Introduction

Small businesses often overlook Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for several reasons. SEO pricing is one factor that makes you shy away from investing in this form of content marketing.
Google controls 91% of the search engine market with 5.6 billion daily searches. Almost 14% of the searches are questions; others include search queries for specific products and services to buy them. 
All this shows you that optimization is a significant part of the marketing you can’t miss out on. If you are ready to start optimizing, ask yourself, ‘How much is SEO?’. This article will guide you as you plan for SEO costs.
The price for SEO can depend on various factors that will help you narrow down the actual cost. For instance, are you hiring an SEO agency or a freelancer? Is the SEO specialist getting paid n an hourly or monthly rate?
All these and more can act as guidelines as you decide how much to pay for this service. Let us look at some pointers to help you decide.

Per Hour

The average hourly pay for SEO companies is between $100 and $150; for SEO consultants, it’s between $75 and $100; and for freelancers, it’s between $41 and $50.
The price is based on how much time SEO specialists or firms spend on the task.

Per Project

Project-based SEO services typically cost between $10,000 and $1 million. Smaller local businesses can afford to invest at least $1,000 on each project compared to enterprise-level organizations.

Per Month

You might be wondering, “How much is SEO per month?” In most cases, a monthly fee for SEO services costs $10,000. Several variables influence the cost structure. One could include the following items in the monthly retainer for SEO services:
Developing a customized SEO approach
Keeping an eye on your local SEO presence
Long-form content creation for your blog
Identifying the search terms used by your target audience
Conducting technical and non-technical SEO audits
Creating backlinks to your website
Optimization of products and services for on-page searches
Increasing the website loading speed
Managing social media accounts

Provider’s Experience

The SEO pricing quote you will receive for your company will be significantly influenced by the agency’s staff of SEO specialists. Additionally, the cost you pay to a company that specializes in SEO services will depend on the services you require for your organization.
If you only need to engage one SEO specialist, the cost of their services will depend on how much expertise they have in the field.
For instance, the cost of a link-building service varies considerably based on the quantity and quality, ranging from $100 to $20,000. Your SEO budget may significantly increase by adding experienced providers.

Provider’s Location

On freelance marketplaces like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer, SEO providers worldwide offer blog posts for as little as $5.
On Upwork, SEO specialists are typically priced between $15 and $35. With the current “Work-from-Home” trends, service providers can work remotely and charge less.
Your price may vary depending on the provider’s location and factors like;
Are there offices for them?
Where in the world is their office?
What location do they currently call home? (Developed nations impose higher prices)

Pricing Model

Occasionally, you get what you paid for. This also holds for SEO service delivery. Here is a breakdown of SEO pricing from the majority of SEO firms.
$500 to $3,000 per month for affordable SEO
Mid-range SEO costs from $3,000 to $15,000 a month.
$15,000 to $30,000 per month for high-end SEO
$30,000 to $1 million per month for enterprise SEO
This pricing structure is negotiable; you can work out an affordable payment with your service provider.

Client’s Business Size

The size of your business is a determinant of how much you can spend on SEO. The quality and quantity of services required dictate your business’s quote from SEO providers.
Additionally, your business’s industry is another factor when approaching SEO experts. 

Your SEO Strategy

When hiring an SEO agency, they look at your past, present, and future SEO strategy. This ensures that all sides are on the same page before progressing with the partnership.
Businesses investing in SEO for the first time must build an SEO strategy. Organizing your website’s content topics gives your site a competitive edge for organic search traffic.
A complete SEO guide is excellent for building a website content strategy for your business. As you prepare your search engine optimization strategy, you need to consider the different branches under SEO.

On-Page SEO

On-site SEO is the practice of optimizing web pages for users and search engines. The standard On-page SEO practices include;
Optimizing meta descriptions, headings, and body of the content for relevant keywords
Adding relevant internal links
Mobile responsiveness
Improving website page loading speed
Since most on-page SEO involves optimizing content, it is essential to understand user search intent. The search intent of a web visitor can be known as why someone enters a search query into the search engine. 
User search intent is broken down in these four ways;
Commercial Intent – For example, ‘SEO service price.’
Transactional Intent – For example, ‘Content marketing strategy quote.’
Informational Intent – For example, ‘Complete SEO guide.’
Navigational Intent – For example; ‘Sadja Web Hosting’
Once you understand your audience’s search intent, creating content such as blogs and videos that answer their queries becomes easier. 
This way, they find the information helpful and relevant, which draws them back to your site. The key to this is keyword research which enables you to target the relevant keywords that your web visitors use.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to the actions undertaken off your website that impact search rankings. This includes;
Increasing engagement and social shares
Backlinks
Encouraging branded searches

Technical SEO

Technical SEO refers to the behind-the-scenes that make your site easier for search engines to crawl and index. When doing a site audit for your website, here is a crawlable checklist;
Utilize robots.txt
Set a URL structure
Create an XML Sitemap
Check your SEO log files
Add breadcrumb menus
Optimize your site architecture
Use pagination

Local SEO

Local SEO is a strategy that helps your business be visible in local searches on Google. The goal is to increase traffic and brand awareness for your business from users locally.
Some unique ranking factors for local SEO include;
NAP citations
Number of ‘Check-ins’ at the location
Shares on social media
Google My Business Profile listing
Google Maps rating for that business Keywords usage on Google My Business Profile
Keywords used on online reviews
The sentiment of online reviews

How to Choose a Good SEO Agency

When deciding which SEO service to work with for your company, it is easy to become confused. Before choosing a company that satisfies your needs, you must consider several of them first.
What to know as you choose a good SEO agency;

A Detailed Process for Seo Strategies

Employing an SEO service provider or professional does not guarantee that your business will succeed. By merely looking at an SEO approach, it is difficult to tell how effective it will be. 
Thus, you should know the strategy an SEO provider will offer. Before you deal with any SEO company, you must clearly define your aims and objectives. 
The potential SEO service providers or experts should then develop a strategy after hearing about your demands and expectations to assist you in reaching your goals. 
The best way for someone to anticipate any plan from an SEO specialist is with statistics. It is more helpful to say, “We can help your company achieve 20% growth in organic traffic,” than “We can help you increase the number of web visitors in the next three months.”

A Diverse Team of SEO Experts

Before hiring an SEO business, you should look at how long they have been offering their services. Do most SEO service providers have the credentials to support their claims of expertise? It would be best if you double-check this before making a call. 
Ensure the company you hire is aware of current SEO best practices and isn’t using an old link-building technique that could permanently harm your website’s position.
The role of an SEO agency extends beyond business formation and the provision of essential SEO services. It involves assisting clients in putting long-lasting initiatives into action.
Additionally, it is about assisting the website in navigating challenging competitors and changes to search engine algorithms. Only a reliable agency can lead you to the finish line, where you may see all your objectives met.

A Client Portfolio Including Your Industry

Check out the company’s work, starting with their website. Has this business effectively made its website search engine friendly? Do they appear when their keywords are searched for?
Likely, they won’t be able to assist you if they are not able to help themselves in creating a solid web presence. Examine some other businesses they have endorsed and see where they rank on Google.

Demonstrating Knowledge of the Industry

Excellent SEO companies stay on top of the most recent developments, especially concerning rankings, traffic, and the company. Most of the time, they frequently share insights via blogs, social media, and research papers, helping them remain knowledgeable of current trends.
Therefore, before hiring an SEO agency, ensure they are current and can provide recent developments in the SEO field that can help you keep up with the competition.

Results Are Not a Guarantee

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is, as the saying goes. Be wary if an SEO provider promises results. Even the best search engine optimizer would admit that there is no surefire way to predict how your website will perform once optimization is complete.
Nobody knows the precise criteria that search engines use to determine which website is superior to another since they keep their selection processes secret. 

Reviews and Testimonials

Check testimonials and reviews for the SEO service provider you may potentially work with. Besides the testimonials on their website, look for other comments by searching online. If they have numerous negative reviews, you are likely to find them. 
Also, check out their BBB profile and social networking sites to see how they interact online and get a better feel for their work culture.

Is SEO Worth It?

The answer to this is yes. According to a marketer’s report, organic search traffic has a 49% ROI. However, it takes six to 12 months to get a return on investment from SEO.
You can either do it yourself, hire an in-house SEO team, outsource, or partner with an SEO agency to grow your business. Here are some key performance indicators to analyze constantly;
Organic search – The number of visitors from search engines that are not from paid traffic.
Conversion rate –  How many potential customers not only clicked on your webpage but completed a goal, such as starting a trial or buying a product from your eCommerce site?
Bounce rate – The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one web page.
Click-through rate – The ratio of internet visitors who click on a link to the number of visitors who viewed the link, page, or ad.
The number of backlinks – The number of websites or pages that link back to your website.
Page load time – This is how long it takes for your web page to load when a web visitor clicks on it. A long page load time implies a terrible user experience which could affect your traffic.

Conclusion

Now that we have answered your question ‘How much is SEO?’, you can see that investing in SEO is a small price to pay for your business’s massive Return On Investment and future business size. The results may not reflect immediately, but if implemented well, SEO can continue to enhance your business’ value for a very long time.
You can choose an SEO business that can work within your budget when it is time to implement SEO. Or you may begin by hiring an in-house SEO expert and then engage with SEO service providers as you grow.
Do you need help getting started on your SEO journey? At Sadja, we are here to help you take care of all the details that Search Engine Optimization requires.