How Much Should You Spend For SEO Services?

Ah here we go…the single most common question amongst those considering search optimization services.

In today’s competitive business climate the vast majority of businesses at some point are faced with the reality that they need to invest in SEO. This is no assumption but as I said, it is reality and in order to survive in today’s digital world it is imperative to start now!

SEO is certainly a long-term strategy. No doubt. And anyone telling/selling you otherwise needs their head examined.

Once you’ve come to the conclusion your business needs SEO, the next burning question is going to be…

How much should I spend on SEO services for my company?

Now first of all finding and hiring a competent SEO company should not be treated lightly. It is a lot of money and you should feel comfortable you’re making the right choice.

SEO consultants or agencies work within a total of four different payment structures within their own distinct services packaged within.

• Hourly: although in many other industries this is a more common form of payment for services rendered, when it comes to search optimization this has a time and place but is not overly common as it can get expensive. Cases of this might include consulting advice or audits whereas the client already has the team in place to do the necessary work they merely needed to be pointed in the right direction. Avg Cost to Expect: $100 – $375/hr.
• Project-based: this form of payment is designed for a specific group of tasks contained within a particular project. For example a client may have just launched their new web design and need an SEO to review all onsite optimization and then fix any issues found. The scope and accompanying costs involved are based per project and determined between the SEO and the client upon services contract signing. Avg Cost to Expect: +/-$2500 – +/-$45,000/per project depending
• Contracted Services: these can be both fixed or variably priced and often appeal to companies who are just dipping their toes in to realm of SEO in order to gauge success before graduating to the monthly retainer. Contracted services can include any number of things like link building, outreach and content marketing, distribution, SEO audits including migrations and even social media setup and strategy creation. Avg Cost to Expect: highly variable between $500 – $35,000 depending upon the details of the contract.
• Monthly Retainer: by far the most common way to hire an SEO agency is to retain their services monthly to conduct an agreed array of optimization and marketing services. Often these retainer contracts can include a plethora of items that the SEO needs to perform including onsite SEO, offsite SEO, content creation and distribution, outreach, link building and more. The largest benefit to any business hiring SEO services in this manner is the ROI. Often it creates the biggest margins of return on investment for the client. Avg Cost to Expect: on average most businesses pay between $2500 – $7500/mth however there are some cases we’ve worked that reach $10,000/mth

* much of the above data was taken from Moz.com in their survey of SEO agencies and professionals

Now it is extremely important to understand a few things about sourcing an SEO agency or professional and comparing what you’ve read here.

SEO professionals are not difficult to find. Heck, I’m sure you get emails almost daily from people offering to get you to the top of Google on the cheap. Well that should be your first red flag. Below is a list of things to be weary of when considering working with an SEO.

• anyone makes a guarantee to get you to the top of the search engines – and they are not Google themselves – then you best walk because no one…and I repeat, no one, can make that sort of guarantee.
• price is ALWAYS relative to results. Essentially if you get one price from a reputable agency for $2500/mth and another from some shady offshore agency for $175/mth, you should probably rethink things. You get what you pay for.
• SEO is a long-term strategy. Let that sink in for awhile. Anyone promising quick results will throw both you and your business under the bus. Too many times we’ve seen people who get convinced to take short cuts and in the end they ALWAYS pay the price for that poor decision.

So if you are in fact seeking the services of an SEO professional or agency then hopefully this article can help guide you to make the right decision for you or your company.

* for realtors looking to dominate their region and get buckets of both buyer & seller leads…then head over here and let’s talk!