We recommend that a small business in Singapore allocate an SEO budget ranging from $500 to $3000 per month.
This range depends on the business goals, industry competition, and the resources available to devote to SEO.
Each small business is unique, and determining the amount to invest in SEO is vital to ensure it aligns with your business and marketing models.
In this article, we’ll delve into the key aspects to consider when determining your SEO budget for 2024, including goal-setting, timeframes, competitive analysis, and resources needed for effective SEO.
Setting Outcomes for Your SEO Efforts
Setting specific SEO goals is crucial because of the complex nature of SEO strategies. Common metrics to focus on include:
- Search engine page impressions: How often your pages appear in search results
- Organic traffic: Visitors who come to your site from search engines
- SERP rankings for keywords: Your position in search engine results for targeted keywords
- Brand engagement or funnel entry: How many users engage with your content or enter your conversion funnel
- Lead generation or transactions from organic traffic: Conversion metrics that track sales, sign-ups, or other business outcomes
Consider the Timeframe
In addition to setting goals, it’s important to align them with a realistic timeframe. SEO is a long-term strategy, and results often take time. If your objective is to have a significant presence in search engine results within 6 months or a year, you’ll need to allocate a higher budget. Your urgency and how SEO fits into your broader digital marketing plan will influence your timeline.
Playing the Long Game
SEO is best viewed as a long-term investment. Early on, SEO results can be minimal or even non-existent due to the time it takes to build website authority and optimize content. However, with consistency, SEO efforts snowball over time, delivering substantial returns. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and staying the course will yield long-lasting benefits.
Taking Stock of Your Current Website
Every business starts its SEO journey from a different place, and it’s essential to assess where you are before setting your SEO budget. A comprehensive SEO audit should cover areas such as:
- Monthly organic traffic: How many visitors your site attracts from search engines
- Onsite structure: How well-optimized your website architecture is for search engines
- Content-rich pages: The volume and quality of your content
- User engagement: How effectively your site engages visitors (e.g., bounce rate, time on page)
- Social media presence: The role social media plays in driving traffic
- Backlink profile: The quality and quantity of websites linking to your site
Past SEO Efforts
If your business has invested in SEO in the past, you may be in a better position than competitors who are just starting out. For example, if you’ve created strong content that resonates with your audience, your website may already have a solid following. In such cases, you may only need a more targeted SEO approach to hit your business goals.
Monitor Your Organic Rankings
Checking your current SEO rankings and comparing them against past periods helps you gauge the health of your website. If your site’s rankings or traffic are on a decline, a deeper SEO audit is necessary to reverse the trend. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console will provide valuable insights into any issues affecting your site’s performance. If your website has been penalized by Google, addressing those issues will be a priority.
Competitiveness of Your Industry
SEO is competitive, and the level of competition varies by industry. In search engine results pages (SERPs), it’s often a zero-sum game—only the top spots matter. This means your SEO strategy needs to be better than your competitors, not perfect. Here’s how different industries affect your SEO budget:
High Dependency on Digital Channels
Industries that rely heavily on digital channels for customer acquisition—such as floral, plumbing, and SaaS businesses—are more competitive. In these industries, a higher SEO budget is necessary to compete with well-established competitors who have a strong digital presence.
Complex User Journeys
Some products or services require users to gather more information before making a purchase. In such cases, SEO plays an even more critical role because the customer journey starts with information-seeking behavior. Businesses in these sectors, such as financial services or healthcare, will need to invest more heavily in SEO to guide potential customers along their journey.
Competing with Substitute Websites
You might find that your competitors aren’t just other businesses offering the same product or service. In many cases, content platforms, eCommerce sites, and informational websites will compete for the same search terms. This broader competition requires a sophisticated SEO approach to stand out.
Allocating Resources for SEO
Deciding who will handle your SEO tasks is a key factor in determining your budget. Options include:
- Performing SEO in-house: You or your marketing staff handle SEO tasks internally.
- Hiring a freelancer: Costs start from around $300 per month.
- Hiring a digital agency: Prices range from $500 to $2000 depending on the agency’s experience.
- Hiring a full-time SEO specialist: A junior SEO specialist typically costs $2500 per month, while a senior specialist or SEO manager can range from $3500 to $4000.
The size of your budget will depend on the scope of work, industry competition, and the current state of your website.
PR and Link Outreach
Consider setting aside part of your SEO budget for public relations and link outreach. Quality backlinks are essential for ranking well in search engines, and building those links requires either internal expertise or outsourcing to a specialist. PR can also help with brand building, which can indirectly support your SEO efforts.
Interested to Learn More?
Understanding how to allocate resources and budget for your SEO efforts is just the first step. In 2024, MediaPlus Digital remains a pre-approved PSG vendor for Digital Marketing, so small businesses can get up to 70% funding support for their SEO efforts.
With years of experience in SEO for Singapore businesses, we’ve run 100s of successful campaigns, helping clients achieve visibility in SERPs while staying within their budgets. Whether you need to audit your current SEO efforts or build an entire strategy from scratch, our team is here to provide the tailored advice you need.
Contact us today for more information and find out how we can help your business grow through effective SEO strategies and website development service.
