SEO Expert Philadelphia :: Setting a Realistic SEO Budget

Article: Setting a Realistic SEO Budget
By Julie Friedman Bacchini

The voice on the phone was clipped and concise. “So, how much does search engine optimization cost?”

I blinked. “It depends on what your business needs.”

There was a quick snort of impatience, as if I was being particularly obtuse. “Oh, just give me a ballpark figure. Something I can use for budgeting.”

Conversations like this are all too typical, and all too frustrating. The fact is, search engine optimization (SEO) is just like any other service or commodity in life: costs can range from the very cheap to the incredibly expensive, depending on the quality you are willing to pay for, and the specific services you require.

It may help to get a “behind-the-scenes” look at what a good search engine optimization specialist (not the fly-by-night companies who promise the world for $199) does for your business.

An SEO expert will:

Engage in front-end discovery and research into your company, your target market, and your competition.
Explore your current site’s structure and content and your search engine results position for your top targeted keywords and phrases.
Establish and implement a comprehensive search engine optimization strategy.
Track your SEO results in order to continually improve your ranking and achieve the best possible return on your investment.

The above is a very time-intensive process, requiring significant business and Web acumen. As such, it is important to recognize that when you want quality search engine optimization, you must be prepared to make an investment commensurate with what you want to receive in return.

So how much of an investment should you make? What is a realistic SEO budget? Only you can make that decision. But here are several questions that can help you narrow your focus:

How much of your business do you want to come from non-branded search? (i.e., if you are a real estate firm, do you want to come up for terms such as “affordable townhouse”)
How well do you know your target market and what terms they might be searching on for your company’s products or services?
How well do you know your competition and what is their web presence?
What kind of search engine optimization do you want? (SEO can vary from incorporating a few keywords throughout your site on a once-and-done basis, to an ongoing intensive campaign that covers years.)
What level of search engine optimization expertise do you want and need for your business?

If you answer these questions honestly, you will begin to move toward setting an appropriate SEO budget for your business. For instance, if 90% of your business comes from referrals and that is the way you intend to keep it, you probably need only minimal search engine optimization, if any at all. If, however, you are an entirely Web-driven business, then extensive, expert, ongoing search engine optimization will mean the difference between financial success and failure.

Are there companies promising SEO for $50 a month? Certainly there are. There are also companies providing search engine optimization at $5,000 a month, and everything in between. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. If you are serious about engaging in a strategic web site marketing plan that includes professional search engine optimization, then you need to be prepared to invest thousands of dollars over the course of time. But if that investment drives a multitude of qualified consumers to your door, then that is a realistic and wise SEO budget.

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About the Author:

Julie Friedman Bacchini is President of Neptune Moon Design (www.NeptuneMoon.com), a full-service agency providing businesses and non-profit organizations with custom web designs, web site marketing plans, and strategic search engine optimization (SEO), all designed to build brand recognition, increase site traffic, and generate leads, clients, and revenue. Be sure to visit NeptuneMoon.com to read additional articles that will help you reach your business goals!