The first month of paid media is not about finding the perfect channel. It is about buying enough information to make the second month cheaper.
The Starting Split
For most small sites with a working product page, we start at roughly 60 percent search, 30 percent social and 10 percent retargeting. Search captures existing demand, social tests whether new demand can be created affordably, and retargeting keeps the visitors you already paid for from disappearing.
When to Break the Split
Break it when the data says so, not when a platform account manager says so. If search is producing qualified leads below your target cost in week two, move budget there and hold social as a testing lane. If nothing in social reaches a readable cost per lead after six weeks and a real creative test, stop rather than keep feeding it.
What the Budget Must Include
Creative production, landing page work and measurement are part of the budget, not extras. A campaign with weak assets and a slow page is a donation to the platform. In practice we plan roughly 15 percent of the first month for assets and fixes.
Guardrails Before Launch
Set a daily cap per campaign, an account level monthly ceiling, and a stop rule written down in advance: the cost per qualified lead at which you pause and review rather than hope. Decide the stop rule while you are calm, because you will not want to decide it in week three.
What to Read Each Week
Qualified leads and cost per qualified lead, not clicks or impressions. Two secondary numbers: share of spend on the top search term, and the share of leads that came from the pages you built specifically for the campaign. Everything else can wait for the monthly read.