Search engine optimisers, digital marketing agencies, freelance consultants, web designers and even traditional media agencies now offer some form of search engine optimisation and advertising service or the other. The prices of these services vary widely, and are often inter-linked with prices of other services being offered. The vast range of services available often end up confusing businesses that are looking to hire an SEO to do their Internet marketing.
Essential Components Of SEO
Before considering pricing, a company must gain a better understanding of its requirements. The breadth of activities involved with making a website rank high on the search results for competitive keywords can seem never-ending and can cost a lot. However, not all businesses need to go all out and spend tens of thousands on SEO.
The essential activities that are currently recognized as contributors to improved search engine positioning are:
- Keyword research
- Code optimisation
- Link development
- XML feeds
- RSS feeds
- Press Release optimisation and distribution
- Article writing and distribution
- Usability improvement
- Improving accessibility
- Affiliate marketing
- Blogging
- Traffic analysis
From the activities listed above, the most essential are keyword research, code optimisation and link development. Traffic analysis is also very important, not as much for just ranking but to improve conversion of visitors into leads or customers.
Realistic Cost Of Search Engine Optimisation
E-consultancy’s SEO Best Practice Guide recently produced a report noting that the most common pricing model for organic SEO is consultancy-based, with daily fees charged up to an agreed-upon monthly maximum.
Typical project prices for search engine optimisation range from about £2,000 for a relatively simple small-to-medium size business, to tens of thousands of pounds for larger enterprises.
Most agencies in the UK typically charge fees at a daily rate ranging from £500 to £1,000 per day. Charges for SEO are typically based on an initial project set-up fee and an ongoing monthly charge for management and reporting, with the set-up fee ranging between £1,000 and £6,000 depending on the scope of the project.
These prices of course do not reflect the large number of non-ethical optimisers that claim to deliver “100 keywords on the first page for £100” nor web design agencies that claim to provide optimisation but in fact just alter meta tags and submit the site to a few search engines.
Any company looking to develop a long-term search engine marketing strategy in order to establish a viable online presence should intend to spend at least £2000 over the first year of the project if they expect to see any worthwhile results.
About the Author
Farhad is the Group CEO of AccuraCast. With over 20 years of experience in digital, Farhad is one of the leading technical marketing experts in the world. His specialities include digital strategy, international business, product marketing, measurement, marketing with data, technical SEO, and growth analytics.
