The Cybersecurity Marketer's Guide to Strategic Budgeting

Effective cybersecurity marketing requires a dynamic and fluid approach to budgeting. Rather than a rigid, set-and-forget plan, structuring and managing your marketing spend is an ongoing process of analysis, reallocation, and justification. Success depends on balancing long-term strategic goals with short-term performance data, enabling you to pivot quickly when campaigns underperform, capitalize on unexpected opportunities, and consistently prove the value of your marketing investments to leadership.

How should we split our budget between Google Ads, LinkedIn, and testing new channels like Bing?

The budget split between core channels like Google Ads and LinkedIn and experimental channels like Bing is dynamic and performance-driven. The primary budget is allocated to proven platforms, but a small portion can be carved out for testing new channels. For example, a test budget of around $1,000 per month might be taken from the larger Google Ads budget to experiment with Microsoft Ads (Bing). However, this allocation is not fixed. If the experimental channel proves unstable or delivers poor results, those funds should be paused and reinvested into the top-performing platforms. Decisions are based on current data; for instance, due to significant invalid traffic issues with Google and instability on Bing, funds have been strategically reallocated between Google and LinkedIn to maximize performance rather than expanding to a less reliable channel.

What's the ideal budget allocation between brand awareness and lead generation campaigns?

There is no single ideal ratio; the allocation depends on a full-funnel strategy that recognizes the long sales cycle in cybersecurity. While lead generation (demo requests, form fills) is crucial, brand awareness is essential for nurturing future customers. A balanced approach involves:

• Measuring Awareness Differently: For awareness campaigns, success is not measured solely by immediate conversions. Instead, focus on secondary metrics or "micro-conversions" such as time spent on a page, visits to other pages (like the homepage after landing on a deeper page), and repeat visits.
• Warming Up Audiences: Use awareness-focused content, like explainer videos and white papers, to educate the audience and build trust before serving them direct lead-generation ads for demos or trials. This approach supports the long-term pipeline by ensuring that when a prospect is ready to buy, your brand is top of mind.

We have a major campaign theme each quarter. How much of our budget should go towards it versus our always-on campaigns?

A significant portion of the budget, such as 60%, can be dedicated to a major quarterly campaign theme. However, this is not a rigid rule. It's critical to protect the budget for high-performing, always-on campaigns (e.g., brand search, generic terms, and successful lead magnets like an AI-focused paper) that provide a consistent and stable source of leads. The allocation should remain flexible. If assets for the major theme are delayed or if the theme is underperforming, funds can be shifted to support the always-on campaigns that are delivering results.

Our budget was just cut. How do we decide which campaigns to pause or reduce spend on?

When facing a budget cut, decisions are made based on a clear pecking order of performance and strategic priority:

1. Identify Paused or Non-Essential Spend: The first place to look for savings is in campaigns that are already paused (e.g., for a specific region like DACH) or are no longer strategically relevant.
2. Analyze Performance Data: Cut from the lowest-performing campaigns first. This involves identifying campaigns with high CPAs, low conversion rates, or those that are simply not spending their allocated budget. For example, underperforming campaigns in EMEA and APJ were cut to protect high-performing ones in North America.
3. De-prioritize Lagging Themes: If a specific vertical or thematic campaign (e.g., financial services) is not gaining traction or trending well, its budget should be pulled back and reallocated.

The guiding principle is to protect high-performing campaigns at all costs, even if it means altering pre-planned regional budget splits.

How do we build a business case for a larger marketing budget for next year?

Building a compelling business case for a budget increase relies on data-driven storytelling and strategic framing:

• Demonstrate ROI from Increased Spend: Use any instance of a budget increase, even an unintentional one like a large refund from Google, as a case study. Calculate the number of additional leads or the increase in impression share generated by the extra funds to prove a direct correlation between investment and results.
• Frame the Request Strategically: Structure the budget proposal around clear objectives. For example, propose a 20% budget lift by allocating a portion to scaling proven, successful campaigns and the remainder to funding new channels and experiments.
• Highlight the Cost of Cuts: Track and report the negative impact of budget reductions. Show how cuts lead to a decrease in lead volume or a loss of market visibility, which can be used to justify the need for more resources in the future.

Should we have a dedicated budget for experimental campaigns and new channels?

Yes, allocating a specific portion of the budget for experimentation is a key practice. This can be approached in two ways:

1. Formal Budgeting: Include a line item for "new experiments and testing" in your annual or quarterly budget proposals. For instance, a request for a 20% budget increase can be justified by designating it for both scaling existing efforts and exploring new ones.
2. Opportunistic Allocation: Carve out smaller, tactical test budgets from larger campaigns or unexpected funds. Examples include allocating $1,000 from a Google Ads budget to test Bing or using a portion of a refund (e.g., $10,000) to test a new beta feature on LinkedIn.

How do we manage budget pacing to avoid underspending or overspending each month?

Effective budget pacing is an active, ongoing process, not a one-time setup. The core components are:

• Tiered Budget Documents: Utilize at least two main documents: a locked-down quarterly or annual plan (the 'Bible') that serves as the source of truth for overall targets, and a dynamic 'master budget' file where monthly adjustments and reallocations are actively managed.
• Regular Performance Tracking: Use a dedicated dashboard, such as a Looker Studio report, to track actual spend against the planned monthly budget. This report should be updated on the second or third day of the following month to account for platform reporting delays.
• Dynamic Reallocation: Hold regular meetings to address pacing issues. If a campaign is under-spending or has been paused, those funds are proactively reallocated to campaigns with higher potential or to cover shortfalls elsewhere. This ensures the overall quarterly budget is utilized effectively and prevents leaving money on the table.
• Managing Volatility: Be aware that external factors, like large, unexpected refunds from ad platforms for invalid traffic, can create a "nightmare" for pacing and require a rapid strategy to spend the credited amount to meet quarterly goals.

How do we account for currency conversion fluctuations since our ad accounts are in pounds but our budget is in dollars?

Managing multiple currencies is a recognized challenge that requires careful tracking. The current practice is to maintain budget documents that show figures in both the platform currency (GBP) and the primary budgeting currency (USD). This dual tracking provides visibility, but it does not solve the inherent risk of currency fluctuations. A significant drop in the dollar against the pound, for example, could impact the ability to meet spending targets. This highlights the need for a clear policy from finance or a built-in contingency to manage this financial risk.

What's the best way to handle unexpected refunds or credits from Google?

Unexpected refunds, such as those for invalid click traffic, must be treated as budget that needs to be spent to meet quarterly financial targets. The allocation of these funds follows a clear logic:

1. Reinvest in Top Performers: The first priority is to funnel the funds back into the best-performing campaigns, especially those that were previously underfunded.
2. Allocate to Other Channels: A portion of the refund can be strategically moved to other primary channels, like LinkedIn, to boost their activities.
3. Fund Experiments: Use a smaller part of the refund to test new, high-potential initiatives, such as a predictive audience beta program.

Additionally, these refunds can be framed as a positive case study for leadership, demonstrating how an "unintentional budget increase" led to a quantifiable lift in leads (e.g., an estimated 220 additional leads from a $90k refund), thereby strengthening the case for future budget increases.

Should we allocate more budget to regions that are performing well, even if it means reducing spend in others?

Yes, performance should be the primary factor in budget allocation, even if it means deviating from pre-set regional splits. While high-level strategic goals, such as reducing dependency on one region, are important, it is more effective to shift funds from struggling or under-spending campaigns to those that are performing great. For example, rather than cutting 10% from a high-performing North American budget, it is better to make more significant cuts (e.g., 25-30%) from underperforming campaigns in EMEA and APAC. The goal is to maximize MQLs and pipeline, and fixed regional goals do not have to be followed so precisely that they lead to inefficient spending.

How do we plan for ad hoc requests, like event promotions, within our existing budget?

Ad hoc requests, such as promoting an unplanned webinar or event, are managed by reallocating funds from lower-priority campaigns. When a new, time-sensitive request comes from leadership, the team assesses the current campaign landscape. To free up funds, spend is paused or reduced on broader thematic campaigns that are underperforming or are of lower strategic importance. A minimum viable budget is then calculated and dedicated to the ad hoc promotion to ensure it has enough resources to succeed without completely disrupting the entire marketing plan.

Should our evergreen campaigns have a protected, fixed budget?

Yes, high-performing evergreen campaigns, especially those for brand and non-brand search terms, should have a protected budget. These campaigns are crucial as they maintain a high impression share, defend against competitors, and provide a consistent, stable flow of leads. When budget cuts or reallocations are necessary, the priority is to preserve the funding for these proven performers. Savings are sought from lower-performing, experimental, or less strategic regional campaigns first before touching the core evergreen budgets.

When a campaign is performing really well, should we double down on its budget or reallocate to test new things?

The strategy is to do both, with an emphasis on doubling down. The first priority is to ensure that high-performing campaigns are fully funded. If a successful campaign is limited by budget, it should receive additional investment, especially when extra funds from sources like refunds become available. However, this doesn't mean ignoring experimentation. A portion of any extra or planned budget should still be carved out to test new channels, audiences, or ad formats. For example, a large refund was split between boosting the best-performing campaigns and funding a new experimental beta test on another platform. This balanced approach ensures you are maximizing current returns while still exploring future growth opportunities.