As a small or medium-sized business owner, you’ll no doubt always be looking for ways to save money when promoting your products and services online.
Indeed, you may even have worked on your digital marketing campaign single-handily, doing everything from writing content for your blog to managing your social media handles.
SEO, however, is a different story and requires you to outsource the work to an expert for the best results. Doing it on your own is often too complex without spending countless hours reading books, watching YouTube videos and paying for SEO software you’ll never use.
Fear not – there is a way to rank on Google without spending thousands of dollars. Below, we have put together the simplest ways to save money when working on an SEO campaign.
Write your own content
One of the most effective ways to increase your rank on search engines such as Google is through link building, and that involves writing content to put on other people’s websites. If you want to save some money and enjoy writing guides, tutorials, and informative pieces, then you could write your own material and post it on other websites through guest blogging.
If you write a blog a week, then that’s four new links built every month, and those can quickly add up and result in ranking increases. Remember to choose the right links and keywords when writing content, and only place your material on real, authentic websites with traffic.
Use SEO software alternatives
If you’re doing your own SEO, then one of the most expensive things about your work will be the SEO software, with SEMrush and Ahrefs charging hundreds of dollars per month for a plan.
If you don’t want to spend that much, then consider SEO alternatives, like free link checkers, monitoring tools, and Google Search Console to get ideas for new keywords. You will need to work harder to find the right information, but you’ll save thousands per year.
Choose a low-cost agency
If you’ve been paying a marketing agency hundreds to run an SEO campaign and you’re not getting the desired results, then consider a company that offers an affordable SEO service instead.
The truth is that you’re going to need to spend something to get the desired results, but many marketing agencies overcharge for their own, or even outsource your SEO and add a markup.
Make sure you shop around for the best deal – but remember that cheap SEO companies may try to cut corners or use black hat techniques, so do your own research.
Take it slow and steady
Many businesses fall into the ‘I want to be rank one now’ trap – but the truth is that nobody can offer you overnight results.
One way to reduce your SEO spend is to be realistic and set achievable goals, such as properly optimizing your website one month, and building links the next.
If you’re sensible and work on a slow and steady campaign, you’ll naturally start to rank over time. Make SEO part of your weekly marketing routine, or pay a company that can offer a quality service for a reasonable price month in month out, and you’ll be on to a winner.
Wrapping up
There you have it – just a few ways to save money when working on an SEO campaign.
We wish you the very best of luck with your venture – with hard work and the right strategy, you’ll get to where you want to be on search.