Where the starting numbers come from
The "Grow" setting uses a widely cited guideline, often attributed to the U.S. Small Business Administration: businesses with under 5 million dollars in sales and net margins around 10 to 12 percent spend about 7 to 8 percent of gross revenue on marketing (Chron, Hartford Business Journal). "Hold steady" and "Grow fast" are our own planning defaults either side of that. If your margin is lower, spending at that level eats into profit, so start lower and raise it as leads come in.
How we suggest splitting it
The default split is our starting point for home service businesses, not an industry statistic. It puts the largest share into channels that keep paying off, local SEO and your Google Business Profile, and uses Local Service Ads and Google Ads to fill the calendar while rankings grow. Change any percentage to match how your business actually wins work.
Check it against cost per lead
A budget is only right if the leads cover it. Pair this with the SEO ROI calculator and our cost per lead comparison.