Knowledge hub · Ad budget guide
An advertising budget has two separate lines: the media spend paid to the platform and the management service. Mixing them produces misleading numbers.
- 01
How the budget splits
Media spend goes straight to Google or Meta, the management fee to the service provider. Creative production is a separate line in some quotes and included in the management fee in others; your quote should state clearly which one applies.
- 02
Where to start
Start with a small budget and one clear goal: search ads where demand already exists, awareness where it does not. Starting on three platforms at once makes it hard to see which one worked.
- 03
Measurement
Do not leave conversion to the platform's own report; form submissions, calls and orders should also be counted on your side. Budget spent before measurement exists is spending, not learning.
- 04
When to scale up
When a campaign consistently delivers below the target cost, raise the budget gradually. If results drop, more budget does not fix it; review the landing page, the offer and the audience first.
- 05
Ad copy and creative
The promise in the ad and the promise on the page it opens must match; if an ad says free shipping and the page then charges for it, you lose the money and the trust. Run at least two texts in every campaign and keep the winner. Show the product in use in the creative: stock photography is cheap but tells nobody who you are.
- 06
Audiences and remarketing
The cheapest conversion comes from someone who has already seen your site; an ad shown to a visitor who abandoned a cart works markedly cheaper than one shown to strangers. Build the audience too narrow and there are no impressions; too broad and the budget goes to people with no interest. More than three impressions a day to the same person creates fatigue, so always set a frequency cap.
- 07
Where the money leaks
The usual leaks: advertising a product that is out of stock, launching a campaign and not opening it again for three weeks, spending on your own brand name where you already appear first, and starting before conversion tracking works. Without measurement there is no way to know which ad earned anything. And remember: the media budget is paid directly to the platform, what we charge is the management fee.
Related pages
Articles that complete this topic, plus the matching service page.
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