"How much does digital marketing cost?" is the first question most business owners ask, and the honest answer is that it depends on what you need it to do. That isn't a dodge. A plumber who needs their Google listing fixed and a retailer launching paid campaigns across Northern Ireland need very different things.
What we can do is explain exactly what you're paying for, so you can judge any quote, including ours.
The two kinds of cost
Most digital marketing has two separate costs, and it's worth keeping them apart in your head.
1. The work. Planning, writing, designing, setting up, monitoring and reporting. This is what an agency or freelancer charges for, usually as a monthly fee or a one-off project price.
2. Media spend. Money paid directly to platforms like Google or Meta to show your ads. Organic work, such as social media posts, your Google Business Profile and SEO, has no media spend. Paid advertising does.
A good agency keeps these separate and lets you pay ad spend directly from your own account. If a quote bundles everything into one figure, ask how much of it actually reaches Google or Meta.
What drives the cost of the work
- How many channels. Managing Facebook and Instagram is less work than Facebook, Instagram, Google Business Profile, email and ads together.
- How much content. Eight posts a month is less work than twenty. One blog post is less than four.
- How competitive your market is. SEO for a niche service in a small town needs less effort than SEO for a common service in Belfast.
- How much needs fixing first. An incomplete Google profile, a slow website or a messy ad account needs set-up work before ongoing management.
- Reporting and contact. A short monthly report is different from weekly calls and detailed dashboards.
Common ways agencies charge
- Monthly plans (retainers): a set scope each month, for example a number of posts, ongoing SEO work or ad management. Best for anything that depends on consistency.
- Projects: a fixed price for something with a clear end, like an audit, a profile set-up or a campaign launch.
- Percentage of ad spend: some agencies charge a percentage of what you spend on ads. It's simple, but it can reward spending more rather than spending well, so ask how it's calculated.
How to judge whether a quote is good value
Ask these questions of anyone you speak to:
- What exactly will you do each month? You should get a specific answer, not "optimise your presence".
- Who owns the accounts? Your Google Business Profile, ad accounts and social pages should belong to you.
- How is ad spend handled? Paid directly by you, or through the agency?
- What will the monthly report show? It should connect activity to results you care about: calls, enquiries, bookings and sales.
- What's the notice period? Understand the commitment before you sign.
- What results do you promise? Be wary of guarantees about rankings or exact lead numbers. Nobody controls Google.
Where small budgets go furthest
If budget is tight, start where effort converts most directly into customers:
- Your Google Business Profile: often the quickest visible win for a local business.
- Reviews: a simple routine for asking happy customers costs very little.
- Consistent social media: a steady presence beats an expensive burst.
- Tightly targeted Google Ads: for services people search for when they need them, even a modest budget can work if tracking is in place.
The bottom line
Digital marketing should be judged on what it brings in, not what it costs. A clear scope, transparent ad spend and honest reporting are worth more than a low headline price.
If you'd like a clear figure for your business, get in touch. We'll ask a few questions, recommend what's worth doing, and give you a monthly price in writing before anything starts.
