What is the Cost of SEO?
In today's digital world, online visibility is crucial for business success. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) enhances your online presence, drives traffic, and boosts revenue. SEO costs depend on your website's size, your competition, and your goals. Some companies charge monthly fees, while others bill per project.
When choosing SEO services, consider your budget and objectives. Look for reputable companies with positive reviews. By understanding these elements, you can make informed decisions and achieve online success.
Learn the Basics of SEO Pricing
SEO pricing can change a lot depending on the type and amount of services. Here are the three main types of SEO pricing:
1. How much does SEO cost per month?
Price Range: $750 - $5,000+ per month
Description: Monthly retainers are a common way to pay for SEO services. In this setup, businesses pay a fixed amount each month for ongoing help with SEO. This often includes updating website content and fixing technical problems. It also involves checking how well the SEO is performing.
What’s Included:
- Website Page Improvement: This includes making changes to each web page. This helps the page rank higher and attract more relevant visitors. It involves improving the content, HTML, and meta tags (like the title and description). It also means making sure each page uses the right keywords.
- External Website Improvement: It works on getting links from trusted sites. It also includes using social media and other ways to make your site look more trustworthy.
- Technical Website Optimization: It makes sure search engines can read your website easily. This includes having a secure connection. It also means the site should work on any device, furthermore the site needs to load fast and use precise data.
- Content Plan: Creating and following a content plan that matches your SEO goals. This includes blog posts, articles, infographics, and videos.
- Tracking and Analysis: Regular updates on how your SEO strategy is working. This includes keyword rankings, organic traffic, and conversion rates.
When to Decide: Monthly retainers are great for businesses that need regular SEO help. They are also ideal for those who want to keep improving their online presence.
2. How much does SEO cost per hour?
Price Range: $80 - $200 per hour
Description: Hourly SEO pricing is not as common but is useful for small tasks or short-term projects. With this model, businesses pay a set rate for each hour of work done by the SEO consultant or agency.
What’s Covered:
- Advice Sessions: Expert advice on particular SEO problems or strategies.
- Site Reviews: A detailed review of your website’s SEO performance to find areas that need improvement.
- Execution: Practical work to solve problems or put strategies into action.
When to Use: Hourly SEO is ideal for businesses with limited budgets. It is also good for those needing help with specific SEO tasks rather than a full strategy.
3. How much does SEO cost per project?
Price Range: $1,000 - $30,000+ per project
Description: With project-based SEO pricing, businesses pay a set fee for a specific project. This model is good for one-time tasks. Examples include website redesigns, content updates, or special campaigns.
What’s Included:
- Site Makeovers: Making sure the new design works well for SEO.
- Content Updates: Revising and improving existing content to perform better.
- Campaigns: Running special SEO campaigns, like seasonal promotions or product launches.
When to Use: Project-based SEO is best for businesses that need a one-time service. It’s also great for those starting a new project that needs focused SEO work.
An Inside Look at Flexforce SEO Pricing
| Type | Task | BASIC 5 Keywords |
GROWTH 15 Keywords |
BOOSTER 25 Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Monthly | $160 | $300 | $500 |
| Price | Half Yearly | $860 ( 20% ) | $1600 ( 25% ) | $2650( 30% ) |
| Analysis | In-Depth Site Analysis | |||
| Duplicate Content Check | ||||
| Competition Analysis | ||||
| Keyword Analysis | ||||
| Currently Ranking Check | ||||
| Keyword URL Mapping | ||||
| Broken Links Check | ||||
| Google Penalty Check | ||||
| On Page Optimization | Number of Locations Covered | 1 | Upto 2 | Upto 3 |
| Canonicalization | ||||
| Header (H1) Tags Optimization | ||||
| Internal Link Structuring & Optimization | 3 Pages | 5 Pages | 10 Pages | |
| Image ALT Tag Optimization | ||||
| Robots.Txt Creation/Analysis | ||||
| Xml Sitemap/Analysis | ||||
| Google Webmaster Tools Set Up (if not set up) | ||||
| Schema configuration | ||||
| Google Analytics Set Up (if not setup) | ||||
| Title & Meta Tags Optimization | 3 Pages | 5 Pages | 10 Pages | |
| Existing Web Content Optimization | ||||
| Fresh Web Content Suggestions* (writing charges extra) | ||||
| Geo Targeting (via GWT & Code) | ||||
| Address add to current website page[s] (if applicable) | ||||
| KML Sitemap | ||||
| Desktop Page Speed Optimization* | ||||
| Google Analytics Conversion Setup | ||||
| hCard microformat addition | ||||
| Google Search Console Set Up (if not setup) | ||||
| HTML Code Cleanup & Optimization | ||||
| Schema Implementation for Logo Reviews | ||||
| Location Based Page Analysis | ||||
| Local Search Optimization | Google My Business Setup & Verification | |||
| GMB Page Optimization | ||||
| GMB Timeline Posting | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| Google Places - Photo/Multimedia additions | ||||
| Business Listings / Local Citations | ||||
| Bing Local Listing Setup | ||||
| Apple Maps Setup | ||||
| Customer Reviews/Ratings | ||||
| NAP Syndication | ||||
| Report Duplicate Listing | ||||
| Content marketing | Article Writing | 1 | 1 | |
| Blog Writing | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Guest Blog Writing | 1 | 1 | ||
| Classified Writing | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| off page optimization | Article Submission | 1 | 1 | |
| Blog Submission | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Content Syndication | ||||
| Guest Blog Submission | 1 | 1 | ||
| Classified Submissions | 5 | 10 | 15 | |
| Search Engine Submission | 2 | 5 | 10 | |
| Guest Blog Promotion | 4 | 8 | ||
| Q & A | ||||
| Link Syndication | ||||
| Profile Listing | ||||
| Competitor Link Analysis & Creation | ||||
| Monthly Reporting | Search Engine Rank Report | |||
| SEO Activity Reports | ||||
| Google Analytics Report | ||||
| Google Business Profile (GBP) Insights Report | ||||
| Customer Support | Email, Chat, Phone | |||
| Project Management Tool Tracking |
| Type | Task | BASIC 30 Keywords |
GROWTH 35 Keywords |
BOOSTER 40 Keywords |
PREMIUM 70 Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Monthly | $225 | $375 | $599 | $1099 |
| Price | Half Yearly | $1200 ( 20% ) | $2000 ( 25% ) | $3200( 30% ) | $5500( 35% ) |
| Analysis | In-Depth Site Analysis | ||||
| Duplicate Content Check | |||||
| Backlinks Analysis | |||||
| Competition Analysis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
| Keyword Analysis | |||||
| Baseline Ranking Check | |||||
| Keyword URL Mapping | |||||
| Broken Links Check | |||||
| Google Penalty Check | |||||
| On Page Optimization | Canonicalization | ||||
| Header (H1) Tags Optimization | |||||
| Internal Link Structuring & Optimization | |||||
| Existing Content Optimization | |||||
| Image & Hyperlink Optimization | |||||
| Robots.Txt Creation/Analysis | |||||
| Xml Sitemap/Analysis | |||||
| Google Webmaster Tools Set Up (if not set up) | |||||
| Schema configuration | |||||
| Google Analytics Set Up (if not setup) | |||||
| Page Speed Optimization Analysis* | |||||
| Title & Meta Tags Optimization | 10 Pages | 20 Pages | 30 Pages | 50 Pages | |
| Existing Web Content Optimization | |||||
| Fresh Web Content Suggestions | |||||
| Google Analytics setup with conversion tracking** | |||||
| Google Analytics Conversion Setup | |||||
| Bing Webmaster Tools Set Up (if not set up) | |||||
| HTML Site Map Creation | |||||
| Footer Optimization | |||||
| Website Usability analysis | |||||
| Check Header Status, Meta Robots, Google Cache of Pages | |||||
| Check Mobility Issues | |||||
| Custom 404 Page Analysis | |||||
| URL Structure Analysis | |||||
| No Follow on External Links | |||||
| Conversion Tracking and Optimization | Google Analytics Goal Conversion Setup Suggestion** | ||||
| Heatmap integration | |||||
| Call Tap targeting | |||||
| Schema & Structured Data Mark Up | Logo Optimization | ||||
| Schema on Contact Address | |||||
| Schema on Breadcrumb | |||||
| Schema on Blog | |||||
| Local Search Optimization | Google Business Profile Setup & Verification | ||||
| Bing Local Listing Setup | |||||
| Apple Maps Setup | |||||
| Local Business Directory/ Citations | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 | |
| Customer Reviews/Ratings Submissions | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Contact Address in Footer | |||||
| Content Marketing (per month) | Website Blog Writing | ||||
| Blog Writing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Classified Writing | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| Article Writing | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Podcast Creation | |||||
| Press Release Writing | 1 | 1 | |||
| Infographic Creation | |||||
| Guest Blog Writing | |||||
| Off Page Optimization | Blog Submission | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Article Submission | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Blog Promotion | 5 | 10 | |||
| Company Profile Listing | 5 | 7 | 10 | 15 | |
| Classified Submissions | 5 | 8 | 12 | 15 | |
| Article Promotion | 5 | 10 | |||
| Link Syndication | |||||
| Video Promotion **** | |||||
| Image Submissions | |||||
| Press Release Promotion | 3 | 3 | |||
| Press Release Submission | 1 | 1 | |||
| Infographic Promotion | |||||
| Infographic Distribution | |||||
| Video Submission*** | |||||
| Q & A Submissions | |||||
| Guest Blog Posting | |||||
| Guest Blog Promotion | |||||
| Competitor Link Analysis and Creation | |||||
| Poscast Distribution | |||||
| Micro Blogging | 2 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Content Syndication | |||||
| Social Media Sharing (per month) | |||||
| Monthly Reporting | Search Engine Rank Report | ||||
| SEO Activity Reports | |||||
| Google Analytics Report | |||||
| Customer Support | Email, Chat, Phone | ||||
| Project Management Tool Tracking |
| Type | Task | SMALL 100 Keywords |
MEDIUM 200 Keywords |
BIG 500 Keywords |
LARGE 1000 Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Monthly | $450 | $699 | $1200 | $2100 |
| Price | Half Yearly | $2200 ( 25% ) | $3500 ( 30% ) | $6200( 35% ) | $11000( 45% ) |
| Analysis | In-Depth Site Analysis | ||||
| Duplicate Content Check | |||||
| Competition Analysis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Keyword Analysis | |||||
| Baseline Ranking Check | |||||
| Keyword URL Mapping | |||||
| Broken Links Check | |||||
| Google Penalty Check | |||||
| Sales Funnel Review & Optimization | Shopping cart funnel analysis and recommendations | ||||
| Google Product Listing Ads** | |||||
| Google & Facebook Remarketing Setup** | |||||
| Call Taps Tracking | |||||
| Heatmap Integration & Analysis | |||||
| Heatmap Report Generation* | |||||
| On Page Optimization | Canonicalization | ||||
| Header (H1) Tags Optimization | |||||
| Internal Link Structuring & Optimization | |||||
| Existing Content Optimization | |||||
| Robots.Txt Creation/Analysis | |||||
| Xml Sitemap/Analysis | |||||
| Google Webmaster Tools Set Up (if not set up) | |||||
| Google Analytics Set Up (if not setup) | |||||
| Title & Meta Tags Optimization | 20 Pages | 40 Pages | 70 Pages | 100 Pages | |
| Existing Web Content Optimization | |||||
| Fresh Web Content Suggestions(writing charges extra) | |||||
| Google Analytics setup with Conversion Tracking | |||||
| Desktop Page Speed Optimization | |||||
| Title & Meta Tags Optimization | Upto 20 Pages | Upto 40 Pages | Upto 70 Pages | Upto 100 Pages | |
| Product Image Optimization | |||||
| Bing Webmaster Tools Set Up (if not set up) | |||||
| HTML Site Map Creation | |||||
| Pagination Tags on Site | |||||
| Proper URL Structure Analysis | |||||
| Proper URL structure Implementation (If applicable) | |||||
| Resolve Webmaster Crawl Errors | |||||
| No Follow on External Links | |||||
| Footer Optimization | |||||
| Website usability analysis | |||||
| Check Header Status, Meta Robots, Google Cache of Pages | |||||
| Check Mobility Issues | |||||
| URL Parameter Handling | |||||
| Custom 404 Page | |||||
| Product Optimization Suggestion (UI/UX) | |||||
| Schema & Structured Data Mark Up | Logo Optimization | ||||
| Schema on Contact Address | |||||
| Schema on Breadcrumb | |||||
| Schema on Ratings/ Reviews (E Commerce)** | |||||
| Schema on Blog | |||||
| Schema Tags on Products (If Applicable) | |||||
| Content Marketing (per month) | Web Page Content Writing (One Time) | ||||
| Blog Writing | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| Classified Writing | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | |
| Article Writing | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
| Premium Press Release Writing | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Infographic Creation | |||||
| Paid Guest Blog Writing | |||||
| Podcast Creation | |||||
| Off Page Optimization | Blog Submission | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Article Submission | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
| Blog Promotion | 5 | 15 | 20 | ||
| Company Profile Listing | 5 | 10 | 12 | 15 | |
| Classified Submissions | 10 | 20 | 25 | 40 | |
| Article Promotion | 5 | 8 | 15 | 20 | |
| Link Syndication | |||||
| Video Promotion (if available) | |||||
| Image Submissions | |||||
| Press Release Promotion | 5 | 5 | 10 | ||
| Press Release Submission | 5 | 5 | 10 | ||
| Infographic Distribution | |||||
| Video Submission(if available) | |||||
| Product Submissions | |||||
| Coupon Distribution(if available) | |||||
| Q & A Submissions | |||||
| Paid Guest Blog Posting | |||||
| Guest Blog Promotion | |||||
| Content Syndication | |||||
| Google Product Submission (Free) | |||||
| Competitor Link Analysis and Creation | |||||
| Podcast Distribution | |||||
| Social Sharing | |||||
| Monthly Reporting | Search Engine Rank Report | ||||
| SEO Activity Reports | |||||
| Google Analytics Report | |||||
| Customer Support | Email, Chat, Phone | ||||
| Project Management Tool Tracking |
Factors Affecting SEO Costs
Several factors affect the cost of SEO services. Knowing these factors can help you set realistic expectations. It also helps in planning your SEO budget.
1. Company Size
Small Companies:
Price Range: $750 - $2,000 per month
Small businesses usually have smaller budgets and face less competition. Their SEO efforts often focus on local SEO. They furthermore work on optimizing Google My Business profiles and improving on-page SEO.
Medium-Sized Companies:
Price Range: $2,000 - $5,000 per month
Medium-sized businesses often face more competition. They need more detailed SEO strategies, including on-page, off-page, and technical SEO.
Large Corporations:
Price Range: $5,000 - $10,000+ per month
Large enterprises usually work in very competitive fields. They need detailed SEO strategies. This includes a lot of content creation, link building, and advanced technical SEO.
2. Expertise and Background of the Provider
Internal SEO Teams:
Cost Spectrum: Fluctuating (salaries, tools, and training expenses)
Larger businesses may have their own SEO teams. Costs include paying salaries, providing benefits, and ongoing training.
SEO Companies:
Cost Spectrum: $1,000 - $10,000+ per month
Agencies have different skills and tools. They do everything from planning to doing the work and reporting on it.
Independent SEO Consultants:
Pricing Range: $80 - $200 per hour
Freelancers offer flexibility. They have specialised skills, which can save money for specific tasks or smaller projects.
3. Geographic Location
Local SEO Services:
Pricing Range: $500 - $2,500 per month
Local providers understand the local market well. They can offer targeted strategies for local SEO.
National/International SEO Services:
Pricing Range: $2,000 - $10,000+ per month
National or international providers have a lot of resources and experience. They help businesses in larger markets.
4. Services Offered
Essential SEO Services:
Pricing Range: $500 - $2,000 per month
Essential services include keyword research, on-page optimization, and basic link building.
Complete SEO Services:
Pricing Range: $2,000 - $10,000+ per month
Complete services cover all aspects of SEO. This includes technical SEO, content strategy, advanced link building, and detailed reporting.
The Value of Investing in SEO
SEO investments can lead to substantial returns for businesses. Here's why it's worth investing in SEO:
- Improved Visibility: Higher rankings in search engines bring more visitors, making your brand more visible.
- Higher ROI: SEO provides long-term results. It offers a better return on investment compared to other digital marketing strategies.
- Enhanced Brand Credibility: Higher rankings establish brand authority and trust. This leads to more conversions and loyal customers.
- Cost-Efficient: SEO saves money by reaching users searching for your products or services.
Setting Your SEO Budget
Setting a budget for SEO is important to reach your business goals without spending too much. Here’s how to do it effectively:
1. Define Your Goals
- Increase website visitors: If you aim to increase website traffic, focus on creating content. Also, optimise keywords and build links.
- Increase Conversions: If you want more conversions, focus on technical SEO. Improve user experience (UX) and optimise conversion rates (CRO).
2. Study Your Competitors
- Analysing Competitors: Learn about your competitors' SEO spending and strategies. Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush can assist in analysing their SEO efforts.
3. Evaluate Your Resources
- Budgeting Strategy: Figure out how much to spend on SEO without affecting other marketing.
- Company Resources: Think about your team’s skills and time. If you’re short on expertise, consider hiring an agency or freelancer.
SEO Cost by Business Size
| Business Size | Monthly SEO Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Small Business | $750 - $2,000 |
| Medium Sized Business | $2,000 - $5,000 |
| Large Enterprise | $5,000 - $10,000+ |
SEO Pricing FAQs
What is the monthly cost of SEO?
SEO services typically cost between $750 and $5,000 per month. The final price depends on the provider and the extent of the services offered.
Is investing in SEO worthwhile?
Yes, investing in SEO provides long-term benefits. It also increases visibility and offers a better return on investment.
How do you choose the right SEO payment plan?
Think about your goals, budget, and service needs. Monthly plans are good for ongoing SEO. Project-based pricing is better for one-time campaigns.
Why do businesses invest in SEO?
Businesses invest in SEO to rank higher in search results. This helps attract more visitors and increase sales.
What should be included in SEO services?
SEO services should include on-page optimization, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. They should also cover keyword research, content strategy, and regular reporting.