post by Stephanie Nelson
How much should SEO cost? There seems to be a lot of confusion around this question. Unfortunately, this is another one of those internet advertising questions that doesn’t have an easy answer. However, there are several factors that play into the price that may help you figure out if the proposal you’ve received is offering you a fair price.
- How many pages are on your site?
Each page has elements that need to be optimized, such as the title tags, the content, the photos, the meta description, etc. Since each page should be at least slightly different in topic, each page is going to need its own bit of keyword research to ensure each element is optimized properly. The more pages on your site, the more work it will take to optimize. (NOTE: Do not skimp on pages to try and cut your SEO costs!!!! This is nothing but cutting off your nose to spite your face, and it will cost you more in the long run.) - How much content is currently on your site?
Does each page have its own unique content? Do you have pages that have little to no content? To properly optimize your site, this is an important element for your SEO provider. If you have content that just needs to be edited for keyword concentration, it’s less work than needing to write content from scratch, and thus will cost you less. - How many photos are on your site?
All photos need keyword-rich alt data in the backend for proper SEO implementation. Again, the more photos you have, the more work your SEO provider will have to put in to optimize them. But again, don’t delete photos to try and cut SEO costs. Photos are important elements in SEO, too, so you’ll want them there and optimized. - Are you doing on-page only or are you looking at a full-scale plan?
Full-scale SEO involves off-page work such as guest posting on blogs outside of your own, an inbound linking strategy, online directory listings with keyword-rich descriptions, and more. Adding this additional layer to your SEO strategy expands your potential for SEO results, but it also adds to the cost of your SEO implementation. - How much experience does your SEO provider have? And/or does your provider specialize in your industry?
Needless to say, a lot of what you’re paying for in hiring an SEO provider is his or her expertise. I mean, if you were confident in your knowledge of doing SEO correctly, you’d probably knock it out yourself, right? The more experience your SEO provider has, particularly if it’s in your specific niche, chances are good that the rate reflects that. It’s not guaranteed, though – my rates reflect my experience, but also takes into account that my clientele is small businesses which typically have smaller budgets than massive corporations. But you shouldn’t expect to pay someone with 10 years experience in the ins and outs of getting sites ranked the same as someone that read a blog post on the latest best practices last week and now “offers SEO services”.
If your site needs some SEO work, give me a shout! Let’s talk about the elements you need, the costs, and how we can make it all work for you!
Image by Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net