SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2023?

How much does SEO cost for specialized SEO services?

SEO costs for specialized SEO services, like ecommerce SEO services or SEO audit services, vary:

What determines SEO pricing?

Several factors determine SEO pricing, including:

• Agency, contractor, or consultant’s experience
• Agency, contractor, or consultant’s location
• SEO pricing model, like monthly or hourly
• Business size, like startup or enterprise
• Scale of SEO strategy
• Status of existing SEO strategy, like your backlink profile’s strength
• SEO goals
• And more

You’ll often find that the more experienced SEO providers, from agencies to consultants, have higher search engine optimization prices. Similarly, an SEO strategy with a bigger scale, like an enterprise-level plan, will see higher SEO costs.

What should SEO services include?

SEO servicesshould include the following:

• SEO audit
• SEO reporting
• On-page, off-page, or technical SEO optimizations

They should also include what your business requires. That’s why many SEO service providers (WebFX included) will create custom SEO packages. At WebFX, for example, we structure these plans to meet your unique needs, from your preferred involvement level to yourkey performance indicators (KPIs)。

What are the SEO pricing models?

Whether you’re looking to provide or buy SEO services, there are a few SEO pricing models to know:

Which SEO pricing model is the best?

There is no right answer when it comes to choosing an SEO pricing model. The best payment plan will depend on your business and its SEO needs. That’s why we’ve compiled each plan’s best use cases and some examples of how businesses use those plans:

SEO costs by provider

Learn how SEO costs change based on who you hire, an agency, consultant, contractor, or freelancer:

Compared to other service providers, SEO agencies cost more. Why? A few reasons, including:

1. Capabilities:With more team members and tools, search engine optimization companies can do more than other SEO service providers. Using WebFX as an example, your business can access SEOs, web developers, reporting software, and more — everything you need to do SEO.
2. Experience:SEO agencies will also have more knowledge that you can put to work. If your business needs anSEO expert, plus an ecommerce SEO specialist, for instance, an SEO company can often meet those needs. For a consultant, freelancer, or contractor, that’s more difficult.
3. Scalability:Most SEO companies can scale with a business’s SEO needs. That’s convenient because your organization doesn’t have to hire a new SEO agency. Instead, you can upgrade your SEO plan to start capturing more traffic. In comparison, other SEO providers can’t do that.

Multiple factors will determine whether your business partners with an agency, consultant, contractor, or freelancer — and pays their SEO prices. Besides cost, you’ll also need to consider what you want to accomplish with SEO, how involved you want to be in SEO, and what else you need from a provider.

SEO costs by location

Get a breakdown of average SEO costs by location below:

当涉及到SEO, India is well-known for providing lower SEO prices. Compared to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia, India has a lower cost of living and labor costs, allowing SEO companies in India to offer lower SEO rates.

While pricing is important in choosing an SEO provider, your provider’s location also matters.

For example, suppose you work with an SEO company in a different country. In that case, you might need to consider differences in data privacy laws, time zones, and culture and how those differences will affect your SEO performance.

SEO costs by industry

Learn what SEO costs by industry with this breakdown:

What do hourly SEO services include?

Typically, hourly SEO services will include deliverables like:

• SEO audit
• SEO recommendations and/or implementation
• Reporting

When you invest in hourly SEO, you can accomplish goals like:

• Completing SEO maintenance tasks
• Monitoring for SEO issues

What do project-based SEO services include?

Deliverables for project-based SEO services vary widely, but some common SEO projects include:

• SEO audit
• Project-specific optimizations, like link building
• Reporting

When you invest in project-based SEO, you can accomplish goals like:

• Completing a larger initiative, like migrating a website to a new domain
• Getting recommendations on how to achieve a goal, like improving sitewide page speed

How to choose an SEO payment plan

Choose the best SEO payment plan for your business with these steps:

1. Determine your SEO needs:What does your company want to accomplish with SEO? For example, do you want to fix a specific issue, like improving your page speed? Or do you want to build and maintain an ongoing SEO strategy?
2. Outline your timeline:Next, build your preferred timeline. Are you migrating your site to a new domain in the next 30 days and need an SEO’s feedback? Or are you looking to optimize your website over time?
3. Check your SEO budget:Research how much your organization has budgeted for SEO and when those funds are available. For example, does your business release department funds annually, quarterly, or monthly? Your answer will influence your payment plan options for SEO services.
4. Choose your plan:Based on your research, determine the best option for your business. For ongoing or long-term SEO projects, consider monthly SEO. In comparison, check out hourly or project-based SEO for short- or one-time SEO projects.

How to evaluate SEO prices

Evaluate a service provider’s SEO prices with these steps:

1. Review the plan deliverables:First, learn what you’re paying for by reviewing the deliverables. If what you’re getting for the price you’re paying seems too good to be true, it probably is — and you’ll often see this with cheaper SEO prices.
2. Ask questions:Meet with the agency, consultant, or freelancer to discuss their pricing. Does the provider charge overtime, for example, after a certain number of hours worked on the account? What other additional fees should your team know about?
3. Read the contract:Next, read the contract. Most providers will share a contract once you enter discussions with them. You’ll want to check for a few things, like whether you’re receiving a short-term promotional price and whether the agency can change rates without notice.

How to spot cheap SEO pricing

Spot cheap SEO pricing with these steps:

1. Look at the price:First, look at the price. When SEO costs less than $500 per month or less than $50 per hour, it’s often cheap SEO. Most providers offering cheap SEO will advertise their prices, like “SEO for $100 / mo.”
2. Check the deliverables:You can also spot cheap search engine optimization pricing by looking at the deliverables. Compare the deliverables to the price, and if it seems too good to be true, restart your search for SEO services. Alternatively, some low-cost SEO plans won’t share their deliverables at all.
3. Read the reviews:What do people say about this SEO company, consultant, or freelancer online? Is the trend mostly negative, positive, or somewhere in between? Look at the most common complaints and see if they relate to results, quality of work, or client satisfaction.

How to request custom SEO pricing

Request custom SEO pricing for your business with these steps:

1. Outline your requirements:Get the most accurate quote by listing your requirements, like whether you’re looking for full-service SEO or something more specific, like off-page SEO. You can even include anything you don’t want in your SEO plan.
2. Research your options:Optimize your time by limiting your SEO pricing requests to your top picks. Read reviews and case studies to see if an agency, consultant, or freelancer is a good fit for your team. Then, contact them with your request and requirements.
3. Meet your potential provider:Schedule some time with your potential SEO provider. They’ll use this time to ask you some follow-up questions to understand your business better so they can build an accurate quote for your team.