Today’s economy is not quite the best for big marketing spending. Just about everyone is tightening their belt and doing more with less. If you own and operate a business, then you’re likely to also feel this pinch and are looking for ways to cut costs. The trick here is not cutting your marketing altogether but finding ways to do more with less,, especially when building up your local SEO strategy.
Before we get into our team’s five best tips to save money on local SEO pricing, let’s talk about some things you shouldn’t do in an effort to cut your costs:
3 Ways Not to Save Money on Local SEO
Don’t move your website in an attempt to save money.
Sometimes, a business can get frantic in an attempt to do something, anything, to cut costs. One thing you definitely should not do is move to a cheaper or even free website platform solely because it advertises itself as being the cheap or free platform. As they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Some low-cost websites truly have their advantages, but many more have the hidden costs of being hard to navigate, improve, and sync with things like your social media and purchasing software. So, if your store already has a website that you truly like for everything but the monthly or annual cost, either keep it or at least get a second opinion from a website designer on a more affordable option that will retain the features you like.
Don’t jump on Fiverr to seek out cheap spammy back links.
If there is one thing the Google algorithms hate, it’s when you try and black hat your way to the top. Black hatting is a term used to describe so-called black hat marketing, which is the use of unethical strategies that go against the “spirit of the law” guidelines search engines use to rank sites. Instead, black hat strategies try to take advantage of how algorithms currently work to skyrocket links and websites to the top of search engine rankings. This is what those Fiverr spammy backlinks and other “get to the top fast” methods so-called marketers are selling.
The problem here is that while these strategies may place you at the top of your desired local SEO keyword searches in the beginning, the algorithms will eventually find that it’s a false rise and dethrone your website. In some cases, you may even find your website almost “blacklisted” as the search engines determine yours is an unauthorative website. In the end, you’ll end up having to pay more over the long term as you will be forced to go back and re-invest in solid marketing strategies that will return your website the where it ought to be in local SEO results. In other words, you’ll end up paying twice as much over twice as long of a time period.
Don’t try and do everything yourself.
Finally, we get it, you are the person who knows your business best, and undoubtedly you do market your company well. However, all business owners need to see your time as a valuable commodity. There are only so many waking hours to work with, and you don’t want to sink a chunk of them into marketing.
Effective marketing takes time, and if you’re not experienced with things like writing effective copy, web design, link building (the good kind), and brand illustration, you can quickly find yourself falling into something of a black time hole. In other words, you may think you’re saving yourself a couple of bucks by doing it yourself and not hiring a professional, but you’re really costing yourself lost opportunities. Instead of fumbling with how to market your website effectively, you could be out building your brand among potential clients, improving business processes, or networking with local industry leaders. You’re the face of your company, don’t hide it behind a screen when there are more experienced people you can cost-effectively hire to do those marketing tasks for you.
5 Local SEO Pricing Tips to Help You Save Money
Now that we have looked into the three things you should avoid doing to save money, let’s jump into some actual cost-saving advice. The following is a quick list of five proven local SEO pricing tips that will help save you money today and tomorrow:
Get specific with your desired services.
As you start to develop a budget and look to experts for assistance with your local SEO marketing, you will want to consider exactly what type of services you need. Also, how long do you want to employ marketing services? Because there are quite a few exceptional teams (such as our team at BizIq) that will offer marketing on more of a subscription service, ensuring ongoing marketing support will get your company to the top and keep it there in the long run.
However, if you are just getting started with local SEO and building up your online presence, and need to do so on a budget, then you might start small and be specific about what you need right now. This may mean building up your Google Maps presence (essential for a brick-and-mortar business or service provider), building a website, and ensuring quality links.
Ask and keep an eye out for packaged deals.
If you are just launching your website or this is the very first run of SEO marketing, you will generally be paying more than you will later on when you just need a refresh and to expand existing strategies. After all, you have to outbuild or out-attract your competitors online just as much as you do offline.
The best thing to do here to keep your pricing for SEO low is to look for a packaged deal. Experienced marketing agencies are equipped to offer various sizes of marketing packages, each offering an array of services in clear and precise terms. Choose one of these smaller packages, as it will allow you to get started with SEO marketing without investing too much. You’ll also have the added benefit of being able to experiment here to see what works and what doesn’t. If you aren’t happy with the results of your initial SEO packaged deal, consider what alternative services you might aim for to suit your industry and audience better.
Make sure you know your goals.
This local SEO pricing tip builds off the last one, but before you purchase any SEO marketing package or any other type of marketing service, make sure you first know your goals. Going into this blindly is a good way to find yourself being talked into services or packages you probably don’t need. Or at least are not sure if you need them just yet, and if you are on a budget and looking to save money and not spend a ton of money here, then you don’t need to be investing in packages that don’t meet your marketing and online growth goals.
But how do you determine your marketing goals and what is too small, too big, and just right? If you’re not fully sure, looking at your local competitors is a good place to start. Take a couple of hours and browse their online presence. Go to a search engine and type in words related to your business. Who pops up first in the search engine results? How far is your business in those results?
Now, consider the amount of budget you want to set aside and consider your goals and how fast you want to reach those goals. Maybe, you just need to get on the top five of search engine results, or maybe you’re looking for a comprehensive package that will ensure you consistently outrank your local competitors in related searches.
Consider the frequency you want or need for marketing services.
If you really want to keep your local SEO marketing spending at a minimum, then spend more upfront and go for a comprehensive starting package that will get your brand properly set for local SEO growth.
But be cautious with this option. It’s a good idea to think of online SEO marketing just like any advertising. You can put up a billboard downtown, and it will help drive traffic to your business while it’s up, but eventually, that board is going to age and then be printed over by someone else’s advertising, someone else who was willing to put in money to make their own brand known and visible. And that someone else may even be your top competitor.
So too online as offline. Keeping your business’s name at the top of local and relevant search queries requires consistent nurturing, which translates to regular updates. Regular updates are exactly what is sold in subscription services or those marketing services that are sold within a monthly package.
Not sure what to do? If you have the budget for it, a good idea might be to include a short-term package that might take place over the next two or three months. Then, take a break and see how your search engine rankings hold up and how well that marketing was at driving business your way. After all, the truly ultimate goal here, as with every business investment, is to increase your sales. A marketer who can not show you how they are effectively doing that is one to avoid.
Be specific with the types of marketing.
Finally, remember to keep the type of marketing you want for your business in mind. In fact, local SEO is one of four primary types of SEO marketing (the other three are on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO). Knowing what type of marketing you want, such as a Google Pack (Google Maps plus Google Business Profile) or directed email marketing, will help ensure you get the right package to meet your goals.
Answering Your Questions and Getting the Best Local SEO for Your Goals
Here at BizIq, we pride ourselves in building ongoing relationships with each of our clients. So long as we partner with you to get you the marketing goals you desire, we pledge not to assist a competitor. We prioritize our clients and ensure they know exactly what they’re getting with our effective local SEO marketing. Give us a call today to learn more or continue reading for a few answers to the most frequently asked questions we get about SEO marketing:
How does SEO work?
The acronym SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it does just that. This is the process of building a website or page to rank as high as possible within a search engine result when a desired keyword or set of keywords is typed in. For example, if you typed in “florist near me,” a business with strong SEO would rise to the top. This is important because more than 50% of total site traffic to a website happens because of an organic search just like that. SEO works by keeping the over 200 ranking factors search engines like Google takes into account and building the website itself and its content to rank favorably within those ranking factors.
How do I know the right keywords for my business?
This is an excellent question and one our team at BizIq is always eager to help with, as you cannot jump into an effective SEO strategy without knowing the best keywords for your business. You might instinctively know some, but innovative tools like Google’s Keyword Planner can help you find which keywords are most often used to find businesses just like yours.
Can I really be penalized for so-called black hat marketing?
Yes! Avoid anyone who promises to skyrocket you to the top with tons of backlinks. If you don’t, you risk incurring a Google algorithmic penalty (or even a manual penalty), making your site invisible to anyone making organic searches.
Working with BizIQ
At BizIQ, we’re not just another digital marketing agency – we’re the game-changers you need to drive your business to the top! With over 33,000 satisfied clients and a proven track record of success, we know what it takes to make your affordable Local SEO campaigns soar. Whether you’re looking to launch your first campaign or optimize your existing one, our team of experts is here to help you every step of the way. We’ll work closely with you to understand your unique needs and goals, and create a custom strategy that delivers the results you want. So don’t settle for anything less than exceptional – partner with BizIQ today and experience the power of Local SEO!
