How Much Should Your Small Business Budget for SEO?

Many small businesses struggle to garner web traffic. Today, popular search engines, including Google, Bing and others, all utilize complicated, ever-changing algorithms that determine the visibility of your website. As a result, many small companies now dedicate a portion of their marketing budget to SEO. But how much should your business spend? Here are the factors to consider when budgeting SEO for small businesses. 



​Market Size Matters

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In determining your SEO budget, you must first understand your competition. As with all markets, the larger they are, the greater the competition. The same is true of search engines. Building your web presence in Los Angeles is not the same as doing it in rural West Texas. In large markets saturated with competing businesses, your SEO strategy needs to be much more aggressive and targeted. In this scenario, it makes sense that you would pour more of your marketing budget into SEO.

​Worthwhile Opportunities

Market opportunity is another important factor of SEO for small businesses. Not all businesses require a significant web presence to profit – local establishments in rural markets, for example. For these businesses, smaller SEO budgets would suffice. 

On the other hand, larger companies that wish to compete in regional or national markets need to invest more into their SEO campaigns. Typically, this means optimizing your website, establishing a social media presence and actively monitoring search analytics. 

​Existing Web Presence

​Whether your business is just getting off the ground or simply new to the web, the amount of existing online marketing infrastructure plays a role in your SEO budgeting. If your company has no website or social media profiles, you’ll need to spend more of your marketing budget on SEO. 

​Too Good To Be True?

​Competing for attention amongst millions of other websites means effective SEO strategies require work. If an agency promises to get your website in the top-ranking Google results for only a few dollars per month, look elsewhere. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. The true cost of an effective SEO campaign always varies depending on market size and goals; a low-cost service is unlikely to give you the rankings you’re looking for on any regional or national scale.

At Fitz Designz, we work within your marketing budget to build an applicable SEO campaign for your small business. We can help you determine the size and ambition of your web presence and construct a model that suits you. To learn more about how our SEO strategies can improve your online visibility, reach out to us on Facebook and LinkedIn, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.