You know that you need to establish a plan for Internet marketing, but how do you determine a budget for your efforts? This is a complicated process as it does takes money to reach that top search engine listing, and it also takes money to stay at the top. The price for SEO (search engine optimization) is increasing every day, making it constantly more challenging to develop a budget that is not only in line with your finances, but also one that will help you to reach your goal.

Consider your approach to building your site rankings as investing in real estate. When you first get started, you will be spending without return. However, like great real estate, the profit in the long run on the appreciated property can be considerable. If you dominate in your market, you will gain a significant return on your investment. Plus, the development of your site correctly is considerably less than your Internet marketing strategy, so maximize that investment.

First, you need to put together a list of things that you must have that will also cost you money. You know that you need to have a website and you need to invest in it wisely. You will need to set aside funds for content creation and site promotion and find a reliable internet marketing firm. Did you know that aside from social media engagements, the most effective tool for driving traffic to your site is through quality content?

Notice that phrase is “quality content”. Do not build out an innovative website and turn to $1 page writers from a place you have never heard of to create your content. You need to be able to create audience gripping content that not only draws your target audience to your site, but keeps them there looking for more. You want them to absorb your content and then share it with others. This not only expands your reach to other potential customers, it also strengthens your positioning in the search rankings.

As you try and build out your content and your reach in the market to gain ground in the search engines, the budget for this process at the beginning must be much larger than it is down the road. Keep in mind, however, that reaching the top spot in the search results doesn’t guarantee you will stay there. Your competitors are up to the same things and if you get too lax in your approach to dominance in this space, you can quickly lose ground.

In addition to your content creation, you also have to be heavily engaged in social media management and linking back to your content as often as possible. If you don’t have the time or the skill to accomplish this, you will need to hire a professional to get it done for you. This individual will focus on your target audience, your optimal keywords and those social media sites where you can dominate. The result will be a stronger search engine ranking and better customer service for your customers reaching out to you through these platforms.

There are some schools of thought that suggest that 15 percent of your overall marketing budget will support your online efforts. This may be true if the majority of your focus is offline. If you primarily operate online, this budget will fall short. For the first year, as you are gaining your strong positioning online, set your online marketing budget at 15 percent of your projected revenue.

As time goes on and you are able to shift to maintaining your position and keeping that competitive edge, you can shift your focus to 10 percent of your overall budget. Do not plan to make this shift, however, until you are in the top 10. Only then can you afford to ease your aggressive focus and enjoy a steady stream of success.

To get started, you need to be able to identify a reliable marketing company. Any company can claim that they can successfully create successful search engine optimization, but don’t just take their word for it. Only work with a company that has a full portfolio of sites they have optimized under very competitive search terms. Partnering with a company that is a one-stop shop for Web development and SEO will ensure you get the most out of your investment.

Keep in mind that changes will need to be made to your site to keep pace with the changing search engine algorithms, which can take place as many as 400 times per year. Set aside the appropriate funds and be patient with the results. When you have the right strategy in place, it will work, but not overnight. (Any company promising to deliver instant results should be a red flag.)

Based on our thorough analysis, truly successful campaigns for online market dominance will start at $2,000 per month. Expect to pay as much as $15,000 per month depending upon the business niche and your strategic goals. Remember that SEO is only part of your Internet marketing budget and all efforts must work in unison to produce the desired results. With a proven strategy in place, however, those results will be golden.