Frequently Asked Questions About Digital Marketing
At Frontend Horizon, we know you’ve got questions—so we’ve gathered the answers in one place. Whether you’re curious about our web design and development process, how we handle SEO management, what goes into pay-per-click campaigns, or the impact of social media marketing and competitor analysis, you’ll find straightforward explanations here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Web Design & Development
Timeline can depend on a variety of factors including total page count, design complexity, and asset handover. Assuming a moderate design complexity and timely handover of all necessary assets, a rough guide on the timeline to design and build a website from scratch is below:
- Very Small Website (10 pages or less) - 2-3 weeks
- Small Website (11-25 pages) - 3-4 weeks
- Medium Website (26-100 pages) - 4-8 weeks
- Large Website (100+ pages) - 8-12 weeks
The only requirement is that you provide us with information about your company, it's goals, it's products or services, and it's ideal customer profile. Those are the minimum pieces of information needed to build your site.
However, clients that can provide imagery, brand kits, videos, content ideas, and other items that define their company typically experience faster project completion and a more detailed website. But don't worry, if you don't have all of these things, we can still produce a great website that showcases your company and attracts new customers.
Absolutely! We love to show our work. You're looking at one of them now in the Frontend Horizon site, and you can see examples of sites we have built, along with success stories from our SEO, PPC, Social Media, and Competitor Analysis solutions on our case studies page.
Like timelines, cost varies depending on a variety of factors. The most influential factor on the cost of a custom website is the number of pages. For a website alone as a single service, you can expect to pay anywhere from $2500-$20,000. However, we value longterm partnerships with our clients, and frequently adjust the cost of a custom site build when they partner with us on other ongoing services, such as an SEO Management or PPC Management contract.
If you want pricing specific to your situation, contact us today for a consultation, or for more information, visit our Web Design & Development solutions page.
For clients that don't have the budget for a custom site, we do offer templates. A template is a previously-built website that is altered to fit your company. All of the text, images, and page titles can be altered. The overall layout remains the largely same, with room for minor adjustments.
Choosing a template has its advantages, such as lower cost and faster launch. The main drawback to choosing a template is that you can't customize the overall layout.
Outside of the fee to build the website, there are costs you should be aware of. If this is your first time having a website built, you will need a domain name. Domains can be purchased through registrars, and some of the most popular ones are listed below. Domains usually cost less than $10 for the first year and then $10-$20 for renewal annually.
The other fee associated with websites is the hosting fee. Hosting typically costs $300-$500 per year and is renewed annually as a separate charge from the website build.
Yes, our designers are trained in SEO, UX (user experience), and CRO (conversion rate optimization) fundamentals. When we design and build a site, we think ahead in terms of functionality and performance. Beautiful designs are not helpful if they don't lead to conversions.
Each website we build is equipped with the basic fundamentals of on-page and technical SEO. We also use proper CRO and UX tactics to ensure your site is easy for your customer to use and find the information they are looking for, while guiding them through the funnel from discovery to contact.
However, please note that SEO is more than just on-page and technical optimization. Our SEO packages open up the meat and potatoes of SEO optimization to you, which is what will continuously drive up your rankings, visibility, and traffic.
Absolutely not. Frontend Horizon is a full service agency with in-house design, development, and digital marketing teams. Not only that, we cross train our teams so they are equipped with knowledge of our total solution offering.
That means that your designer will also understand (and in some cases be fully capable of) the development of your site, and will have an understanding of SEO best practices. This reduces friction throughout the design/build process and leads to a well-rounded website that is built to perform.
100%. The majority of web traffic comes from mobile devices today, so every site we build will be fully optimized for tablets and cell phones. We stay up-to-date with the latest releases in mobile technology and screen sizes, which ensures there will never be an "ugly moment" for a mobile user on your website.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO
SEO (search engine optimization) is a complex, multi-pronged approach aimed at making your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Nobody fully knows what algorithms search engines use to determine where a website ranks, but with years of historical data under our belts, we have indentified what works and what doesn't.
You need SEO because of the sheer number of websites on the internet today. Many business owners think that "if we build it, people will come". Unfortunately, that is usually not the case. With so many competitive websites out there, yours will be lost in the sea without proper SEO efforts.
But don't worry. Even if you've never tried SEO before, we can produce results quickly for you. Our approach considers not only your current web presence, but also takes into account your competition's level of authority in your niche and tailors a strategy that targets both quick wins and long-term success.
For more information on SEO, visit our SEO solutions page.
That depends what you consider SEO. If your only goal is to write blog content, then possibly. But content that isn't backed by research might not get the results you desire. Our SEO experts identify what people are searching for and write content specifically designed to capture those search queries.
There is a lot of behind-the-scenes research that goes into proper SEO, and it's not all about content. Backlinking strategies and outreach, technical optimization, on-page optimization, and internal site linking all weigh into the final decision a search engine makes regarding your ranking (among several other things as well!).
So yes, you can do all of this on your own, if you dedicate the time to it. But as a business owner, your skillset is needed elsewhere, and that's where our team comes into play. We do the work of several internal hires your company would need to make in order to effectively tackle proper SEO, and we do it for roughly 1/3 of the cost.
The price of SEO can range greatly depending on the level of service you want. For websites in uncompetitive niches, it might not take much effort to rank highly and thus, your cost will be lower. But for most businesses, there is fierce digital competition that requires many hours per month to get and stay competitive.
The average prices for these types of clients range anywhere from $1000-$5000 per month. But we don't like to pin you down to a number. Let us talk with you about your budget and your goals. We value longterm partnerships and are willing to structure a plan specifically for you that will get you where you want to be. Contact us today for a free consultation and let's find out what we can make work for you.
The only true measure of SEO success is rank improvements. We look at specific pages related to specific keywords and measure how they move in the rankings over time, and how those movements correlate with tactics we have employed.
Clicks and traffic are the results of rank improvements, but they aren't a solid measure of SEO success because they can be artifically inflated. For example, traffic can spike if someone types your website URL into the search bar, or clicks a link to your site from your social media page, but that traffic did not come from SEO.
Another metric commonly misaligned with SEO success is impressions. An impression is when your site is shown on a search result. It doesn't matter if it is in position #1 or #50, it counts as an impression all the same. Impressions are a good metric for measuring whether or not your website content is relevant to a search query, so we do pay attention to it, especially in the beginning. But impressions increases without ranking improvements is not considered SEO success to us.
The answer to that question depends on two things: your current domain authority and the competitiveness of the keyword(s) you're targeting.
A website with a high domain authority can see SEO success very quickly, while one with little to no authority will need to build that authority up before seeing ranking improvements for most keywords.
That said, there are always keywords in your niche that are less competitive (meaning they aren't searched as frequently as others). Even though they come with a lower search volume, they still provide value, and they are much easier to rank highly for even if you have low authority.
For newer domains with less authority, we take a two-pronged approach to keyword targeting, going after quick wins with low competition keywords while simultaneously building your domain authority through a variety of tactics to prepare you to target the more competitive, higher volume keywords later on. This provides relatively quick results and sets you up for longterm success.
Of course! We are proud of the results we have gotten for our clients. You can view our results on our case studies page.
We love this question and yes, we really do hear it all the time. SEO from Fiverr "specialists" who charge $20 a month is not SEO, period. Not only is it practically impossible to charge so little if you are actually doing the real work that needs to be done for proper SEO, in many cases, these Fiverr "experts" can hurt your website's rankings.
In a lot of cases, what is being advertised on sites like Fiverr is blackat backlink services. In simple terms, a backlink is when a site links to your site. Google uses backlinks as a sign of authority, almost like a vote of confidence from one site to another. But if the vote is coming from an unreputable source, what does that say about your site?
Think of meeting your fiance's parents for the first time and bringing along your friends to vouch for the kind of person you are. Do you want your friends to be upstanding citizens who share your values and beliefs, or do you want them to be a gang of criminals who leave a very bad impression?
That's what a backlink from a poor reputation site can do for your site, and that is what is often advertised as "SEO" by Fiverr "experts". Google and other search engines will penalize your website if they suspect you are engaging in backlink exchanges with sites such as these, sometimes even de-indexing your site. Real SEO requires many hours of due diligence and research, which costs real money. But in the end, you'll be glad you spent the money on something that works rather than something that could tank your online visibility overnight.
We do use AI to assist in our SEO efforts, in a variety of ways. Using AI for things like content creation and keyword research is not bad, unless it is abused. This is a common question that stems from many rumors that Google penalizes AI content. This is simply not true.
Google has specifically stated it does not penalize AI generated content, nor does it even have the capability to detect AI written content. However, there is some truth to the rumor. What Google has said it will penalize is scaled content. Scaled content is when hundreds or thousands of nearly identical pages are generated using AI, where only a few keywords on the pages are altered. This practice is considered bad SEO and is not something we use AI for.
We use AI to assist us with content creation that has been manually researched and outlined. In addition, all of our content is fact checked manually before publishing, both internally and with our clients for accuracy. So while AI can be abused, we do not use it in that way and we embrace the power of AI to grow your SEO results the right way.
Because we don't take shortcuts and we do the work needed to give you the best chance to succeed. There are a lot of solid SEO agencies out there, and we don't claim to have magic powers. But we do promise to communicate openly with you, always go the extra mile for you, and never engage in blackhat tactics that could harm your site.
We would love it if you choose to work with us. But, we want you to succeed even if you don't. So our best advice to you is to properly vet your agency. Educate yourself on the basics of SEO, and learn about blackhat SEO and what to avoid. If you choose to work with someone else, make sure they are an honest agency that does SEO the right way.
If you're ready to talk to us, contact us today and we will be happy to provide a free consultation with no olbligations, even if you just want to learn more about what questions to ask other agencies as you go through all of your options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pay Per Click Ads
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is an advertising model where you pay only when someone clicks your ad. Platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads auction placements, and your bid plus ad quality determines if and where your ad shows up.
For more information, visit our Pay-Per-Click Advertising solutions page.
There’s no flat rate. Costs depend on your industry, competition, and keywords. Some clicks cost under $1, while competitive industries (like legal or finance) can run $50–$100+ per click.
You can get traffic immediately after launch, but meaningful ROI typically takes 2–3 months of testing, adjusting keywords, ads, and landing pages. This is because there is usually an initial period of trial and error needed in order to optimize your campaign. The first few weeks of a PPC campaign should be primarily focused on optimization, not results.
Not always. A $1,000–$2,000 monthly ad spend is a solid start for most local businesses. National campaigns usually require $5,000+. The key is having enough budget to collect useful data, and sticking with it long enough to make adjustments based upon that data.
Success is measured by conversions (leads, calls, purchases), not just clicks. KPIs include cost per conversion, conversion rate, and return on ad spend (ROAS).
In fact, it is important to note that clicks on ads are not always equal. Clicks from unqualified leads or bots do nothing but drive your ad spend up. That's why it's important to structure your campaign to only target your ideal customers and avoid pitfalls that make bot clicks more likely.
A good PPC agency manages both. Ads drive traffic, but landing pages convert that traffic. If your pages don’t convert, your ad spend is wasted.
Frontend Horizon is a full service agency, which means we can design and develop landing pages tailored to your ads in-house, as part of your PPC package. When tweaks need to be made to landing pages, we can respond extremely quickly, which allows you to prevent ad spend waste.
PPC gives instant visibility but stops the second you stop paying. SEO takes months but builds long-term organic traffic. Ideally, both work together, but are totally different things.
PPC deals with ads, like the sponsored links at the top of the search results pages. SEO deals with organic search rankings, which are the listings below the sponsored ad links.
Both are important aspects of digital marketing that should be managed by an experienced, professional agency in order to achieve the best results.
Keyword research, campaign setup, ad copywriting, bid management, audience targeting, conversion tracking, and reporting, and landing page design, testing, and optimization.
No legitimate agency will guarantee specific sales or rankings—too many variables are outside control (competition, market changes, product quality). What can be promised is consistent optimization to lower costs and improve conversions.
If your customers actively search for your products/services online, PPC works. If you sell something brand new with no existing search demand, you may need social ads or other channels first.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Marketing
That depends on where your target audience spends time. For example, Instagram and TikTok are great for visuals and younger demographics, LinkedIn works for B2B, and Facebook still dominates community-based audiences.
We create a posting schedule tailored to your goals, typically 3–7 times per week depending on the platform and strategy.
We handle content creation—graphics, captions, hashtags, and strategy. We’ll also request brand assets (logos, product photos, etc.) to keep everything aligned with your identity.
We track metrics like engagement rate, follower growth, website traffic, and leads/sales conversions to make sure your investment is paying off.
Yes, we can manage comments, messages, and community interactions to keep your brand active and approachable.
Social media growth is not overnight. Typically, you’ll see engagement increases within the first 1–2 months, with stronger ROI (leads/sales) in 3–6 months.
We offer both. Organic builds your brand presence, while paid ads help scale reach and drive targeted results faster.
Absolutely—we develop brand guidelines for tone, style, and messaging so every post feels authentically “you.”
As much or as little as you want. Some clients approve every post, others let us run with it. We adapt to your comfort level.
We focus on results, not vanity metrics. Our strategies are customized, transparent, and backed by real data—not guesswork.
Frequently Asked Questions About Competitor Analysis
Understanding what is working for your competitors gives you insight into what might work for you. Conversely, knowing what isn't working for them can save you time and money on strategies that don't resonate with your shared audience.
A solid understanding of your competition's wins and failures can be one of the most useful tools in planning a digital marketing strategy.
We can show you a variety of data points such as:
- Which keywords drive the most traffic to their site
- Which pages on their site are responsible for the most traffic
- How many backlinks they have and the referring domains they come from
- How many indexed pages are on their site
- Their overall domain authority
- An estimate on their typical monthly ad spend
Not at all. The information we gather on your competition all comes from Google and is publicly available.
Yes, we do competitive analysis as an early step in all SEO packages.
No, we can do a competitive analysis for you as an a-la-cart charge, however, the value of the data gained from the analysis is best leveraged by implementing an SEO strategy based upon what was learned.
No, there is no way to tell if a report has been run against any domain.