I’m often asked by companies how much they should be spending on search engine optimization. As you can imagine, the answer to such a question depends on a large number of factors. An SEO budget could be based on the number of web properties under your management, how much work there is to do, and who will be doing the work for you.

Despite popular belief, search engine optimization is not free. Many times, individuals try to compare SEO to pay-per-click or search engine marketing, but the two are very dissimilar. Many of the costs associated with SEO are involved in labor, site development, and acquisition of in-bound links. Unlike PPC, search engine optimization does not work on a pay-per-click basis.

The costs you should consider in the area of search optimization comes in when resources are needed to analyze your web site from an SEO perspective. You may also spend a great deal of time doing keyword research and analyzing your competitors. In each of these efforts, you are either paying a professional to do the work for you or spending your valuable time managing these tasks. As a result, you are spending money. Even when working on a project by yourself, you are experiencing costs. What is your hourly rate? What is your time worth? These factors should be part of your cost calculation.

Don’t underestimate the value of your time or the time that others are spending on search engine optimization related tasks. You should determine the costs of these activities in order to prioritize and manage your expense. Often times, you can hire a resource for much less per hour than you’re spending to do the necessary tasks of keyword research, competitive analysis, or link building.

Now that you’ve completed a thorough review of your website, competitors, and so on, it’s time to start applying search engine optimization techniques. To do so requires labor. You may need individuals who can help to implement on page optimization factors and build links to your website. Will you be doing this work? Will someone else be performing these tasks? Consider the costs associated with each and make a wise investment in yourself or an outside firm.

One of the best ways to save money is through prioritization. There are a variety of software applications that can help you make the most of your search engine optimization. It’s essential to know which tasks can help you achieve specific outcomes and find the most cost affective way to complete them. Once you’ve prioritized your to do list, consider the expense of software, your own time, or a third party in getting the work done. You want to find the most cost effective solution to complete your search engine work.

The practice of SEO is not free. In fact, when you consider all of the time, resources, and money spent on SEO, you might be surprised at the dollars required. This is because the resources needed for an effective search engine optimization campaign can add up. Software, online tools, your time and the time of others committed to your search engine efforts can be significant. Consider all of your options before investing in SEO. Spend your time and money wisely and only pay for results.

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