What Does SEO Cost? The Truth Cost of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Anyone with the slightest web knowledge understands the importance of SEO for online business success. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps generate higher levels of traffic to your website and helps improve the number of potential leads and clients. Ranking high on the first page of the search engine is the key to getting your website ahead of the competition. It is the best way to be found and get seen by your audience. Click here to read an article Forbes wrote, which gave a good overview on this same topic years ago. In this blog we bring a lot of these same talking points up to date, which is a summary of the full article you can find here.

SEO is important because:

• 70% of internet users click on the top 5 search result listings
• SEO not just improves ranking but also stimulates the improvement of the website for better user experience and structure.
• Internet users have strong trust in search engines and are likely to respond well to their suggestions
• SEO helps promotes and market your website, products, and services
• Increased organic traffic and lead generation
• Overcome competition online.

Keeping in view the importance of this service for a business, it should be considered more of an investment that is bound to yield many returns.

Factors for SEO Costs
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Now that we know how important SEO is for a business, coming up with a cost is the next step forward. But let’s first have a look at the factors that influence these costs.

• Nature of Business
• The scale of the Website
• Business Goals
• Competitive Environment
• Service Model
• Company Size
• Target Market.

Cost of SEO

Here is a brief roundup of the approximate costs associated with this service in 2022.

• DIY SEO - Free: Mostly appropriate for solo entrepreneurs or new business founders.
• Low Range SEO - $500 - $3,000 per Month: It is ideally suited for small business set-ups, like small local retailers and small-scale service providers.
• Mid-Range SEO - $3,000 - $15,000 per Month: This standard of SEO service is suitable for well-established and large size business entities looking to grow their existing clientele further.
• High-End SEO - $15,000 - $30,000 per Month: This type of SEO package is good for companies that already have their websites getting lots of traffic.
• Enterprise Level SEO - $30,000 - $1 Million Per Month: This type of service is suitable for big conglomerate companies that have huge amounts of content on their pages with unlimited traffic on a daily basis.
• Hourly SEO Rates - $100- $250: For companies that want to hire freelancers or solo SEO consultants to do the job, the cost is mostly based on hourly rates. Suitable for small-sized projects, this type of SEO service can cost you differently depending upon the exact SEO services you are opting for.
• Project-based SEO Rates - $500 – Several Thousand: When your website does not require recurring SEO expertise, you can opt for project-based or a one-time service.

Final Thoughts

With so many options available, choosing the right SEO agency or expert for your website can be a big challenge. The key is to focus on a comprehensive range of factors rather than just relying on price as a selection criterion. For more SEO information visit our SEO section in our Resource Library.