My neighbor Tim runs a small electrical business. About two months back, he asked me straight up if spending money on SEO was actually worth it or just throwing cash away. Fair question, honestly. There’s so much noise out there about digital marketing, it’s hard to know what’s legit. He’d been getting quotes from SEO agencies. Some wanted two grand a month. Others wanted five. One wanted eight thousand monthly, which seemed completely mental. He had no idea if any of it was worth doing.
“Is this stuff even real?” he asked me. “Or is it just marketing people making stuff up to charge me money?”
What SEO actually does for businesses
Search engine optimization is basically about getting your business to show up when people Google stuff related to what you do. Someone searches “electrician near me” or “emergency plumber Sydney” or whatever, you want your business appearing in those results. Sounds simple enough. But there’s genuine complexity behind making it happen properly. Google uses hundreds of factors to decide which businesses rank where. Your website’s technical setup, content quality, how other sites link to you, user experience, mobile friendliness, and loading speed all matter. The goal is pretty straightforward, though. More people finding your business through Google means more potential customers. Unlike paid ads, where you’re paying per click, organic search traffic is basically free once you’re ranking. That’s the appeal.
Why 2026 is actually a decent time for SEO
Some people reckon SEO is dying because of AI and chatbots. That’s honestly nonsense. Google still processes billions of searches daily. People still look for businesses, products, services,and information online constantly. That’s not changing anytime soon.
What is changing is how competitive it’s gotten. Every business and its dog is online now. Standing out requires actual effort and expertise. You can’t just throw up a basic website with some keywords and expect results anymore.
AI is definitely changing search, but that makes good SEO more important, not less. Aidan Coleman, SEO expert, is adapting strategies to work for both traditional search and AI-powered search. The fundamentals still matter. Quality content, genuine expertise, good user experience, proper technical setup.
Plus, with all the economic uncertainty, businesses are looking harder at marketing ROI. SEO delivers some of the best returns compared to other channels when done properly. The traffic compounds over time rather than stopping the second you stop paying.
The actual costs involved
Right, let’s talk money because that’s what everyone actually cares about. SEO costs vary massively depending on your market, competition, what needs doing, and who you hire.
Cheap SEO is typically rubbish. Do those services charge five hundred dollars monthly? They’re usually doing bare minimum cookie-cutter work that won’t move the needle. Might even hurt you if they’re using dodgy tactics.
Quality SEO services typically start around fifteen hundred to three thousand monthly for small to medium businesses. Larger businesses in competitive markets might pay five thousand to ten thousand or more. Seems like loads until you compare it to paid advertising spend.
One-off projects exist, too. Pay someone to audit your site, fix technical issues, optimize content, and build some links. Costs anywhere from few thousand to twenty thousand, depending on the scope. Then you maintain it yourself or with minimal ongoing help.
The key question isn’t “is this expensive” but “what’s the return.” If spending three grand monthly brings you ten new customers worth five hundred each, that’s two thousand profit monthly. Pretty decent return.
What you actually get for the money
Good SEO work involves heaps more than just tweaking your website a bit. There are comprehensive technical audits to find and fix problems. Keyword research to figure out what people actually search for. Content strategy and creation. Link building to improve authority. Ongoing monitoring and adjustments.
Quality providers show you exactly what they’re doing and why. They track metrics that matter like traffic, rankings, conversions, and actual business results. They educate you about the process rather than keeping everything mysterious.
They’re also realistic about timelines. SEO takes a minimum to show significant results. Anyone promising first-page rankings in 30 days is either lying or using risky shortcuts that’ll backfire eventually.
The DIY versus hiring question
Could you handle SEO yourself and save money? Technically yes. Realistically, probably not if you want actual results.
Modern SEO requires genuine expertise and heaps of time. Learning it properly takes ages. Implementing it consistently takes even longer. Most business owners don’t have that kind of time available without sacrificing other critical business activities.
The opportunity cost usually exceeds what you’d pay someone. If your time is worth a hundred bucks an hour and you’re spending ten hours weekly on SEO, that’s four grand monthly in lost productivity. Might as well pay an expert three grand and spend those ten hours doing what you’re actually good at.
Some businesses do a hybrid approach. Hire someone to set everything up properly and create the strategy, then handle basic maintenance internally. Can work if you’ve got staff with time and technical aptitude.
What Tim decided
After our chat, Tim got quotes from a few more SEO providers. Asked them to explain their process, show examples of results, and be transparent about what they’d actually do. Ended up hiring someone for twenty-five hundred monthly.
Three months in, he’s already seeing his traffic increase. Ranking for several important local keywords he wasn’t appearing for before. Got a few jobs directly from organic search. Not massive results yet, but heading in the right direction.
He reckons it’s worth continuing. Cheaper than the Google Ads he was running before, and the traffic keeps building rather than disappearing when he stops paying.
Making your decision
Should you invest in SEO in 2026? Depends entirely on your business and situation. If you rely on local customers finding you online, probably yes. If you’re in a competitive market, definitely yes. If nobody searches online for what you do, it’s probably not worth it.
Key things to consider: What’s your competition doing? How much is a new customer worth? How much are you currently spending on other marketing? Do you have a budget for something that takes months to show results?
If you decide to invest, do it properly. Don’t cheap out and expect results. Find someone competent, give them a reasonable budget, and be patient with timelines. SEO isn’t a magic bullet, but it’s one of the most cost-effective marketing channels when done right.
Tim’s glad he finally pulled the trigger instead of putting it off for another year. His competitors were already ranking, already getting those customers. Now he’s competing properly instead of just hoping people find him somehow. Sometimes you’ve gotta spend money to make money. For most businesses in 2026, SEO is one of those worthwhile investments.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or professional marketing advice. The views expressed are based on personal experience, general industry knowledge, and publicly available information at the time of writing.
SEO results, costs, timelines, and return on investment can vary significantly depending on factors such as industry, location, competition, website condition, budget, and the strategies used. Examples mentioned in this article (including anecdotal stories) are illustrative only and should not be interpreted as guarantees of similar outcomes.
Readers should conduct their own research and consider consulting with qualified digital marketing professionals before making any investment or business decisions related to SEO or other marketing strategies. The author assumes no responsibility for actions taken based on the information provided in this article.