Is SEO Worth It for Small Business

Search engine optimization activities are time-consuming and pricey, but is SEO worth it for small businesses? Full-service SEO companies might cost more because of their overhead expenses. Most depend on volume to make money, so they invest in hiring project managers who can manage multiple projects at once.

Why is SEO So Expensive

The term SEO is a bit of an enigma for small business owners. If you’re not in the know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It sounds like something that should be free or inexpensive, but it can actually cost thousands of dollars to rank on page one in Google for a popular keyword. Local SEO is less expensive than National SEO.

What is the difference between local SEO and national SEO?

Local SEO can be defined as optimizing your website for a particular geographic location, as a state or city. This includes using keywords that are specific to your area and building links with other websites within that area. National SEO refers to optimizing for broader, nationwide searches. For example, if you have an ice cream shop in Chicago but want to expand across the country, then you would need to focus on national search optimization instead of just focusing on local results. 

What does this mean? 

In short, it means if your business doesn’t have good SEO practices in place and isn’t working hard to make sure its website content is optimized and easy to find online, then you might miss out on potential customers who are looking for what you sell! SEO is a complicated and time-consuming process that requires the expertise of professionals. It takes an expert to determine which keywords may help your business rank higher in search engines, how frequently you need to publish posts, what types of content should be included, and where you should focus your efforts based on geographic location.

Is SEO worth it for Small Business

Most small businesses don’t have the resources or know-how to take care of their own SEO needs. They are usually left trying to find affordable solutions that will get them quick results without having too much experience with SEO themselves.

What Drives the Cost of SEO?

A lot of people ask me why it’s so expensive to do SEO for their small business. It may seem like a simple question but the answer is actually quite complex. 

The fact is that many different factors come into play when you’re trying to rank higher in Google, and those can change over time. So if you’re wondering is SEO dead, the answer is no. The ever-changing SEO environment is dynamic. Technology, the way consumers use their devices, and the advancements in artificial intelligence mean your contribution to SEO needs to continually adapt to new algorithms. That means if you hire one company, they might not be able to deliver good results with an inappropriate budget. It is difficult to stay on top of new trends and adjust accordingly.

Let’s explore 3 reasons why it costs your company more than you anticipated.

These include the following:

1. The cost of retaining SEO services to manage all your on-page optimization can be costly, and a good one will charge at least $40/hour. At $40/hour, 10 hours a month can easily cost you upwards of $400 per month. 
2. An SEO campaign takes time and energy to work; therefore, if you don’t have someone dedicated to managing it for you, it will take up a lot of time from your employees, who would otherwise be spent generating revenue for the company. 
3. Last but not least is that there are many different ways people find out about companies nowadays; the internet has changed the way we live our lives in many ways. The spread of information is faster and more accessible than ever before, with social media leading the charge. Not only does this make it easier for people to find out about what’s going on in their own cities or around the world, but it also allows companies to advertise themselves and reach a wider audience than ever before.

How Small Businesses Can Minimize Their SEO Cost

SEO for small businesses is difficult, and time-consuming process. With all the updates and changes to Google’s algorithm, it can be hard to stay on top of what you’re doing right or wrong. It’s not uncommon for small business owners to spend hours upon hours trying to figure out how they rank in search engine results pages (SERPs) when other important things need attention, like customer service or inventory management.

Small business owners are always on a budget and often ask themselves “Is SEO worth the time”.  The question is: what can you do to minimize your SEO monthly cost? Here are some ways to keep costs down in an effortless manner.

• Most platforms offer website audits, and the cost of an SEO audit is free, so start there.
• Learn to research valuable keywords. Consider the volume to traffic ratio, and explore platforms like Semrush that offer tools and reports to help with your (search engine marketing) SEM challenges.
• Get familiar with basic header tags and meta descriptions for each of your web pages, post pages, and product pages.
• Writing new and unique content. Scheduling blog content regularly is worthwhile. (Some SEO plans include this)
• Reaching out to vendors/business partners to create backlinks or guest blogs.
• Manage your own social media profiles and be consistent.

Conclusion 

If you’re reading this post, chances are that search engine optimization for websites is your biggest concern for driving traffic to your site. And with good reason! The cost of hiring a professional SEO company will vary depending on the factors we mentioned earlier in the article – but it can be hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. But don’t let that number scare you away from trying to rank higher in Google. There are ways for small businesses to minimize their SEO costs and combat why it is seo so expensive. 

We want to hear what concerns you have about SEO, so please leave us some comments below or email our SEO rep at melissa@purely-write-web-solutions.websitepro.hosting. Let us know if you think SEO is worth it.