How Much Does SEO Cost For Small Businesses?

Most small business leaders know they need to be doing more SEO. The problem is, the majority of small business owners are extremely busy people.

SEO is something every business owner is aware of; but it can often be neglected in super busy small businesses. Many business owners are time poor and can find it hard to devote the hours and resources needed to research proper SEO practices.

However, you shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking SEO is just for big (or even mid-sized) businesses. In fact, a smaller run business can actually benefit the most from SEO – you may be surprised at the amount of growth a well-executed strategy can bring you.

The less employees a small business has, the more business owners find themselves taking on additional tasks. Small business owners sometimes avoid delegating to negate costs, although this is one of the factors that could be stopping potential growth in the first place.

Implementing (or improving) your SEO doesn’t have to mean more hours of your personal life spent at the computer. Professional SEO services will get the job done right, achieving the results you need within your desired budget.

What’s A Typical SEO Cost For A Small Business?

The cost for SEO services will differ per business needs, however the following factors will affect the overall price:

·  The experience level of your chosen agency

·  What you want to achieve with your SEO campaign

·  The timeframe you want to achieve your SEO goals

·  What resources will be required (tools, software, etc)

With an experienced agency that has a portfolio of winning results, a typical pricing will be around $700 – $2000 a month, depending on your unique requirements. The important thing to remember is that SEO is a long-term investment. It requires regular maintenance, but is also something that once implemented, can only be expected to grow in success over time.

Avoid ‘Low Cost’ SEO

Low cost, budget SEO therefore won’t bring you the kind of results you are after. It’s much more efficient to invest in a long-term SEO strategy with an experienced agency that knows exactly how to benefit small businesses like yours.

Low cost SEO strategists often use quick fix SEO methods that ‘cheat’ search engines – however, search bots can now recognize these methods, and will actually penalize your website for using them.

How Will An Agency Evaluate My SEO Needs?

Before determining your pricing, an SEO agency will consider:

·  How well your website is designed

Is it engaging, eye catching and easy to use? Can potential customers find what they are looking for when they come to your website?

·  How your competition is performing

How competitive is your market? What SEO strategies is your competition using? And who are your biggest competitors?

·  Your current SEO

What is your current SEO ranking? What strategies, if any, are you already using, and how are they performing?

·  Webpage numbers, as well as the scope/size of your offerings (products and/or services)

An SEO agency will first have to see the scope of your business – how many webpages they will have to optimize, how many products or services you sell. They will also look at the areas you need to target (are you locally run, national or international?).

·  Identify best potential growth areas

As well as strengthening your current offerings, SEO specialists will also identify areas for growth. Are you looking to expand with more products or services? Make the transition from local to national, national to international?

This is all about looking at where your best potential for growth lies, communicating with you how you could best achieve it, and how your SEO strategy will help build this growth.

·  Link building

What outside sources are already sending you website traffic, and how can these be strengthened? How can you best grow these and create more external links?

Link building is an important step, as these send you potential customers and are rewarded by search engines with higher rankings.

Why Is SEO So Important For Small Businesses?

Small businesses come with their own set of requirements, and no small business is the same. However, optimizing a small business website can be very effective, as there is always a huge potential for growth. A professional SEO strategy will first strengthen small businesses, helping them to:

·  Target people looking for local results

Nearly 50% of internet searches are people looking for local info. If you’re a small business, chances are you’re primarily locally run. If that’s the case, SEO will help the customers you’re trying to reach find you first.

·  Increase local awareness of your business

The same statistics have shown that 97% of customers find out about a small, locally run business online before anywhere else.

Potential customers look for the products / services you are selling online before deciding to purchase. Therefore, it’s essential you optimize your website so that you come up for the correct search terms people are using.

·  Optimise the ‘Near me’ search factor

‘Near me’ searches are growing massively, and are only likely to continue to grow. This shows that people are already using this term to find small local businesses in their area, and will continue to do so.

In order to get these customers into your business – and not your competitors – you need to optimize your website to reflect local search queries.

·  Become a first page search result

71% of browsers don’t venture past the 1st page of Google. If you’re not on the first page for a search term, you’re likely to be invisible to ¾ of your potential customers.

First page rankings are competitive, and nearly never accidental. With all the competition out there, you can bet that any business ranking on the first page has a solid SEO approach that has intentionally achieved that position. It takes research, planning, strategy and patience to get on the first page – just ask the experts.

How Will An SEO Agency Determine Cost For My Small Business?

Before setting up an ongoing SEO strategy, most agencies will begin with implementing an in-depth website and SEO audit, keyword research and planning, and setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

After the initial setup cost, an agency or specialist will determine a monthly cost for your small business SEO services. This will include the amount of keywords they plan to target, and could also include content writing services.

The use of regular and well written content will be an important factor in your SEO moving forward, as search engines need to see that you are keeping your website fresh and relevant with useful content your customers will find engaging. This will also be how you continue to target keywords over the long-term.

Ask To See Results

A professional SEO agency will want you to see how well your investment is coming along. You should expect regular reports of how your SEO is performing, and may be surprised at the results. We find small businesses are often amazed at how a tailored SEO strategy can grow their business exponentially over time.

One thing to keep in mind is that it can take time to see results from your SEO – organic website growth is not something that happens overnight. The best Search Engine Optimization will be a long-term, 6-12 month strategy.

If you’re a time-stressed small business owner, employing professional SEO services will help you achieve organic website and business growth, as well as allowing you to focus your time on running your business. KWD has been helping business owners like you improve their digital presence for the last 10 years, and we have the results to prove it. Get in touch to see some of the work we’re most proud of – we’d love to chat.