What SEO really costs in 2026, and what you should get for the money
The average agency retainer and the most common one are very different numbers. Here's what sits behind SEO quotes, and how to tell a real retainer from a reporting subscription.
The question isn't which platform is best. It's which platform lets you reach your specific buyer at a cost your deal size can support. Each of the three does something the others don't.
LinkedIn: precision at a price
LinkedIn lets you target by job title, seniority, function, company size, industry and even named companies. For B2B, that precision is unmatched. The trade-off is cost: clicks typically cost more than on Meta or X, so LinkedIn works best when a single customer is worth a lot.
- Good for: high-value B2B services, account-based campaigns, reaching decision-makers by title.
- Watch out for: audiences that are too narrow to deliver, and sending cold traffic to a generic home page.
Meta: reach and retargeting
Facebook and Instagram can't target job titles the way LinkedIn does, but they reach business owners and professionals at a lower cost, and they're excellent at retargeting people who already visited your site.
- Good for: small-business buyers, local services, retargeting, lead magnets with broad appeal.
- Watch out for: tracking gaps. Set up the Conversions API alongside the Pixel so the algorithm learns from real leads.
X: the conversation
X lets you target by keywords, interests and the followers of specific accounts. It suits businesses whose buyers gather around topics, communities or events.
- Good for: tech, finance and media audiences, event promotion, thought leadership amplification.
- Watch out for: brand safety settings and audiences built too broadly.
How to decide where to start
- Work out what a customer is worth. This sets the cost per lead you can afford.
- Ask where your buyer is easiest to identify. A job title points to LinkedIn. A local business owner points to Meta. A topic points to X.
- Fund one platform properly. A proper test on one platform beats three underfunded ones.
- Fix the landing page first. One offer, one action, and proof on the page.
- Expand once cost per lead is proven. Then add retargeting on a second platform.
Whatever you choose, keep the ad accounts in your own name. Your data and campaign history are assets; they should stay with you.