Answers · Pricing
What is a realistic monthly marketing budget for a Colorado contractor?
Updated April 30, 2026 · Honest answer from a Colorado agency that does this work daily.
Short answer
A typical Colorado contractor (HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical) should budget 7–12% of revenue on marketing. For a $1M/year shop that's $5,800–$10,000/mo, usually split as: 30–40% Google Ads/LSAs, 30–40% SEO and Google Business Profile, 10–20% website and content, and 10% review generation, email, and other. Established shops with strong reputations can run leaner; newer shops need to invest more upfront.
- Newer shops (under 3 years): 10–15% of revenue
- Established shops with strong reputation: 5–8% of revenue
- Typical split: ~35% paid ads, ~35% SEO/local, ~15% website, ~15% other
- Don't go below $2,500/mo total in a Front Range metro
- Track cost-per-booked-job, not cost-per-lead
Why percentages beat dollar figures
Marketing budget should scale with revenue, not be a fixed number you set once. A $500K shop budgeting $5K/mo (12% of revenue) is being aggressive — appropriate for a growing operation. A $3M shop budgeting that same $5K is starving the channel and will lose ground to competitors who spend properly.
The 7–12% range comes from analyzing 100+ Colorado service businesses. Below 5% you stagnate. Above 15% you're either growing fast or wasting money — both deserve audits.
How to allocate across channels
Paid ads (Google Ads + LSAs) get the biggest share because they produce immediate, trackable bookings. SEO and local search get the second biggest share because they compound — money spent today produces leads 6–24 months from now without ongoing ad spend.
Website should get 10–20% on an ongoing basis (not just a one-time build) because conversion rate is a multiplier on every other channel. A 5% improvement in conversion rate is the same as a 5% increase in ad budget — but cheaper to produce.
Follow-up questions
What if I'm a brand new contractor with no revenue history?
Plan on $3,500–$6,000/mo for the first 12 months in a Front Range metro. Lean heavier on Google Ads and LSAs early since SEO won't produce until month 4–6.
Can I just rely on word-of-mouth?
Sometimes for the first 1–2 years. By year 3, contractors who haven't built a marketing engine plateau or shrink as competitors out-rank them on Google.
What's the single highest-ROI channel for Colorado contractors?
Google Business Profile + reviews. It's free to set up, costs only the time/system to ask for reviews, and produces the highest-intent calls of any channel. Every contractor should max this out before spending on anything else.
Want a real conversation about your situation?
Free audit. We'll walk through what's actually working for businesses like yours in Colorado — no sales pressure, no contracts.