Before you spend anything on digital marketing, you should know what the main options cost, how long they take to pay back, and how to decide how much is the right amount. This guide gives you our real starting prices and a simple way to set a budget.
All prices are in rands, and we are not VAT registered.
What our services start at
- Search engine optimisation: entry level packages start at about R6,500 a month. After that the price follows how deep you want to go and how competitive your market is, so most packages are custom.
- Google Ads management: we run ads for monthly ad budgets from R8,000. Our fee is a percentage of the ad budget, quoted to fit your situation. Ad spend is paid directly to Google and never passes through us.
- Website: business websites from R6,000, online stores from R15,000, bespoke projects generally from R20,000.
- Website care plans: from about R1,000 a month, depending on whether the site is static, a store or connected to a CRM.
- Marketing diagnostic: from R10,000, credited if you continue with us within 30 days.
- Fractional CMO: advisor level from R12,000 a month, and hands-on leadership from R20,000 a month.
- Social media, content, brand and photography: quoted to the scope, because the work varies a great deal.
Two budgets, not one
With paid advertising you pay two separate things. The first is the ad spend, which goes to the platform. The second is the cost of someone setting up, running and improving the campaigns. Many people budget only for the first and wonder why results are poor. Plan for both.
How long each channel takes to pay back
Different channels work on different timelines, and that should shape your budget.
- Google Ads can bring enquiries within weeks, though it takes a couple of months of data to tune properly.
- SEO usually takes several months before rankings and enquiries move, and it keeps working afterwards.
- Social media and content build an audience and trust over time. Treat them as long-term assets.
- Email is cheap once you have a list, and it works best for people who already know you.
How to set a budget, with an example
The right budget starts with what a customer is worth to you.
This is an illustration, not a forecast. Say a new client is worth R20,000 in revenue, and your gross margin is 40 percent. That is R8,000 in gross profit per client. If you win one in every four enquiries, each enquiry is worth R2,000 in gross profit.
Now say you spend R16,000 a month on marketing in total, including ad spend and the work around it.
- If that brings 10 enquiries, each one costs R1,600 and is worth R2,000. You make about R4,000 a month in gross profit after the marketing cost.
- If it brings only 6 enquiries, each costs about R2,667 and is worth R2,000. You lose about R4,000 a month.
- The break-even point is 8 enquiries a month, because R16,000 divided by R2,000 is 8.
The point is not these exact numbers. It is that once you know what an enquiry is worth, you can tell whether a budget makes sense before you spend it, and you know what to track.
A step by step way to decide
- Know your numbers. What is a customer worth, and how many enquiries do you close?
- Set a target. For example, a set number of qualified enquiries a month.
- Pick one or two channels. Spreading a small budget across five channels gives you no useful data from any of them.
- Add the work around the channel. Landing pages, tracking and reporting all matter.
- Commit for long enough. One month of marketing teaches you very little. Plan for three to six months.
- Review monthly. Move money from what is not working to what is.
What to cut first, and what to protect
If money is tight, protect tracking and the foundations: a fast website that explains what you do, a complete Google Business Profile and a clear way to enquire. Cut channels that you cannot measure. A smaller budget focused on one channel that you track beats a large budget spread thin.
Why marketing budgets fail
Most failures are not caused by the channel. They come from unclear goals, missing tracking, a vague offer, or a campaign stopped too early. Spending money without a plan wastes it, however good the platform is. We explain the common mistakes in why most Johannesburg businesses fail at digital marketing.
Where to start
If you are not sure where your money should go, our marketing diagnostic reviews your website, search, ads and numbers and gives you a plan in order of priority. You can also book a call, and we will tell you honestly what we would do first.
Related services: Digital marketing · SEO in Johannesburg · Google Ads management
