You may be familiar with the benefits of SEO and why it’s a key component of any effective marketing strategy. But like most professionals involved in small business, the cost of SEO is likely a blind spot. In a 2017 survey carried out by Higher Visibility, more than half of the 500 respondents said that they didn’t have a budget set aside for SEO services.
Of course, this is no way forward. Not only do you need to know what SEO costs, but also what you can expect in return for your investment. Different agencies charge different rates, and you don’t always get what you pay for. Moreover, there are several pricing structures that you need to be aware of.
Let’s take a look at these factors to help you determine how much your business should be spending on SEO in 2020.
How Agencies Charge for SEO
Depending on who’s providing your SEO services, you can expect to be charged in one of the following three ways:
Hourly Pricing
Some companies charge based on the amount of time spent on the project, be it via an hourly or daily rate. It’s the least common type of pricing method and is usually reserved for freelancers or independent contractors who offer SEO services. If you plan to work with an established agency, it’s unlikely that you’ll be paying them this way.
Per Project
After discussing the overall scope of the project, an agency may quote a firm price for all of the services rendered. One advantage here is that the pricing method is typically linked to clear KPIs so that you know what to expect.
Monthly Retainer
Most providers charge for their services based on a fixed monthly cost. This way, you’ll see regular SEO being performed on your website on an ongoing basis. Businesses tend to prefer this method as it’s the most predictable and reliable. A good agency will also provide clear information related to the ROI for the work being done.
Average SEO Costs
The best way to tackle this is to categorise SEO services by their cost level. As you can imagine, you get what you pay for.
DIY (Free)
If you’re working on a limited budget or you have the time and inclination to improve your technical skills, you can learn to perform SEO on your website yourself. Naturally, the main benefit here is that you won’t have to pay another company to do it. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that there’s a steep learning curve and it’s seldom worthwhile.
Affordable (£50 to £2,000)
This price range is ideal for small businesses and companies looking to define their content marketing strategy. The higher end (in terms of a monthly cost) is home to some reliable agencies in the UK.
Big Surf Digital SEO is a great example. The local agency can provide a free quote with a range of information, including keyword and site strength analysis, as well as monthly traffic estimates and the cost of your campaign. With 13 years of experience, you can rely on their services to be transparent and effective.
Mid-Range (£2,000 to £6,000)
Here’s where more established companies will find a suitable solution. The key is to find the right provider, as the mid-range sector is still home to less savoury agencies. A good provider will include services such as content and website audits, as well as technical analysis.
How to Estimate SEO ROI
Let’s take a brief look at how you can determine what kind of return you’ll see on your investment.
Organic Traffic:
Take your most important keywords and plug them into Google’s keyword planner tool. This will reveal their monthly search volume. After identifying the click-through rate, (top results are around 17% and second-ranked pages are 10%), you can multiply said rates by the traffic figures you got earlier.
Revenue:
Using your conversion rate, close rate and average sale value, you can multiply the monthly traffic number above by these figures to get a monthly revenue estimate. If you’re unsure of your conversion rates, a good starting point is 2% for e-commerce sites and 5% for lead generation sites. Google Analytics can help you get more precise figures.
Profit:
This is easy to determine once you have the aforementioned numbers. All you need to do is subtract the cost of the SEO services from your monthly revenue estimate. The answer should provide a reasonably accurate representation of the overall return on your investment. Remember that results are not immediate and returns increase over time.
After being in business for a few years and establishing a website with high traffic numbers, you may end up entering the high-end sector of SEO services. That’s where you can expect to pay upwards of £6,000 per month. For now, the affordable end of the market will likely meet all of your needs.
