06 Apr Search Engine Optimization: How Much To Spend On It

Search Engine Optimization: How Much To Spend On It

Whether you should or should not go for SEO services is no longer a question. Internet marketing is a must-do in today’s web-driven market. The question is just how much you should spend on it. Today we are going to unravel the main tips which will help you to make the right decision.

SEO Payment Models & Their Cost

In general, the prices discussed in this article vary from $100 to $30000. The reason for such variation in prices is different payment models. Here’s a piece of brief information about each of them.

Monthly Retainer

According to this model, you get an array of agreed services in exchange for a fixed monthly fee. This payment model is the most common as it provides you with the highest ROI. It includes regular reports, content creation, link building, and keyword research. The cost fluctuates from $750 to $5000, depending on the amount of work to be done and the experience of the SEO team.

Contract Services at Fixed Prices

Usually, before agreeing for a monthly retainer, a business signs up for a standard package of services at a fixed price. This works well on primary stages of SEO work, especially for those businesses who’ve never tried SEO before, or in case the SEO company is new and unknown for the business. The cost varies due to the services you choose. For example, SEO copywriting costs from $0.15 to $0.50 per word, the website content, and link profile audit worth is about $500-$7500 (remember that the price depends on the company experience and professionalism), while social media setup for the website will cost you around $500-$3000.

Project-based pricing

This model is suitable for businesses who are looking for particular SEO services. Thus, they get an individual project which cost depends on the project itself. The client decides which range of services they need, the SEO agency works out the plan for the project and then the price terms are settled. As a rule, the range of prices is huge due to the difference between the projects, so your project can cost you from $1000 to $30000.

Hourly Consulting

Some businesses do not need a whole SEO team, but only a consultant who will give them all the necessary information and answer all their questions about optimization. Such SEO consultants may be individuals or come from agencies, that’s why the charge per hour varies between $100 and $300.

Things To Be Aware Of

Now as you know about the payment models, you know what to expect during the interview. As you see, there are huge price variations in the SEO sphere. If you don’t want to overpay, you should be aware of the following red flags:

• Guarantees: The web industry constantly changes, so that no SEO company can guarantee you any certain outcome.
• Instant Results: It is true that sometimes you can get very quick results. But as a rule, these come from gaming the system. Google algorithms spot these tricks straight away. That’s why if you use any tricky methods, your website will soon get penalized
• #1 Google Ranking: As we’ve said, no company can give you 100% guarantee of the result due to the peculiarities of the SEO sphere. Even though #1 spot sounds appealing, such phrase should put you on the alert.
• Cost Under $750 / month. Unless you are doing SEO just to tick the box, you shouldn’t contract a team that asks for less than $750 per month.

Remember that SEO takes time. It is a long-term investment, so if you want to get your results, you should pay your SEO company and trust them with their part of a business. Nonetheless, as the saying goes, caution is the parent of safety.