How Much Does A Marketing Agency Charge?
Social media marketing agency costs can range from $650 to over $20,000, with an average fee of around $3,500 per month. These costs vary based on the services offered, your business objectives, the channels you focus on, and your industry.
Every small to medium-sized business wants to invest in marketing that has a good return. With many options available, it can be difficult to understand the costs of a marketing agency.
Worried about how much a marketing agency costs? Let’s break it down!
We have helped clients earn over $304 million dollars with our social media advertising services and here are our tips to help you understand marketing agency pricing.
What Is A Marketing Agency?
A marketing agency is a company that creates advertising strategies for your business goals. They plan marketing campaigns and execute them to achieve these goals.
What Does A Marketing Agency Do?
There are two types of marketing agencies.
- Digital marketing agencies
- Traditional marketing agencies
A digital marketing agency offers various social media and online advertising services, while a traditional marketing agency focuses on print media services.
How Much Does A Marketing Agency Cost?
A social media marketing agency costs anywhere from $650-$20,000 a month or more depending on the scope of work and budget of the business owner. However, a fair marketing agency cost is usually 15-20% of the total ad spend.
Digital Marketing Agency Cost Per Month
Here’s the average monthly marketing agency cost for different services.
Service | Average Monthly Agency Cost |
---|---|
Search engine optimization or SEO | $1,000-$30,000 |
Email marketing | $300-$1,500 |
Paid advertising or PPC | $1,500-$10,000 |
Social media advertising | $900-$20,000 |
Content marketing | $2,000-$30,000 |
These marketing agency costs can also vary depending on the different pricing models used by the marketing company.
Factors Affecting Marketing Agency Pricing
The cost of a digital marketing agency depends on the agency and services you choose. However, some common factors affect pricing across all companies.
Understanding these factors will help you choose the right agency for your business. Here are some factors that affect the marketing agency costs.
Digital Marketing Strategies
Digital marketing strategies have a direct impact on marketing agency pricing. Different strategies come with different costs and timelines.
For example, if your ads aren’t performing well, an agency may suggest focusing on SEO and content marketing to increase website traffic. If your team already manages content marketing, you’ll only need to pay the agency for SEO services.
Business Goals
Your business goals are linked to your digital marketing strategies and impact your budget. You can have different goals, like lead generation or getting more clicks on ads.
These goals influence your marketing strategy. So, your budget will vary based on your business goals.
Company Size
The larger the company, the more you’ll have to pay. However, that isn’t always a bad thing. Bigger companies often have more experts on board to help their clients. They also have more experience and connections to assist your business.
Experience
Newer and less experienced agencies may charge less, but they lack the resources to scale your marketing.
For growth and a good return on investment (ROI), choose experienced agencies with a proven track record. They can effectively help your business grow.
Industry
Some industries are more competitive than others and require well-planned marketing campaigns to see results. If you’re in a highly competitive field like SaaS or technology, agency costs will likely increase.
Digital Marketing Agency Pricing Models
1. Hourly Rate
The hourly pricing model is often not the best choice because it doesn’t provide good value for businesses. On average, it costs $150 per hour.
This model limits the focus to a specific task and doesn’t allow for a broader strategy. In our opinion, charging by goals achieved is a more effective way to help businesses grow.
2. Monthly Retainer
In this pricing model, you pay a monthly fee called a retainer to keep the marketing agency on board with your business. This fixed amount covers certain marketing services.
Retainer costs can vary widely. For basic services, you might pay as little as $500 a month, while a more comprehensive package with various marketing strategies could cost $10,000 or more.
This model can help you budget your marketing expenses while ensuring ongoing support and a good return on investment (ROI).
3. Performance-Based Pricing
This pricing model links cost to the results a marketing agency achieves for the client. It’s the best option for maximizing return on investment (ROI).
You pay based on specific performance metrics, such as leads generated, sales conversions, or increased website traffic. The agency charges based on how well it meets those goals.
For example, if a business hires an agency to run a digital advertising campaign, they might agree to pay a base fee of $1,000, plus $100 for each new customer acquired through the campaign.
4. Project-Based Pricing
A marketing agency charges a set fee for a specific project or campaign. This model involves a one-time payment, where you pay the agency a fixed amount once the project is completed.
For example, if a business wants a new website, the agency will charge a fixed fee for designing and building it.
5. Tiered Package Pricing
The marketing agency cost varies depending on the level of services offered. You can choose a package based on your specific needs and budget.
If you’re a small business, you can start with a Basic package and later upgrade to a Premium package as you expand your marketing efforts.
For example, if your package includes social media management, you may need SEO services as you grow. Tiered package pricing lets you add extra services, like content creation and SEO, as needed.
Ad Agencies Services Cost
Search engine optimization or SEO
Search engine optimization can help your website rank better and bring in organic traffic. This is important for getting leads without paid ads.
Since it’s an ongoing process, you may have to pay more at first, but you can expect a good return on investment (ROI) later. SEO agency pricing is based on these three models. Let’s look at the details.
Project-Based:
If you have specific tasks to complete, the project-based model is your best option. For example, if you only need website audits and keyword research, a project-based approach is ideal. It typically costs between $5,000 and $30,000 per project.
Monthly fee:
When you need ongoing support without clear goals, a monthly fee is the best choice. It costs between $3,000 and $10,000, depending on the amount of work needed.
Local SEO:
If you’re a local business aiming to build a regional presence and improve visibility for local search terms, consider local SEO. These services typically cost between $500 and $1,000 per month and are great for building brand awareness and driving traffic.
Email Marketing
Email marketing offers a huge return on investment (ROI). Its costs depend on the services you choose.
If you’re working with an email marketing agency, it will cost you around $300-$1500. However, in-house email marketing will cost you around $1000.
Paid Advertising or PPC
In PPC advertising, you only pay when someone clicks your ad. These ads can appear on social media, E-commerce sites, or search engines.
For quick results, PPC is the best choice since your ads appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERP). On average, PPC costs around $2.59 per click and $3.12 per 1,000 impressions.
Social Media Marketing
Social media management services can cost $900 to $20,000 per month. Social media marketing includes the following services:
- Social Media Management
- Social Media Strategy
- Content Creation
- Consulting
- Post Scheduling
- Paid Social Media
- Customer Service Engagement
A business usually has two options for social media marketing. It can hire an agency to handle all tasks or work with a social media agency for specific jobs, like running Facebook ads or managing content campaigns.
Content Marketing
Good content marketing supports strategies like social media, SEO, and email marketing. On average, you’ll need to invest between $2,000 and $30,000 per month to see results.
This includes services like Copywriting to improve your SEO, video marketing for better social media marketing, and content promotion for PPC.
When choosing a social media marketing service, consider these hidden costs before proceeding.
Software Costs
Most digital marketing agencies use paid software to track metrics and collect data on target audiences and competitors. Check your contract to see if the costs for these tools are included; otherwise, you will need to pay for them separately.
Agency Employee Costs
If you’re working with a large agency, they will have their own staff. The cost of salaries and other expenses is included in the marketing agency pricing. The bigger the marketing agency, the more it will cost.
Service fees
These small expenses include taxes, corporate costs, legal fees, and various licensing fees.
Regardless of which pricing model you choose to employ, you want to make sure you’re seeing real results.
These are some of the benefits you should see from your social media agency:
- Strong Brand Awareness (more social media followers, likes, comments, shares and video views and impressions!)
- Higher Brand Recall & Online Engagement
- Better Understanding of Their Target Market
- More Website Traffic
- Increased Leads
- More Direct Website Sales and/or In-Store Sales
- Repeat Purchases and/or Upsells
- Increased Brand Loyalty
- Higher ROI (and a lower cost per result!)
Marketing Agency Pricing FAQs
What is the average cost of a marketing agency?
The average cost of a typical marketing agency is around $650 per month for basic social media services and can go beyond $30,000 for full digital marketing packages. The total cost depends on the strategies used and the business goals.
What is a typical marketing fee?
Ad agencies typically charge a percentage of the ad spend, usually ranging from 15% to 20%. For example, if a business spends $10,000 on ads, the agency will charge a marketing fee of $1,500 to $2,000 for their services.
What’s a typical agency fee?
An ad agency fees range from $650 to $20,000 per month, depending on the services offered. Here are some average fees for different marketing services:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): $1,000 to $30,000
- Email Marketing: $300 to $1,500
- Paid Advertising (PPC): $1,500 to $10,000
- Content Marketing: $2,000 to $30,000
Is it worth it to hire a marketing agency?
Yes, hiring a marketing agency is worth it. They are experts in all areas of marketing and can help your business grow with their knowledge and insights.
How do advertising agencies charge?
Ad agencies use different pricing models, including hourly rates, monthly retainers, performance-based pricing, project-based pricing, and tiered package pricing.
How much does it cost to use an ad agency?
A social media ad agency costs anywhere from $650-$20,000+ ($3,500 on average) per month, depending on the scope of the work.
What is the average hourly rate for ad agencies?
The average hourly rate for ad agencies is around $150 per hour.
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