Deciding on how much to budget for SEO is a difficult question for any CEO, marketing manager, or business owner to navigate. There is no simple answer, and how much SEO costs will depend on your unique situation and goals. But we are here to get you started on the right foot!
Based on a simple Q & A format, this post is intended to serve as a helpful starting place for discovering how much might be reasonable to invest in SEO for your individual situation. Feel free to use it as an internal exercise for yourself, your team, or spruce it up with some visuals and present to your boss or coworkers for and impressive resource showcasing your digital marketing knowledge!
How much do we budget for SEO?
Are potential customers using search engines to find the types of products/services we offer?
With over 3.5 billion searches per day in Google alone, there are very few verticals that aren’t influenced by search in some way. Try a search for some of the products and services you offer; you might be surprised by the exposure you’re missing out on.
Are customers using search engines to find us?
If you have an established brand, customers will be entering your name in search engines to find you. If you need some real world proof, enter your brand name into a free tool like searchvolume.io to see how many times it is being searched monthly.
Are we spending money on any other non-digital marketing initiatives?
Websites are a necessary component to any marketing or branding campaign, digital or not. Whether it is TV, radio, print, etc., you are losing out on potential customers if you are promoting your business without an easy way for people to find and contact you through search engines.
Are people trying to engage with our brand online?
A simple Google search for your brand name will give you an idea of what people are finding when they look for you in search engines. It will also show any other online platforms where people are talking about your brand like Yelp, Facebook, Google maps, etc. Good SEO will ensure you are making the most of this search demand and conveying a positive image online.
Curious about your online reputation?
Do we have a conversion-oriented website?
A website is your primary means of being featured in search engines. The type and complexity will depend upon you and your business goals, but having a site that strategically guides users towards converting (CRO) is imperative.
How old is our website? Has it been regularly maintained?
Protocols and standards change extremely quickly in the digital world (WordPress pushes updates as often as once per week!). If you have a website but it has not been redesigned in several years or hasn’t been maintained on a regular basis, you’ll likely have some catching up to do.
What is our competition doing?
Search engine rankings are a race to the top, so in order to win you just need to be better than the guy in second! Check out what your business’ competition is doing to get a better grasp on how much you should be investing yourself.
Can we learn SEO and do it on our own?
Being proficient in SEO requires a diverse skill set that includes everything from rhetoric and writing to technical coding languages like HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, all of which take significant amounts of time to learn. While managing SEO is absolutely a job for someone with experience, you can do a few simple things to set yourself set up for SEO success:
- Set up Google My Business
- Set up Bing Places for Business
- Set up Google Analytics
- Verify your site in Google Search Console
- Learn how to set and track SEO KPIs
If you are having trouble justifying an investment in SEO, the data you collect from the above should make it more obvious as to how much potential revenue/sales/leads you are missing out on.
Ready to take the next step?
