid media, so if your serious about visibility and staying competitive you'll have to invest in some paid search campaigns.

Discover

How Google delivers information as it pivots into AI.

Pair SEO with consistent content creation across other platforms such as blog posts on LinkedIn, case studies + educational videos on Youtube. This will have a higher impact on your SEO and help nurture leads through your customer journey.

The internet has become hyper connected and it's not enough to just show up in traditional search.

Marketing Tools and Key Performance Indicators

Using free analytics tools like Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, or Meta Pixel allows you to measure:

• Website traffic sources

• Cost per lead

• Conversion rate

• Cost per click (CPC)

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

• Click through rate (CTR)

These metrics are your key performance indicators (KPIs). They help you identify what’s driving profit and what’s draining your marketing dollars.

Tracking these metrics in real time gives you data-backed confidence to reallocate your advertising budget strategically instead of guessing.

Pro Tip

Use Microsoft Clarity (it's free) to record sessions and see heat maps on your landing pages. This will help you gauge opportunities, see where traffic is dropping off and tailor content to better serve your clients.

Allocating Budgets by Industry, Growth Stage, and Company Size

Different businesses require different budget structures. These are rough figures. Organise a free strategy session where we'll tell you exactly what you need

Startups

Startups and early-stage companies need to prioritise visibility and traction. They should allocate 10–20% of total revenue to marketing, focusing on:

• Building brand awareness

• Creating a lead generation system

• Establishing credibility through SEO and social proof

Established Businesses

Established businesses with stronger brand recognition can allocate 10-15% of revenue, focusing on:

• Expanding into new markets

• Protecting market share

• Refining conversion optimisation

• Investing in customer retention and automation

B2B Companies

B2B businesses tend to have longer sales cycles and higher deal values. Total marketing budgets should lean toward:

• Thought leadership content

• LinkedIn Ads and email nurturing

• Retargeting and remarketing campaigns

B2C Companies

B2C companies usually require higher reach and frequency. Budgets often prioritise:

• Paid social campaigns

• Influencer partnerships

• Seasonal product launches

Company Size

Larger companies with more established marketing systems typically diversify across multiple digital marketing channels, while smaller businesses may focus on fewer, high-performing channels to maximise efficiency.

A great way to think of your digital advertising efforts - Your main aim is to stay top-of-mind and build trust.

If you do these two things well, conversions and revenue growth follow.

Budgeting for Product Launches or New Services

If you’re planning a new product launch or introducing a new service, you need to create a separate marketing budget for it.

This budget should include:

• Pre-launch awareness (teasers, PR, social media campaigns)

• Launch phase (ads, landing pages, email sequences)

• Post-launch retargeting (remarketing campaigns, loyalty offers)

Think of it as a mini marketing campaign within your annual budget.

If your regular marketing spend is 10% of revenue, add an extra 2–5% for significant launches. This ensures you don’t dilute ongoing lead generation campaigns while still pushing growth.

Note

Every added service or product launch needs its own strategy + its own funnel. This is true across any business type, industry or size. Similarly, if you're scaling and hiring more staff, you'll need to account for that in your marketing spend.