If you’ve been wondering whether marketing your business is getting more expensive and what you can do about it, read on.
Should You Spend on Marketing if You Have a Small Business?
I’ll break down what’s driving costs up, compare popular ad platforms, and share practical, budget-friendly alternatives you can implement right away.
Why marketing costs are rising
Short answer: yes — marketing is getting more expensive. A big part of this comes down to supply and demand. More businesses have moved online and started paying to promote themselves, which increases competition for ad space and drives up prices, impacting their marketing budget.
We can see this pattern clearly when looking at trends for major paid channels:
- Google Ads: Interest was much lower a few years ago. Around 2020 there was a big increase as many businesses shifted online, and recent updates and new ad formats have pushed interest to some of the highest levels recorded.
- YouTube ads: Also trending upward alongside Google Ads as more advertisers expand into video.
- Facebook Ads: Early adopters paid very little. Interest peaked in 2020 and has cooled slightly since, but the platform still shows strong advertiser interest — it’s not cheap, just a bit less competitive now compared with the 2020 peak, affecting the overall marketing budget.
Geography matters too. In the U.S., places like California, Florida, and New York tend to be more expensive because more businesses compete for attention in those markets.
Competition, marketing budget, and price — how they interact
It’s important to understand how competition affects prices:
- If many businesses offer the same physical service in one area, typical market dynamics push consumer prices down, influencing how small businesses spend.
- For paid advertising, the more advertisers bidding for the same audience or keywords, the higher the ad cost. So a crowded advertising landscape raises ad prices.
Put simply: when everyone uses ads, ad costs go up, impacting the overall marketing budget. When fewer people use ads, it can cost less to advertise.
Free or low-cost alternatives: time vs. money
Many small business owners ask, “I don’t have $2,000–$3,000 to spend on Google Ads or Facebook Ads — what can I do?” The good news is there are effective options that cost little or nothing in cash, but they require time and consistency.
Common low-cost strategies:
- Organic social media — posting consistently on platforms where your customers are. Photos, short videos, and regular updates are free but take time and creative effort.
- Direct outreach — calling prospects, following up with leads, or using email marketing. These tactics don’t require ad spend, but they do require time and persistence.
- Local listings and SEO — optimizing your Google Business Profile and website for local search can attract steady, low-cost traffic.
- Partnerships and referrals can enhance your marketing strategy and improve revenue. — teaming up with complementary businesses to cross-promote or refer clients.
“You’re choosing between your time and your money.”
This is the core tradeoff. If you don’t want to spend time posting, calling, or optimizing, you’ll either need to hire someone or invest in paid campaigns.
How to decide for small business: practical steps
Here’s a simple decision framework to optimize your marketing spend and maximize revenue.
- Define your goal. Is your priority immediate sales, leads, brand awareness, or long-term growth?
- Audit your resources to ensure effective allocation of your marketing budget. How much time can you personally commit each week? What is your cash budget for marketing?
- Choose marketing channels strategically to enhance your overall marketing efforts. If budget is limited but you have time, focus on organic social, local SEO, and outreach to maximize your spend on marketing. If time is tight, test small paid campaigns and scale what works.
- Start small and test your marketing strategy for better allocation of resources. Run small ad tests, measure CPA (cost per acquisition), and optimize. For organic efforts, track engagement and lead generation to evaluate the success of your marketing channels.
- Measure and adapt. Monitor results and reallocate resources to the highest-performing tactics.
Extra tips to stretch your budget when you spend on marketing
- Target locally or niche audiences to reduce competition and cost while effectively allocating your marketing efforts.
- Use A/B testing on ads and organic posts to find what resonates fastest.
- Repurpose content across marketing channels — short clips from a video can be used as social posts, stories, and ads to optimize your marketing strategy.
- Leverage free tools: Google Business Profile, basic SEO plugins, and analytics to measure what’s working.
Conclusion
Yes, marketing — especially paid advertising — is more expensive than it used to be. But you have options. Decide whether you want to invest time or money, start small, test, and focus on the channels that deliver measurable results to improve your ROI. If you don’t want to handle it yourself, consider hiring an experienced team to run your campaigns efficiently and improve your ROI.
For more practical tips and examples, check out Salazar Digital – Marketing & Web Design and their resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to optimize their marketing spend.
Salazar Digital Local Marketing
1172 Murphy Ave #208, San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 532-5118
