Marketing teams know SEO drives long-term growth, but getting hold of the budget it deserves can be challenging when it competes with other channels, tools, and business priorities.
The key to winning support for SEO is to reframe it as a commercial investment, not a marketing cost. Here’s how to make the case convincingly.
Demonstrate the impact of SEO on business outcomes
Stakeholders *usually* care about revenue, efficiency and risk – not so much about keyword positions.
To secure more budget, use data to back up SEO performance for metrics the business actually values, such as:
- Conversions generated from organic search – if organic search drives 70% of your conversions but receives only 20% of the marketing budget, this becomes your strongest argument. The clearer the commercial impact, the harder SEO is to neglect.
- Share of website traffic – similarly, if organic traffic makes up the biggest percentage, but more time or manpower is set aside for other channels, include this when making your case.
- Number of organic impressions – companies are often very happy to spend big money on advertising or social media for exposure and brand awareness, but SEO does the same job – even if people don’t click through to your site. So, get yourself into Search Console and start taking some screenshots.
Show the opportunity available
One of the most effective arguments for additional funding is to focus on what could be achieved if the budget is increased.
Simple things like showing monthly search volumes for important keywords can help decisionmakers understand the potential. You may wish to focus on keywords you rank just outside page one for, to demonstrate how even small ranking improvements can translate into meaningful gains.
Highlight the benefit of SEO to other areas
In reality, SEO supports multiple departments:
- The coverage and links you earn for SEO through creative campaigns is also really effective PR.
- A well-optimised site and UX are synonymous, which means you’re also investing in user experience.
- Lead quantity and quality is improved for sales teams.
- Answering common queries via content relieves pressure on customer services.
Demonstrate risk, not just reward
It doesn’t hurt to also take a look at what can happen when you don’t prioritise SEO.
Underinvestment can lead to slipping behind in the SERPs, and key competitors stealing your search traffic. Unlike paid search, SEO isn’t something you can just switch off and return to a few months or years later without a significant disadvantage. This can then lead to an increased dependence on paid channels – costing more in the long run.
Suggest a phased approach
Large budget requests are easier to reject than incremental ones.
Instead of asking for a significant one-off increase, propose a six month trial, or a budget that’s tied to specific deliverables like content creation or technical fixes.
This reduces perceived risk and gives decisionmakers confidence that additional investment will be measured, reviewed and justified.
If you want those who hold the purse strings to increase spend on SEO, the best route is to speak the language of the business. Demonstrate opportunity and risk, and make it easy for decisionmakers to say yes.