It doesn’t matter whether you operate your business from a fancy office in a skyscraper or your garage. You have to bear the burden of investing in digital marketing.
Now, that investment can either be of your time or your money.
Learning the tricks of the digital marketing trade on your own is definitely rewarding.
But, it’s a bumpy ride.
You need to implement and test the techniques you learn alongside managing core responsibilities within your company.
Thus, your returns with this method will probably not be the same as someone who has paid for the help of a competent agency.
And remember, time is money too. So, you have to choose your sacrifice wisely.
Moving on… there’s no actual ceiling to the amount of money you can spend on digital marketing.
That’s because every business is inherently different and delineating a one-size-fits-all cost breakdown for everyone is nearly impossible.
Does that mean you need to turn a blind eye to your digital marketing costs? Hell no!
But, before diving into the average costs for individual channels, let’s understand what influences digital marketing pricing.
Factors that Shape Digital Marketing Costs
Right off the bat, the size of your organization will heavily determine the kind of digital marketing services you need.
That’s because larger organisations have more money to spend and can avail a wide array of services.
On the other hand, small and medium sized businesses need to work with a strictly capped marketing budget.
For example, a smaller company with a tight marketing budget will likely avoid paid marketing channels like the plague.
Instead, they’ll need help in optimizing their organic growth channels to the best possible extent.
On the other hand, a large enterprise will have no problems investing in an aggressive PPC marketing strategy on top of paying for optimizing organic growth channels.
Furthermore, the timeline in which you expect results will also affect the size of your budget and the scope of the services you need.
That’s because the speed at which you get results is directly proportional to the size of your marketing spend.
Well, that’s assuming you partner with a competent agency that knows what it’s doing.
Oh! And the type of agency you choose will also determine your marketing spend.
So, in a nutshell, your digital marketing pricing is affected by:
- The size of your company.
- The scope of the services you need.
- The timeline in which you expect results.
- The agency you partner with.
Now, let’s dive into the details you came here for.
Average Costs Linked with Various Digital Marketing Channels
Organic growth channels are generally cheaper than their paid counterparts.
Let’s see a breakdown of the costs linked with both.
Organic Growth ChannelsThese are trusted channels that deliver slow results.
But, once they pick up the pace, their ROI keeps growing exponentially over the years.
The average costs linked with them are:
Service |
What it means |
Growth Metrics |
Resources Needed |
Budget |
On-page Optimization |
Making your website & landing pages SEO -friendly & mobile friendly |
•Increase traffic •Decrease Bounce Rate |
•Designer •HTML Developer •SEO Strategist |
$100 (quarterly) |
Keyword SEO |
Showing up your web pages and landing pages for high volume search keywords on google |
•Increase Traffic •Lead generation |
•SEO Strategist •SEO Team |
$200 (ongoing) |
Content Marketing |
Creating high quality content for blogs, social posts, emails and ads on your blog |
•Increase Traffic •Increase subscriptions |
•Content Writer •SEO Strategist •Designer |
$200 (ongoing) |
Inbound Marketing |
Nurturing Leads to conversion to retention via marketing automation, funnel optimization and retargeting |
•Boost ROI •Decrease CPA’s •Increase Revenue •Decrease Sales Cycle •Build High Quality Sales Pipeline |
•Inbound Marketing Expert •MarTech Expert •Content Writer •Designer |
$500 (half yearly) |
Social Media Marketing |
Promote your content via social media platforms by create engaging, inspirational & fun content to build your brand presence and reach new audience group |
•Build Social Proof •Reach New Audience •Build Brand |
•Content Writer •Social Media Manager •Designer |
$200 (ongoing costs) |
Guest Posts & Backlinks |
Write for other high DA websites and get backlinks to your website |
•Increase organic presence •Increase DA |
•Content Writer •SEO Strategist |
$500 (once in two months) |
Email Marketing |
Cold Email Outreach |
•Lead Generation |
•Content Writer •Digital Marketer |
$200 (ongoing) |
Paid Growth Channels
If you’re looking for ways to speed up lead generation and expedite revenue growth, you can’t go wrong with paid growth channels.
They deliver quick results but require a heftier investment compared to organic growth channels.
The average costs linked with them are:
Service |
What it means |
Growth Metrics |
Resources Needed |
Ongoing Budget (with avg. ad budgets) |
Paid Social |
Running ads on facebook, instagram, pinterest, quora, linkedin |
•Increase traffic •Lead generation |
•Designer •HTML Developer •PPC Strategist |
$2000 |
Display Advertising |
Banner ads on high DA websites via google or platforms like taboola |
•Increase Traffic •Lead generation |
•Designer •HTML Developer •PPC Strategist |
$1500 |
Search Advertising |
Keyword search on google and bing |
•Increase Traffic •Lead generation |
•Designer •HTML Developer •PPC Strategist |
$2000 |
Remarketing |
Retargeting leads via email, push and social ads to get them to convert |
•Boost ROI •Decrease CPA’s •Build High Quality Sales Pipeline |
•Inbound Marketing Expert •MarTech Expert •Content Writer •Designer |
$500 |
Paid links & PR |
Promote your content via paid sources and media |
•Build Social Proof •Increase Traffic |
•Content Writer •Social Media Manager |
$1000 |
Influencer Marketing |
Product endorsement by industry influencers |
•Build Brand •Build Social Proof •Lead generation |
•Content Writer •Social Media Manager |
$1000 |
The Takeaway
Investing in digital marketing services is important.
However, your success doesn't rely solely on your budget.
Infact, inbound tactics don’t demand a big investment at all.
You can even learn them on your own.
But, like we said before, time is money, and you can never have enough of it.
So, if you’re on the same page as us and need help in nailing our inbound marketing strategy, feel free to book a free brainstorming session here.