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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is widely used by companies looking to improve their website’s visibility on search engines such as Yahoo, Bing, and Google. To make informed decisions about your SEO budget, you need to track key performance indicators (KPIs). Some examples of SEO KPIs are organic traffic, keyword rankings, bounce rate, conversion rate, and click-through rate (CTR). These provide insight into how your strategy is performing and where any adjustments are needed. Setting a realistic SEO budget requires a strategic approach and properly aligning your budget with your company goals to maximize return on investment (ROI).

Why Use SEO

Different from paid advertising or pay-per-click (PPC), which are designed to generate short-term results, search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term strategy that requires ongoing analysis; such as maintaining ranking and achieving traffic growth. The amount of your digital marketing budget that should be invested in SEO varies from company to company. For example, company size, business objectives, and industry competition all affect how much a company will invest in its SEO. A small business may spend hundreds or thousands of dollars per month on SEO while larger companies with more thorough and rigorous SEO strategies may invest tens of thousands of dollars a month.

Calculating SEO Budgets

There are several methods that businesses can use to determine how much money they should invest in SEO. If competitors receive significantly more organic traffic, that may indicate that you need to invest a greater amount towards your SEO in order to close the gap. When creating a budget, ongoing keyword research and optimization should be considered as well as tracking how many visitors are being converted into customers. Technical SEO improvements are also worth consideration because the speed at which your website operates can determine user experience, which can diminish traffic growth if it does not meet expectations.

Assess Your Current SEO Performance

Before making any changes to your budget, analyze how you are currently performing. The pages that are generating the most traffic should be focused on to further maximize conversions. Instead of spreading your budget too thin, focus on the areas that bring the most return. If your current digital marketing efforts are not resulting in the ROI that you expected, reevaluate the allocation of your budget. For example, you could be running paid ads that drive traffic to your website, but very few visitors are converted into customers. If this is the case, you may find more success long-term if you readjust your paid media budget and relocate into SEO.

Work With Digital Marketing Professionals to Help Determine Your SEO Budget

Instead of viewing SEO as a large expense, it can be looked at as an investment that will generate more qualified leads and boost overall ROI for your business. By strategically reallocating your budget, you can focus on the highest impacting efforts without feeling like you are making sacrifices in other areas. Reach out to BluShark Digital for personalized guidance.