Is SEO important for small business? The answer is certainly “yes.” These days, search engine optimization is a powerful tool for facilitating online visibility and ultimately driving revenue and growth for your company. Unfortunately, many small businesses face the same issues when it comes to optimization–they often lack in-house experts to meet their SEO needs, yet they also often have limited budgets to delegate this matter to professionals.
If you are caught in the same situation, this article is meant to help you find a solution that offers the best value for money. Here, we’ll break down how much professional SEO for small business costs, what affects the price, and how you can get the most out of your investment.
What’s Included in SEO Services Pricing?
When you start working with a professional agency or an independent contractor, the range of services you receive will be determined by your specific needs and the type of partner you choose (e.g., full-service or not).
Nevertheless, there are four primary things you are actually paying for when using such services:
On-Page Optimization
Your service provider will help you optimize your website and its content. On-page SEO typically begins with keyword research (which now can be done easily with the help of AI) and targeting and continues with improving existing content and filling the website with new, well-organized copy. Additionally, an agency will help you handle internal linking, image optimization, meta title and tag creation, and many other tasks.
Off-Page Optimization
Apart from optimizing your site, an agency can help you with off-page SEO. This subfield of search engine optimization spans a variety of tactics that go beyond your website. These include link-building, content marketing, social media optimization, review management, etc.
Technical Optimization
Partnering with an agency can help you improve user experience. Vendors who specialize in all-around services or in technical aspects, in particular, can audit your site and help you find and fix technical errors. Technical optimization involves site speed improvement, structured data, XML sitemaps, and other strategies.
Reporting & Strategy
Lastly and most importantly, regardless of which particular services you request from your partner, the SEO cost you pay will involve building an effective, long-term strategy tailored to your specific needs and comprehensive reporting on the outcomes of optimization.
Primary SEO Pricing Models
Different contractors and agencies work under different conditions, which can affect the eCommerce SEO price that you pay. Generally, there are three popular pricing models that you can expect to face:
Monthly
If you are hiring a long-term partner who will be doing SEO for you, a monthly retainer is one of the most popular pricing models. It implies that you give your contractor or agency a fixed monthly sum.
The sum can vary significantly depending on the size of your business, the services you need, and the size and location of your provider. On average, it’s between $500 and $5000.
Hourly
Vendors who charge hourly can be helpful when you need short-term help or a consultation from a specialist.
For the most part, the hourly SEO rates are determined by the expertise of the consultant you hire. While some newer specialists, especially from less developed countries like India, may charge under $50 per hour, working with an industry old-timer can cost you even beyond $200.
Project-Based
Finally, there is another popular model, which, however, may not be perfect for every occasion. You can consider agencies that charge you on a project basis in the following cases:
- You need to conduct a technical audit and improve your site’s performance;
- You need help with off-page tasks, such as link-building, etc.
If you find this model suitable, the cost can kick off from around $1,000. The total price tag depends on the scope of your project.
Top Factors Affecting the Final SEO Cost
There are a few factors that affect your cost of SEO. In particular:
Business Size & Scope of the Work
Small businesses often have small, not very complex websites that contain up to 20 pages. Such websites take less work to optimize effectively compared to huge and complex sites. Respectively, the cost for such smaller-scale work will likely be lower.
Industry Competition
The scale and rigor of the competition in your niche also matter a lot. Ranking high and ensuring good online visibility gets harder when you have to compete with large and well-established sites that have been investing in SEO for many years and have huge budgets for that. So, if the competition in your field is high, it will increase the cost of the project.
Goals and Timelines
The specific objectives you set will also have an impact on your price tag because different SEO goals may require different expertise, tech stack, time, and effort to accomplish. Hence, local SEO cost and the price for technical optimization can be very different. Additionally, the timeframe you set will also have an impact. Most often, shorter timelines mean higher rates.
DIY vs. Professional Help
Lastly, it’s worth noting that handling SEO on your own is also an option that you can consider. Thanks to a huge variety of all-around SEO platforms, such as Surfer SEO, small businesses can start making their first steps in optimization without professional help. Of course, the cost of DIY optimization should be lower than the money you pay to professionals. For example, Surfer SEO can cost you between $100 and $219 per month, depending on the plan you pick. What’s more, there are also plenty of solid Surfer SEO alternatives that come with the same features but have a more pocket-friendly cost.
Source: Freepik
Is It Worth Going With Cheap SEO Services?
As you now know, SEO rates can vary significantly depending on numerous factors. On the one hand, this is a good thing for small businesses that might have rather restricted budgets. To them, using cheap services can sound quite appealing at first. However, when you dig deeper, it turns out that going cheap on optimization can actually cost you more than you expect.
The cost of bad SEO includes:
- Lost visibility
- Lost leads
- Lost revenue
On top of that, it can create significant reputational damage and make you face Google penalties and bans that can be very hard and costly to overcome. Generally, it’s not recommended to go for cheap services if you don’t want to deal with unfortunate consequences.
How to Make the Most Out of Your SEO Services
As you now know, the price of search engine optimization can be under $500/month or go beyond $5,000. The final rate depends on a variety of factors, such as the scope of work, the complexity of your project, and many others.
As a small business, you may opt for more pocket-friendly solutions. Luckily, there are some general tips that can help you maximize ROI from your existing budget:
- When selecting your partner, look at expertise and reputation first. Case studies, reviews, and references can indicate the experience of the potential vendor and give you an idea of what you can get from partnering with them.
- Look for agencies and experts who have experience in your niche. Proven success cases in your particular field can help you find partners who know how to survive the level of competition you are dealing with and succeed.
- Set measurable and attainable goals and communicate them to your partner. A clear goal will help you create a focused strategy that lets you accomplish it in a shorter time.
- Don’t stand aside and get involved too. Try to foster open and transparent communication from day one to eliminate misunderstandings and streamline the workflow.
- Prioritize consistency and high-impact approaches. Remember that SEO is a continuous process that requires constant monitoring, reporting, and improvement. In order to achieve success in it, you have to focus on consistent and high-impact (white hat SEO) approaches.
Conclusion
SEO for small business is an irreplaceable marketing tool for growth and a competitive edge. Getting started with it can be tough, especially when you lack in-house experts or a budget for this matter. Luckily, there is always an opportunity to hire professional partners to help you get on the right track.
As you now know, the cost of optimization services can vary significantly, depending on a long list of factors. Use the insights you gained from this guide to allocate the right budget, find a partner that will suit your needs, and get the best ROI!
