If you’ve been wondering whether investing in SEO and blogging is worth it for your business, you’re not alone. Many business owners recognize the value of being easily found online but might not understand why SEO and blogs are some of the most powerful tools for doing so.
Since business owners didn’t start their business to become writers, or digital marketers, they often turn to SEO companies , like SBMS Media, to provide these services. But if you are going to invest in SEO – we think you should know all the pros, cons, costs, and timelines.
If you aren’t a big reader – here is the short version of this article:
Pros: Marketing blogs are an excellent way to bring in your ideal client as a prospect, increase your award rate, increase your sales revenue, and decrease your advertising spend.
Cons: Blogging is a source of leads for the future, it takes quite a bit of time, requires an expert or a dedicated person/team to ensure the strategy and plan are correctly executed. If you need immediate leads, consider investing in advertising on google or social media.
Costs: Ranging from $300/month up to tens of thousands of dollars per month, depending on many factors that we will dive into later in this article.
Timelines: A strategy takes 1-3 weeks to develop depending on the service provider, 3-6 months to see increased visibility, and 6-12 months to see a return on your investment.
So with that in mind, and for those of you who don’t mind reading a little more. . . let’s dive into the reasons behind investing in a marketing blog, the process involved, and the long-term benefits that can help you grow a more visible, sustainable business.
The Purpose of SEO and Blogs
A well-crafted blog and a strong SEO strategy are the best ways to get your business noticed online and to attract the ideal clients you want to work with, organically. But it’s not as easy as writing a few blog posts and hoping they take off. SEO and blogs require a specific focus, a clear strategy, and, yes, time.
Having your administrative assistant, cousin, or freelancer write up a few articles is not advisable unless they have specific digital marketing experience. Marketing blogs require careful planning, strategy, and implementation if you are going to see real results.
What Blogs Do For Your Business
A blog is an opportunity to showcase your expertise, help potential customers with the questions they’re searching for, add value to your website and push your website up the Google rankings.
Each blog post is a mini advertisement that works quietly in the background, steadily attracting more visitors, generating leads, and building trust in your brand.
We like to think of blogs as digital salespeople, and we advise you to think the same way.
A solid blog post has a lot of “jobs”. It needs to:
- Be optimized to be found organically. This is where high-level search engine optimization (SEO) strategy comes in. Blog posts needs to include keywords that are popular with your target audience, helping it appear when they search for topics you cover. They ask a question online, your website answers it – the consumer believes your content and agrees with your brand content – and then eventually contacts you – that is how trust is built.
- Engage readers. To capture attention, your blog content must be discuss topics, trends, and FAQs that are current and relevant to the reader. Ideally, we want readers to stay on your page for at least a minute—showing search engines that your content is valuable.
- Work as a stand-alone article. Each blog post should be able to provide value on its own with an opportunity for a lead capture.
- Connect to other articles and pages. This requires a detailed content strategy and site architecture plan and is critical for internal linking and funnel building. Internal linking is critical in creating a cohesive “book of content” on your website that keeps users exploring and learning more about what your company offers.
Publishing and Distributing Blogs
The blog isn’t done once its written and published. It also needs to be distributed across multiple channels, providing opportunities for additional exposure throughout the internet and gaining backlinks from other relevant sites.
Each blog post requires a careful planning, publishing, and distribution plan. Once a post goes live, sharing it across various platforms amplifies its reach.
This process, while time-intensive, ensures your blog is visible to the right people. When you invest with a service provider offering rates at $300, $500, $1000 – you are likely not getting distribution or backlinking services – so be sure to ask!
The Investment of Time in Blogging
A single blog post isn’t just a quick write-up. When done right, it’s an asset crafted with intent, using specific keywords, optimized images, and proper distribution across your channels.
The process can take anywhere from two to six hours per blog, depending on the complexity of the topic and whether or not your marketing agency is leveraging tools like AI.
Tip: Be sure to ask your SEO company what their standard operating process is in relation to AI assistance in their content creation.
At SBMS Media, we believe quality trumps quantity, so taking the time to create something valuable is well worth it.
How Much Content is Enough?
To see your business rank on the first page for key terms, it generally requires producing around 300 well-crafted blogs. This volume allows the ability to target all primary keywords for your industry and hundreds, if not thousands, of secondary keywords as well.
That might sound daunting and expensive, but it can be broken down into manageable steps:
- At 1 blog per week (52 blogs per year), this process will take about six years.
- At 2 blogs per week, you can expect this to take closer to three years.
- At 3 blogs per week, you could see results within two years.
- At 5 blogs per week, you could see results in 1.5 years
When we say “results” we mean reaching that goal of 300 articles
The Cost of Hiring an SEO Company for Marketing Blogs
Rates for hiring an SEO company vary widely depending on the size of company, scope of services, frequency of publishing, complexity of the content, length of the content and whether or not they include videos, images, or graphic designs in their content.
Why Patience is Key
It can take 3-6 months to see an increase in your online visibility and 6 months to a year to see a return on your investment.
And managing tracking the return on investment between organic leads versus paid leads can be complicated if you don’t have a good CRM and a good incoming lead process. If you work with a fully outsourced marketing agency or fractional CMO, they will assist you with developing a good process.
Your search results will vary by device, by geography, and by user and that can sometimes be confusing for business owners who are new to investing in marketing blogs.
The good news is, each page will rank independently and the content will compound and eventually push your entire site to the top of Google.
None of the information in this section is meant to deter you – its to help you make a decision with eyes wide open.
If you remember that this is your digital sales person, and that all your ideal clients are on Google searching for answers to their questions before making a big purchase- you will hopefully see the value in investing in a marketing blog.
SEO: The Foundation of Being Found
Search engine optimization is at the core of being found online. SEO includes the careful placement of keywords within your content, the structure of your website, how frequently you publish, and the value you provide to readers. Effective SEO is also an ongoing process; while you can just “set it and forget it” – if you do that, you will eventually lose your rankings (depending on how competitive your market is that could take months or years).
Basically, blogs need yearly updates to stay relevant but updating is significantly less challenging and less costly than building new -so as your company grows, you can start investing elsewhere.
In fact, a well laid out marketing plan lays the foundation for a video campaign, which can easily add value to your blogs. Adding an email nurturing campaign or funnel is another way to build on the blogs, as the years progress.
SEO should be seen as a continuous effort—almost like another employee working 24/7 to help potential clients find you. By treating SEO as a constant part of your marketing plan, you set your business up for long-term visibility and success.
Thinking of Blogs as an Investment
Think of blogs as an investment, both of time and effort, with a continuous payoff. Each post works tirelessly 24 hours a day/7 days a week, connecting you with potential clients, building brand awareness, and showcasing your expertise.
Unlike other forms of advertising that come with high costs, blogs are cost-effective, giving you long-lasting visibility without breaking the bank.
How Small Business Marketing Solutions Can Help
At Small Business Marketing Solutions, we offer affordable SEO services to growth-oriented businesses looking to enhance their online presence.
Our services include “Done with You” and “Done for You” bundled solutions as well as live training workshops, ensuring you have the support you need to maximize your reach.
Whether you’re looking for SEO support on a single blog post or a complete, multi-channel SEO strategy, we’re here to help you grow.
Is SEO and Blogging Worth the Investment?
Yes, SEO and blogging are absolutely worth the investment. They offer a proven way to build long-term visibility, attract the right clients, and stand out in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. While it’s a time-intensive process, the potential for growth makes it invaluable for small businesses.
When approached with strategy and consistency, blogs can become a powerhouse tool, driving your business forward and connecting you to clients you’ll love working with.
