The cost of seo

How Much Does SEO Cost and Why Is It Important?

Businesses today understand the importance of SEO to their online presence and ongoing digital marketing plans, but they're often confused about why SEO pricing can range so considerably. That's because many SEO specialists customize services to suit each client's unique needs. And, there are dozens of services that fall under the umbrella of SEO. Depending on the level of service a business needs, they may or may not be paying as much as their competitors.

Moreover, SEO firms and digital marketing agencies that offer SEO solutions also charge different rates for services. Some firms may offer packages or even a monthly subscription for services. Here, we'll explore the different pricing models that SEO firms and specialists most popularly feature. While finding an agency that offers the solutions you need at a price point that suits your budget is important, it's also critical to choose a highly respected firm with a reputation for high-quality SEO solutions. SEO is essential for promoting your business effectively online, so take care to choose an SEO specialist who excels in their field.

What Are Some Different SEO Pricing Models?

When searching for an SEO agency to help your business get optimized, you might feel confused about all the different pricing models with their tiers, components, a la carte services, and packages. Naturally, it's important to understand exactly the services you're getting for what you're paying--and to pay for services you actually need. Here, we'll break down some of the pricing models that SEO specialists use today to charge businesses for their services.

How Much Does SEO Cost Per Hour?

On average, good-quality SEO services can average between $100-$250 per hour. However, not all firms charge by the hour. If what you are being charged falls considerably short of this $100 per hour marker, you should want to find out why. Is the specialist you're contracting with new to the field? Do they have a body of experience to point to? How are their references? Getting a deal on SEO services isn't a deal if you don't achieve your optimization goals.

Project-Based SEO Rate

If your business website has never undergone search engine optimization before, you might want to consider a project-based SEO rate. You can obtain many SEO services designed to get your SEO off the ground for a flat project rate. This could be a substantial cost-savings. If you need a lot of SEO work performed, you can wind up paying a much heftier price tag if you're charged by the hour.

How Much Does SEO Cost Per Month?

According to Ahrefs, the average SEO plan costs businesses $2,819 per month. Keep in mind, this is the average. A small business that is looking for local SEO services may pay substantially less. Monthly SEO costs can run some businesses, particularly larger ones requiring more solutions as much as $10,000. However, many businesses can expect to pay $2,000 per month for all of their SEO needs. According to Search Engine Journal, more than half of today's businesses pay just $500 per month for SEO.

Yearly Based SEO Pricing

If you're paying a monthly cost of $1,000 per month, your annual cost, naturally, will be $12,000. Your monthly cost may differ from month-to-month, though, especially if you're paying for a project-based SEO model or just a few SEO services. Your annual price may also be dependent on the SEO plan you choose. Different plans offer a different number and scope of services.

Basic SEO Plan and Pricing

Many small businesses opt for basic SEO plans. Agencies may refer to their basic package by a different name, but this is typically their introductory plan. It will offer just what one would expect: the basic--but critical--SEO solutions businesses need to get their optimization rolling--and to experience the benefits of search engine optimization.

A basic SEO package should include:

• Keyword research
• Technical audit
• Link building
• SEO content creation (i.e. copywriting)
• Other SEO services (i.e. optimization for Google My Business)
• Analytics

Many basic packages may also include website design and off-page SEO services. A basic package is likely to cost between $2,000 and $5,000.

Enterprise SEO and Pricing

Enterprise-Level SEO is designed for enterprise-level businesses, so it's costs are going to be higher because more work is required to optimize the business's online presence and maintain that optimization. Because the amount of work is often doubled, the pricing is nearly doubled as well. Enterprise level-businesses may expect to pay upwards of $8,000 - $10,000 for these types of packages.

As with a basic plan, enterprise packages include a full site technical audit and extensive keyword research, but they'll also include substantially more SEO content, tracking and analyzing, competitor research, technical updates, a dedicated SEO specialist, and more. The types of services you can expect to get with your enterprise package will depend on the firm's offerings.

Ecommerce SEO Plan and Pricing

If you operate an ecommerce business, selling to a national or even international audience, you can expect your SEO needs to be quite different from a local contractor who needs SEO simply to promote a select number of services (i.e. tax preparation, plumbing, electrical inspections, etc…). When you operate an ecommerce site, you may be facing much more competition, which makes your SEO essential for getting noticed online.

Ecommerce SEO will include the basics and many of the same enterprise-level SEO services, but it will also include SEO strategies and solutions that are in keeping with the ecommerce platform. For instance, this package will invariably include SEO product copywriting, which may not be a service that a small business or even an enterprise-level business needs. The cost for this package may exceed $10,000 depending on the amount of service needed.

Local SEO Pricing

Local SEO pricing is more in keeping, cost-wise, with a basic plan. In fact, you may even expect to pay less, particularly if your optimization needs are tied specifically to your local SEO needs. For instance, your technical SEO may be on point. Your keyword optimization may only involve localizing your content.

When you consult with an SEO firm about their local SEO package, you'll want to find out how it differs from their basic package. Many firms will combine the two if they need local SEO solutions because they'll still require services from that basic offering such as analytics.

Factors that Affect SEO Pricing

Many factors affect SEO pricing because a business may or may not need certain SEO services depending on the type of business they operate and if they've obtained any SEO services before. Some common factors that affect SEO pricing include:

• Number of website pages that need SEO
• The amount of time needed to optimize a business's on-page and off-page presence
• Website's current technical state (in other words, it may or may not need extensive work based on the findings of the technical audit)
• Current search engine ranking
• Business location / business type
• Digital marketing campaign goals

Tips and Facts about SEO Pricing

Many SEO firms like Noble Webworks customize their services for businesses. That means that the firm will need more information about your business and the SEO solutions you'll need before they can deliver an individualized quote. This type of pricing is often ideal for businesses who don't want to pay for package services that they don't actually need.

Many SEO specialists today charge a retainer fee in addition to their packages; conversely, this fee may be included in package rates. It's important to find out upfront about any fees you may be charged for in advance.

Some SEO firms offer multiple pricing models. This means, while they may offer monthly packages, they may also offer project-based SEO pricing. Be sure to have a conversation with your prospective firm about the different pricing models they employ.

What SEO Services Can You Obtain?

When you are in the process of selecting an SEO firm, you should be sure that the firm offers all the SEO solutions you could possibly need--even if you don't need them all straightaway. High-quality SEO agencies like Noble Webworks offer comprehensive SEO solutions designed for all types of businesses. At the very least, any firm you choose should offer:

‍Website Audit

An audit tells your SEO specialist what is working on your site, in terms of SEO, and what is not. What isn't working helps your specialist create a list of SEO tasks to perform.

‍Keyword Research

To attract the search engine crawlers, you need the ideal keywords and phrases associated with your business, products, and services. Your SEO firm should perform exhaustive keyword research on your behalf.

‍Content Creation

SEO content is essential for demonstrating to search engines that your website is authoritative and relevant for searchers. Most SEO firms feature content specialists to help develop content for business websites, blogs, and social media.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to all the SEO steps taken to optimize a business's online presence outside of its website.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the tasks your SEO specialists perform in relation to the business website.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the technical tasks associated with optimization. These tasks include site structure, site speed and loading times, and more.

Link Building

High-quality, working links enhance SEO. Your firm should offer link-building services.

Guest Post Outreach

Guest posts from relevant or expert sources can help your company boost its SEO. Your firm may be able to help you diversify your company blog with expert contributors.

Are a Firm's SEO Services Worth the Price and How do Know

Once you understand how a prospective SEO agency will charge you for its services, you'll need to gauge if the costs are worth the expense. If you've gone through the trouble of price checking, you already understand how important SEO is to achieving improved page rank--and why that's crucial for your company's marketing success (and bottom line).

However, you want to be sure, put simply, that you're going to get high-quality services that are worth your investment. To that end, you should:

• Consult with a company: have a two-way conversation and obtain answers to all your questions before you hire the firm
• Check a company's references. Find out about what their clients say about them.
• Find out when you can expect to see results
• Learn how the company will measure its initiatives and report to you
• Find out if the firm offers personalized SEO strategies

Today's most respected SEO firms aren't deliberately trying to be evasive about costs, particularly firms that offer customized service plans. It's just that there is a broad range of SEO services and your pricing is going to be contingent on which services you need and the extent of those services. If you need SEO solutions, consult with Noble Webworks and find out more about their customized SEO services and how they can help you grow your business.

FAQs

Is there a standard price for SEO?

There is not a standard price for SEO. Use the information in the article above to help you understand average SEO costs for packages, hourly, or monthly rates and the factors that effect the price of SEO.

Is SEO worth it in 2022?

SEO is essential in 2022 and going forward into the digital future. To ensure that you're paying for high-quality SEO that is, indeed, worth the price you'll pay, be sure to work with a reputable firm like Noble Webworks.

How long does it take to get SEO results?

Generally you can expect to see results from your SEO solutions in 4-6 months.  It takes a consistent effort over this period of time to begin to move the needle in your favor.

How much should you spend on SEO per year?

How much your business should spend on SEO annually depends on (1) how valuable search engine traffic is to your business  (2) how quickly you need your rankings to improve (3) the size of your website and (4) the return on investment that SEO brings to your business.

On average how much does an SEO campaign cost?

On average, an SEO campaign costs $2,500 to $5,000 per month.  SEO packages can start as low as $850/month for starting or economical SEO.