We started Sisu in 2018 to be a resource for small businesses and early startups to receive the marketing they need to be successful. Oftentimes, professionals in our industry ask us a common question - " why do you work with some brands at such a low rate?"
After spending years working with numerous agencies, we found that the standard rate for these services is out of reach for many small business owners. Specifically, they're in a position to grow by leveraging agency services - but don't have the funds to pay a hefty fee. As a result, roughly 50% of them fail and oftentimes it is because they lack marketing. Simply put, this is a frightening statistic - but this isn't the case for everyone - as many businesses thrive from word-of-mouth or they are the “only” show in town (for now).
To hire a marketing agency in 2020, business owners should expect to spend a minimum of $4000 a month on non-working dollars. Now, what does that mean?
Non-Working Dollars: Investments that are not directly driving sales - such as paying for creative or marketing staff.
Working Dollars: Advertising spends on Facebook or Google are considered working dollars because they directly drive sales.
But wait? Why spend money on non-working dollars?
Ultimately, business owners need to invest non-working dollars to drive the business forward in ways that your working dollars can’t do on their own. That said, every non-working dollar needs to be spent wisely to generate a meaningful return. What does it look like when non-working dollars are spent correctly?
Marketing Agency Pricing - Our Request For Proposals
We sent our staff on a mission to see what the market looks like for small businesses in 2020. Below you will find the quotes we received when requesting services for a small business with a revenue of $450,000 annually. You will be shocked to see what we were pitched!
We reached out to 10 marketing agencies (many are at the top of Google Search Ads). After following up three times, we were only able to speak to four of them and three sent us to their website to look at pricing. Three agencies never returned our calls or emails. Clearly, we weren’t large enough for them!
Here Are The Quoted Averages From 10 Marketing Agencies
Two example agencies are shown below - one full-service and one designed specifically for small businesses. The remaining eight agency quotes can be viewed below
Agency 1 - “New York City Marketing Agency”
Top of Google Ads for Small Business Marketing Agency
This is a top-notch agency with multiple people assigned to the account and has been in business 20+ years. They will provide full-service and a dedicated account manager.
Tactic | Cost | Comments |
---|---|---|
SEO | $15000/month | Depending on the number of keywords, blogs and backlinks |
Paid Media | $5000 /month | Social media advertising, native advertising, programmatic, premium mobile distribution, out-of-home, and more |
Social Media Marketing | $15000/month | Content calendars, Community management, Graphic design |
Paid Strategy | $25000 OTP | Competitor research, industry analysis, brand voice workshop |
Services | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
Social Media Management | $400-$1000/month | Depending on the number of channels, the number of posts and engagement needed. Creative not included. |
Social Media Advertising | Starting at $600 | It includes the development, management, and optimization of the campaign. Creative not included. |
SEO | $800-$2000/month | Offer initial 3 months contract |
PPC | Starting at $600/month | Depending on the amount of advertising channels and campaigns |
Web Design | $1,500 | For initial design and development of up to 5 pages. Additional pages cost more depending on complexity. |
Email Marketing | $300/month | It does not include any cost associated with email marketing software, email lists etc. |
Services | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
Organic Social Media | $22,000/month | Content, Scheduling, On-Site Support, Engagement across all channels |
SEO | $8000 one time and $2200/month | Audit, on-page, off-page, backlinks, speed |
PPC | Starting at $6000/month | Google PPC, Dashboard and 10 campaigns |
Web Design | $100,000 min spend | Custom website builds only |
Email Marketing | $500 per email | It does not include any cost associated with email marketing software, email lists etc. |
Content Marketing | $15000 for plan and $6500/month for development | Blog, infographics, press releases, influencers |
Services | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
SEO | $750/month | Massive SEO Strategy, 5-10 Optimized Web-Pages, Analytics Setup, Keyword Research & Analysis, Competition Analysis, On-Page & Off-Page SEO Execution, Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, Image SEO, Content Creation & Optimization, Inbound Traffic Management, Initial Backlinks Analysis and Reporting, Ranking Reports |
$1250/month | Includes Google Maps & local SEO, Ranking & Citation Reports | |
$2000/month | Includes Advanced SEO Techniques / Skyscraper Technique, Weekly Reporting, Social Media profile creation and management, Monthly blog articles | |
Social Media Marketing | $599/month | Daily posting, Spam monitoring, Real-time engagement and 6 custom graphic design per month |
$999/month | Above plus 16 custom graphic design per month, Focused follower growth and Quarterly animated video | |
$1299/month | Above plus 26 custom graphic design per month, Monthly animated video, Professional Photography & Video Production. | |
PPC | $300/month | Account Setup, 5 Campaigns, In-depth Keyword Research, Campaign Audits, GEO Targeting, Demographics Targeting, 360 Degree Audit to Increase CTR, Manual Bidding |
$700/month | Includes 12 Campaigns, Landing Page Creation for Each Campaign, Landing Page Audit to Convert Traffic | |
$1500/month | Includes 20 Campaigns, Live Chat Support to Convert Traffic | |
Website Design | $899 | 5 Pages, Responsive Custom Design, SEO Optimized, Logo Design, Sitemap Creation, Google Indexation, 5 Stock Photos, 1 Month Maintenance |
$2,000 | Includes 10-20 Pages, 10 Stock Photos, 3 Months Maintenance, Social Media Account Creation, Normal Press Release |
Services | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
Level 1 - Content Marketing Services | $1,800 initial investment | 3 content assets Voice search optimization Rich media citations |
Level 2 - Content Marketing Services | $3,600 initial investment | 6 content assets AI software, ContentGeniusFX and PredictionGeniusFX Monthly strategy report |
Level 3 - Content Marketing Services | $6,000 initial investment | 10 content assets Content asset outreach AI software, ContentGeniusFX, PredictionGeniusFX, and ContentAnalyticsFX Competitor content gap intelligence report |
Level 1 - Ecommerce SEO Services | $1,250/month | 4 custom dashboards 20 guaranteed keyphrases 4 pages of SEO copy |
Level 2 - Ecommerce SEO Services | $2,250/month | 8 custom dashboards 20 pages of SEO copy Shopping cart funnel analysis |
Level 3 - Ecommerce SEO Services | $4,000/month | 8 custom dashboards 40 pages of SEO copy Customer review strategy |
Level 1 - PPC Advertising Services | $350 and up per month, $1,000 setup fee, $0-2,500/month ad spend (paid to networks) | Depends on number of campaigns Up to 400 keywords targeted Google Ads Network |
Level 2 - PPC Advertising Services | $14% of ad spend, $1,750 setup fee, $2,501-$15,000/month ad spend (paid to networks) | Up to 2,000 keywords targeted, Google Ads & Bing Networks |
Level 3 - PPC Advertising Services | Up to 10,000 keywords targeted, Google Ads & Bing Networks, Google Shopping Management | $12% of ad spend, $2,500 setup fee, $15,000+/month ad spend (paid to networks) |
Service | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
SEO | $2,000/ Mon | Complete Website Audit, Competitive Analysis, Keyword Strategy Website Optimization, Link Building, Monthly Monitoring |
PPC | $1500/ Mon | n-depth Keyword Research, Campaign Audits, GEO Targeting, Demographics Targeting, 360 Degree Audit to Increase CTR |
Web Design / Developing | $5,000 | Custom |
Reputation Management | $1500 / Mon | Systematic campaign to promote your company multi-dimensionally across the web: social media marketing, directory submissions, blog articles, YouTube videos, etc. |
Social Media | $1500 / Mon | Footprint across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube etc, Manage social presence increase brand awareness and sales Management only |
Service | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
PPC | $6000 a month or 10% of ad spend | Targeted Messaging, Optimize Paid Search Campaigns for Better Quality Leads & Nurture Relationships for Stronger Lifetime ROI |
SEO | $9000 one time plus $2200 a month | Effective website optimization, Thoughtful website content development strategies Relationship building and web presence management, Reputation Management, Local & Regional SEO, Content Planning & Management, Link Building & Acquisition |
Social Media | $2000 one time plus $5000 a month | Social Media Advertising, Monitoring & Analytics, Community Management, Facebook Advertising |
Web Design | Starting at $10000 | UX Website Optimization Marketing Strategies, UX Design, UI Improvements, Responsive Development and Ongoing Website Management |
Strategy | Starting at $20000 |
Services | Pricing | Additional Comments |
---|---|---|
Website Audit | $799 | Comprehensive Website Review, Editorial content review, SEO factors – on page and off page, Social profile review, Google My Business review, Directory and citation review, Online reputation review, Competitive landscape |
Local SEO | $999 a month | Google My Business Optimization 2 Pages Onsite SEO Management Review Management Local Citation Management Link Building - 1 per month 1 x 500-word article dashboard + reporting |
Early Research | $3000 one-time | Client Interviews - Email Survey Competitive Research - High-Level Summary + Reports Core Message Development Persona Development - High Level Customer Journey Map Execution Calendar - 3 Months Growth Recommendations |
Early Research | $5000 one-time | Client Interviews - 5 client interviews Competitive Research - 3 competitors Core Message Development Persona Development - Summary Customer Journey Map Execution Calendar - 6 Months Growth Recommendations |
Early Research | $7500 one-time | Client Interviews - 10 client interviews Competitive Research - 6 competitors Core Message Development Persona Development - Deep Reviews Customer Journey Map Execution Calendar - 12 Months Growth Recommendations |
Example packages typically include SOME combination of the following tactics. | $2,999 | Marketing Website: Refresh WordPress site, Mobile friendly, HTTPS secure, Local pages, CRO Landing pages Content Program: Core page content, Home page video, Review funnel, Ongoing blog content, Hub page upgrade for leads, Podcast or webinar, Sales materials, Press releases, Update old content" SEO: Google My Business Optimization, Onsite SEO management, Local citation management link building, Google Search Console set-up, Podcast guesting, Organic CTR optimized, Featured snippet program Social Media: Social profile refresh, Social posting plan, Social promotion plan, Social engagement plan, Media and influencer outreach, Video channel, Live video program Email Marketing: List clean-up, Re-engagement campaign, Monthly newsletter, Lead capture calls to action, Email confirmation and follow-up, Email lead nurture program, Email lead campaigns |
Example packages typically include SOME combination of the following tactics. | $3999 a month | Marketing Website: Refresh WordPress site, Mobile friendly, HTTPS secure, Local pages, CRO Landing pages Content Program: Core page content, Home page video, Review funnel, Ongoing blog content, Hub page upgrade for leads, Podcast or webinar, Sales materials, Press releases, Update old content" SEO: Google My Business Optimization, Onsite SEO management, Local citation management link building, Google Search Console set-up, Podcast guesting, Organic CTR optimized, Featured snippet program Social Media: Social profile refresh, Social posting plan, Social promotion plan, Social engagement plan, Media and influencer outreach, Video channel, Live video program Email Marketing: List clean-up, Re-engagement campaign, Monthly newsletter, Lead capture calls to action, Email confirmation and follow-up, Email lead nurture program, Email lead campaigns Paid Lead Generation: Boost FB posts, Social media ad campaign, Google AdWords, Remarketing campaigns Sales Enablement: Co-marketing partner plan, Lead discovery/orientation process, Speaking for leads, Repeat customer campaigns Customer Experience: Review response plan, New customer onboarding process, Customer delight process, Referral program, Events program, Customer feedback program |
Example packages typically include SOME combination of the following tactics. | $4999 and up per month - Depends on how much is needed per category | Marketing Website: Refresh WordPress site, Mobile friendly, HTTPS secure, Local pages, CRO Landing pages Content Program: Core page content, Home page video, Review funnel, Ongoing blog content, Hub page upgrade for leads, Podcast or webinar, Sales materials, Press releases, Update old content" SEO: Google My Business Optimization, Onsite SEO management, Local citation management link building, Google Search Console set-up, Podcast guesting, Organic CTR optimized, Featured snippet program Social Media: Social profile refresh, Social posting plan, Social promotion plan, Social engagement plan, Media and influencer outreach, Video channel, Live video program Email Marketing: List clean-up, Re-engagement campaign, Monthly newsletter, Lead capture calls to action, Email confirmation and follow-up, Email lead nurture program, Email lead campaigns Paid Lead Generation: Boost FB posts, Social media ad campaign, Google AdWords, Remarketing campaigns Sales Enablement: Co-marketing partner plan, Lead discovery/orientation process, Speaking for leads, Repeat customer campaigns Customer Experience: Review response plan, New customer onboarding process, Customer delight process, Referral program, Events program, Customer feedback program CRM Tool: Data capture and clean up, Sales pipeline process Marketing Automation: Lead scoring process, Lead follow-up sequences Analytics: Analytics goals, Advertising tracking, Call tracking |