You have probably heard and learned how SEO is your ticket to reaching potential clients and outranking your competition. Now you’re wondering, how much should I invest in SEO for my law firm? How much will bring in significant results and ROI (Return on Investment)?
Different businesses have different SEO needs, thus likely to spend differently. According to a study by Backlinko, small businesses in the US spend an average of $497.16 monthly on SEO. Those who spent more than $500 per month had a 53.3% chance of getting satisfied with the results than those who spent less than $500.
How Much Should You Invest in SEO?
According to experts, most companies invest 5-15% in marketing. Out of that, you can channel 8-12% towards SEO development.
The exact expenditure will depend on factors such as your budget, anticipated growth, and your law firm’s SEO needs but if you’re looking to hire a top SEO agency, expect to spend $500+/month.
How to Invest in SEO Properly
1. Base It on Your Revenue
When budgeting for SEO, it’s advisable to base it on your revenue. Ensure your budget is not too much such that other areas suffer diminished resources.
Also, cheap SEO can only yield so much. Don’t go for the cheapest services you can find, but that doesn’t mean it should cost an arm and a leg.
2. Set Goals and Pay for Results
Set your marketing goals and hire for your needs. Consider all the options and your financial capabilities, then hire accordingly.
Options can include the following:
- Contracting an SEO agency
- Freelance SEO specialist
- Internal hires
- Content Marketing agencies
3. Hire a Knowledgeable Agency
Work with an agency or SEO specialist with a proven track record. Even if you have a brilliant idea on how to execute your SEO plan, you might have challenges making it a reality and seeing results.
An experienced SEO agency will help you come up with an SEO strategy, short-term and long-term plans, support during campaigns, as well as analyze the results.
Additionally, if your budget is tight, they can advise you on the best plans to start with, then you can go deeper as your law firm expands.
4. Consider Your Competitor
SEO efforts are meant for your site to outrank your competitor’s on SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Most probably, they are also implementing SEO strategies.
Look into how they are implementing SEO, their approach, as well as how effective it is. Your goal should be to come up with better strategies to remain ahead of the competition.
SEO tools such as Moz Free Domain SEO Analysis Tool will help you spy on your competitor’s site by showing you their top pages, ranking keywords, domain authority, and other SEO metrics.
Proper SEO will keep you ahead of the competition and help you land clients. Like any other business, it’s crucial for law firms to invest in SEO. How much you invest depends on your budget, your goals, as well as your revenue.
Quality SEO Is Not Cheap
Cheap is expensive. And that applies to SEO too.
Hiring inexperienced SEO “professionals” just because they are charging $99/month may seem cost-efficient, but in reality, you’ll end up spending more.
You will most likely see no positive results and end up hiring an experienced specialist with a proven track record or an SEO agency at an extra cost.
Some people use black-hat link schemes without the owner’s knowledge. This can attract Google penalty and derank your site or even virtually scrap out your site’s visibility.
It’s crucial to learn and understand the basics of SEO and discuss the tactics to be used.