SEO is a vital component for any business, large or small, that wants to dominate its online market. Without SEO, companies will struggle to build their online presence, establish their brand, reach new audiences, attain new customers, develop leads and draw in online traffic. As you can see, SEO is essential for businesses to become successful online.
So why don’t all businesses plunge forward and invest in SEO? The answer is simple: the cost.
Either because they’re priced out the market or businesses don’t feel it’s a necessary expense, the cost of SEO can push companies away from investing in it. But why with all the benefits that SEO offers – and how crucially, it’s vital for most online campaigns – do businesses still don’t want to invest?
It’s simple really: the reason is that business owners don’t know the overall cost of SEO, what to expect and what they are paying for. If they knew all the finer details of what determines the price of SEO, they might be more willing to invest in it.
This blog aids individuals by breaking down the cost of SEO and discusses what affects its price and how much, on average, it can cost you per month.
What Consists of SEO?
Firstly, what should you expect when investing in SEO? While it encompasses several different services, they all work together to generate the results you want. Typically, SEO services include:
- Market research into your industry and competitors to see what works and what doesn’t
- Monthly reports and tracking
- Backlinks (from high domain sites that generate interest in your website)
- Content marketing (including engaging content on your site with targeted keywords, website and guest blogs)
- Social media marketing (this acts as an essential backlink from high domain social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter)
- Website design (whether a complete redesign or adding additional pages and content)
- Google Ads (which is PPC, but works effectively alongside SEO)
Now, you don’t have to choose from all the required SEO services, as the more you choose, the more it will cost. However, they are essential when it comes to generating the results you want.
What Determines The Cost of SEO?
There are four pillars that determine the overall cost of an SEO package for clients. By providing an example for each one, we can showcase how the price can be affected:
1) The current situation of the business
a) If the business is struggling in the back pages of Google, it requires extensive SEO work to get it to a reasonable position where it can make some money. The worse the situation, the more it will cost. The same applies to businesses that are just starting and need support.
2) The objectives of the business
a) If the business wants to get to first place on Google, it will require a lot of work to get it in that position. However, if the company wants merely to rank on the first page of Google, or near the top of page two, and to generate some interest, the work won’t be as extensive. Therefore, it won’t be as expensive.
3) The industry itself
a) The type of industry that the company is in will have a HUGE impact on the SEO campaign. Some industries are more competitive than others, such as property management, construction, plumbers and so forth. Others, such as doggy daycare, funeral homes and bookshops, might not be as competitive, and therefore, might not require extensive SEO work.
4) The timeline of how fast you want to improve.
a) The great myth of SEO is that you’ll get instant results. That’s never going to happen. It takes time, with an average of three to six months, to see high results. But if you want to get to the top right away, it means you have to invest more than usual. You have to consider how quickly you want to get to the top and how much it will cost you.
These four pillars will significantly affect the overall cost of your SEO campaign. The more you want, the more you have to pay – but it will be worth it in the long term.
Excellent SEO Services vs Cheap SEO Services
Next, we get to the point of quality. There is no doubt that you’ll find SEO services for cheap somewhere in your local area, or country. But that’s where you have to be careful. Cheap SEO doesn’t necessarily mean quality.
If you speak to an SEO company that is going on about instant results, top-of-the-line quality and so forth, and they do it all for a low price, then you have to be wary that you’re not getting duped. Too often, businesses are scammed by SEO companies because results aren’t tangible right away, and sometimes, can’t be seen. Cheap SEO usually means black-hat tactics that can incur penalties from Google, as well as a struggle to achieve any tangible results.
For truly high-quality SEO, you have to pay for it. There is no doubt about it. The better SEO companies know that they deliver results, and more importantly, they provide results right away too. Straight up white-hat tactics that don’t incur the wrath of Google.
So how do you tell the difference? Just like an SEO company will research your industry, you have to research the SEO company. Check out their reputation, what customers say, and the results they’ve achieved for their companies. Only then can you choose quality.
What Does SEO Cost?
So enough’s enough: what does quality SEO cost? We turned to Moz, who published a survey on SEO providers. The results showed a considerable range of monthly prices, but on average, businesses pay $1000 to $2500 a month for SEO. But for top quality SEO, it costs roughly between $3000 to $5000 per month. Some are willing to pay up to $10,000.
With this base point, you can see what you’ll have to pay to get results with your SEO. Most importantly, you’ll understand what you’ll get when you invest in SEO. Take the time and make sure that you find out the best SEO for your value.