One of the first questions business owners ask is simple: how much should I spend? The honest answer is that it depends on your goals, your market and what you already have in place. Quotes can vary widely, and the cheapest or the most expensive option is not automatically the right one.
This guide explains the main cost drivers, how agencies charge, how to build a budget from your goals and how to compare proposals fairly.
Two different costs: management and media
Most digital marketing budgets include two parts. The management fee pays the people who plan, create and run the work. The media or ad spend is the money paid directly to platforms such as Google, Meta, TikTok or LinkedIn. A proposal that mixes the two without breaking them down makes comparison difficult.
- Management fee: strategy, creative, setup, optimisation, reporting.
- Ad spend: the budget the platforms charge you for showing your ads.
- Tools and extras: email platforms, stock media, filming, influencer fees.
What affects the price
- Scope: how many channels and how much content each month.
- Competition: some industries and keywords cost much more than others.
- Creative needs: simple graphics cost less than video production.
- Languages: producing in English and Arabic takes more work.
- Speed and ambition: faster growth targets need more resources.
- Experience level of the team you hire.
How agencies usually charge
Monthly retainer
A fixed monthly fee for an agreed scope. It gives predictable costs and ongoing optimisation.
Project fee
A one-off price for a defined deliverable, such as a website, a brand identity or a campaign launch.
Performance-based
A fee tied to results, for example a percentage of ad spend or a bonus for reaching targets. This can align interests but needs very clear definitions of what counts as a result.
Menu pricing
Published prices for standard services. At Extreme Marketing, for example, social media management starts from $99 per month for ten designed posts, poster design is $100 per poster, and larger services such as ads, SEO and automation are quoted after a free audit.
How to build a budget from your goals
Work backwards from what you want to achieve.
- Set a target: for example, 20 new customers per month.
- Estimate your close rate: how many qualified leads become customers?
- Calculate the leads you need.
- Estimate the cost per lead in your industry and channel.
- Multiply to find the ad spend required, then add management and creative costs.
- Compare the total with what a new customer is worth to you.
A simple way to think about the percentage of revenue
Many businesses plan marketing as a percentage of revenue and adjust it according to their stage. New businesses and brands that want to grow quickly often invest a higher share than established ones that only need to maintain their position. There is no universal number, so choose a level you can sustain for at least three to six months and review it regularly.
Where small businesses should start
- Make sure your Google Business Profile and website are in good shape.
- Collect reviews.
- Post consistently on the one or two channels your customers use.
- Add paid ads once you know your offer converts.
- Set up tracking before spending on ads.
Red flags in agency proposals
- Guaranteed rankings or guaranteed sales.
- Unclear deliverables or no reporting.
- Long contracts with expensive exit terms.
- The agency controls your ad accounts or your website.
- No questions about your business, customers or margins.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who will do the work and how experienced are they?
- What exactly is included each month?
- Who owns the accounts, creative files and data?
- How will you report, and how often?
- How do you handle Arabic and English content?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Measure return, not just spend
A higher budget is fine if it produces profitable customers. A low budget is wasteful if it brings none. Track cost per lead, cost per customer and revenue so you can scale what works and stop what does not.
How costs differ by type of service
- Social media management: a monthly fee that depends on the number of posts, channels and whether video is included.
- Paid advertising: a management fee plus ad spend that you pay to the platforms.
- SEO: usually a monthly retainer, with results building over months.
- Websites: a one-off project fee, sometimes with monthly maintenance.
- Email and SMS: setup and design plus monthly sending costs.
- Video and photography: priced per project or per shoot day.
Hidden costs to ask about
- Setup fees and onboarding charges.
- Stock images, fonts and music licences.
- Platform subscriptions for email, scheduling or analytics tools.
- Extra charges for revisions or urgent requests.
- Translation or Arabic adaptation if it is not included.
Contract terms to read carefully
- Minimum commitment and notice period.
- Who owns the creative files, accounts and data.
- What happens to ad accounts if you leave.
- How performance and reports are defined.
- Whether the price changes after an initial period.
Allocating budget across channels
There is no single split that fits everyone, but a sensible approach is to put most of your budget behind the one or two channels where your customers already are, keep a smaller share for testing new channels and reserve some for content and creative, which supports every channel.
Reviewing after 90 days
- Compare the cost per lead and cost per customer with your targets.
- Check lead quality and sales, not only volume.
- Look at what content and campaigns worked best.
- Decide what to scale, change or stop.
- Reset targets for the next quarter.
Not sure where to begin? Book a free audit and we will recommend a realistic starting budget and plan for your business.
Want help putting this into practice?
Book a free audit and we will review your marketing and suggest the quickest wins.
