This document outlines the monthly costs, revenue, time invested, and balance over the course of investing $3,000 in SEO over 12 months. It shows that after spending $5,400 on SEO tools and services, the total revenue was $3,995, resulting in a loss of $1,405 for the first year. However, it predicts that by the second year, with ongoing SEO work, the total revenue will be $11,490 and the result will be a profit of $10,290. A graph illustrates that a positive return on investment can be expected after around 15 months of consistent SEO work.

1. What happens when you invest $3,000
in SEO over the course of a year?
THE MONEY FLOW OF SEO

2. Explainer
Costs: These are all of your SEO costs
throughout the given month.
Revenue: This represents the returns
your SEO campaign is directly bringing
you on a monthly basis.
Balance: Your monthly cash balance
for the SEO campaign, derived from
your original $3,000 investment.
Time invested: This represents how
many hours of work you invest every
month into working with SEO.

3. This is the beginning of your SEO journey.
Exciting times are about to come!
Day 0
Costs
$0
Total
Revenue
$0
Total
Balance
$3,000
Existing

4. You begin working with SEO. In the first
month, you focus on creating your SEO plan.
Time invested: 1 workday
January
Costs
-$100
-$700
-$800
SEO tool
Consultant
analyzes
Total
Revenue
$0
$0
$0
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$3,000
$2,200
$2,200
Previous
After costs
After revenue

5. Content is king! Your first goal is creating
relevant SEO content.
Time invested: 1 workday
February
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$0
+$10
$10
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$2,200
$2,100
$2,110
Previous
After costs
After revenue

6. You'll get stronger with a little effort every
day. Here, you're working on your website's
health.
Time invested: 1 workday
March
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$10
+$30
$40
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$2,110
$2,010
$2,050
Previous
After costs
After revenue

7. During this month, you prioritize SEO con-
tent and technical SEO issues.
Time invested: 1 workday
April
Costs
-$100
-$1,000
-$1,100
SEO tool
Freelance
programmer
Total
Revenue
$40
+$70
$110
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$2,050
$950
$1,060
Previous
After costs
After revenue

8. This month’s focus is building 2 great back-
links.
Time invested: 1 workday
May
Costs
-$100
-$800
-$900
SEO tool
Link costs
Total
Revenue
$110
+$70
$180
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$1,060
$160
$340
Previous
After costs
After revenue

9. You're mid-way through! This month's focus
is to further optimize your website's health.
Time invested: 1 workday
June
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$180
+$70
$250
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$340
$240
$490
Previous
After costs
After revenue

10. Here, your goal is to build 4 more medi-
um-strength backlinks.
Time invested: 1 workday
July
Costs
-$100
-$700
-$800
SEO tool
Link costs
Total
Revenue
$250
+$120
$370
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$490
-$310
$60
Previous
After costs
After revenue

11. This is your last sprint of creating SEO
content aiming to further expand your
reach.
Time invested: 1 workday
August
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$370
+$70
$440
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$60
-$40
$400
Previous
After costs
After revenue

12. It's time to revisit your inputs. During this
month, you'll be focusing on website health.
Time invested: 1 workday
September
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$440
+$70
$510
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$400
$300
$810
Previous
After costs
After revenue

13. During your last link-building sprint, you
focus on building 3 high-quality backlinks.
Time invested: 1 workday
October
Costs
-$100
-$1,000
-$1,100
SEO tool
Link costs
Total
Revenue
$510
+$150
$660
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$810
-$290
$370
Previous
After costs
After revenue

14. Your goal for this month is to maintain your
SEO inputs from the last 10 months.
Time invested: 1 workday
November
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$660
+$35
$695
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$370
$270
$965
Previous
After costs
After revenue

15. During the last month, your goal is to main-
tain and finalize your SEO campaign.
Time invested: 1 workday
December
Costs
-$100
-$100
SEO tool
Total
Revenue
$695
+$35
$730
Existing
New
Total
Balance
$965
$865
$1,595
Previous
After costs
After revenue

16. After 12 months of investing in SEO, you
have a result of -$1,405.
Year 1
Total spend
-$5,400
Year 1
Result
-$1,405
Year 1
Total revenue
$3,995
Year 1

17. At the end of year 2, you will make a
result of $10,290.
Year 2
Year 2
Total spend
-$1,200
Year 2
Result
$10,290
Year 2
Total revenue
$11,490

18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
24-month perspective
$10,000
$5,000
$0
-$5,000
Return on investment
Monthly balance
$8,885
As the graph illustrates, you can expect to
reach a positive return on the $3,000
investment after 15 months of SEO work.

19. Read the original article on:
morningscore.io/investing-in-seo/
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