Digital marketing costs: What should you be paying?
To quote, well, ourselves, there are financial benefits to hiring a marketing agency rather than building an in-house team. Last month, we showcased an infographic on our blog that highlighted these cost savings. Even with this identified, there is a remaining question that ponders the difference between the costs of digital marketing agencies, themselves. To help answer this, we broke digital marketing costs into three categories: pay per click campaigns, social media marketing and search engine optimization. We’ve done our research in an attempt to pinpoint the average costs for these services.
For the digital marketing costs associated with PPC campaigns, we looked to Torontonian company Agency Analytics for data. They’re a for agencies platform specializing in dashboards for digital marketing services. On their blog, they sought to conceptualize what agencies should charge for the management of PPC campaigns. They claim that it can vary from $250-$1500 per month, but are quick to point out that it can get “much, much higher.”
Moving onto SMM, we found another passionate organization. The Content Factory is a digital PR firm based out of Pittsburgh in the States. On their blog, they took a deep dive into the digital marketing costs associated with this service. Content Factory mentioned in it that a social media strategy is the most important part of SMM. We agree. But, how much does such a strategy cost? The industry average from their research: $4,000-$7,000 per month.
Luckily for us, in terms of SEO, there is a company that cares about that first category as much as us. As 2011 drew to a close, Moz asked a similar question to the one we just introduced. They surveyed agencies around the world for the digital marketing costs of their work and compiled the results (with the help of AYTM) into an infographic. The most common response for Canadian agencies? $1,001-$1500 per month.
In addition to these monetary takeaways, there are a pair of more qualitative things you should keep in mind. The money you spend doesn’t only go into our pockets, it increases your budget thus increasing your reach. Yes, every once in a while we do like eating our dinners off of a restaurant plate rather than a Tupperware bowl, but a bigger budget (i.e., more spend) generally means greater advertising returns. Secondly, customer service should be at the forefront. Working with an agency that understands you and your business is priceless.