Instagram and Google play very different roles in a couple's booking journey. Here's how to split your budget sensibly between them.
This question comes up in almost every strategy conversation we have with venue owners, and the honest answer is that it's the wrong frame.
Instagram and Google aren't competing for the same job, so pitting them against each other in a budget decision usually leads to under-investing in one at the expense of the other.
Instagram builds the shortlist, Google closes the intent
Instagram (and Pinterest, to a slightly lesser extent) is where couples discover your venue's aesthetic and decide, emotionally, whether it's "their kind of place."
This is a top-of-funnel, brand-building role. It rarely converts directly to an enquiry in the moment, but it heavily influences who makes it onto a shortlist later.
Google, by contrast, captures people who already have real intent. They know roughly what they want and are actively comparing options. That's a much more direct, bottom-of-funnel role, and it converts at a completely different rate.
Where venues typically get the split wrong
The most common mistake is treating Instagram spend like it should behave like Google spend: expecting a direct, trackable enquiry from every dollar.
It rarely works that way, and judging it by that standard leads owners to underfund a channel that's actually doing real, if less measurable, work earlier in the journey.
The second most common mistake is neglecting Google entirely because "we're a visual business, we should be on Instagram", while ignoring the couples who are already searching with real intent and simply won't find you.
A sensible starting split
For most venues, a reasonable starting allocation weights Google Ads more heavily toward direct response: search campaigns targeting specific, high-intent queries.
Instagram spend is better treated as a longer-term brand and aesthetic investment: boosted content showcasing real weddings, working with relevant creators, and building an organic following that Google Ads alone can't replicate.
The exact split shifts depending on your venue's current visibility and booking pipeline, but neither channel should be zeroed out in favour of the other.
Measure them differently, too
Don't judge Instagram by direct enquiries alone. Track follower growth, engagement, saves, and where possible branded search volume: is anyone searching your venue name more since the campaign ran?
Judge Google by cost per qualified enquiry and, ultimately, cost per booking.
Applying Google's measurement standard to Instagram, or vice versa, is usually what convinces owners one channel "doesn't work" when really it was just being judged against the wrong job.