Media buying: how to split your budget

01 Google and Meta play different roles

On Google, people type what they want. Demand already exists and you capture intent. It works well when your offer answers a stated need, like a specific service or a product searched by name. Cost per click can be high on competitive queries, but the intent is strong.

On Meta, nobody is searching for your product at that moment. You interrupt a feed with an image or a video and you spark the desire. It is powerful for introducing an offer, telling a story or reaching a precise audience by interest. Cost per click is often lower, but the intent has to be built.

02 Start from a starting split, not a certainty

No fixed split fits every business. Your sector, your average order value and your awareness change everything. Rather than hunting for the right percentage on day one, set a reasonable hypothesis and let the data correct it.

A simple starting base helps you begin without freezing. Set a share on the channel closest to the sale for steady revenue, a share on discovery to prepare for tomorrow, and a small reserve dedicated to testing. Keep that base as a point of comparison, not a rule set in stone.

• A share on the channel closest to the sale for steady revenue
• A share on discovery to feed tomorrow’s demand
• A small reserve dedicated only to testing

03 Test small before betting big

Testing is the heart of media buying. Launch several versions of the same campaign on small budgets: different visuals, different hooks, different audiences. The goal is not to spend but to learn which combination truly speaks to your market.

Let each test run long enough to gather reliable data. Cutting a campaign after two days is like judging a book by its cover. Decide in advance what you measure: cost per acquisition, conversion rate, return on spend. A clear result beats a gut feeling.

04 Measure what really counts

A well-split budget is worth nothing without reliable measurement. Tie your campaigns to a concrete goal, like a filled form or a purchase, and track the real cost of each acquisition rather than clicks or likes. Those figures flatter the ego but do not pay the bills.

Also beware of attribution that is too simple. A customer often sees several ads before buying, on Google as on Meta, and crediting the whole sale to the last click undervalues the discovery work. Look at the trend over several weeks rather than one isolated day, and compare cost per acquisition across channels before you decide.

• Cost per acquisition, not cost per click alone
• A customer’s value over time, not the first purchase alone
• The trend over several weeks, not one isolated spike

05 Scale what works, cut the rest

Once a campaign proves its return, raise its budget in steps rather than all at once. A brutal doubling often disrupts the platforms’ learning and drives cost up. A gradual climb lets the algorithm adjust while keeping your profitability under control.

In parallel, cut without hesitation the campaigns that do not pay, and reinvest that budget into the winners. This cycle of test, measure and reallocate is what separates spending you endure from investment you steer. If you want clarity on your current accounts, we offer a free audit of your campaigns: we look at where your budget goes and where it could work harder, no strings attached.