How much should a small business spend on SEO services in 2025?

I’m trying to figure out how much to budget for SEO in 2025 for a small business. SEO is so important for visibility, but I don’t want to go overboard with spending. How much should be enough? Are there areas like content or technical SEO where it’s better to focus the money? And how do I keep a balance between cost and long-term return on investment?

You need to work with an expert who can provide a clear overview of what matters for your business.

SEO strategies vary depending on the business.

Generally speaking, technical SEO is more important for larger websites.

For smaller websites, spending money on content and building authority tends to be more effective.

Here’s a breakdown of what it could look like:

  1. Keyword mapping for all topics that could lead to conversions.

  2. Create pages to target those keywords/topics and optimize them well.

  3. Once your important pages are done, you can do the same for less crucial pages like a blog, which still helps with SEO.

  4. Focus on building authority through backlinks, guest blogs, and similar methods. Google E-E-A-T is a great framework to guide this.

Every situation is different, but getting too focused on technical issues can be counterproductive.

@Jean
This is exactly what you need to do.

What do you mean by ‘small business’? If your business is making $5k a month, you don’t need to spend too much. But if it’s $30-40k a month, spending $2k or $3k seems reasonable. SEO should make up a significant part of your marketing budget, but keep your total marketing budget above 10%.

I think spending $500 - $2000 a month is a good range for small businesses and local SEO. My lowest package is around $500, like a few others here.

It depends.

On what? On your website size, how competitive your market is, where you’re located, the number of keywords you want to target, and whether you’re a new or established business. What’s your goal? More visibility? More leads? Sales? E-commerce or services?

Every factor plays a role. Technical SEO can be done once and then forgotten, but if you keep adding pages, the work doesn’t end. Content, social media, ads, and overall marketing are crucial for success. Google can only do so much.

I’d say $1k - $1,500 per month is ideal for a small business. No more, no less.

Don’t think of SEO as ‘spending’ too much. If it’s done right, you can’t really overspend on SEO because its return on ad spend (ROAS) is usually much better than other marketing methods. Just make sure it’s done properly.

Prices vary by agency or specialist. For example, our lowest plan is $500 a month, but we also have enterprise clients spending $5k. We also offer individual services like keyword lists, which can be purchased without committing to a monthly plan.

The average seems to be between $1k to $2k per month.

Technical SEO is a one-time fix. Focus more on content and quality backlinks—the more, the better. But yeah, I’d recommend hiring a content writer with expertise in your niche. Generic content won’t be very helpful. A minimum of $1k to start seems reasonable, but it might be more depending on your business size and competition.

@EvansBrown13
That’s not correct. Technical SEO is ongoing. Rookie mistake.

Layla said:
@EvansBrown13
That’s not correct. Technical SEO is ongoing. Rookie mistake.

I agree, technical SEO is ongoing.

Layla said:
@EvansBrown13
That’s not correct. Technical SEO is ongoing. Rookie mistake.

Everything in SEO is ongoing. If you can’t fix 90% of technical SEO right away, that’s a rookie mistake (it’s not rocket science).

Use AI and hire a content editor to add the human touch to your content. This is important for content creation.

When investing in SEO as a small business in 2025, it’s a strategic move to boost online visibility and attract customers. The budget can vary depending on competition and your business goals, but a good rule of thumb is to allocate 5-10% of your revenue to marketing, with a significant chunk going towards SEO. This should cover both content creation and technical SEO, as both areas can offer great returns. Content helps to engage users and increase traffic, while technical SEO ensures your website is working well and ranking higher.

Choosing the right provider like SEO Echelon can be valuable, especially in industries like healthcare. Their experience can help tailor strategies to meet industry-specific needs, ensuring compliance and targeting the right audience. Ultimately, balancing cost with long-term return on investment is key. By tracking metrics and adjusting strategies based on results, small businesses can optimize their SEO spending for continued growth.

SEO involves several activities like on-page, off-page, and technical SEO that give an organic boost to your website. A minimum of $150 per month would be a good starting point for a small business.

The cost should depend on what goals you’re aiming to achieve.

If SEO is critical for your business, consider spending up to $2,500 a month, but the rate might change depending on whether the focus is on off-page or technical SEO.

I’m interested in this discussion, but I think you need to be clear about how much you want to spend based on your income.

For example, I earn about $1k per month freelancing, so I wouldn’t spend $249 a month on an Ahrefs plan.

I’m curious to hear what others think about this.

I charge clients $500 to $2,000 per month. I focus on keyword content for local SEO. But there’s a big difference between what I do for someone paying $500 versus $2,000. I’d need to look at the website and the market before I can say what would be a good deal and how long it might take to see results. If you’re in a small town with little competition, there’s no reason to pay the higher price.