How Much Do Companies Spend on Digital Marketing in 2024

It’s been decades since the beginning of our society’s digital transformation, but up until today, we have seen diverse digital shifts. Various sectors face constant digital evolution, including the marketing industry.

Our comprehensive research revealed that most companies allocate 10% to 14% of their company’s budget to marketing, and 50% of it goes to their digital marketing efforts. Some dedicated companies even go beyond the average budget for digital marketing.

Businesses, big or small, allot a significant amount of their marketing budget to digital marketing. 63% of businesses have even increased their digital marketing budget in recent years, while 94% of small businesses are looking to increase their digital marketing budget by 2024.

Moreover, studies show that retail spends the most on digital marketing, averaging $443.4 million of monthly digital ad spend alone. Amazon leads this trend in the retail industry by spending almost its entire budget on search engine marketing.

We found that the most leveraged type of digital marketing is content marketing, with 58% of businesses laying out a $5,001 to $10,000 budget for creating and sharing content online. However, content marketing does not live up to email marketing’s staggering return on investment of 4,200%!In this article, learn how much companies spend on digital marketing. Also discover what are the specific industries, companies, and sectors that benefit diversely from digital marketing.

How Much Do Companies Spend on Digital Marketing Key Findings

1. Companies allocate over 50% of their marketing budget, which typically amounts to 5% to 7% of their revenue, towards digital marketing
2. The growing demand for digital marketing led to 63% of businesses increasing their digital marketing budgets.
3. The retail industry is the highest spender for digital marketing, paying off $443.4 million monthly on digital marketing efforts.
4. 58% of businesses allocate the most budget for content marketing, amounting to $5,001 to $10,000.
5. Email marketing generates the highest ROI in digital marketing with a potential 4,200% ROI.
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How Much is Spent on Digital Advertising: Companies Spend 50% of Their Marketing Budget on Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is the most effective way to generate value for a business and gain a competitive advantage. However, it does not come for free.

Most companies allocate 50% of their entire marketing budget to digital marketing. Otherwise, their business will cease to exist in a large online market. 

Several organizations are stumped about how much they should pay to generate positive results. Some pay too much but fail to convert any leads and value. Others underpay and receive lackluster results.

According to the US Small Business Administration, most companies allocate 10% to 14% of their revenue for marketing purposes, while the suggested overall spending for marketing ranges from 7% to 8% of gross revenue. 50% of a company’s marketing budget is directed towards digital efforts. That translates to an overall expenditure of 5% to 7% of a company’s gross revenue on digital marketing.

That said, if a company earns $1 million annually, it will spend around $50,000 to $70,000 on digital marketing per year.

Let’s dig deeper into the digital market spending habits across various companies, industries, and types of digital marketing. By the end of this report, we will also provide forecasts and recommendations for the future of digital marketing.

Digital Marketing Spend is Increasing: 63% of Businesses Have Raised Their Digital Marketing Cost Per Month

Digital Marketing Spend Statistics

• 58% of small businesses utilize digital marketing. These small businesses tend to create do-it-yourself (DIY) methods to run their digital marketing efforts.
• In 2020, there were 1.2 million digital marketers under advertising and 2.1 million in the technology sector to meet the growing demands of the industry.
• The budget for digital marketing among chief marketing officers (CMOs) in the US increased by 7.9% in 2023.
• Between 2023 and 2024, the digital marketing industry saw a 10% growth rate in budget spending across businesses.

Digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels or technology to promote a brand or company and raise awareness of its products and services. While those are the same goals as traditional marketing, digital marketing generally reaches a broader audience. 

Small businesses can benefit the most from digital marketing, with 58% utilizing it as a marketing tactic. According to a study, small companies tend to employ DIY models for digital marketing due to insufficient marketing funds or lack of a marketing team.

There were over 1.2 million digital marketers under advertising who led the industry to success in 2020. At the same time, there were also 2.1 million digital marketers working in the technology sector. 

More companies are adopting digital marketing. Upwork reported a 20% demand spike in digital marketers on the platform. This statistic show that companies are realizing the importance of digital marketing to reach their target audience and that they require some help to achieve that. Further reports show the demand for digital marketers will increase by 10% from 2020 to 2030.

Since more companies are looking for digital marketers to improve their online presence, it’s only right that they increase their budget for it. Based on a Statista survey, digital spending among CMOs in the US grew by 7.9% in 2023. Meanwhile, the spending on traditional advertising declined by 0.6% in the same year.

It’s also important to note that the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a worldwide spike in internet usage. This growth forced companies to adopt digital marketing ASAP as it went from an optional method to a crucial one.

In the post-pandemic scene, companies allocate more of their budget to digital marketing. Between 2023 and 2024, the digital marketing budget grew by 10%. Moreover, the global digital advertising market alone is set to reach $786.2 billion by 2026.

These statistics on spending and adoption show that businesses are taking it seriously when it comes to digital marketing.

How Much Do Big Companies Spend on Marketing? Large Retail Companies Spend $443.4 Million Monthly on Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing Spend Per Company Statistics

• 93% of healthcare companies utilize digital marketing.
• In 2022, travel companies spent $5.23 billion on digital advertising.
• Coca-Cola takes 9% off its revenue for digital marketing. 
• Tech companies tend to spend less on marketing, allocating only 25% to 50% for digital marketing.

Digital ad spending and marketing costs by industry vary, as confirmed by Semrush and AdClarity’s study on digital ad spending habits of diverse companies. Their study ran from 2021 to 2023.  

Results revealed the retail industry spends the most on digital advertising, reporting a $443.4 million monthly expenditure. This staggering amount is brought by e-commerce giants like Amazon, Target, and Walmart.

Based on a survey, Amazon accounted for 12.9% of digital advertising spending in the US in 2023. The e-commerce giant is even dubbed the biggest advertiser in the world, both in digital and traditional advertising.

Aside from retail companies, various industries leverage digital marketing in different ways. Let’s break them down below.

9 Out of 10 Healthcare Companies Use Digital Marketing, and Most of Them Seek the Help of Marketing Agencies

Based on recent reports, 93% of healthcare companies and providers are embracing digital marketing.  By doing so, healthcare companies successfully increase patient engagement and trust.

Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical company, was reported to have spent 2% of its total revenue on digital advertising in 2018. The exact amount was over $1.2 billion.

Since there is a massive gap between the healthcare and technology industries, most healthcare companies seek help from digital marketing agencies. This move is better suited for healthcare organizations to navigate the complex digital marketing industry. However, utilizing digital marketing agencies comes with a price of $3,000 to $10,000 per month.

Travel Companies Spent $5.23 Billion in 2022 on Digital Advertising

Digital marketing has helped the travel and tourism sector to flourish. Thanks to social media and content making, travel and tourism companies achieve the following:

• Increase bookings
• Attract new customers
• Improve brand visibility
• Reach their target audiences

Did You Know?

A study revealed that social media has indeed changed the way people travel. Social media inspires travelers to visit new places. 

According to 52% of travelers, they decided to visit a destination after seeing social media posts of friends, family, or peers.

Gone are the days when travelers solely relied on travel agents, brochures, and guidebooks to plan their dream vacation.

Instagram and Facebook are particularly influential platforms to promote travel destinations and activities. 46% of Gen Z travelers give in to these promotions and make travel decisions based on what they see from their favorite influencers on various social media platforms.

Due to the internet’s heavy influence on travel habits, digital advertising makes up over 47% of all travel global ad spending. In the US alone, the travel industry records billions of digital ad spend, and the trend will likely continue until 2024.

31% of Real Estate Agents Spend Over $1,000 for Digital Marketing, While the Average Publicly Traded Spends 12% of Its Revenue

Digital marketing also favors people working in real estate, whether under a company or an independent real estate agent. Since most people are online nowadays, digital marketing allows potential customers to see listings and inquire about them. 

Buyers also thoroughly do their research online before purchasing a property. Thus, a positive online presence matters in the real estate industry.The average publicly traded company allocates 12% of its revenue on marketing. Meanwhile, 31% of independent real estate agents spend over $1,000 annually on digital marketing. As reported by Statista, real estate representatives pay over $768 million on advertising in 2022.

1.5% to 3% of the Marketing Budget of Restaurants Goes to Digital Marketing

There is a wide scope of business in the food-beverage industry, including B2C and B2B. It also has various sub-industries, such as breweries, distillers, fast food, and restaurants. 

Since the industry is also a very competitive segment, all sectors under it require quality marketing campaigns to survive the competition.

According to statistics, the average restaurant allots 3% to 6% of its revenue to marketing. That puts 1.5% to 3% of the budget for digital marketing alone. 

In some cases, food and beverage giants tend to spend way more than the average. For instance, Coca-Cola allocates almost 18% of its total revenue to marketing. Based on our research earlier, we can assume that Coca-Cola puts away 9% of its marketing budget to digital marketing alone.

ICYMI: Coca-Cola is known for its highly influential digital campaigns

As consumers of Coca-Cola, we are all witnesses to how it has mastered its digital advertisements and overall marketing efforts. Its campaigns check boxes that other companies usually overlook, such as emotional, traditional, and practical factors. 

In 2014, we indulged in one of the most notable campaigns of Coca-Cola. It was a promotion for the FIFA World Cup, entitled “One World, One

Some Construction Companies Still Invest 2.5% to 5% of Their Revenue Into Digital Marketing

Most construction and manufacturing companies are focused on the operational aspects of their business. Marketing is often overlooked in this industry. Instead, construction companies heavily rely on word of mouth and referrals to increase sales.

That, however, is not practical in a very competitive sector. As a result, some construction companies allot 5% to 10% of their revenue to marketing. Therefore, only 2.5% to 5% goes to digital marketing efforts.

Regardless, some construction and manufacturing companies cracked the code when it came to digital marketing. Caterpillar Inc., a premier engineering equipment manufacturer commonly known as CAT, spends 70% of its marketing budget on digital marketing.

ICYMI: CAT’s “Draft Day Campaign” earned several awards for its success

When CAT released five next-gen Mini Excavators, its marketing team saw the opportunity to create engagement while promoting the machines. 

The timing was perfect for the campaign. It was the onset of the football season, which the team leveraged and created promotional, and notably humorous, videos and photos. 

The campaigns encouraged customers to scan a QR code that registers them for a competition where they could win a free 3-month rental of a mini excavator.

These promotions also led the customers to a website where they learned about the differences between each machine. This move exposed the customers to all the mini excavators and drove engagement with the overall CAT brand.

The campaign won awards, such as:

• Platinum Award for Social Media Video Series in the 17th Annual Hermes Creative Awards.
• Award of Distinction for B2B Online Advertising/Marketing Contests & Promotions in the 29th Annual Communicator Awards
• 44th Annual Telly Awards
  • Silver Award for Social Video, Branding
  • Bronze Award for Social Video, Product and Service

Tech Companies Often Spend Less on Marketing, Averaging 25% to 50% of Digital Marketing Expenditure

We learned that tech and software companies spend only one-fourth or half of their marketing budget on digital marketing. Some even allocate a digital marketing budget lower than 25%, as most tech companies focus on their research and development sector. That often leaves marketing a second priority. 

For instance, Apple Inc. dedicated $29.92 billion to research and development in 2023. Meanwhile, the tech giant has been hiding some expenses since 2016, including their marketing budget. However, some experts still determined Apple’s $1.8 billion expenditure on marketing in 2020.

Still, Apple’s marketing budget is dwarfed by its R&D budget, which is expected of the company. Apple barely needs any introduction, and its well-innovated products sell themselves.

Over 50% of Companies Worldwide Spend $5,001 to $10,000 on Content Marketing

Content Marketing Spend Statistics

• Almost half of businesses worldwide pay $2,500 to $7,500 per month on SEO.
• 80% of PPC advertising is in Google Ads.
• Email marketing is utilized by 64% of small businesses.

Companies leverage various types of digital marketing every day. Based on reports, 58% of companies spend $5,001 to $10,000 per month on content marketing.

Definition

The strategy in content marketing is to leverage digital assets such as text, images, and videos to gain a competitive advantage.

Content marketing is a type of inbound marketing strategy that focuses on capturing a customer’s attention. With content marketing, customers can freely check out a product or company by interacting with a digital asset. The goal is to create content that persuades customers to do exactly that.

Companies employ other types of digital marketing strategies. Let’s break them down:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Following content marketing is SEO, in which 48% of businesses pay $2,500 to $7,500 per month. Moreover, SEO works well together with content marketing, leading to 6 times higher conversion rates than SEO-less campaigns.

Hence, companies create high-quality content and use SEO to promote it better. Then, SEO will help improve the company’s digital marketing ROI. 

According to WebFX, search engines offer a 15% guarantee for new leads, which is 13% higher than traditional marketing.

Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising

45% of companies pay $100 to $10,000 per month on PPC advertising. It’s a strategy where the businesses pay for their website or content to appear in search results as an ad. When a customer clicks the ad, that’s the only time the advertisers pay for the promotion. 

The average conversion rate of PPC advertising is 2.35%, but it goes up to 3.75% when the promotion appears on Google Ads. The higher conversion rate must be the reason why 80% of PPC advertising efforts are concentrated on Google Ads.

Pro Tip

Digital marketers often consider choosing between SEO (organic search) and pay-per-click advertising (paid search). However, experts and numerous data dictate that these two strategies can work together and deliver better results such as:

• Improved brand recall;
• 25% more clicks; and
• 27% more profits.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is another beneficial option, in which 60% of organizations spend $51 to $1,000 monthly. 

Even 64% of small businesses employ email marketing to acquire customers. Meanwhile, 38% of businesses are increasing their email marketing budgets to drive customer engagement.

Social Media Advertising

Social media is a lucrative platform for marketing. Digital marketers never miss out on chances to leverage it. In fact, 52% of businesses’ monthly spend on social media marketing costs between $100 to $5,000.

Among all the social media platforms, 80% of marketers use Instagram, which makes it the most used platform for digital marketing. However, around 43% of marketers claim they have the highest ROI from Facebook. Regardless, companies leverage various social media platforms to maximize the benefits of social media marketing.

For Every Dollar Spent on a Good Email Marketing Campaign, Companies Can Receive a $42 Profit

Digital Marketing Profit Statistics

• 61% of customers appreciate receiving promotional emails per week, contributing to email marketing success.
• Eight out of 10 marketers report a very successful content marketing campaign.
• Social media helped 86% of marketers generate improved brand awareness and 76% increased traffic.

Companies employ various digital marketing strategies simultaneously because of their guaranteed benefits. Return on investment varies from company targets, types of digital marketing strategy, customer demographics, etc. ROI can be:

• Revenue
• Increased bookings
• Shorter sales cycle days
• Enhanced customer satisfaction
• Improved customer lifetime value
• Higher cost per acquisition (CPA) ratio

Based on our research, email marketing generates the most ROI for 59% of marketers. For every dollar allotted to email marketing, companies receive a $42 ROI. That means the ROI of email marketing can be as high as 4,200%. 

Email marketing also successfully increases customer engagement. Based on a survey, 61% of customers enjoy receiving weekly promotional emails.

The beneficial results of content marketing encourage companies to spend the most on this type of digital marketing. 80% of marketers report a very successful content marketing strategy, where they successfully drove brand engagement. Meanwhile, content marketing revenue reached $63 billion in 2022 and will increase to $107 billion in 2026.

B2C companies achieve numerous benefits and ROI from content marketing. 81% of marketers in B2C companies report successful brand awareness campaigns.

Social media marketing has its highly sought-after benefits as well. According to Statista, increased exposure is the most cited benefit of social media marketing among digital marketers worldwide.

These benefits clearly show the power of various digital marketing strategies in promoting businesses from diverse sectors.

How Much To Spend on Digital Marketing: Use At Least 50% of Your Marketing Budget for Digital Marketing

Based on the statistics we compiled, having a solid digital marketing campaign will be beneficial to your company. 

The data also points out that the future is digital. Research indicates that 60% of marketing efforts will be digital by the end of 2024, signaling a continued shift away from traditional offline media. 

To remain competitive and capitalize on this trend, businesses should strategically allocate their marketing budgets based on revenue. We recommend investing around 50% of the marketing budget towards digital marketing efforts. This balance ensures a strong online presence and maximizes opportunities for engagement and conversion in an increasingly digital marketplace.