Where should you spend your SEO budget?

Inbound links, or backlinks, are still important for SEO. But they are becoming less important to Google. We know the latter to be true as Googlers have been reiterating this for years.

In November, Duy Nguyen of Google’s Search Quality team expressed the same thing, explaining why link building campaigns are a waste of time and money, and where to allocate your SEO spend instead:

“…you probably shouldn’t waste your money on link spamming. That money is much needed to build a great website with great user experience and useful content.

However, I don’t think spending 100% of your SEO budget on UX and content alone is enough to drive organic search results. Just looking for the links won’t cut it in most markets.

What you need is a balanced SEO budget. Achieving this balance is not always easy.

To determine the best possible SEO budget, you need to put a premium on the activities that move the needle. Read on to learn how.

The ‘good old days’ of backlinks are (not yet) over

When I started practicing SEO in 2004, a lot of empty sites ranked in Google. I soon discovered that shady practitioners were behind those projects.

“SEO spammers” have been using all kinds of tricks to build links to their otherwise useless sites. (In my opinion, you either do SEO or you spam. You can’t negatively optimize by definition. You either break or you fix things.)

The only use of such “over-optimized” sites, as Google later diplomatically called them, was to make money for their owners, often the same SEOs who created them for affiliate and passive income.

In late 2022, Google announced another link spam update related to:

Google states that spam links “are neutralized and any credit passed by these unnatural links is lost.”

Thank God the days of common link spam are over!

To be clear, backlinks are still a ranking factor. But thanks to Google’s “robust ranking signals,” they can detect and remove sites with unnatural link profiles from the SERPs and “rank the most relevant and useful results for all queries.”

Google also updated the E-A-T concept in December to ensure that authors with proper first-hand “experience” finish higher in the SERPs, hence the new E-E-A-T acronym.

Keep a significant portion of the budget for linkable resources and outreach activities that will lead to links down the road.

Ideally, your content will be so great that it naturally attracts links. You may be better off spending more content marketing than allocating link building dollars.

Building links to empty sites or sites with shallow content will be a waste of money. Conversely, quality content can earn links automatically.

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UX as a Google ranking signal

User experience (UX) as a ranking factor is nothing new. When Google introduced UX ranking signals into its ranking algorithm years ago, it was a paradigm shift.

Before that, the ugliest websites with dismal interfaces ranked high with plain HTML pages. Nowadays, human quality raters and AI algorithms can pinpoint which sites perform well with users and which are simply built to rank.

You have no choice. Effective visitors can no longer be ignored. Outdated SEO tactics won’t be enough. Everything will not magically fall into place just because you have website traffic.

Creating findable and usable websites starts with writing descriptive and engaging titles and meta descriptions. There are numerous aspects of UX that you need to consider in order to meet the expectations of users and Google:

These are just UX best practices. Once you’ve covered those and the next budget is available, you can invest more.

One area that most sites still neglect is meeting the needs of people with disabilities, who make up about one in four people in the United States.

Accessibility also concerns non-disabled people. Here are some less obvious examples:

Complying with the WCAG and ARIA standards for website accessibility also simplifies the crawling and indexing process.

How come? Google is still largely the proverbial “blind five-year-old.” Bots read code and don’t see websites like humans do.

Content’s ever-growing importance

This should be obvious to people who have been following the evolution of the web and Google search in particular. More than ever, Google prefers content that is:

With the importance of content, can’t we just cut out the SEO department and replace geeks with writers and photographers?

To some extent, editorial links (those provided by actual writers, editors, and publishers) influence a webpage’s ranking in Google search results.

The content has yet to attract links or it will be largely invisible. There is too much low quality, mediocre content out there. Most competitive queries have dozens or hundreds of sites fighting for attention by offering similar content. The only way to find out which of these articles is really useful is to look at who recommends them all over the web.

Of course, when investing in SEO, content is a must. But avoid spending money on cookie-cutter, regurgitated content written simply to be digested by Google bots. That era is almost over.

With the helpful content system in place, Google doesn’t just consider the quality of the content. They are trying to reward content that is useful for human beings looking for answers, solutions and inspiration.

In the past, I’ve often heard the phrase “let’s add some SEO content in the footer for Google”.

This so-called “SEO content” strategy shouldn’t be part of your SEO budget for 2023. It’s like throwing dollar bills in the trash.

Alternatively, focus on linkable resources or, even better, link magnets. What is the difference?

The former type is linkable but still requires PR or outreach, the latter is truly stellar content that attracts links like a magnet.

How to allocate your SEO funds in 2023 and beyond

Since SEO is a multidisciplinary approach, you can’t just build links and forget the rest. You need to prioritize your website and online presence as a whole. (Think social media!)

Your SEO budget isn’t just meant to be spent on technical SEO, like crawling and indexing. You have to make SEO a holistic endeavor or fail.

SEO encompasses more than search engines, it is also related to social media and content.

Avoid thinking in ‘strictly SEO’ terms 

Whenever I suggest improving UX or writing content for SEO, a common objection from clients I hear is…

“Yes, but it’s not SEO. I just want you for SEO services.”

Well, this “strictly SEO” approach is useless in 2023.

Embrace a holistic website optimization philosophy. SEO is not about “feeding the bots”, it’s about meeting the needs of the users. Google gets closer to being a mirror of human expectations every year, and I expect 2023 to be a giant step in that direction. It has been in the works for many years and now the time is right.

Best-case scenario, you don’t pay for an SEO audit upfront before doing hands-on work, but get a holistic website or web presence audit (including social media accounts).

Assign SEO importance to actual tasks

See the list below. Do you think the following is necessary for SEO?

If your answer is “no”, you still adhere to a “strictly SEO” mindset.

The above tasks have their place, even in traditional SEO strategies.

Internal architecture refers to the internal linking that can affect a site’s crawling and indexing.

Well-crafted user experience design ensures discoverability, readability, fast loading times, and a welcoming, easy-on-the-eyes look.

Divide the budget by departments

Do you have a company with several departments (e.g. technology, content, marketing, sales, etc.)? Or are you outsourcing various tasks to freelancers?

Even if you’re doing everything yourself (which isn’t recommended), you should allocate your “time” resources appropriately.

As we have seen above, SEO activities differ in nature. Some are technical, others are related to content or involve PR and contacts with journalists and influencers. Ultimately, SEO must drive results, especially revenue.

So, given this example, could you just divide the budget by quarters? It’s not that easy.

An established website with all the technical SEO basics no longer requires 25% of your SEO budget. Once the foundation is established, you can focus on the actual building.

Is your site nearly empty with no content beyond self-promotional copy and product or service descriptions? So invest heavily in the content department.

You may even need to create one first. Most companies will have employees responsible for technology, marketing and sales, but not all of them assign someone to content yet.

Let SEO people help ‘other’ teams

Most businesses aren’t big enough to afford a dedicated SEO team. If you’re lucky, you’ll have an SEO specialist in the marketing department. But many rely on outside agencies or independent consultants instead of paying for in-house SEO. I myself have been working as an SEO and “hands-on” freelance consultant for many years.

What I’ve learned is that SEOs are often treated like aliens from outer space when dealing with an already established corporate hierarchy.

Site audit recommendations often end up being implemented begrudgingly, if at all. A lot of things get lost or misunderstood in the process of dealing with many different stakeholders.

Sometimes, freelance SEOs are treated at the lowest level in the hierarchy and SEO best practices as a mere afterthought. In some cases, they are not even in contact with the change implementers.

In reality, SEO experts are like angels who spread wealth among different teams and should be treated with respect.

Allocate a specific SEO budget, even if you don’t have an SEO on the team. Then let the SEO professional “spend it” on the other teams.

If your technical SEO foundation is solid, allocate funds to content and PR/outreach activities.

Or, if your website content is excellent and has gained a lot of inbound links but nobody can find you, your technical SEO could be the culprit.

Is your site very slow, is your content not in the index or barely readable? Then the technical team gets the biggest funds again. Just don’t see SEO as someone who competes for funds, attention, and status against other teams and their members.

SEO is not the lowest or highest in the hierarchy. SEO experts help every other team in one way or another.

Balance SEO spend based on results

Where to place your SEO bet often depends on current technology, content, and relationships that change over time.

Once you’ve established a solid content marketing plan, goals, and KPIs, you can examine the success of particular SEO efforts.

KPIs like those can always be measured and inform you what is working and what is not.

The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff writers are listed here.

Tadeusz Szewczyk, also known as Tad Chef, has been a professional blogger and SEO since 2004. Although he lives in Berlin, Germany, he has been involved in blogging, social media and reaching a global audience since 2006. In 2007 he launched his own blog – SEO 2.0 – and since then also published on numerous other marketing blogs. He has also written for many clients’ social media accounts in recent years. You can connect with Tad on LinkedIn and Twitter or visit his website and read his blog on social SEO.

What is a good PPC budget Amazon?

How long should I run PPC on Amazon? PPC takes an average of three months to work. The first three months of a PPC campaign should focus on gathering data from your ads, which you can then use to improve your keyword targeting, audience targeting and bidding.

Is Amazon PPC Expensive? In general, cost per click is how much a merchant pays for a potential buyer to click on their product. Amazon allows you to set a budget and time frame when creating your advertising campaign. On average, your PPC costs can range from $0.10 to $6.00 USD per click.

What is the daily budget in PPC? Daily budget x number of days remaining in calendar month = Maximum spend per calendar month. IMPORTANT: the daily budget is an average value; If your daily budget isn’t used on one day, the unused budget will roll over to subsequent days.

How do you budget for PPC?

4 steps on how to determine your PPC budget

• Step 1: Identify the best keywords for your marketing goals. …
• Step 2: Run the Keyword Planner report. …
• Step 3: Do the math. …
• Step 4: Estimate your profitability. …
• Choose the best type of budget. …
• Consider the forecast. …
• Be flexible.

How much should we spend on PPC? A small business can expect to pay around $1,000 to $2,000 for an effective PPC campaign. Mid-sized businesses should have a budget of $7,500 to $10,000. Larger organizations can expect to pay anywhere from $10,000 a month up to $50,000 a month.

How Much Should You Spend on PPC Per Month? In general, how much you should spend on Google Ads varies widely. You can spend as little as $50 a month or more than $10,000 or more. How much you end up spending depends on your sales goals, the breadth of the geographic area you target, search volume, and industry competitiveness.

What is the recommended budget split when it comes to SEO and PPC?

Financial breakdown: 60% â 75% PPC, 25% â 40% SEO. When you are just starting your internet marketing strategy, your website is a blank slate.

How much should I budget for PPC? The cost of PPC advertising can range between 10% and 20% of your total advertising spend, depending on which company you choose and how much it’s right for you.

How Much Should I Spend on PPC Ads? On average, businesses should expect to pay $1-$2 per click to advertise on the Google Search Network. On a monthly basis, the average small to medium-sized business spends between $9,000 and $10,000 on PPC. That equates to about $108,000 to $120,000 a year.

How much do companies charge for SEO?

Average SEO costs are $100-$250 per hour for US SEO agencies. SEO costs often range from $2,500 to $10,000 per month for US agencies. The average SEO plan costs $2819 per month (for Ahrefs) Overseas SEO companies may charge $10-$50 per hour.

How much does SEO cost for a small business? How much does SEO for small businesses cost? The average cost of SEO for small businesses is $750 to $2,000 per month or $5,000 to $30,000 for one-time projects. Smaller companies that invest in SEO consulting services can expect to pay $80 to $200 per hour.

How much does SEO cost in 2022? How much does SEO cost? While many businesses pay between $1,500 and $5,000 a month for SEO, you could be paying as little as $100 a month or more than $30,000, depending on several factors. SEO pricing can vary largely depending on the size of your business, the scope of your project, and your SEO vendor.

How much does it cost to hire an SEO? Hiring an experienced SEO freelancer or agency by the hour typically costs between $50 and $150 per hour. Of course, you can find people charging much less or more than this hourly rate. For example, this breakdown of SEO hourly rate found that 6% of SEO providers charge over $200 per hour.

How much budget should be spent on SEO?

At a minimum, you should be spending 5% to 10% of your revenue on SEO. But if you want to move forward faster, you typically spend more. That doesn’t mean blindly investing in SEO with the promise that more money = better results. But you need resources.

How much should a small business spend on SEO? On average, small to medium businesses pay $497 a month for SEO services to a freelancer or marketing agency. Companies that pay the most for SEO services perform better, while companies that pay less than $500 for SEO services are the most unhappy. SEO is a long-term strategy that offers long-term rewards.

How much should you budget for SEO? How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you’re hiring a top-rated SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $500.00 a month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $2,500 to $5,000 per month. Some companies offer a “trial package” for a lower price, with no contract.

What is the first thing to do before doing SEO?

Before starting any active SEO efforts, it is important to ensure that your website has content that engages and helps its users. Data shows that pages with 2,000 words of content typically rank higher in Google search than pages with short, light content.

What are the 4 stages of SEO? Here are the four stages of the SEO process:

• Get your technicians right.
• Find a keyword to target.
• Create an optimized page.
• Build links to it.