How Much Should a Contractor Spend on Marketing?

“How much should I spend on marketing?” is one of the most common questions contractors ask — and most answers are either vague or self-serving. Here's a straight framework you can actually use.

The rule of thumb: 5–10% of revenue

A widely used benchmark: established businesses spend around 5% of revenue to maintain, and 7–10% when they want to grow. So a contractor doing $500,000 a year and wanting to grow would budget roughly $35,000–$50,000/year, or about $3,000–$4,000/month. Doing $250,000 and holding steady? Closer to $1,000–$1,500/month. Newer or hungrier businesses often spend a higher percentage to build momentum, then ease off.

But percentages aren't the real answer — return is

The better question is: what does a job cost you to win, and what's it worth? If $1,500 in marketing reliably produces three $2,500 jobs, spend more — you'd be foolish not to. If it produces nothing, zero is too much. Set a starting budget from the rule of thumb, then let the results tell you whether to scale up or cut.

Where to put the first dollars

1. Fix follow-up first (cheap). Missed-call text-back and a simple sequence stop you losing jobs you already have. Highest return, lowest cost.
2. Own your Google presence next. Local SEO and reviews compound and keep producing without per-lead fees.
3. Layer paid ads last. Once the first two convert, ads scale what's already working. Ads pointed at a leaky business just burn faster.

What not to do

Don't blow the whole budget on one channel (especially shared marketplace leads). Don't sign a long contract before you've seen results. And don't judge marketing on a single month — SEO especially takes 60–90 days to show, then compounds.

Not sure what your number should be? Our free audit looks at your current setup and tells you where a budget would produce the most jobs — free, no obligation.