The reason most businesses struggle with marketing is not that they aren’t spending enough. More often, it’s because their marketing budget is scattered and doesn’t have a clear direction. They’re making an effort, but not the right moves.
SEO and PPC often get lumped together as part of a bigger marketing budget. The problem is that nobody really knows how much those services should cost. How much should you be spending on SEO or Google Ads to make the investment worthwhile?
The answers aren’t always straightforward.
SEO vs. PPC: Do I Need to Budget for Both?
SEO and PPC both bring in traffic, but they work in completely different ways.
- SEO: You’re investing in the work itself, not paying for each visitor.
- PPC: Every click has a cost tied to it, whether or not those clicks lead to conversions.
- Effect: SEO builds gradually, while PPC can show results almost immediately.
- Cost over time: SEO gets more efficient as time goes on, while PPC needs constant attention.
PPC can help bring in traffic quickly. SEO builds something more stable. Lumping both of these aspects together in one budget doesn’t work. You could end up spending too much of your budget on one and missing out on the advantages of the other. The trick is figuring out how much to spend on each.
How Much Does SEO Cost?
SEO is a long-term investment. It doesn’t deliver instant results. That’s just not how it works. But over time, it starts to bring in steady traffic without needing to pay for each click.
Setting a budget for SEO depends a lot on the starting point. A brand new site is going to need a different level of work than one that already has some traction. Most of the cost is tied to the work itself: technical fixes, content or keyword targeting. If there’s more to do, the cost goes up.
Some businesses pay monthly to keep things moving consistently. Others tackle SEO in pieces, fixing what needs attention first and building from there. On the lower end, you might see a few hundred dollars per month. In competitive industries, that number can increase quite a bit.
How Much Should I Spend on Google Ads?
Google Ads seems easy at first because you get to control the budget. The tricky part is figuring out where that budget should go.
Some businesses start small. They run a few experiments with ads just to get a feel for how things work. Others invest more up front, especially when competition is high. Cost-per-click definitely influences reach, and a bigger budget can often mean a bigger return.
PPC can bring in traffic quickly, which is why it’s so appealing. At the same time, it only works while you’re actively spending, so it has to be managed with intention. There isn’t a perfect starting point. It’s usually better to choose a number you can stick with for a bit, gather data, and adjust from there.
How to Budget for Online Marketing
The first step is deciding what you actually want to get out of online marketing. More leads? More sales? Better visibility? Intention matters more than numbers at the start.
Next, decide on the percent of your revenue that you want to allocate to marketing, and spread it out across several channels. You’ll need to budget for SEO, PPC, social media, and content creation.
The final step is analyzing what’s working and adjusting your strategy to make it work even better. This step doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to happen. A small tweak here or there can have exponential results over time.
Tips for Working with a Smart Marketing Budget:
- Follow the data. Analytics are your friends. When you know which efforts are actually producing results, you can adjust your spend accordingly. If your Google ads aren’t getting as much traction as your Facebook ads, you know where to put your spending.
- Stay flexible. Shifting your main focus periodically allows you to stretch a small budget farther. Spending more on SEO some months is fine as long as you make up for it by expanding your PPC campaigns in others.
- Don’t be afraid to try new things. Spending too little severely limits what you’re able to test or learn from your campaigns. Don’t be afraid to experiment with increasing your marketing budget.
- Track your conversions. Traffic is great, but if clicks aren’t turning into sales, something needs to change. It could be a problem with site speed or design. It could be a problem with ad targeting.
Building a Strategy That Fits Your Budget
There’s a big step between deciding how much you want to spend on marketing and making sure that the budget meets its full potential. It’s not about how much you’re spending, it’s about where you’re spending. Without a clear direction, it’s easy for a budget to turn into guesswork.
With a custom marketing plan, things get a lot easier. Let the experts figure out where you should be allocating your funds and what’s working or what’s not. Let them analyze the data and come up with a better strategy.
Want a little help with digital marketing? Tell us about your goals, and we’ll find the best way to make your budget work for you. Contact New Wine Digital to schedule a consultation or request a quote for SEO and PPC services.
Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 05/04/2026