Summary
If your marketing spend feels random, use this simple split that works at almost any level: Find 60%, Remind 20%, Improve 20%. Then track four numbers weekly: calls, booked meetings, top pages, top queries. Below you’ll find allocations at 1k, 5k, and 10k per month, plus exactly what to do in each bucket.
What should a small team spend on marketing?
There’s no magic number, but most growing businesses do well setting 5% to 12% of revenue for marketing. The real win is consistency. Use one split, review it weekly, and adjust monthly. This guide shows you how without spreadsheets or exotic tools.
The 60–20–20 split explained
- Find 60% — activities that create or capture demand. Think Google Ads, Local Services Ads, high-intent SEO pages, and offers that get people to raise a hand.
- Remind 20% — light retargeting and simple nurture so interested people don’t forget you.
- Improve 20% — upgrades that make every dollar work harder: better pages, faster site, clearer offers, reviews.
This split keeps you moving forward even when life gets busy.
Decide your one primary outcome first
Pick exactly one goal for the next 90 days:
- Book more qualified calls
- Sell more of a specific service or product
- Fill a calendar window or service area
Your budget choices follow that outcome, not the other way around.
What to put in each bucket
Find — 60%
Choose 1 or 2 channels you can actually maintain.
- Google Ads Search for high intent. Start with brand and one non-brand service.
- Local Services Ads if you are a licensed local service provider and the phone call is the product.
- SEO pages that target buyer terms like pricing, service + city, and comparison queries.
- Offer pages that replace “Contact us” with something specific: quick estimate, 15-minute plan, 2-week sprint.
Remind — 20%
Keep it polite and useful.
- Retargeting on Google or Meta with testimonials, how-it-works, or a gentle offer.
- One helpful email a week answering a real customer question.
- Google Business Profile post once a week: an offer, a win, or an event.
Improve — 20%
Raise conversion without raising spend.
- Homepage and top service page: one headline, one clear CTA, one proof line near the button.
- Speed: compress images, remove heavy plugins, fix mobile layout.
- Reviews: ask after every job, feature the freshest review on your homepage and offer page.
- Tracking: mark one or two conversions properly so you know what works.
Budget examples you can copy
If you have $1,000/month
- Find — $600
- Google Ads: $400 on brand + one non-brand service
- Offer page build or refresh: $200 one-time in month one
- Remind — $200
- Retargeting: $150
- Email tool or light design: $50
- Improve — $200
- Image compression, form fix, and a review widget: $200 one-time
What to expect in 30 days: cleaner search terms, a faster path to contact, retargeting that brings back visitors politely.
If you have $5,000/month
- Find — $3,000
- Google Ads: $1,800 across brand + 2 to 3 services
- Local Services Ads (if eligible): $800
- SEO content or a city page: $400
- Remind — $1,000
- Google or Meta retargeting with three creatives: $600
- Weekly email and a small content upgrade: $400
- Improve — $1,000
- High-converting service page upgrade: $600
- Speed and mobile cleanup: $200
- Review engine setup and placement: $200
What to expect in 60 days: steadier lead flow, cheaper brand clicks, more qualified form fills or calls.
If you have $10,000/month
- Find — $6,000
- Google Ads: $3,000 across brand + multiple non-brand themes
- Local Services Ads: $1,500
- SEO sprints: $1,500 for two buyer-intent pages or one authority piece
- Remind — $2,000
- Retargeting across Google and Meta: $1,200
- Weekly email plus one downloadable checklist per month: $800
- Improve — $2,000
- Dedicated offer page and pricing transparency section: $1,000
- Site speed, schema basics, and form logic: $500
- Review velocity and placements: $500
What to expect in 90 days: reliable pipeline, clearer channel split, and lower cost per qualified lead.
What should I do this week?
A 60-minute cadence
- 10 min — Post on Google Business Profile. Add one recent photo and a short update.
- 20 min — Ship a 300-word “Most-Asked This Week” post. Answer first, link to a service page.
- 10 min — Check Google Ads Search terms. Add negatives like free, jobs, how to, login.
- 10 min — Add one review to your homepage and offer page.
- 10 min — Look at four numbers: calls, booked meetings, top pages, top queries.
Repeat weekly. Adjust budget monthly.
How do I measure success without a data team?
Track these four signals:
- Calls or booked meetings from your site or ads
- Conversion rate on your main page (visits to leads)
- Cost per qualified lead in ads
- Lead to sale rate from your CRM or notes
Only change budget when one of these moves in the right direction for two weeks in a row.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Spreading thin across too many channels. Pick one or two and do them well.
- Buying clicks without fixing the page people land on.
- Hiding price signals. A range or “from” price saves everyone time.
- Measuring everything except outcomes. Pick one conversion that matters and focus on it.
Quick copy you can paste
- Homepage headline: “Book more of the right jobs without guessing what works.”
- Primary button: “Get price and timeline”
- Offer line: “Prefer a quick start We’ll send a 15-minute plan and a written quote.”
- Review ask (SMS): “Thanks again for choosing us. Would you mind sharing a quick review It really helps people find us: [short link]”
Where to go next
Want help deciding how to split spend between channels Read Google Ads vs SEO: Which One Is Better for Your Business for a clean, owner-friendly decision tree that pairs well with this budgeting guide.
Bottom line
- Pick one primary outcome.
- Use the 60–20–20 split.
- Show up weekly.
- Change budget only when outcomes improve for two weeks straight.
Do that, and you’ll finally have a marketing budget that matches your goals and sticks through busy seasons.
