Ask ten agencies how much a small business should spend on marketing and you will get ten versions of “it depends”. It does depend. But you still need a number to plan around, so here is the one we use.
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SEO
How much should a small business spend on marketing?
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Budgetize team
6 MIN READ
A local business doing US$400,000 a year should expect to spend US$1,700 to US$2,700 a month on marketing in total. That includes ad spend, the person or company doing the work, and any software. If you are growing, the top of the range. If you are full, the bottom.
US$200K A YEAR
US$830 to US$1,330
a month, all in
US$400K A YEAR
US$1,670 to US$2,670
a month, all in
US$800K A YEAR
US$3,330 to US$5,330
a month, all in
For a local business, the order is almost always the same. First, be findable: your Google listing and your website, so the people already looking for you can find you. Second, be chosen: reviews and a site that loads on a phone. Third, and only third, be seen by people who were not looking: ads.
Most small businesses do it backwards. They buy ads first, send the clicks to a slow site with three reviews, and conclude that marketing does not work. It does. The order was wrong.
Be findable. Then be chosen. Then, and only then, pay to be seen.
Our SEO Essentials box covers the first two steps for $399 a month: your listing, your site, two articles like this one, and a report you can read in five minutes. That leaves most of a normal budget for ad spend when you are ready for it. It is the order we would follow with our own money, which is the only honest test.
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Budgetize team
Practical guides from the Budgetize team on websites, SEO, advertising, and content.
EXPLORE OUR PLANS
SEO Essentials
$399
/mo
Listing, site fixes, two articles a month, one-page report.
No contract. No sales call. Work starts within two business days.
MARKETING FOR · ALL INDUSTRIES