In today’s digital age, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become an activity associated with a successful business online strategy. For small businesses, however, the cost of SEO services can be a significant concern and is often dismissed, being seen as too expensive for little return on expenditure. This blog post will delve into the question that many business owners ask: “How much does SEO cost for a small business? And what return on my investment will I see“. We’ll also list some immediate actions to take.
What is SEO?
In essence, most businesses will say ‘I want to get to the top of google’ and the service provider will respond that you need to do SEO.
Search Engine Optimisation is carrying out work to get a website infront of someone’s eyes and for them to click on your website. Another words, getting people to your site outside of paid advertising and direct pr.
SEO Equals Website Best Practice
I would argue that the work needed to get seen online is infact following best practice. For example, there are many technical ways of getting a website online. Google (and all search engines) will send a ‘bot’ to investigate and understand your website. If the bot can not see pointers to understand your website, then it’s not going to rank you as well, or at all in some cases. Another example is that if people are only staying on your pages for a couple of seconds, then google downgrades you – but wouldn’t you want people to stay on your website anyway. Improving this is not only good for visitors but also for google – best practice.
In essence, if your website has not been technically put together well you may initially be looking at a website migration project in order to have a better platform to carry out the necessary work. But that’s expensive I hear you cry – I’d say get a quote, it’s often not as expensive as you think and the saving in time working on a good framework as opposed to on a bad one is huge.
SEO Work List
Most people think SEO is adding a bunch of content and making sure the search terms are in there. Slap it up on the website and away you go. There is alot of activity that sits under the SEO umbrella, some direct and some indirect.
SEO is a process that involves various tasks such as keyword research, content creation, link building, technical optimization. The cost of these services can vary widely depending on several factors.
- Firstly, the size and complexity of your website can significantly impact the cost. A larger site with more pages will require more extensive keyword research and content creation than a smaller one.
- Secondly, your industry and competition level also play a role in determining the cost. If you’re in a highly competitive industry, you may need to invest more in SEO to outrank your competitors.
- Finally, the experience and expertise of the SEO agency or professional you choose to work with can also affect the price. Experienced professionals often charge more for their services but are likely to deliver better results.
Affordable SEO Packages: What Do They Include?
Affordable SEO packages are designed to provide small businesses with comprehensive yet budget-friendly SEO solutions. While these packages vary from one provider to another, they typically include:
1. Keyword Research: This involves identifying relevant keywords that your target audience is likely to use when searching for products or services similar to yours.
2. On-Page Optimization: This includes optimizing your website’s content and meta tags (title tags, meta descriptions) using relevant keywords.
3. Content Creation: Regularly publishing high-quality content on your website is crucial for improving its visibility on search engines.
4. Link Building: This involves acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable websites to improve your site’s authority and ranking.
5. Reporting and Analysis: Most affordable SEO packages also include regular reports that provide insights into your website’s performance and the effectiveness of the SEO strategies implemented.
Be aware – alot of SEO packages won’t actually include the necessary work to be carried out on your website, they will expect your website ‘developer/manager’ to do that. Be careful that you are actually spedning money on the necessary communication between these two parties.
The Benefits of Affordable SEO Packages for Small Businesses
Investing in affordable SEO packages can offer several benefits to small businesses:
1. Cost-Effective and Understanding The Tasks: These packages are designed with small businesses in mind, ensuring the small business understands exactly what tasks are being carried out for their outlay.
2. Comprehensive Services and Integration With Your Existing Skill Set: Despite their affordability, these packages often include a wide range of services necessary for effective SEO. However, many business will have it’s own in-house skillset and external suppliers in place. Well structured SEO packages will include flexibility, and enable the business to continue and grow those skillsets, whilst the SEO supplier carries out the tasks they don’t have.
3. Content Development Molded Into Messaging To Your Customers: Yes by optimizing your website for search engines, you can increase its visibility, attract more organic traffic, and ultimately drive more sales. A key component to this is text and images. But some small local businesses are providing clear, ‘simple’ services with specific skills. Ensuring the content creation is focused on useful, educational information and news, ensures your customers get to know your services and products more indepth.
4. Return On Investment Above SEO Needs: It’s very important to understand that many of the activities undertaken for SEO are umbrella tasks which helps your website in other aspects. At the very least, it ensures well structured pages, a speedy website, excellent navigation, image optimisation, responsivity.
5. Future Proofing: This one is not obvious and some may not agree! Many small businesses will have a static website and invest heavily on social media. My question is – are all your customers and potential customers on social media? Do you have the content you have sent to social media sites backed up or stored somewhere? Having a well structured website, including content that you have sent to social media, ensures you have a solid rock your business can build on.
The Difficult Part – Small Business Input Expectations
Don’t decide on investing on SEO thinking you won’t be needed!
- You’ll need time to explain your business and processes
- You’ll need to agree the strategy
- You’ll need time to review the progress of the work
- You’ll need time to review changes
- You may need time to review and input into new content
A compotent SEO professional will ensure this time is minimal, and be able to explain things clearly.
Ok, But How Much And What Next?
So, how much does SEO cost for a small business? We really need to add ‘given the state of my current website’. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question as the cost can vary based on various factors including the size and state of your website, the pace you want to optimise your site and of course budget, your industry competition level, and the expertise of the SEO professional you choose to work with.
Anyone thinking about investing in SEO work should be clear on why they are doing it and understand the basic mechanisms
