In this article, we explore internet marketing cost and what it means. We also talk about the variables that determine the cost. Thinking about venturing into digital marketing? You are right to be doing so. No business can today think of surviving without gaining popularity in the digital space. When you think about digital marketing, the first question that will naturally pop into your mind is “how much does Internet marketing cost”? This article will attempt to answer the most basic questions surrounding internet marketing cost. Let’s dive straight into it.
Digital Marketing Price
It will be best to give you the numbers first and then move backward from there. In this industry, the cost is mostly measured on an hourly basis. This means that the number of hours a digital marketing agency dedicates to your business will determine its price. The hourly rates fluctuate from industry to industry. For highly competitive industries such as attorneys and dentists, the cost is more than for many other lesser competitive industries. The cost also varies from one geographical location to another. It will cost a dentist more to market their clinic located in Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco than for a dentist in Ohio. The cost multiplies if you want better rankings across geographies.
The other factor that must be considered is the state of your current website. Does it favorably rank or is its ranking still on the fringes? Are you a start-up with little to no web presence? These will decide the cost of your internet marketing.
Once all the above things are considered, a digital marketing agency can charge anything between $20 to $200 per hour. This means that if an agency works 20 hours a month for you at a projected rate of $100 per hour, you would be paying them at least $2000 per month for their services.
Most companies set a budget for digital marketing spending. Some decide to spend only $500 per month while some spend $50,000 per month. While zeroing down on any number, you must first understand what it can truly mean for your business. If you are paying $500 (to an agency working at $100 per hour), you are basically paying just for 5 hours a month. Now, you must know what can be accomplished in mere 5 hours? Probably nothing.
If you are a small to mid-sized business, you would typically be paying $2000 to $6000 per month for internet marketing. Of course, an ambitious business won’t hesitate to pay $10,000 or even $20,000 per month. A larger business with more stakes can pay $100,000 per month to improve its online presence.
Deciding Factor for Digital Marketing Cost
There is no definitive price that anyone can quote for digital marketing. That’s because the price is dependent on various factors such as –
- Your business market or niche,
- Your geographical location,
- Competitiveness of your market,
- How quickly you want results,
- What your current search engine rankings are,
- Conversion rate your website currently sees.
Let’s now understand each of these variables properly to determine digital marketing pricing.
#1 Your Business Market or Niche
As we mentioned earlier, the cost of Internet marketing varies from industry to industry. The average cost per click in Google Ads for lawyer websites is $1.43, for dating and personals, it is $2.78 while for travel and hospitality it is $1.53. The click-through rate (CTR) of these industries are – 4.41%, 6.05%, and 4.68% respectively.
This means that the amount you pour onto just PPC (pay per click) will give you an estimated conversion. Naturally, the more budget allocations you make, the better the conversion percentages are likely to be.
It must be noted that above we have just taken an example to explain how cost varies from market to market. There are other considerations too.
#2 Your Geographical Locations Affects Price
Taking the example of PPC again, your geographical location will also decide the cost. A dentist located in San Francisco will have more competition than a dentist in Wyoming. As competition increases, ad prices also increase. Also, the marketing agency is likely to charge you more for the labor-intensive effort they must put in for a competitive geographical location.
#3 Competitiveness of Your Market
Attorneys in any location face the most competition in the webspace. The reason is quite simple – when people search for lawyers, they look for “near them” attorneys. The cost an attorney will have to pay for internet marketing will naturally be higher than the cost a knitting website bears.
#4 How Quickly You Want Results
Organic SEO takes time but if you want results quickly, paid ads are the way forward. They will give you faster results because you would essentially be paying for website visitors. But as you look for faster results through paid ads, you must also be willing to pay more.
#5 What Your Current Search Engine Rankings Are
Search engine rankings act as a starting point for internet marketing. If you already rank on the first page for a search term, advertising your business will be easier (and hence cheaper). But if are on the 10th page, a lot of work will need to be done.
#6 Conversion Rate Your Website Currently Sees
Driving traffic to your website and converting them into customers are two very different things. Unless visitors to your site are converting into paying customers, your SEO and ad spend are simply getting wasted. If that’s the case, you might need to work on improving your website, adding more content to it, and also boosting your ad spend simultaneously.
How Much Should You Spend on Digital Marketing?
Once you understand the general purview of digital marketing, you must next settle on your budget. At Cyrusson Inc. we ask our clients a few questions that help us assess their marketing needs and their budget too.
Do You Have Defined Goals?
When you have defined your goals, it becomes easier for the marketing agency to understand the results that you are seeking. This makes it easier to underline the various marketing services you may need – from SEO to PPC, social media marketing to email campaigns, etc.
What Is Your USP?
Every business must be selling something unique – no matter how mundane their product or service is. From a marketing perspective, it’s very important to know your business’ USP (unique selling proposition) so that the digital campaign can be accordingly planned.
What Are Your Marketing Efforts Offline?
As a business, you would understand the necessity of marketing offline. Your offline ad spending will also decide the budget allocation for online marketing. Also, if you do not have any offline campaigns running, the cost and workload of online marketing will increase.
How are You Dealing with Competition?
How your competitors are tackling Internet marketing plays an important role in deciding your future strategies. For a seasoned boutique digital marketing agency such as Cyrusson Inc., understanding your competitors helps us to improve our strategies.
Which Platforms Do Your Customers Use?
Since there are many facets of internet marketing, investing in all may be futile especially if your customers are not there. It’s necessary you know how they use the Internet and the platforms they commonly browse. If your customers simply use the search engines, PPC ads may be enough. But if they are into animated videos or on social media, your marketing efforts must be accordingly directed.
How Do You Measure Success?
The most common approach to measuring success is sales. You need to share the sales figures with your marketing agency so that they can understand the extent of the success of the campaigns. It can take days to interpret the data you share but that’s necessary for future success. Of course, you must understand that the more time it takes to interpret the sales data, the more it will cost you – but all for the ultimate success of your campaign.
Cyrusson Inc. is a leading boutique digital marketing agency that helps small and medium-sized businesses gain online prominence. We have several strategies up our sleeves that will help you navigate the competition and yet emerge successfully. Talk to us today or drop an email. We will reach out to you so that we can take this discussion forward.