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How Much Does Digital Marketing Cost? (2024)
“More than 80% of the customers turn to online search before making a purchase.”
Have key stats like these encouraged you to enhance your brand image on the online landscape with the help of digital marketing? Undoubtedly, the idea to engage in a digital marketing campaign is one of the best decisions you make for your business. However, digital marketing cost is something that bothers most of the business owners. Most people drop the plan without even having the right idea about the cost of digital marketing campaigns.
To ensure you don’t make the same mistake, we have come up with a complete guide for digital marketing costs. In this article, we will talk about the pricing estimation of different services falling under online marketing so you can make the right decision.
Key facts about digital marketing?
- As per the data, Google receives 77,000 searches every second. The chances of you getting noticed by the customers for relevant products are maximum on this platform.
- More than 45% of businesses send regular emails every week to their leads.
- 78% of salespeople who are using social media to reach their target audience are performing better than their competitors.
- Around 57% of businesses around the world have acquired a customer via their company blog.
- More than 27% of people open their social media accounts just after waking up.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing is also known as online marketing. It is a form of new age advertising practices that helps the brand to reach its target audience with the help of the internet. Digital marketing strategy encompasses various platforms and techniques like social media, search engines, paid advertisement, email marketing, and much more that make the overall campaign effective.
One of the biggest core competencies that digital marketing carries is smart targeting. Unlike the traditional means of advertising, digital marketing allows marketers to reach a relevant audience by analyzing their preferences, age groups, purchase behavior, and other demographic factors.
How Much Does Digital Marketing Cost?
You can find businesses spending $2000 on digital advertising on a monthly basis while you can also find other companies spending 10 times this amount. So, what is the exact cost of digital marketing, and how many dollars do you need to have in your pocket before opting for digital marketing?
Clearly, there is no exact cost for digital advertising as it depends entirely on the needs, sizes, digital marketing strategy, and preferences of the businesses. At the same time, different packages carry different online marketing platforms, which influence the cost entirely.
For example, a business in an average industry with average competition should dedicate at least 20 hours a month to digital marketing. On the other hand, a company with a more competitive industry will have to spend more time than the previous one. Similarly, suppose it is a startup, or the website is in a brutal state. In that case, they will have to put more investment, time, and effort into being on the first page of search engines as compared to a website that is already ruling on the second page and putting efforts to be on the first one.
As a proficient digital marketing firm, we have seen numerous businesses spending from $500 to $50,000 monthly to ensure their strong online presence. Let’s glance over the overall digital marketing practices and how much they cost a business. You should remember that all these figures are approximate estimations of the amount spent by most companies, and the figures might differ according to specified needs and preferences.
| Digital Marketing Service | Average Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Search Engine Optimization | $2000-$5000 |
| Pay-per-click advertising | $9000-15000 |
| Email marketing | $500-$4000 |
| Social media marketing | $1000-$5000 |
| Website design | $2500-$50000 |
| Content marketing | $2000-$10000 |
The choice of digital marketing services varies from industry to industry and is highly dependent on the type of target audience a brand is entertaining. As we interpreted before, the size of businesses is also a big determinant of the cost of digital marketing. Let’s have a look at how business size affects digital marketing budgets with the help of numbers-
| Size of the business | Average monthly spending |
|---|---|
| Small Sized business | $ 5,000-$20,000 |
| Mid Sized business | $20,000-$80,000 |
| Enterprise level business | $100,000 and above |
Having gone to through the estimated digital marketing cost, it is time to know about different hiring models for an online marketing campaign. There are different models that help businesses to hire a team of digital marketing, which includes hourly, monthly, and project basis. Following is the difference in digital marketing prices between these models-
| Hiring Model | Cost |
|---|---|
| Per hour pricing | Approx. $100 |
| Monthly pricing | Approx $3000 |
| Per project pricing | Approx $30,000-$50,000 |
SEO Cost or Search Engine Optimization Cost
Having gone through the overall digital marketing costs, it is important to understand the plan’s cost distribution. It helps ensure that a digital marketing agency delivers the work according to its charge of services. SEO is one of the core parts of digital marketing strategies that helps a brand rule the Search Engine Page Results. According to Advanced Web Ranking, 67% of the total clicks on search engines go to the first 5 results appearing on the SERP.
Following is the complete cost evaluation for SEO services–
| Service Package | Description | Monthly Cost | One-Time Setup Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic SEO | On-page optimization, keyword research | $300-$500 | $300-$500 |
| Standard SEO | Content creation + Basic creation | $500-$800 | $300-$500 |
| Advanced SEO | Standard SEO + Link Building | $800-$1500 | $500-$800 |
| Local SEO | Local SEO optimization | $400-$600 | $200-$400 |
| E-commerce SEO | SEO for online commerce | $600-$1000 | $400-$600 |
| Enterprise SEO | Customized SEO for large businesses | Customized according to requirements | Customized according to requirements |
| SEO Audit | SEO auditing and recommendations | $200-$400 | NA |
| SEO Consultation | Expert advice and strategy development | Free | Free |
While all the above SEO services are crucial for businesses to secure a good position on search engine result pages, one can customize their plan after consulting with a digital marketing agency or partner. The choice of services alters the pricing for a particular package.
Social Media Marketing Cost
Social media is a great platform when a business wants to target the youth population. As an interactive marketing platform, social media has a great influencing power to encourage customers to purchase. According to IBM, 55% of the buyers do research about the product on social media before making the purchase.
Social media marketing is one of the most effective forms of digital marketing strategies as it enables brands to showcase their products and offerings creatively. At the same time, businesses get a platform to interact directly with their end users, gather feedback, make announcements, and seek suggestions. Running advertisements and posting about the brand on social media is a great way to remain connected with the audience.
So, here is the pricing plan that a business has to follow in order to leverage all these advantages-
| Service Package | Description | Monthly Cost | One-Time Setup Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic social media management | Basic content creation, engagement monitoring, daily posts on one platform | $500-$1,000 | $300-$500 |
| Advanced social media management | More frequent posts on multiple platforms, in depth analytics, content scheduling | $1000-$2500 | $500-$1000 |
| Social media advertising | Paid ad campaigns creations and management on different social media platforms | $800-$2000 + ad spend | $300-$800 |
| Influencer marketing | Identifying and partnering with relevant influencers for marketing | Customized according to requirements | Customized according to requirements |
| Content creation | High quality content production like articles, videos, and graphics | $600-$1000 | $400-$600 |
| Social media audit | Current social media presence evaluation | $500-$1500 | $100-$300 |
| Social media strategy | Social media strategy plan development | $1000-$3000 | $300-$500 |
| Analytics and Reporting | Uniform performance tracking and reporting | Included in management fee | Free |
The complete package of social media marketing falls anywhere between $1000-$5000. The above price segregation allows businesses to opt for the services they need according to their target audience and customize the package.
PPC Marketing Pricing
PPC marketing also called pay-per-click marketing, is basically the paid form of marketing that brings leads to your brand. By fostering PPC marketing, one can secure a space on search engines, social media, and other digital marketing platforms to grab the user’s attention. According to statistics, 90% of internet users see Google ads that bring good traffic to the website. While most people don’t find a difference between sponsored ads and links on search engines, securing a prime position with PPC becomes an effective way to reach the target audience.
There is no doubt that PPC marketing requires more investment than other forms of marketing; it can potentially bring more carts to the counter. Here is a complete idea regarding the cost of the PPC Advertising campaign.
| Service Package | Description | Monthly Cost | One-Time Setup Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search Engine PPC | Creation and management of ads on search engines, keyword research, optimize ad copy, task performance | $1000-$10000 | $500-$2000 |
| Display advertising | Image designing, video ads, specific audience targeting, ad optimization | $500-$5000 | $300-$1500 |
| Social media PPC | Develop and manage social media ads, demographics targeting, engagement metrics analysis | $500-$5000 | $200-$1000 |
| Remarketing | Creating ads for users who visited the site, customized ad content, ad optimization | $500-$3000 | $200-$1000 |
| Shopping ads | Set up and manage product listing | $1000-$5000 | $500-$2000 |
Email Marketing Pricing
Email marketing is one of the cost-effective but proven marketing practices where a brand reaches its target audience with customized emails about products, services, and announcements. According to Forbes, email marketing has delivered over 4300% ROI to its users, making this marketing tactic one of the most effective choices of marketers.
At the same time, email marketing can be integrated into any digital marketing strategy and thus does not require significant investment as well as doesn’t impact the ongoing marketing efforts. A range of automated email software has made it easy to shoot thousands of emails to potential customers in no time, lowering the cost of opting for email marketing. Here is the cost segregation for the email marketing pricing–
| Service Package | Description | Monthly Cost | One-Time Setup Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email platform | Email marketing software subscription | $50 – $500 | $0 – $500 |
| Template design | Custom email template creation | $100 – $500 | $50 – $300 |
| List management | List segmentation and maintenance | $10 – $50 | $50 – $200 |
| Content creation | Writing and designing email content | $50 – $300 | $0 – $200 |
| A/B Testing | Split testing for email campaign optimization | $20 – $100 | $0 – $100 |
| List growth | Strategy implementation to grow email list | $20 – $100 | $0 – $200 |
| Automation | Automated email sequence setup | $30 – $200 | $100 – $500 |
| Analytics | Campaign performance tracking and reporting | $10 – $50 | $0 – $100 |
How Much Should a Company Spend on Digital Marketing?
As we discussed before, the investment requirements for the digital marketing strategy implementation are highly viable as a range of factors determine the campaign’s pricing. While a big enterprise might be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on digital marketing, a small firm might not have that figure even as their revenue, let alone spending on digital marketing.
However, there is a certain percentage of total annual sales for businesses operating in different industries that they can invest in digital marketing efforts and achieve a good outcome. Have a look at the following table-
| Industry | Percentage of revenue to invest in Digital Marketing |
|---|---|
| Communication | 9% |
| Construction | 3% |
| Consumer packaged goods | 9% |
| Consulting | 8% |
| Consumer services | 19% |
| Energy | 8% |
| Education | 12% |
| Finance | 9% |
| Healthcare | 9% |
| Manufacturing | 2% |
| Insurance | 9% |
| Retail wholesale | 4% |
| Technology | 10% |
Factors that Determine the Cost Requirement for a Digital Marketing Campaign
Having obtained a basic understanding of the revenue percentage sufficient for online marketing investment, let’s look at the different factors that help to accurately determine the overall campaign cost.
Goal of the Campaign
The goal of a brand says a lot about the cost requirement for a campaign. Digital marketing carries a wide spectrum of services like SEO, SMO, PPC, Content marketing, and more. All these services help to achieve different goals and carry different budgeting. So, the campaign’s business goal is the first and core factor in assessing the pricing.
Offline Efforts in Marketing
If the firm is already engaged in offline marketing and has good recognition among the target audience, it cuts down the efforts for digital marketing. Just a good online presence is sufficient to bring a huge audience. In this case, the investment cost in digital marketing falls by a fraction.
Competitive Landscape
The higher competition requires more effort and, thus an increased budget. If the industry of businesses is not competitive, it becomes easier to grab people’s attention. On the other hand, industries like IT and fashion require a complete ocean of effort to achieve the results.
Platform Choice
Different platforms for digital marketing has different investment nature. The social media platform and other online platforms that a business is opting for say a lot about the overall pricing of the digital marketing campaign. For example, social media marketing on Facebook will cost much less than campaigning on different platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Hiring Model
There are different hiring models to engage with a digital marketing entity. Per-hour, monthly, and project-based subscriptions are some of the popular models. Choosing the right hiring model according to the nature of your project is crucial as it is going to impact your budget hugely. The project-based model can be suitable if you have a definite plan with the requirements. On the other hand, if you need more clarification about the strategies and requirements, the monthly subscription can be a better option.
Digital Marketing Pricing Models
Digital marketing services are offered by different types of entities using different kinds of pricing models. However, most of the time, you can find the digital marketing entity using multiple pricing models to ensure payment flexibility for their clients. While the right method of choosing the pricing model is by analyzing the nature of the project, most businesses take decisions based on their comfort mode of payment.
Ensure to choose the right pricing model when hiring a digital marketing team-
Monthly Pricing Plan
When the digital marketing service provider and service seekers agree that the payment will be made monthly, it is called a monthly pricing plan. This subscription model is one of the best monthly pricing plans where businesses don’t have to put in a hefty amount at once while maintaining their strong online presence.
At the same time, working with a monthly pricing model offers you the flexibility to change the vendor if they need to do better for a long time.
Hourly Pricing Plan
This is one of the rarely used pricing models in the digital marketing arena. As the name suggests, the businesses pay the digital marketing vendor on an hourly basis for their services. Hourly pricing plans might not be an effective method for digital marketing as one can not be sure about the time it takes to cover the different tasks. Thus, the overall cost of the campaign falls even more than the project-based model or monthly subscription.
Project-based Pricing Plan
When hiring a digital marketing team with a project-based pricing model, one pays a flat fee for the entire project instead of paying monthly, weekly, or hourly. With a project, the whole plan, tasks, and strategies are discussed in advance, and the digital marketing team quotes a price that has to be paid by the client. While the client and digital marketing agencies can set the payment schedule by mutual understanding, this kind of pricing model can only be used when the requirements and plan are well defined.
Why Hire The NineHertz for Digital Marketing Services?
The Ninehertz has been operating in the market for more than 14 years, exploring the different industries and adding new services to the portfolio. We take pleasure in announcing names like Pepsi, Adani, Casio, Jio, Hinduja, Akamai, and many more as our clients. While you can find hundreds of digital marketing companies in USA in the market, we have core competencies that help you achieve the predefined goals in the least time and investment.
Here are some of the reasons for being the right choice for your digital marketing project-
- 14+ years of establishing a strong name in the industry
- A dedicated team of marketers carrying expertise in their respective areas of specialization
- Free consulting sessions to help guide you through the digital journey and take the right steps
- Pre-service and Post-service support to keep your online presence on track
- Data-driven decision-making to make informed decisions and achieve the goals
- Multiple hiring models provide you flexibility in choosing pricing plans.
Wrapping Up
Digital marketing efforts in the right direction are taking businesses to the next level, and thus, the race between brands to engage in digital marketing programs has also increased. While all small and medium-sized companies also want to leverage the benefits of this new technological concept, the unfamiliarity of pricing mostly ends their journey before even beginning. So, before making any negative or even positive decision, have a consultation session with The NineHertz and strengthen your recognition over your competitors.
Frequency Asked Questions
1. How Much Does Digital Marketing Cost?
Digital marketing agency pricing depends on different factors like choice of services, business size, competitive landscape, and much more. A rough pricing plan for digital marketing services is between $1000 to $10,000.
2. How Much Should You Budget for Digital Marketing?
Depending upon the industry of your business, you must dedicate anywhere between 6% to 12% of the total revenue to digital marketing practices of your firm.
3. What are the Factors that Determine the Cost of Digital Marketing Services?
There are different factors that combined determine the digital marketing budget for a business. The factors include but are not limited to-
- Competitive landscape
- Size of the business
- Choice of platforms
- Ad spending
- Hiring model
- Goal of the campaign
4. What are the Different Types of Services that One Can opt for in a Digital Marketing Campaign?
There are different types of services that a digital marketing campaign focuses on to achieve predefined results-
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Optimization
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Influencer Marketing
5. What are the Different Pricing Models for Digital Marketing Services?
There are three pricing models that most of the clients and vendors prefer for digital marketing services. The first one is a monthly subscription, where the client pays the digital marketing team on a monthly basis. The second one is hourly, where the total digital marketing budget is calculated by the number of hours the marketing team worked on the project. The last is the project-based model, where the client and digital marketing agencies agree on a definite amount for a project.
