We would be lying if we didn’t tell you that this is a question we get on a daily basis. The misconception for too long is that everyone needs to be spending thousands of dollars to get results no matter what industry they’re in or what their current rankings are. The fact of the matter is that’s just not true. We have seen some clients spend a fraction of what others spend and get the same if not better results. When asking yourself, “How much should I pay for SEO,” you need to ask three questions first. They are, what are my SEO goals, what is my competition spending, and what are my current rankings?
What Are Your SEO Goals
Most people might say, this one easy, I want to be #1 for my top keywords. A better route to go would be to break down your goals for your website into a few different buckets.
- Keywords – What keywords do you want to rank for? Also, do you want to rank for informative keywords or converting keywords?
- Traffic – Is the whole idea for you to get more visibility overall or do you want traffic that is only meant to convert.
- Rankings – In most all cases, rankings bring more traffic but is it possible to rank #1 Or should you have your sights set somewhere on the first page? For instance, if you’re selling cars, it may not be realistic for you to outrank Autotrader or Carvana.
Who Is Your Competition
This brings us to the next topic of conversation. How competitive your market almost directly correlates with what you should be spending. This is why we always tell our clients to get as specific as possible with their keywords. For instance, a mortgage broker may want to rank for “Home Loans” but that is a super competitive keyword that they may never be able to catch or keep up with the competition. Instead, a better keyword may be “Mortgage Broker Denver.” It may have less search volume but it also may be less competitive while being more relevant.
Current Rankings
When thinking about, “how much I should I pay for SEO,” your current rankings need to be discussed. Are you starting on page 8 or are you on page 2? It’s always easier to move from page 2 to page 1 then page 8 to page 1. This will directly affect how much you should spend.
How Much Should You Be Spending on Your SEO
So, how much should you be spending on SEO? Despite popular belief, there is no secret formula to what ranks someone on the first page. It’s really just a numbers game.
- Links – How many links do you have in comparison to your competitors? If you have equal to or more links than your competition, it’s a good possibility that you rank similar. Once you have the same, it comes to quality.
- Content – A study done showed that first page results averaged almost 1,500 words. Do you have someone putting together that content for you or will you be? Make sure the content is relevant and optimized.
If you would like to see how much you should be spending on SEO, talk to one of our experts!
