SEO Cost – How Businesses Budget for SEO Services Creating a Budget For SEO

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SEO Cost How Businesses Budget for SEO Services
Creating a Budget For SEO

• SEO Marketing Insights from Agency Partner
• One thing we hear all the time is How much does
  SEO cost? How much should I budget for SEO
  Marketing Services?
• As digital marketers, we hear that question and
  our brains start to think about SEO strategy and
  everything that goes into getting more organic
  searches for business owners. Immediately, our
  SEO specialists consider everything from
  potential website performance needs, competitor
  research, on-page SEO optimization, link-building
  strategies, local SEO, and more as it relates to
  your goals.
• Oh, and lets not leave out considerations for
  the fact that there are different SEO pricing
  models, depending on whether you are looking for
  a one-time optimization or if youre truly
  looking to play the long game and dominate your
  industry. Depending on what you need, you will
  likely consider fixed pricing versus monthly
  retainers that support technical SEO efforts,
  the cost of content marketing that helps you rank
  on Page 1 for new keywords, and routine
  analytics meetings with your SEO consultant.
• Those are just a few things we think about. Other
  questions may include
• How long has your web domain been around? What
  about other websites that compete for the same
  keywords?
• How much organic traffic are we currently seeing
  in Google Analytics and what are the referral
  sources?
• Is the site ranking just for branded keywords, or
  are more competitive keywords resulting in
  impressions and clicks?
• What does the Google Search Console say of
  impressions and clicks to your website over
  time? Is growth stagnant?
• Is your website currently holding a first page
  rank for any relevant search terms either
  locally or nationally?
• How healthy is your backlink profile relative to
  the top ranked sites?

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• Are we competing with big brands, local
  businesses, or personalities?
• How often do your biggest competitors publish
  blogs, news articles, and/or new web pages?
• Can the business support a SEO campaign right
  now? or do immediate needs require
• that this budget be allocated toward a more
  immediate, albeit less permanent marketing
  tactic?
• In Google Analytics, what does the websites
  bounce rate look like relative to keywords
  resulting in clicks to the site?
• While these questions are fairly common, the
  answers to them will vary significantly from one
  business website to another. Competitiveness and
  your desire to dominate will factor into what
  your monthly SEO budget should look like. To
  generalize, most SEO experts will charge a
  monthly recurring investment of 2,000 to
  10,000 per month. Yes, thats a big range!

How Much Does SEO Cost? Learn from Texas top SEO
marketing agency. A national or international SEO
budget in a competitive online market should
never be less than 5000 per month. For SEO that
seeks to attract local buyers in a not so
competitive market, it is possible to kick-off a
local SEO campaign in the 500 to 2500 range.
Again, depending on competitiveness, your budget
will vary significantly. To learn more about
where that money goes, some things to watch out
for when selecting a SEO partner, and when you
can expect some ROI from SEO, keep on
reading! What to Expect From An Appropriate SEO
Budget Notably, the value from search engine
optimization compounds over time So unlike PPC
on Google Ads, SEO is not how you make a quick
buck. SEO is how you build wealth through a
business website.
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SEO is also kind of like caring for a plant. It
requires consistent attention over time and when
you stop, your SEO value slowly begins to
diminish relative to other competing sites on
the web. This is because Googles search
algorithm changes constantly. So as you consider
your SEO budget, be mindful of the fact that an
adequate SEO effort is something that should be a
monthly recurring undertaking for the life of
your business or website. SEO, when content
driven, ensures that whenever someone is
searching for answers to any question that is
relevant to your business, your brand is front
and center every time. Businesses love SEO
because of how the economics of it play out
relative to other sales and marketing
activities. If you consider an investment over 12
months, notice how the monthly expense stays
mostly flat in the graph below. Also take note
of what the additional revenue line is doing
strong revenue growth.

• In this example, we are looking at a Texas based,
  B2B medical supplies company with a monthly SEO
  budget of 8,500. At the 7th month of this
  campaign, things started to get exciting because
  this companys website began to rank on Page 1 of
  Google for some its most commercially valuable
  keywords. At the close of the year and following
  a 12 month SEO investment of 102,000, this
  family business counted just under 1 million in
  additional revenue and a massive ROI. The
  break-down is as follows
• Total SEO Budget 102,000
• Total New Revenue 992,742
• 12 month SEO ROI 890,742
• Unlike this companys SEO campaign, if you look
  at their Google Ads marketing performance, new
  revenue is positively correlated to their monthly
  ad budget. So as logic would have it, more
  budget equates to more revenue just as less
  budget equates to less sales. In this case, the
  client was competing in a market with a fairly
  expensive

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cost per click and PPC was never their most
desired source of new business. PPC helped them
serve some immediate needs while they worked to
establish their SEO game.

• To reiterate, this is a big reason that business
  owners love the economics of an expertly crafted
  SEO campaign versus other marketing channels. SEO
  is part of a long-term, industry-dominating
  digital marketing strategy. A basic SEO campaign
  typically takes anywhere from 8 to 16 months
  before a mostly static, consistent monthly
  investment begins to generate a noticeable ROI.
  For some industries and markets, like SEO for
  family law, return on investment may feel
  exponential once your average page rank starts
  to hold search engine positions 1 through 3.
• Ways to Allocate Your SEO Marketing Budget
• There are different ways to allocate your SEO
  budget and get the work done. You may consider
  augmenting your existing marketing team to fill
  any gaps in expertise, hiring an outside agency
  that happens to be an expert, or you may try the
  DIY route. Generally speaking, these are the
  various ways to allocate your SEO marketing
  dollars
• Hiring an in-house SEO team of 4 to 8 people
• Your SEO team should consist of
• SEO Strategist/Manager
• SEO Writer with relevant industry experience
• Content Editor
• Web Developer and Designer
• SEO/Marketing Analytics Expert

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• Marketing Project Manager
• Hiring a team of SEO freelancers with a budget of
  70 to 190 per hour, per person
• Hiring an in-house marketing manager or marketing
  project manager that can manage a team of SEO
  freelancers.
• Depending on experience, expect to budget
  anywhere from 50,000 to 125,000 per year for
  this person. You get what you pay for!
• Dont forget to add the cost of your freelancers
  to this. They will most likely charge a price
  per word or a flat monthly fee for a set amount
  of
• deliverables.
• Hiring a SEO agency at 90 to 250 per hour
  depending on the agencys bill rate
• Small consultancies and startups may easily feel
  overwhelmed by all of this and most will never
  have a starting SEO budget of 8500 per month.
  but the fact is that there is a way to start
  small and grow your SEO strength in an effective,
  strategic way.
• Many small to medium sized companies, including
  law firms and health practices, tend to hire
  marketing agencies because they are able to gain
  access to certified, experienced experts that
  would otherwise be out of reach. Most agencies
  will offer a full suite, white glove service
  that functions much like an outside marketing and
  technology department. Enterprises will almost
  always utilize their in-house teams for SEO
  however it is common for them to hire agencies
  for occasional marketing tests or simply to get
  some fresh ideas on the whiteboard.
• Across all budgets, the common key to success is
  a commitment to consistent, scheduled content
  production over an indefinite period of time.
• Why 100 Per Month Is NOT The Real Cost of Cheap
  SEO
• Affordable SEO does exist, however there is such
  a thing as cheap or bad SEO Bad SEO is
  exactly what it sounds like. Its wholly
  inadequate and far too many companies fall into
  this trap. A lot of this stems down to the fact
  that less than half of small businesses have a
  SEO budget of any kind. Of the businesses that do
  have
• a SEO budget, a survey indicates that 71 of
  small businesses budget for only 1 to
• 99 per month for their SEO. I mean you get what
  pay for. 99 is literally nothing and you will
  almost certainly measure some negative ROI from
  this.

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• Unfortunately, SEO spammers know that most
  business owners have no idea how SEO works.
• This is why they exploit businesses every day by
  sending spam email with promises that you can
  get on Page One of Google for only 99. Because
  most business owners assume that SEO is a basic
  commodity, similar to getting gas at the pump,
  many opt to invest in the cheapest option. After
  several months, they may realize that there is
  no strategy and/or no ROI and will opt to end
  the campaign to either find another vendor or do
  nothing at all.
• The way this often plays out is like this
• Company contacts 2 to 4 agencies for SEO quotes
• Some agencies respond with general, templates
  proposals, almost immediately. Others may ask
  some basic business questions.
• Company considers several proposals. Often, these
  are reviewed by several stakeholders that really
  do not understand what SEO is.
• Company may reach out to the final 1-2 agencies
  with follow up questions.
• Company opts for the cheapest or second to
  cheapest SEO marketing proposal.
• Company cancels SEO arrangement after several
  months.
• Either immediately or several months later,
  Company may opt to work with a different SEO
  Agency or does not invest in any SEO.
• This scenario plays out daily. In the end, a lot
  of time has been wasted, a little money has been
  burned, and the business hasnt really achieved
  its goals. But worse can happen.
• Some of the collateral damage from cheap SEO may
  far outweigh any money that may have been
  (under) invested to begin with.
• There are a ton of LinkedIn and Facebook groups
  for digital marketers. In some of these forums,
  youll observe extremely elementary questions
  from people posing as experts. Some of these
  questions may be so basic as I just scored a
  SEO client and he wants to rank for keyword X
  so how do I do that?

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• There are also a ton of online resources that
  provide free or low cost SEO tools for rookies
  that want to pose as SEO experts. In most cases,
  rookie marketers will rely on their personality
  and salesmanship to score a client and then
  figure out the SEO part after the sale. This is
  something to fear as the effects of black hat SEO
  may be permanent in some cases and in others,
  they may be very difficult to bounce back from.
  Things to watch out for include
• Utilization of link schemes such a private blog
  networks (PBNs)
• Unnatural, purchased backlinks that may or may
  not be relevant to your industry
• Keyword stuffing and hidden text on your web
  pages.
• Zero requests for a content calendar and weekly
  recurring blog posts
• The single most damaging thing a SEO rookie may
  lead you toward is a Google penalty. The effects
  of a penalty from Google can be absolutely
  devastating and you should expect a huge loss of
  organic search visibility, clicks to your
  website, and revenue. There are ways to bounce
  back from this, but it takes a lot of investment
  to do so.
• DIY Stuff Start Your SEO Budget By Collecting
  Some Basic Information
• To truly understand where you need to go, it is
  important that you fully understand where you
  are today. There are a few ways to do this and
  the most simple is to ensure that your
  technology team has been instructed to check your
  website for some technical best practices. Once
  you have ensured that some foundational things
  have been fully accounted for, you also will
  want to glance at your competitors and see what
  things look like on their side of the fence. We
  have found that some of the most powerful SEO
  strategies start with a basic SWOT analysis.
• Compare Your Websites SEO Grade versus Your
  Competitors

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• Use comparative data to create your roadmap for
  success.
• This is something that your in-house digital
  marketer should be doing already Take 90
  seconds and get your Competitive SEO Report Card
  score to see where you stand. When doing so, be
  sure to enter the domain of your single biggest
  competitor, and enter a super common,
  non-branded word that a customer would search for
  when looking for the product/services you sell.
• Competitive SEO Report Card (scroll down to
  Begin Your Free SEO Analysis)
• Ensure That These 3 Fundamental Elements are In
  Place
• Does your site adequately address demands around
  Mobile Friendliness and Site Speed?
• As a best practice, your marketing team should be
  demanding a routine weekly or monthly audit of
  your websites mobile friendliness and site
  speed. Because a majority of web searches start
  with a mobile browser, Google wants to ensure a
  fantastic mobile experience in its search
  results. So know where you stand and ensure that
  your site is up to the mark by leveraging these
  two free tools.
• Googles Mobile-Friendly Test
• Run a GTmetrix site speed scan
• Make certain that your site is defaulting to
  HTTPS when opening pages.
• Google has adopted a strict position on
  information security. Whether or not a website
  leverages HTTP versus HTTPS is a Google ranking
  signal. This means that Google will view a
  domain that opens in HTTPS more favorably than
  one that opens in HTTP. To open your website
  securely you must have an active SSL certificate
  associated with your web host. To see whether or
  not your site has an active SSL certificate in
  place, simply open your website and see what the
  browser bar tells you. Do you see HTTP or HTTPS
  next to your web address?

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By leveraging HTTPS, you are telling your
visitors that you value their privacy and taking
a step to help prevent third parties from
eavesdropping on a conversation between your
website and your web visitor. This is especially
important for any web forms that may ask for
personal, financial, or other information. If you
choose not to have your website default to
loading secured HTTPS sessions, Chrome and other
browsers will go so far as to inform users that
your site may be compromised and unsafe to
access.

• So before any actual SEO work begins, consult
  with your technology team and ensure that you
  have your bases covered as things pertain to
  Speed, Mobile Friendliness, and Site Security.
• If you are starting from scratch and have never
  optimized your site for speed, security, and
  mobility, expect to pay anywhere from 300 to
  3000 for the first effort.
• Once you have covered those three essentials, you
  are almost ready to call in your SEO experts. Be
  sure to discuss maintenance of these items with
  your technology team and inquire about a monthly
  and annual budget for this routine work effort.
  Once you get past the first big optimization,
  your monthly maintenance budget should be fairly
  minuscule. If you have any questions about that,
  please feel free to contact us directly by
  clicking here Ask Us About Speed, Security, or
  Mobile Friendliness.
• Have a Clear Understanding of Your Business Goals
• Now that we have accounted for the basic
  technological leg work that goes into creating a
  solid SEO foundation, we can start building. But
  just what exactly are we needing to build? To
  answer this question, start by writing down what
  your business goals and objectives are.
• On paper, define what sort of ROI you expect and
  need from your SEO campaign. Is it leads, sales,
  retention?

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• Discuss your goals with other stakeholders and
  create a realistic, rigidly flexible SEO
  budget as a conversation starter.
• Put On Your Spy vs. Spy Hat
• In a nutshell, it is time to compare your website
  against your industrys top ranking sites. This
  helps you understand what tactics your biggest
  competitors are employing. In many ways, it
  should be your goal to match, and then one up
  whatever it is they are doing. To put this as
  simply as possible, do the following
• Compare your blog versus theirs how regularly
  do they publish new content?
• Does their content add value?
• What is the approximate word count of their
  average post?
• Does your competitor seem to leverage press
  releases?
• Are there any special sections on their site like
  FAQs or location specific landing pages?
• Does their site have a landing page that is
  uniquely tailored to each product/service line?
• Take note of your findings and be prepared to
  discuss all of this information with your
  internal stakeholders. Also, be ready to share
  this with your agency partner and know that the
  more candid you are, the more able your SEO
  expert will be to devise a competition crushing
  strategy.
• Sum It All Up And Share Your New SEO Budget
• By now, you know that you need to allocate some
  of your marketing budget to the following,
  tangible deliverables

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• Expect to pay your in-house team or agency
  partner anywhere from 1500 to
• 2500 per month for really good, US based SEO
  optimization. This should include the cost of
  monthly analytics and reporting, keyword
  targeting, strategy, and updates
• to your meta-titles, tags, and descriptions.
  Also, know that this alone is not enough to help
  you grow and dominate your market.
• The next big variable, and often the most costly,
  is the key ingredient that actually helps you
  retain your favorable position and rank for new,
  relevant keywords
• Weekly, recurring SEO Content production
  performed by your digital marketing team
• To determine what your content needs are, this is
  where you refer back to your marketing
  intelligence. If your competitor is posting a new
  blog every day at 500 words each, at a bare
  minimum you should be doing that as well. It is
  best to curate a writer that is a subject matter
  expert on your topic or at least familiar with
  your industry.
• To help you do the math on this one, assume that
  your content will cost anywhere from 0.15 to
  1.50 per word. The range is fairly expansive
  because some writers are much more valuable than
  others. There are a lot of people that will claim
  to be content writers but there is a huge
  difference in style, expertise, and process.
  Super cheap writing tends to be spun content and
  it is not suitable for 99 of business websites.
  If your subject matter requires unique expertise,
  it is possible to pay as much as 1 to 2 per
  word.
• If its super specialized content that youre
  after, well yes, you guessed it that price per
  word just keeps going up. Remember, you get what
  you pay for!
• Know that the perfect SEO strategy may or may not
  conform to your early budget expectations but
  even a small SEO scope can prove to be valuable
  so start with Local SEO and the basics of
  on-page SEO services! If in fact your site
  requires a lot more investment than anticipated,
  discuss what can be done to stretch every
  investment dollar and whether or not some tactics
  may be phased into your SEO campaign over time.
• As a Leader, Educate Yourself and Make an
  Informed Decision
• Combined with our own data, this information has
  been aggregated by surveying top SEO agencies
  and world renowned SEO authorities. If youre
  looking to firmly control your market and
  aggressively grow your market share, a content
  driven,

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expertly crafted SEO strategy may be for you. As
long as you understand that this is not about
making a quick buck, with some patience and equal
commitment to a full campaign, SEO can be one of
your most reliable performers when it comes to
lead generation. Additionally, the best SEO
tends to positively impact your other marketing
channels so dont take this budget decision
lightly. For example, if you are running a Google
Ads campaign, it will lower your cost per click
by improving your Google relevancy score. This
means that for the same PPC budget, you end up
winning more clicks and impressions. Also,
effective SEO allows you to build a valuable
content library that will establish your brand
as a thought leader. This content helps your
customers make purchase decisions and it gives
your sales team a more valuable reason for
reaching out to sales prospects. No one likes
the check-in or follow-up email so lead with
value and share a new blog with your
prospect. By now, hopefully you understand that
search engine optimization is a process of
improving the visibility and ranking of a website
on search engines. Proper SEO can help a website
attract more organic traffic, which can lead to
increased sales and brand awareness. While there
is no set cost for SEO services, most businesses
should expect to budget between 500 and 5,000
per month for SEO. The actual SEO cost will
depend on factors such as the size of the
business, the competitiveness of the industry,
and the desired results. Businesses that commit
to a long-term SEO strategy and invest in the
full suite of SEO services are more likely to see
a return on their investment. For this reason,
it is important to partner with an experienced
SEO company that can develop a custom SEO plan
for your business.