The short answer
Most UK construction businesses should plan to spend
2% to 5% of turnoveron marketing: around 2% to 3% to keep steady work coming in, and 4% to 5% if you are pushing to grow or move into bigger projects. Going above that only makes sense with healthy margins and a clear plan.
The 7% to 8% averages you often see come mostly from very large companies, while UK contractor margins average around 3%. The range above is our recommendation, based on the figures below and on what we see working for UK contractors.
Key figures for 2026
Your own number depends on your margins, your job values and how many new enquiries you actually need. These are the figures worth knowing before you set it.
| Figure | What it tells you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 7.8% of revenue | Average marketing budget across all industries in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025. Most firms surveyed had revenue over $1 billion. | Gartner CMO Spend Survey, May 2026 |
| Just over 3% | Average pre-tax margin across the UK's top 100 contractors. A quarter were below 2%. | The Construction Index Top 100, September 2026 |
| 11% higher | Expected rise in construction marketing budgets in 2026 compared with 2025. 89% of construction marketers are holding or increasing budgets. | SLG Agency Horizon report, April 2026 |
| +18% net | New enquiries reported by SME builders in the second half of 2025, down from +34% in the first half. | FMB and CIOB State of Trade Survey, March 2026 |
Why the usual 7% to 10% advice doesn't fit construction
Most budget advice online comes from US agencies or cross-industry surveys. It isn't wrong, but it was built for businesses that look very different from a UK builder or contractor.
The best-known figure, Gartner's 7.8% of revenue, comes from a survey where most respondents had annual revenue of over $1 billion. Those firms sell products and services with far higher margins than construction.
Margins are the real constraint. The UK's top 100 contractors averaged a pre-tax margin of just over 3% in their latest accounts, and a quarter were below 2%. If your net margin is 5%, spending 10% of turnover on marketing means spending twice your profit before a single job pays back.
That doesn't mean construction firms should spend nothing. Construction is still the sector with the most company failures in the UK, and a full order book can empty quickly. SME builders' enquiries were still growing in late 2025, but at roughly half the rate of the first half of the year. Steady, planned marketing is how you avoid feast and famine, as long as the budget is sized to what your margins can carry.
How much that means in pounds
Here is what each level looks like by annual turnover. The figures are simple percentages, so treat them as a starting point, then check them against your margins and job values.
| Annual turnover | Steady work (2%) | Growth (4%) | Aggressive (6%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £5,000£417 a month | £10,000£833 a month | £15,000£1,250 a month |
| £500,000 | £10,000£833 a month | £20,000£1,667 a month | £30,000£2,500 a month |
| £1 million | £20,000£1,667 a month | £40,000£3,333 a month | £60,000£5,000 a month |
| £2 million | £40,000£3,333 a month | £80,000£6,667 a month | £120,000£10,000 a month |
| £5 million | £100,000£8,333 a month | £200,000£16,667 a month | £300,000£25,000 a month |
The aggressive column only makes sense if your margins are healthy and you have a clear reason to grow fast, such as entering a new region or sector.
These budgets cover everything: your website, SEO, paid ads, lead platforms, photography, software and any agency or staff time spent on marketing. We recommend counting any in-house marketing wages inside this figure, not on top of it, so you see the true cost.
Three ways to set your budget
A percentage of turnover is the quickest method, but it isn't the most accurate. Use it as a sense check, then work through one of the two methods below.
1. A percentage of turnover
Take last year's turnover, or next year's target, and apply the percentage from the table above. It is simple and easy to explain to a business partner or your accountant. The weakness is that it ignores margins: two firms with the same turnover can have very different amounts left to invest.
2. A percentage of gross profit
Gross profit is turnover minus the direct cost of doing the work: materials, labour and subcontractors. Budgeting from gross profit ties your marketing to the money that actually funds the business.
For example, a firm turning over £1 million with £200,000 gross profit might set aside 10% to 20% of gross profit. That gives a marketing budget of £20,000 to £40,000, or 2% to 4% of turnover.
3. Work back from the jobs you need
This is the most useful method because it starts with what you want to win. You need four numbers:
- How many jobs you want to win this year
- How many enquiries it takes to win one job
- Your average gross profit per job
- How much of that profit you are willing to spend to win the job
Worked example. These figures are for illustration only, so swap in your own.
| Step | Example: a domestic extension builder |
|---|---|
| Jobs wanted this year | 12 house extensions |
| Average job value | £60,000 |
| Gross margin | 20%, so £12,000 gross profit per job |
| Win rate | 1 job for every 8 enquiries, so 96 enquiries a year |
| Spend per job won | 10% of gross profit, so £1,200 per job |
| Annual marketing budget | 12 jobs × £1,200 = £14,400 |
| Affordable cost per enquiry | £14,400 ÷ 96 = £150 |
In this example, the budget comes out at 2% of the £720,000 turnover those jobs would bring in. It also gives you a target: if an enquiry costs more than £150, that channel needs fixing or dropping.
This is also why handling enquiries well matters as much as the budget itself. Improve your win rate from 1 in 8 to 1 in 6 and the same 12 jobs need only 72 enquiries, which cuts the marketing you need by a quarter. Our AI lead handling system is built for exactly this: replying to every enquiry quickly, even while you are on site.
Domestic builders and commercial contractors spend differently
The right budget depends as much on who you sell to as on how big you are. A builder doing extensions for homeowners and a contractor bidding for school refurbishments win work in completely different ways, and over very different timescales. Our guide to the buyer's cycle in construction explains why.
| Domestic builders and trades | Commercial contractors and specialists | |
|---|---|---|
| How work is found | Homeowners search online, check reviews and ask friends | Architects, developers, main contractors and public buyers invite firms to quote or tender |
| Time to win a job | Days to a few months | Months to more than a year |
| Where the money goes | Google Business Profile and reviews, local SEO, a website that shows finished projects, paid search for urgent work | Case studies, bid and tender content, LinkedIn, a CRM to track relationships, events and specifier marketing |
| What to measure | Cost per enquiry and cost per job won | Tender invitations, shortlist rate and value of work won |
Commercial work has become harder to win through direct contact. In SLG Agency's 2026 survey, 67% of construction marketers said engaging directly with clients had become more challenging. Larger clients are also moving towards frameworks, which favour firms with strong track records and balance sheets.
For commercial firms, that makes proof more valuable than reach. Detailed case studies, health and safety records and a clear way to follow up every enquiry will usually do more than a bigger advertising budget. If public and framework work is part of your plan, read how to get construction tenders in the UK and how SEO helps you win more tenders.
Many firms do both kinds of work. If that's you, split the budget in line with where your profit comes from, not where your turnover comes from.
Where to put the money
Split your budget into online, offline and everything else first, then divide the online share between channels. These are starting points we recommend, not industry averages, and they follow the same structure as our budget calculator, so you can plug them straight in.
| Share of total budget | Domestic builders and trades | Commercial contractors |
|---|---|---|
| Online | 70% | 45% |
| OfflineSignage, vans, print, events, awards | 20% | 40% |
| OtherPhotography, CRM and software, lead platforms | 10% | 15% |
| Share of the online budget | Domestic builders and trades | Commercial contractors |
|---|---|---|
| SEO and website content | 45% | 60% |
| Paid search and Local Services Ads | 45% | 20% |
| Retargeting and LinkedIn | 10% | 20% |
A few principles matter more than the exact percentages:
- Fix the basics first. A website that shows recent projects and a complete Google Business Profile with genuine reviews cost little to keep up and make every other channel work harder. Use our construction website checklist to see what yours is missing.
- Paid ads switch on fast and stop when you stop paying. They are useful for filling gaps in the diary, but they should not be your only source of enquiries.
- SEO and content build over time. They take months to show results, but they keep working. Well-structured pages are also what AI search tools such as Google's AI Overviews draw on when answering questions, which is why AI visibility now belongs in the same budget line as SEO.
- Test before you commit. Give any new channel at least three months and track what it brings in before increasing spend.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Stopping marketing when you're busy. Larger projects can take months to win, and some main contracts take up to 18 months from shortlisting to award, so the work you market for today often lands much later. Cutting back in a busy spell is a common cause of a quiet one.
- Relying only on word of mouth. Referrals are valuable, but you can't control when they arrive or scale them up when you need more work.
- Spending without tracking. If you can't say which channel brought in each enquiry and each job, you can't tell what to cut. Ask every new enquiry how they found you and record it.
- Generating enquiries you don't follow up. Slow replies and unsent quotes waste the money spent bringing the enquiry in. Read why good leads go cold after the first call, and check how quickly you respond before increasing your budget.
- Spreading the budget too thin. Three channels done properly will usually beat seven done half-heartedly.
- Treating a new website as the whole plan. A website is the base, not the campaign. Without regular updates, reviews and promotion, it won't bring in work on its own.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of turnover should a construction company spend on marketing?
For most UK construction businesses, 2% to 5% of turnover is a sensible range. Around 2% to 3% keeps steady work coming in, and 4% to 5% supports growth. Higher figures, such as the 7% to 8% averages often quoted, come from much larger, higher-margin companies.
How much should a small builder spend on marketing each month?
A builder turning over £250,000 would spend about £417 a month at 2% of turnover, or £833 a month at 4%. Start by getting your website and Google Business Profile right, then add one paid channel and track what it brings in.
Is 10% of turnover too much for a construction company?
For most contractors, yes. UK contractor margins average around 3%, so spending 10% of turnover on marketing could cost several times your annual profit. Higher spending can work for a short, planned push into a new market, but only with healthy margins and close tracking.
Should my marketing budget be based on turnover or profit?
Turnover is quicker, but gross profit is more accurate because it reflects what you actually have to invest. At a 20% gross margin, spending 10% to 20% of gross profit works out at 2% to 4% of turnover. The most precise method is to work back from the number of jobs you need to win.
What should a construction marketing budget include?
Include everything you spend to win work: website and hosting, SEO, paid ads, lead platforms, photography, printed materials, signage, events, software such as a CRM, and any agency fees or in-house marketing wages. Counting it all gives you an honest cost per job won.
How long does construction marketing take to pay back?
It depends on the channel and the job. Paid search can bring enquiries within days, while SEO and content usually take several months. For larger projects, the time from first contact to signed contract can run to many months, so judge results over at least a year.
Do lead platforms like Checkatrade count as marketing spend?
Yes. Membership fees and pay-per-lead costs are marketing costs and belong in the same budget. Track the cost per job won from each platform alongside your other channels, so you can see which ones are actually profitable.
How do I know if my marketing is working?
Track three numbers every month: enquiries by source, jobs won by source, and the cost of each channel. Divide cost by jobs won to get your cost per job. If a channel costs more per job than you can afford from the profit on that job, fix it or stop it.
The bottom line
For most UK construction businesses, a marketing budget of 2% to 5% of turnover is realistic and affordable. The exact figure should come from your margins, your job values and the number of enquiries you need, not from a cross-industry average.
The firms that get the most from their budget spend consistently, track every enquiry back to its source and follow up quickly. Spending more rarely fixes a leaky enquiry process, and fixing the process often means you need to spend less.
Want a second opinion on your numbers? Run them through the calculator, then book a discovery call. We'll go through your results with you and show where your budget is likely to work hardest.
Sources
- Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey, published 11 May 2026
- The Construction Index, Top 100 Construction Companies 2026, September 2026
- SLG Agency, Horizon 2026 construction marketing research, 29 April 2026
- Federation of Master Builders and CIOB, SME State of Trade Survey, July to December 2025, updated 31 March 2026
Budget levels, channel splits and the worked example are Construct Virtual recommendations and illustrations, not industry statistics.