Australian advertising benchmarks show construction enquiries from $26.77
Australian growth marketing agency UNTMD has published local advertising benchmarks for small and medium businesses after reviewing more than $147,000 in managed ad spend across 20 accounts over 90 days.
UNTMD released the figures in Melbourne, Australia, on 3 August 2026. The dataset covers the three months to July 2026 and includes 20 accounts.
The accounts span construction, solar, education services, agriculture, health and beauty, and direct-to-consumer retail. UNTMD compiled the benchmark because Australian businesses have lacked a local reference point for advertising costs.
Global platform averages often rely on United States data. However, UNTMD said audience costs, competition and buying behaviour differ in Australia.
For construction businesses, cost per enquiry ranged from $26.77 to $61.32. Solar installation came in at $41.25, education services at $53.25, professional and trade services at $53.31, direct-to-consumer retail at $66.79, and luxury direct-to-consumer retail at $114.85.
Across accounts that UNTMD tracks through to sale, 27% to 33% of enquiries converted into won work. The average deal cycle ran for three to five weeks.
At the low end of construction costs, a business paying $26.77 per enquiry could win a job for roughly $90 in ad spend. Because the deal cycle was three to five weeks, operators could usually judge results within about a month.
140 enquiries at $42 a day
The top-performing account was not the biggest spender. That construction account spent about $42 per day and generated 140 enquiries over the quarter.
Those figures challenge the idea that paid advertising needs a large budget before it works. Instead, UNTMD’s data shows some small campaigns can produce strong enquiry volume.
Frequency also shaped results. Accounts with average ad frequency below 3.5 delivered the strongest cost per enquiry, while efficiency declined once frequency moved above five.
According to UNTMD, that pattern suggests a modest budget spread across a broad audience can beat a larger budget aimed repeatedly at a small audience. The agency linked that result to lower enquiry costs across the 90-day sample.
Founder Maria Kathopoulis said Australian businesses had lacked a local benchmark for what advertising should cost. She said many operators were comparing their accounts with overseas figures that did not match the Australian market.
The release lands as many businesses cut marketing spend and test which reductions are safe. UNTMD said local sector data can help owners decide whether a campaign is underperforming or simply reflecting Australian market conditions.
Last updated: 4 August 2026, 10:33 am
