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Fifty-nine percent of CMOs reported they had insufficient budget to execute their strategy in 2025, <\/span>according to Gartner<\/span>. <\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> As uncertainty persists from things like tariffs, inflation, agency cuts, and more, marketing and business leaders have to make tough decisions about what to trim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> One of those decisions is whether they should continue to prioritize SEO. But the question is: Does cutting SEO actually save money, or cost more in the long run?\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In this article:<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> SEO often lands on the chopping block because it\u2019s slower to show impact, harder to tie directly to pipeline, and, unlike media buys, there\u2019s not a cut-and-dry invoice that shows \u201chere\u2019s what you got.\u201d<\/span><\/p> But short-term cuts can have a long-term impact. When you pause SEO:<\/span> That means when you <\/span>are<\/span><\/i> ready to ramp back up, you\u2019re not picking up where you left off. Instead, you\u2019re digging out of a hole while others have been steadily climbing.<\/span><\/p> This doesn\u2019t mean SEO is untouchable. But it should be evaluated through a long-term lens. Instead of cutting it entirely, the smarter play is to focus on optimizing for opportunity and value, which I\u2019ll cover in a bit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> We all know that the search engine results are shifting with Google\u2019s AI initiatives and increased zero-click behavior. The new reality is that organic listings are being pushed farther down.<\/span><\/p> Some sectors are impacted more than others. While <\/span>some report clicks are up<\/span>, others <\/span>report a decline<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Despite this, the organic channel remains a top driver for traffic, with 26% of total traffic from organic search versus about 23% of paid traffic, <\/span>according to a 2025 report by Content Square<\/span>.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> More importantly, SEO consistently drives better results over time. A 2025 <\/span>study by CI Web Group <\/span>analyzed SEO\u2019s performance against paid search and found SEO delivered nearly 5X more return on ad spend at a fraction of the cost. <\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Yet brands continue to prioritize paid media. According to Gartner (linked earlier), paid media is dominating marketing spend, with about 31% of the budget going towards it (2.4% of company revenue).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> But Gartner also notes that with media price inflation, \u201cCMOs are getting less for every dollar spent.\u201d<\/span><\/p> Paid media certainly has its place (and it may be one strategy in a zero-click world), but we must remember that SEO can:\u00a0<\/span><\/p> If your organic traffic is down, it\u2019s tempting to assume SEO is no longer working. But that misses the bigger picture: Users aren\u2019t searching less, they\u2019re interacting with search results differently.<\/span><\/p> Between AI Overviews, People Also Ask panels, Map Packs, shopping carousels, video results, and more, the SERP is a full-blown information hub.<\/span><\/p> As Google continues to refine AI Overviews and other SERP features, visibility isn\u2019t disappearing; it\u2019s just being redistributed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The search results are a layered experience. People scroll, explore, compare, and return to the results before taking action.<\/span><\/p> When your brand appears in multiple places across the SERP, it increases the chance of a click and builds credibility and trust. We call this \u201cSERP Visibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p> If you shift your SEO strategy from thinking \u201cblue links\u201d to dominating the search results, you reclaim and diversify traffic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Bottom line: Modern SEO is about traffic and influence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Let\u2019s say a potential buyer searches for \u201cbest B2B CRM software.\u201d That one search could combine any of these features in the search results:<\/span><\/p> If your brand is present in even two or three of those features, you\u2019ve created a surround-sound experience. Essentially, you\u2019ve made it easier for the buyer to choose you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> This is what it means to own the decision moment.<\/span><\/p> Do you have an audience that uses a search engine (or a GenAI chatbot) to find answers, products or services? Then you should prioritize SEO.<\/span><\/p> SEO is the baseline strategy to become visible across the SERP. And no, it\u2019s not going away.<\/span><\/p> The more you invest in SEO, the more visibility, trust, and traffic you earn, without necessarily increasing spend. This compounding effect is what makes SEO such a powerful strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> To prove this, forecasting is an invaluable tool. SEO forecasting is about predicting future SEO performance based on historical data, trends, or market conditions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> There are a lot of ways to go about this, including <\/span>SEO forecasting templates<\/span> and using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. <\/span>Semrush<\/span> and <\/span>Ahrefs<\/span> also offer tools and tips to get this task done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> You can run \u201cwhat if\u201d scenarios, like \u201cIf we paused X, then traffic may drop by Y\u201d\u2014and tie that to potential revenue loss. You could also explore what happens if you do nothing by showing which pages are at most risk and where competitors may outrank you.<\/span><\/p> Armed with the right insights, you can begin to paint a picture of SEO\u2019s worth. And you can show why cutting SEO will cause your competition to pull ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> The reality is that organic traffic can keep flowing if you approach it the right way. It helps fill gaps, sustain brand visibility and drive cost-effective conversions even in times of uncertainty.<\/span><\/p> Cutting SEO budgets might save money in the short term, but it often creates bigger gaps down the line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> A smarter approach is to optimize your investment. Focus on the initiatives that deliver the most value and align with business goals.<\/span><\/p> Here\u2019s how to make SEO work harder, even on a leaner budget:<\/span><\/p> Prioritize technical cleanups and SERP Visibility for your keywords.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> For example, we\u2019re currently building software in-house that shows which SERP features are served for any given keyword, so we can help our clients win those opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> These tactics can deliver measurable gains in the shortest time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Check out my article on Search Engine Land, too, on <\/span>how to focus on what moves the needle in SEO<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> It\u2019s important to understand why budgets are getting cut, so you can realign SEO to business goals. You want to show how SEO can capture market share.<\/span><\/p> On that same note, connecting SEO efforts to company goals can help break down the walls between business silos (which can lead to more progress and better SEO outcomes).\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Create executive-friendly dashboards<\/span> that link SEO performance to business KPIs like CAC and share of voice, not only traffic or rankings. This helps prove SEO\u2019s worth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> SEO is an investment with compounding returns. When you focus on being more efficient in your SEO strategy, you can ensure every dollar spent moves the business forward faster.<\/span><\/p> We\u2019re at a crossroads. Those who think SEO is dead will de-prioritize SEO. Those who see the opportunity in the search engine results will get ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Keeping in mind all of the ways to be found in a search results page, you realize that there are more opportunities to be found than just the blue links.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p> SERP Visibility is a traffic-first approach to SEO. When you optimize across SERP features, you increase your visibility, diversify your traffic sources, and reduce dependency on any single channel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> You also create brand authority and resilience, positioning your company to own the decision moment, no matter how the SERP evolves.<\/span><\/p> \u00a0<\/p> Bruce Clay Inc. has been a leader in the SEO industry since 1996. Our team specializes in SEO, PPC, content marketing and AI-driven strategies to enhance visibility and drive meaningful engagement. With a commitment to ethical practices and cutting-edge techniques, we empower clients to achieve their digital marketing goals. Learn more about our history and services on our <\/span>About Us<\/span> page.<\/span><\/p> This article was originally published in July, 2025 on Search Engine Land\u00a0and was updated in November 2025 by Bruce Clay Inc. staff.<\/p> Bruce Clay is founder and president of Bruce Clay Inc., a global digital marketing firm providing search engine optimization, pay-per-click, social media marketing, SEO-friendly web architecture, and SEO tools and education. Connect with him on LinkedIn or through the BruceClay.com website. <\/p> See Bruce’s author page for links to connect on social media. <\/p> <\/p><\/div> SEO,StrategySEO,Strategy#Justify #SEO #Budget1767898958<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 Fifty-nine percent of CMOs reported they had insufficient budget to execute their strategy in 2025, according to Gartner. \u00a0 As uncertainty persists from things like tariffs, inflation, agency cuts, and more, marketing and business leaders have to make tough decisions about what to trim.\u00a0 One of those decisions is whether they should continue to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[489,488,97,407],"class_list":["post-1097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-budget","tag-justify","tag-seo","tag-strategy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>
Why SEO Can Feel \u201cOptional\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>
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The Case Against SEO Cuts, Backed by Data<\/strong><\/h2>
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Traffic is Still There, Just in Different Places<\/strong><\/h2>
Proving Long-Term Value<\/strong><\/h2>
How to Optimize Your SEO Investment<\/strong><\/h2>
Focus on high-impact activities\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>
Align With Revenue-Driving Priorities\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>
Uplevel Reporting<\/strong><\/h3>
Think SEO Efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>
A Fork in the Road<\/strong><\/h2>
About Us<\/strong><\/h2>
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