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

1. SEO Cost How Businesses Budget for SEO Services Creating a Budget For SEO • SEOMarketingInsightsfrom AgencyPartner • Onethingwehearallthetimeis:Howmuch doesSEOcost?HowmuchshouldI budgetforSEOMarketingServices? • Asdigitalmarketers,we hearthatquestion andourbrains startto thinkaboutSEO strategyand everythingthatgoesintogettingmoreorganic searchesforbusiness owners.Immediately,ourSEOspecialistsconsidereverythingfrompotentialwebsite performanceneeds,competitorresearch,on-pageSEOoptimization,link-building strategies, localSEO, andmore asitrelatestoyourgoals. • Oh, andlet’snotleave outconsiderationsforthe factthatthere are differentSEO pricingmodels, dependingonwhetheryou arelookingfora one-timeoptimizationor ifyou’retrulylookingtoplaythelonggameanddominateyourindustry.Depending onwhatyouneed,youwilllikelyconsiderfixedpricingversusmonthlyretainers that supporttechnicalSEO efforts, thecostofcontentmarketingthathelpsyou rankon Page1 fornew keywords,androutineanalyticsmeetingswithyourSEOconsultant. • Thoseare justa fewthingswethinkabout. Otherquestionsmayinclude: • Howlonghasyourweb domainbeenaround?Whatabout otherwebsitesthatcompete forthesamekeywords? • How muchorganictrafficarewecurrentlyseeinginGoogleAnalyticsandwhatarethe referralsources? • Isthesiterankingjustforbrandedkeywords,oraremorecompetitivekeywordsresulting inimpressionsandclicks? • WhatdoestheGoogleSearch Consolesayofimpressionsandclickstoyourwebsiteover time?Is growthstagnant? • Isyourwebsitecurrentlyholdingafirstpagerankforanyrelevantsearchterms either locallyornationally? • How healthy isyourbacklinkprofilerelativetothetoprankedsites?

2. Arewecompetingwith bigbrands,localbusinesses,orpersonalities? • Howoftendoyourbiggestcompetitorspublishblogs,newsarticles,and/ornewweb pages? • Canthebusiness supportaSEOcampaignrightnow?…ordoimmediateneeds require • thatthisbudgetbeallocatedtowardamoreimmediate,albeitlesspermanentmarketing tactic? • In Google Analytics, what does the website’s bounce rate look like relative tokeywords resultingin clickstothesite? • While thesequestionsarefairlycommon,theanswersto themwillvarysignificantly fromonebusinesswebsite toanother.Competitivenessandyourdesire to dominate willfactorintowhatyourmonthlySEO budgetshouldlooklike.Togeneralize, most SEOexpertswillchargea monthlyrecurring investmentof$2,000 to $10,000+ permonth. Yes, that’sa bigrange! HowMuchDoes SEOCost?LearnfromTexas’ top SEO marketingagency. AnationalorinternationalSEObudgetinacompetitiveonlinemarketshouldnever be lessthan$5000 permonth.ForSEOthatseekstoattractlocalbuyersina notso competitivemarket,itispossible tokick-offalocalSEOcampaignin the$500 to $2500range.Again,depending oncompetitiveness,yourbudgetwillvary significantly. To learnmore aboutwhere thatmoneygoes,some thingstowatch outforwhen selectingaSEOpartner, andwhenyoucan expectsomeROIfromSEO,keepon reading! What toExpectFromAnAppropriateSEOBudget Notably,thevalue fromsearchengineoptimizationcompoundsovertime…So unlikePPConGoogleAds, SEOisnot howyou make aquick buck.SEOishow youbuildwealth through a businesswebsite.

3. SEOisalsokind oflike caringfora plant. Itrequiresconsistentattentionovertime andwhenyou stop,yourSEOvalue slowlybegins to diminishrelative to other competingsitesontheweb. ThisisbecauseGoogle’ssearchalgorithmchanges constantly.So asyou consideryourSEO budget, bemindfulofthe factthatan adequateSEOeffortissomethingthatshouldbeamonthlyrecurringundertakingfor the life ofyourbusinessorwebsite. SEO,whencontentdriven,ensuresthatwheneversomeoneissearchingforanswersto anyquestionthatisrelevanttoyourbusiness,yourbrandisfrontand centerevery time.BusinessesloveSEO because ofhowthe economicsofitplayoutrelative to othersalesandmarketingactivities.Ifyouconsideraninvestmentover12months, noticehowthemonthlyexpensestaysmostlyflatinthegraphbelow.Alsotakenote ofwhatthe additionalrevenuelineis doing…strongrevenuegrowth. • In thisexample,we arelookingata Texasbased,B2Bmedicalsuppliescompanywith a monthlySEO budgetof$8,500.Atthe 7thmonthofthiscampaign, things started to getexcitingbecause thiscompany’swebsitebeganto rankon Page 1ofGoogle for someitsmostcommerciallyvaluablekeywords.Atthecloseoftheyearandfollowing a 12monthSEOinvestmentof$102,000,this familybusinesscounted justunder$1 millionin additionalrevenueanda massiveROI.Thebreak-downisasfollows: • TotalSEOBudget:$102,000 • TotalNewRevenue:$992,742 • 12 month SEOROI:$890,742 • Unlikethis company’sSEOcampaign,ifyoulookattheirGoogleAdsmarketing performance, newrevenueispositivelycorrelatedto theirmonthlyadbudget.Soas logicwouldhaveit,more budgetequatesto morerevenue justaslessbudgetequates to lesssales. In thiscase, the clientwascompetingin amarketwith afairlyexpensive

4. costperclickandPPCwasnevertheirmostdesired sourceofnewbusiness.PPC helpedthemservesomeimmediateneedswhile theyworked toestablishtheirSEO game. • To reiterate,thisisa bigreasonthatbusinessownerslove the economicsofan expertlycraftedSEO campaignversusothermarketingchannels.SEOispartofa long-term,industry-dominatingdigitalmarketingstrategy.AbasicSEO campaign typicallytakesanywhere from8 to 16monthsbeforeamostlystatic,consistent monthlyinvestmentbeginstogenerateanoticeableROI.Forsomeindustriesand markets, likeSEO forfamily law, return on investmentmayfeelexponentialonce youraveragepagerankstartsto hold searchenginepositions1through3. • WaystoAllocate Your SEOMarketingBudget • Thereare differentwaysto allocateyourSEObudgetandgettheworkdone. You mayconsideraugmentingyourexistingmarketingteam to fillanygapsin expertise, hiringanoutsideagencythathappensto bean expert,oryoumaytrytheDIY route. Generallyspeaking,these arethe variousways to allocateyourSEOmarketing dollars: • Hiringanin-house SEOteamof4to8people • YourSEOteamshouldconsistof: • SEOStrategist/Manager • SEOWriterwithrelevantindustryexperience • ContentEditor • WebDeveloperand Designer • SEO/MarketingAnalyticsExpert

5. MarketingProjectManager • HiringateamofSEO freelancerswithabudgetof$70to$190perhour, perperson • Hiringanin-housemarketingmanagerormarketingprojectmanagerthatcanmanagea teamofSEOfreelancers. • Dependingonexperience,expecttobudgetanywherefrom$50,000to$125,000 peryearforthisperson.Yougetwhatyoupayfor! • Don’tforgettoaddthecostofyourfreelancerstothis.Theywillmost likelychargeapriceperwordoraflatmonthlyfeeforasetamount of • deliverables. • HiringaSEOagencyat$90to$250perhour dependingontheagency’sbill 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 isawaytostartsmallandgrowyourSEOstrengthin aneffective, strategicway. • Manysmall tomedium sizedcompanies,includinglawfirmsandhealthpractices, tend to hire marketing agencies because they are able to gain access to certified, experienced expertsthatwouldotherwisebeoutofreach.Mostagencieswilloffera fullsuite,whitegloveservicethatfunctionsmuchlikeanoutsidemarketingand technologydepartment.Enterpriseswill almostalwaysutilizetheirin-houseteamsfor SEOhoweveritiscommonforthemto hireagenciesforoccasionalmarketingtestsor simplytogetsome fresh ideason thewhiteboard. • Acrossallbudgets, thecommonkey to successisacommitmentto consistent, scheduled contentproduction overanindefinite period oftime. • Why$100 Per Month IsNOT The RealCostofCheap SEO • AffordableSEOdoesexist, howeverthereissuch athingas“cheap” orbadSEO… BadSEOisexactlywhatitsoundslike.It’s whollyinadequate andfartoomany companiesfallintothistrap.Alotofthisstems down to the factthatlessthanhalfof smallbusinesseshave aSEObudgetofanykind.Ofthebusinessesthatdohave • aSEO budget, asurveyindicatesthat71%ofsmallbusinessesbudgetforonly$1 to • $99 permonth fortheirSEO.Imean…yougetwhatpay for. $99isliterallynothing and youwillalmostcertainlymeasure somenegative ROIfromthis. • Mostoften,thisisdueto alackofeducationwhereinbusinessownersare sold bythe agency withthecheapestproposalratherthanthe onewiththehighestvalue. This happensALLthe time. Don’tbe asucker.

6. Unfortunately,SEO spammersknowthatmostbusinessownershave noideahow SEOworks. • Thisiswhytheyexploitbusinesseseverydaybysending spamemailwithpromises thatyou cangeton PageOne ofGoogle foronly$99.Becausemostbusinessowners assume thatSEOisa basic commodity,similarto getting gasatthe pump,many opt to investinthecheapestoption.Afterseveralmonths, theymayrealizethat thereis “no strategy” and/orno ROIandwillopttoend the campaign to eitherfind another vendorordonothingatall. • The waythis often playsoutislikethis: • Companycontacts 2to4agenciesforSEOquotes • Someagenciesrespondwithgeneral,templatesproposals,almostimmediately.Others mayasksomebasicbusinessquestions. • Companyconsidersseveralproposals.Often,thesearereviewedby severalstakeholders thatreallydonotunderstandwhatSEOis. • Companymayreachouttothefinal1-2 agencies withfollowupquestions. • Companyoptsfor thecheapestorsecondtocheapestSEOmarketingproposal. • CompanycancelsSEOarrangementafterseveralmonths. • Eitherimmediatelyorseveralmonthslater,Companymayopttoworkwitha differentSEOAgencyordoes notinvestin anySEO. • Thisscenarioplaysoutdaily. Intheend,a lotoftimehasbeenwasted,alittlemoney hasbeenburned,andthe businesshasn’treallyachieveditsgoals.Butworsecan happen…. • SomeofthecollateraldamagefromcheapSEOmayfaroutweigh anymoneythat mayhave been (under)invested tobeginwith. • There are atonofLinkedInandFacebookgroupsfordigitalmarketers. Insomeof theseforums,you’llobserveextremelyelementaryquestionsfrompeopleposingas experts.Someofthesequestionsmaybesobasicas:“IjustscoredaSEO clientand hewants to rankfor‘keyword X’so howdoIdo that?”

7. Thereare also a ton ofonlineresources thatprovide free orlowcostSEOtoolsfor rookiesthatwantto poseasSEO experts. Inmostcases,rookiemarketerswill relyon theirpersonalityandsalesmanship to “scoreaclient”andthen figure outtheSEOpart afterthe sale. This issomethingtofearasthe effects ofblackhatSEOmaybe permanentinsomecasesandinothers,theymaybeverydifficultto bounceback from.Things towatch outforinclude: • Utilizationoflinkschemes suchaprivateblognetworks(PBNs) • Unnatural,purchasedbacklinksthatmayormaynotberelevanttoyourindustry • Keywordstuffingandhiddentext on yourwebpages. • Zerorequestsforacontentcalendarandweeklyrecurringblogposts • ThesinglemostdamagingthingaSEO rookie may leadyou towardisaGoogle penalty. TheeffectsofapenaltyfromGooglecanbeabsolutelydevastatingandyou should expectahugelossoforganicsearchvisibility,clicks toyourwebsite,and revenue. There arewaysto bouncebackfromthis, butittakesalotofinvestmentto doso. • DIYStuff:StartYour SEOBudgetByCollectingSomeBasic Information • To trulyunderstandwhereyouneed togo,itisimportantthatyou fully understand whereyou are today. Thereare afew waysto dothisand themostsimpleisto ensure thatyourtechnology teamhasbeeninstructed to checkyourwebsite forsome technicalbestpractices.Onceyouhave ensured thatsome foundationalthingshave been fullyaccounted for, youalsowillwantto glance atyourcompetitorsandsee whatthingslooklikeon theirsideofthe fence.Wehave found thatsomeofthemost powerfulSEOstrategiesstartwith a basicSWOTanalysis. • CompareYourWebsite’sSEOGradeversusYourCompetitor’s

8. Use comparativedatatocreateyourroadmapforsuccess. • Thisissomethingthatyourin-house digitalmarketershouldbedoingalready: Take 90 secondsandgetyourCompetitiveSEOReportCardscore to seewhereyoustand. Whendoing so,besure to enterthedomainof yoursinglebiggestcompetitor,and enterasupercommon, non-brandedwordthat acustomerwouldsearch forwhen lookingforthe product/servicesyousell. • CompetitiveSEOReportCard(scrolldownto“BeginYourFreeSEOAnalysis”) • EnsureThatThese3 FundamentalElementsareIn Place • Doesyoursiteadequatelyaddressdemandsaround MobileFriendlinessandSite Speed? • Asabestpractice,yourmarketingteamshouldbe demandingaroutineweeklyor monthly auditofyourwebsite’smobilefriendlinessandsitespeed. Because a majorityofweb searchesstartwith amobilebrowser, Googlewantsto ensurea fantasticmobileexperienceinitssearchresults.Soknowwhereyoustandandensure thatyoursite isupto the markby leveraging these twofree tools. • Google’sMobile-FriendlyTest • RunaGTmetrixsite speed scan • Makecertain thatyour siteis defaultingtoHTTPSwhen openingpages. • Google hasadoptedastrictpositiononinformationsecurity.Whetherornotawebsite leveragesHTTPversusHTTPSisaGoogle rankingsignal.ThismeansthatGoogle willviewadomainthatopensinHTTPSmorefavorablythanonethatopensin HTTP.To openyourwebsite securelyyoumusthave an activeSSL certificate associatedwithyourweb host. To seewhetherornotyoursitehasan activeSSL certificate inplace, simply openyourwebsiteandseewhatthebrowserbartellsyou. Doyou seeHTTPorHTTPS nextto yourweb address?

9. Byleveraging HTTPS, youare telling yourvisitorsthatyouvalue theirprivacyand taking a stepto help preventthird partiesfromeavesdroppingon aconversation betweenyourwebsite andyourwebvisitor.Thisisespecially importantforanyweb formsthatmayaskforpersonal,financial,orotherinformation.Ifyou choose notto haveyourwebsite defaultto loadingsecuredHTTPSsessions, Chromeand other browserswillgo sofarasto informusers that yoursitemaybe compromised and unsafeto 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 SiteSecurity. • If you are starting from scratch and have never optimized your site for speed, security, and mobility,expectto pay anywherefrom$300 to $3000forthefirsteffort. • Onceyouhavecoveredthosethreeessentials,youarealmostreadytocallinyour SEOexperts.Besuretodiscussmaintenanceoftheseitemswithyourtechnology teamandinquire aboutamonthly and annualbudgetforthisroutineworkeffort. Once yougetpastthefirstbigoptimization,yourmonthlymaintenancebudgetshouldbe fairly minuscule. Ifyou haveany questionsabout that,please feelfree to contactus directlybyclickinghere:AskUsAboutSpeed,Security,orMobileFriendliness. • Have a ClearUnderstanding ofYour BusinessGoals • Nowthatwehaveaccounted forthebasictechnologicalleg workthatgoesinto creatinga solidSEO foundation,wecan startbuilding.Butjustwhatexactlyarewe needingto build?Toanswerthisquestion,startby writingdownwhatyourbusiness goals and objectivesare. • Onpaper,definewhatsort ofROIyouexpectandneedfromyourSEOcampaign.Is it leads,sales,retention?

10. Discussyourgoalswithotherstakeholdersandcreatearealistic,“rigidlyflexible”SEO budgetas aconversationstarter. • PutOn Your “Spyvs. Spy” Hat • In anutshell,itistime to compareyourwebsiteagainstyourindustry’stop ranking sites.Thishelpsyou understandwhattacticsyourbiggestcompetitorsare employing. In manyways, itshouldbeyourgoaltomatch,andthen oneupwhateveritistheyare doing.To putthisassimplyaspossible,do the following: • Compareyourblogversustheir’s—howregularlydotheypublishnewcontent? • Doestheircontentaddvalue? • Whatistheapproximatewordcount oftheiraveragepost? • Does yourcompetitorseemtoleveragepressreleases? • Arethereanyspecialsectionson theirsitelikeFAQsorlocation specificlandingpages? • Doestheirsitehavealandingpagethatisuniquelytailoredtoeachproduct/serviceline? • Take noteofyourfindingsandbepreparedtodiscussallofthisinformationwithyour internalstakeholders.Also,be ready to share thiswithyouragencypartnerandknow thatthe morecandidyouare, themore ableyourSEO expertwillbe todevisea competitioncrushingstrategy. • SumItAllUpAndShareYourNewSEOBudget • Bynow,youknowthatyouneed to allocatesomeofyourmarketingbudgetto the following,tangible deliverables: • Site SpeedOptimizationperformedbyyourwebteam • MobileFriendliness updateperformedbyyourwebteam • SSL certificateperformedbyyourwebteam • Atarange of$300 to $3000forthisfirstoverhaul, these are fairlyinexpensive optimizations.Onceyou’repastthefirstoptimization,youshouldmakeaplan to revisitthese itemsatleastonceamonth. • With the foundationaltech needsaccounted for,you alsoknowthatyouneed to allocate partofyourmonthly SEObudgettoward: • On-pageoptimizationperformedbyyourdigitalmarketingteam • Off-pageoptimizationperformedbyyourdigitalmarketingteam

11. Expecttopayyour in-houseteamor agencypartner anywherefrom$1500 to • $2500per monthforreallygood, US basedSEO optimization.Thisshouldinclude thecostofmonthlyanalyticsandreporting,keywordtargeting,strategy,and updates • toyourmeta-titles, tags, anddescriptions.Also, knowthatthisalone isnotenough to helpyougrowand dominateyourmarket. • The nextbigvariable,and often the mostcostly,isthekeyingredientthatactually helpsyouretainyourfavorablepositionandrankfornew,relevantkeywords: • Weekly,recurringSEOContentproductionperformedbyyourdigitalmarketingteam • To determinewhatyourcontentneeds are, thisiswhereyoureferbacktoyour marketing intelligence.Ifyourcompetitorispostinga newblog everydayat500 wordseach, atabareminimumyoushouldbedoingthataswell. Itisbestto curate a writerthatisasubjectmatterexperton yourtopic oratleastfamiliarwith your industry. • Tohelpyoudo themathonthisone,assumethatyourcontentwillcostanywhere from$0.15to$1.50perword.Therangeisfairlyexpansivebecausesomewriters aremuchmore valuablethan others.There are alotofpeoplethatwillclaimto be contentwritersbutthere isahugedifference in style,expertise,andprocess.Super cheapwritingtendsto bespun contentand itisnotsuitable for99%ofbusiness websites. Ifyoursubjectmatterrequiresuniqueexpertise,itispossible to payasmuch as$1 to $2 perword. • Ifit’ssuperspecializedcontentthatyou’reafter,well…yes,youguessedit:thatprice perword justkeepsgoing up. Remember, you getwhatyou payfor! • KnowthattheperfectSEOstrategymayormaynotconformtoyourearlybudget expectationsbuteven asmallSEOscopecanprove to bevaluable…so startwith LocalSEOand the basicsofon-pageSEOservices!Ifinfactyoursite requiresa lot more investmentthananticipated, discusswhatcanbe done to stretch every investmentdollarandwhetherornotsometacticsmaybephasedintoyourSEO campaignovertime. • AsaLeader,EducateYourselfand Make an Informed Decision • Combinedwithourowndata,thisinformationhasbeenaggregated bysurveyingtop SEOagenciesandworldrenownedSEOauthorities.Ifyou’relookingto firmly controlyourmarketandaggressivelygrowyourmarketshare,acontentdriven,

12. expertlycraftedSEO strategy maybe foryou.As longasyouunderstand thatthisis notaboutmakinga quickbuck,withsome patience andequalcommitmentto a full campaign,SEO canbeone ofyourmostreliableperformerswhenitcomesto lead generation. Additionally,thebestSEOtendsto positivelyimpactyourothermarketingchannels so don’ttakethisbudgetdecisionlightly.Forexample,ifyouare runningaGoogle Adscampaign,itwillloweryourcostperclickby improvingyourGoogle relevancy score.Thismeansthatforthe same PPCbudget,youendupwinningmoreclicksand impressions. Also, effectiveSEOallowsyou to buildavaluablecontentlibrarythatwill establish yourbrandasathoughtleader.Thiscontenthelpsyourcustomersmakepurchase decisions and itgivesyoursalesteamamorevaluablereasonforreachingouttosales prospects.Noonelikesthe“check-in”or“follow-up”emailsoleadwithvalueand shareanewblogwithyourprospect. Bynow,hopefullyyouunderstand thatsearchengineoptimizationisaprocess of improvingthevisibilityand rankingofawebsiteonsearchengines.ProperSEO can help awebsite attractmoreorganic traffic,whichcanlead to increasedsales and brandawareness.Whilethere isnosetcostforSEOservices, mostbusinessesshould expecttobudgetbetween $500 and $5,000permonth forSEO.TheactualSEO costwilldepend on factorssuchasthesize ofthebusiness,thecompetitivenessofthe industry,andthedesiredresults.Businessesthatcommitto a long-termSEOstrategy and investinthe fullsuiteofSEOservices aremorelikelyto seea return on their investment.Forthisreason,itisimportantto partnerwith anexperiencedSEO companythatcandevelop a customSEOplanforyourbusiness.