SEO Pricing

SEO Pricing

How Much Does SEO Cost?

So you want to learn about “SEO pricing” and how much SEO companies charge for their search engine optimization services.

In this article, I will talk about SEO prices and how to hire the right SEO agency.

It is important to remember that search engine optimization (SEO) is what links your business with most of your customers.

Nowadays, 93 percent of customer interactions begin with a basic search engine query – often without a particular brand name.

That said, you need to incorporate the proper SEO elements into your website, and one of the effective methods to do this is to collaborate with an SEO expert.

Many factors will dictate the price of SEO services. You may be wondering what are the determinants of SEO pricing.

Determinants of SEO pricing

In order to obtain a reliable estimate of SEO cost from a marketer or agency, firstly, you will need to provide essential details about your company.

This will help SEO marketers decide how much work will be required, the type of content required, and roughly how long projects should be completed.

Some of these essential factors include (but are not limited to)

  • The current status of your search presence
  • The average revenue per sale
  • Close rate of leads to sales
  • Campaign goals
  • How soon you want to see the results
  • How the new marketing budget is distributed (such as the proportion of gross sales)

This helps explain why SEO pricing points can vary to such an extent.

How Much Do Most Businesses Pay For SEO Services?

There are several different payment mechanisms that are widely used for SEO services pricing. According to a survey conducted by Sparktoro, 87 percent of SEO services providers offer monthly retention charges, and 65 percent charge hourly or project charges. Just 15% offered performance-based pricing.

The survey also revealed that the median cost per month for SEO was between $2,500 and $5,000 per month for SEO services. Thirty-one percent paid across this scale, up to $50,000, and just 18 percent paid less than $1,000.

So, this generally depends on how much SEO assistance you need. You can pay anything ranging from $25 per hour for your service, or up to $20,000 per month.

That said, many small businesses with limited marketing resources look for the cheapest SEO prices they could find online.

What Is The “Fair” Price Of SEO Services?

A lower price can mean a lower quality of service.

For example, you should be wary of a company providing its services for something like $150 a month, particularly if you know that the average salary of pro SEO specialists is about $50,000 a year.

For such a low cost, a business either depends on shady methods – such as link schemes – or can offer very little.

SEO package prices can also have an effect on the type of professional you select. If you want an expert with more than two years of experience, plan to pay about 40% more per hour and more than twice a month.

After only two years of experience, SEO hourly rates can surpass $100.

Unsurprisingly, on average, SEO firms can charge about twice as much as freelancers and consultants.

Be mindful that most SEO experts still charge a monthly retainer. According to the Business 2 Group post, about 75% of all search engine optimization experts charge a monthly retainer.

The most common hold is between $2,500 and $5,000 in the U.S.

How Much Does Local SEO Cost?

You are likely to be selling to a local consumer base. If that’s the case, we think you’re probably asking yourself the question: how much does local SEO cost?

The fact is that local SEO is relatively cheaper compared to global SEO services. You’re dealing with a bit smaller, more targeted audience, and the competition is much lower. On average, the best SEO experts charge about 23 percent less for local services.

What Are The Existing Local SEO Services?

Like global SEO, the price you pay will depend on the pricing models you’re interested in as well as the search engine optimization package you need.

Broadly speaking, local SEO can be categorized into three parts:

  1. Automated Local SEO is usually the cheapest alternative and ensures that business information is delivered to directories. This includes ensuring that all contact details – such as phone numbers, addresses, and email links – are right on sites such as Yelp or Yellow Pages. Automated local SEO pricing typically ranges from $300-$500 per month.
  2. Small Scale Local SEO campaigns usually entail the production of highly targeted advertisements that run for a period in a specific region. This also involves pay-per-click advertisements or social media promotions that are extremely targeted to reach a specific audience. Small scale SEO pricing packages usually range from $400-$900 per month.
  3. Comprehensive Local SEO provides more in-depth options for all facets of SEO, including (but not limited to):
    1. Citation optimization
    2. Content management
    3. Google My Business management
    4. Link building
    5. Management of online reviews
    6. Paid search management
    7. Reporting
    8. Social media

Services like the above are more straightforward in supplying you with information about exactly where your marketing money is being spent.

Comprehensive SEO focuses heavily on monitoring metric analysis – such as online traffic growth, conversion rates, and visibility.

It should not come as a surprise that local SEO packages would increase with more robust services. These programs may be as much as $4,000. However, they are intensive; comprehensive marketing strategies give much higher value and higher returns.

Other SEO Pricing Factors?

Beyond the usual distinction between company rates, various factors may affect SEO pricing packages.

Industry-Based Pricing

Some sectors are more likely to sell digitally than others – and are thus more competitive.

If you look at the most costly keywords on Google, you’ll find that lawyers, medical offices, finance firms, locksmiths, and car mechanics are all in this list.

Other sectors with costly and highly competitive keywords include and are not limited to;

  • Real estate
  • Marketing firms
  • Software companies
  • and home improvement companies

In certain cases, the CPC (cost per click) for these extremely competitive keywords can be over $1,000!

Niche companies tend to have the upper hand here because they can use longer keyword phrases or extra keywords with lesser competition (and prices).

SEO pricing for various industries is primarily dependent on how many monthly searches a particular industry has made.

Geographical Location Base SEO Cost

Anything from the population of a city to what part of the area you are targeting would have an effect on SEO pricing. Individual factors may also have an effect.

For example, snow tire services in Alaska will be more affordable than in Florida or Southern California.

More clustered metropolitan areas would, of course, also have more competition.

Costs for localized SEO packages in areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago would be much higher than those for companies that only want to reach consumers residing in remote, surrounding cities.

Type of SEO Service You Need

SEO pricing will also be dictated by whether you want to optimize your website for organic search, create a review profile, generate a lot of content, etc.

This will decide which type of SEO pricing structure is better suited to your market. For example, if you just need help setting up Google My Business accounts and improving site tags, this can be a one-time project expense.

If you need to create a robust blog and want to get higher SERP rankings (Search Engine Results Pages), monthly services may be a better option.

Current Brand Recognition and Visibility

SEO pricing can also vary depending on where the brand currently stands in terms of recognition and exposure. If you’re a brand new company and starting from scratch, there’s going to be a lot of leg work that needs to be done.

On the other hand, if your company has been around for some time and has already developed a search presence, you would need to concentrate more on optimization and maintenance.

How To Hire An SEO Company

With a plethora of SEO companies and fly-by-night marketing freelancers to choose from, hiring the right SEO can be challenging.

One big mistake many small business owners, on a low marketing budget, make is to look for cheap SEO services.

Focusing solely on low-cost search engine optimization services could break your marketing efforts, and land your business in deep water with search engines.

Before you sign up for cheap marketing services, I recommend you check out “how to hire an SEO” article.

CONCLUSION

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all SEO campaign. If a so-called SEO expert uses cookie-cutter marketing techniques, hang up and look elsewhere for an SEO marketing company.

SEO pricing will depend on your:

  1. Marketing resources
  2. Size of your business/website
  3. Type of website you are running, i.e.: eCommerce, blog, web presence, newspaper, or a magazine type of website
  4. Targeted audience
  5. SEO requirements
  6. Marketing goals

At BuzFind, we offer scalable, specialized SEO services and solutions to fit your business budget. With our experience, you will outperform your rivals without breaking the bank.

Get in touch today or fill out our contact form, and we’re going to put together the perfect SEO kit for you.


Call 484-485-7929 Now

SEO Pricing – How much does SEO cost? By Al, BuzFind

Your Marketing Needs Will Dictate Your SEO Prices.