A managed SEO campaign for most websites will typically cost between $250-$10,000/mo.
While that might seem to be a wide margin, the pricing can vary greatly depending on the agency, your target audience, how competitive your industry is, and how aggressive you want to be. To get a close estimate on your potential costs, use the calculator below.
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Finding an SEO company can be challenging. If you don’t know what to look for, identifying the best agency for your needs can be exhausting. That’s why we have partnered with BestSEOCompanies.com who uses a proprietary ranking methodology to curate a list of SEO companies you can be assured are trust-worthy.
| Rank | Company | Phone | Website | Location | Pricing | Clients | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HigherVisibility | 888-967-1992 | Memphis, TN | 50 – 100 | Medium | PBS, Ebay, Warner Brothers | 99 | |
| 2 | Distilled | 206-965-9265 | Seattle, WA | 50 – 100 | High | Microsoft, The Telegraph, Staples | 95 | |
| 3 | Acronym | 212-691-7051 | New York, NY | 100+ | Medium | Humana, Priceline, LA Times | 91 | |
| 4 | Seer Interactive | 215-967-4461 | Philadelphia, PA | 100+ | High | Revzilla, Drexel Online, Wisdom Tree | 89 | |
| 5 | Icrossing | 212-649-3900 | New York, NY | 100+ | High | Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Porsche | 88 |
The SEO company data above is sourced from BestSEOCompanies.com who curates results from a proprietary ranking methodology.
SEO (search engine optimization) is arguably the most critical aspect of any digital marketing strategy. Clients and prospects rely heavily on search results to find businesses, compare services, and ultimately make a purchase. As such, you must invest in SEO to stand out in the crowd.
How much a business needs to invest in SEO can vary greatly, depending on the agency, target audience, competition, and how aggressive you want to be. On average, most SEO projects will cost between $1,500 and $10,000 per month, but the cost can go to $1 million and up, depending on the services you request. A one-time project can cost $5,000 to $30,000, whereas hourly rates range from $100 to $300 per hour.
If you are looking to hire a search engine optimization company, the most important thing is to understand how to ensure you get the best value for your dollar. So, before hiring an SEO partner, take a moment to learn more about the SEO pricing model.
Contents
SEO is an abbreviation of search engine optimization and refers to the strategies and tactics used to boost the visibility and accessibility of a website within organic search rankings, primarily through Google, the largest search engine.
Here are SEO components that go into determining how your website will rank on search results pages:
SEO is not a quick fix to make up for lagging search rankings or low conversions. A high-quality SEO campaign can take anywhere from 6-12 months to pay off.
Just remember—good things take time. The more consistent your efforts are, the more return you’ll see on your investment.
Here are seven quick reasons your business should be investing in SEO right now:
That being said, SEO is a good idea for every business that wants to see hard results from its digital marketing efforts.
Every business is unique with unique SEO needs. As such, how much your business will invest in SEO immensely depends on the services you need and the size of your business. Agencies offer a variety of SEO packages to suit the diverse needs of businesses — so there is something for everyone. Just remember that you get what you pay for.
While you may be tempted to pay the lowest possible, never settle for an unworthy SEO agency only because they charge the lowest compared to other agencies. Here is why.
The low cost is often directly reflected in the quality of the services and results.
While it is nearly impossible to give an exact figure, you can expect to spend somewhere between $1,500 and $10,00 per month per SEO project, depending on the services you want. Obviously, a small business with a few pages will fall on the lower side, whereas a larger enterprise may spend more than the industry average.
Ultimately, the primary factor to consider is what you want to achieve through SEO. Keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing aspect that requires nurturing and maintenance to deliver the best results — help rank the highest possible.
There’s no one-size-fits-all pricing model used by all SEO agencies. And while there are a few approaches that most companies commonly use, there is a catch. The lack of a standard pricing model gives SEO professionals a leeway to charge whatever they consider fair. This leaves clients like you to decide whether or not the amount they are being charged is reasonable.
The ambiguity of making a decision makes it even more essential to have intimate knowledge about what goes into your SEO marketing dollars. It is only with such knowledge that you can be confident with the decisions you make.
Generally, you can expect to spend $400 to over $30,000 on SEO, depending on your chosen service, the scope of your project, and the agency you work with. Here are the most commonly used payment models:
The most common model. A monthly retainer involves you, as the client, paying a flat monthly fee for agreed-upon services. As mentioned above, this could be between $400 and $10,000 per month.
A fixed-price contract allows you to set your budget and decide what SEO services that will cover. Typical services include things like copywriting, SEO audits, link building, and social media work.
Similar to fixed-price contracts, a project-based pricing model lets clients pay for custom SEO projects focused on their particular needs. In this case, the answer to the question, “How much does SEO cost?” can be whatever price you set.
Lastly, hourly contracts refer to arrangements where clients will pay by the hour for the SEO work completed by the agency.
The term “SEO” has a definition that’s broadened recently. Agencies learn more about search engine algorithms and behavior every year, which means SEO services may slightly change and evolve over time.
Today, standard SEO strategies include tasks such as:
If an SEO agency you’re considering using only offers one of these aspects, take caution. You want to see evidence that you’re working with a full-service provider with expertise.
Are they unable to offer the full range of services you’re looking for? Their lack of breadth could be pointing to a struggle with other aspects of SEO, which is never a good sign.
When you find an SEO company that offers a package of services, look for their prices. If the cost is not readily available to you on their site or upon request, you may want to keep searching.
The right SEO provider won’t skirt around the details of their prices. They’ll be up-front and transparent about what goes into their rates—fees, overhead, and all.
If you’re paying the lowest rate you can find and you’re not getting the most effective results, you haven’t lost much, right?
Wrong.
While high-quality SEO can amplify your digital reach and increase sales, low-quality SEO can damage your reputation in the eyes of Google’s crawlers. Things might look promising at first, but as soon as the search engines get ahold of your “optimized” website, things will change.
Google penalizes these unethical strategies, known as black hat SEO tactics, because of their sneaky ways.
Steer clear of these SEO scams that could risk your online reputation:
Keyword-focused strategies are really keyword stuffing scams in disguise. With just a little knowledge about Google keywords, some people will brand themselves as “SEO experts” and scheme their way into making large sums off the backs of unassuming clients looking to get a deal on their SEO campaign.
When Bing bots notice that your keywords aren’t used in natural, relevant ways, they’ll catch on to what’s really happening behind the scenes.
Another common SEO scheme involves building spammy, disreputable links to send traffic to your website and increase rankings “organically.” Excessive link exchanges and link building on questionable sites is a big red flag to site spiders. Any page involved in this scheme will get penalized.
In your search for the best SEO marketing agency out there, you may come across some agencies that boast guaranteed results or rankings. While this seems like a good thing at the surface level, there’s more to it.
It’s impossible for any other company (besides the SE, of course) to control the search results page rankings. While many firms like to “promise” a #1 spot or reserved listing on the first page, that’s not something they can control.
Google’s very own guidelines on search marketing mention the falsehood of this claim. They tell companies to be wary of providers that guarantee rankings or claim a “special relationship” with the SE that could reserve such a spot.
It’s clear as day: any agency marketing these kinds of claims is bogus. Even if they do land you the top spot at one point, as soon as you pay the invoice, it’s likely that you’ll see that ranking fall shortly after.
Similar to the guarantee of top rankings, the promise of quick rankings is a facade. An agency that lands you a top spot in a short period of time is probably using black hat SEO tactics.
When they find a gullible client, they’ll use their slimy methods like unnatural link profiles, over-optimized pages, and poorly written content to climb the ladder quickly. Once they’ve nabbed a good spot, they’ll report to the client the “good news.” That client gets excited, pays the bill, and then is left to clean up the mess of their inevitable crash.
SEO penalties are a pain in the neck that no one wants to deal with. While it’s possible to turn a penalized site back around, it takes a massive investment of time and energy to earn Google’s trust back and get in their good graces.
To maintain great SEO results, the work never truly ends. It’s a constant uphill climb to out-compete the millions of websites out there who are also employing SEO tactics to get ahead.
That’s why anyone offering a “free trial” is a big sign of danger. No legitimate company is going to give you this kind of service without payment. More often than not, it’s really a gimmick to get access to your website and either hack you, spam you, or ruin your reputation.
Are you still struggling with the question, “How much does SEO cost?”
In short, your SEO will be a direct reflection of the quality and quantity of work that is put in.
Even if you’re restricted by a budget, it’s still possible to find an SEO service provider that can make small improvements to your organic traffic and rankings.
No matter which way you look at it, SEO is a necessity for any small business that wants to grow its digital presence and turn clicks into conversions.
SEO is not an expense—it’s an investment in your firm’s future. When you put money into an experienced, reputable SEO company, the return can be massive. Keep this in mind as you sort your way through the sea of providers to find the best fit for you, your company, and your digital marketing needs.
| Rank | Company | Phone | Website | Location | Pricing | Clients | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HigherVisibility | 888-967-1992 | Memphis, TN | 50 – 100 | Medium | PBS, Ebay, Warner Brothers | 99 | |
| 2 | Distilled | 206-965-9265 | Seattle, WA | 50 – 100 | High | Microsoft, The Telegraph, Staples | 95 | |
| 3 | Acronym | 212-691-7051 | New York, NY | 100+ | Medium | Humana, Priceline, LA Times | 91 | |
| 4 | Seer Interactive | 215-967-4461 | Philadelphia, PA | 100+ | High | Revzilla, Drexel Online, Wisdom Tree | 89 | |
| 5 | Icrossing | 212-649-3900 | New York, NY | 100+ | High | Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, Porsche | 88 |
The SEO company data above is sourced from BestSEOCompanies.com who curates results from a proprietary ranking methodology.
The purpose of SEOCalc.com is to demystify the costs of SEO and your expectations of what can be acheived.
