SEO Pricing Guide: How Much Do SEO Services Cost in 2023?

In 2023, SEO has become more valuable than ever with mobile responsive websites that offer excellent keyword-optimized content winning the prize. 

Today, it’s imperative to assess your company website’s success with a clear eye. Is your business website capturing the maximum number of new customers on the search pages? Is your digital marketing and content strategy effectively guiding users to your site? Are you seen as a thought leader in your industry?

You may have superior products or services, but if no one can find your business when searching the internet, it directly affects your bottom line. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, services could be the answer to improving website results for the long term.

How Much Can SEO Increase Traffic?

Currently, 53.3% of all internet traffic comes from organic search results and, according to Statista, Google has over 85% of the total search engine market. That makes it important to format your site and content to meet Google’s specifications.

The best way to do that is to engage great SEO services that are designed to meet and exceed Google’s expectations for site speed, structure, and overall content. While exact numbers are difficult to project, an SEO agency can provide a broad spectrum of services that will improve your results and also reduce customer acquisition costs  by as much as 75% compared to digital advertising.

How Much Does SEO Cost?

While there is no shortage of SEO consultants and freelancers in the industry today, seeking out an experienced SEO agency that has verifiable history and case studies coupled with an expert team is assuredly the prudent solution. In the end, you want to find an agency that offers a variety of SEO pricing packages that work for your company.

Most SEO services contracts are based on one of these types of pricing formats:

• Hourly Rate — Expect hourly rates between $100 and $300 per hour.
• Monthly Retainer — With most SEO companies, the monthly retainer would be between $2,500 and $5,000 per month.
• Project-Based — Projects typically range from $5,000 to $30,000. Keep in mind however, SEO requires diligent oversight on an ongoing basis.
• Performance-Based — Pay-for-performance agencies base their pricing on your site achieving certain goals, e.g., first-page keyword rankings, revenue increases, etc. The problem inherent in this type of pricing is an agency using ‘black-hat’ tactics to get fast results. The problem is these results may not be sustainable or may end up getting your site penalized by Google. 

Is an SEO Audit the Right Move?

Before engaging a long-term contract, you may want to consider a full-service audit that takes a comprehensive look at your website and gets you the answers (and an actionable gameplan) you need fast. Pricing for an SEO audit is usually based on the size of your organization and your site.

Full-Service Audit

Start-up $2,750

Mid-level $4,000

Enterprise $10,000

A Summary of the Five SEO Service Groups

When you engage an SEO agency to provide you with site improvements, be sure to define the SEO deliverables based on the service groups below:

Technical SEO

• Mobile Interactivity and Responsiveness
• Site Speed and Exceeding Google’s Core Vitals
• XML Configuration and Indexing
• Fixing Broken Links and 4XX Status Codes
• Site Crawl Errors
• Review of HTML/CSS code
• Security Certificates and Protocols

On-Page Optimization

• Keyword Research and Ranking
• Title Tags
• Meta Descriptions
• H1, H2, H3 Heading Usage
• Alt Image Tags on Strategic Images
• Duplicate Content
• Internal Linking Structure

Off-Page Optimization

• External Link Building
• Email List Building
• Guest Posting
• Directory Submissions

Digital Marketing

• Content Marketing Strategy and Keyword-Optimized Development
• Social Media Posting and Advertising
• Pay-per-Click Management
• Affiliate Marketing (if appropriate to your business)

Reporting and Analytics

• Google Analytics and Reporting
• Conversion Insights
• Performance Oversight and Analytics

What About Local SEO Pricing in 2023

In 2022, 46% of all Google searches were for local businesses or services, whether that was a ‘brick and mortar’ shop or business, a food delivery service, or tradespeople coming to your home to repair your furnace. According to Google, ‘Where to buy’ + ‘near me’ has grown over 200% on mobile queries in the past two years alone.

So, if your business relies on local SEO services, an SEO agency with local SEO experts that specializes in local search can help boost your company’s results on the search engine pages and improve your bottom line.

Generally, local SEO pricing runs between $300 to $500 per month for a small to medium business. But a comprehensive local SEO strategy for multiple locations can run as high as $4,000 per month for large or multi-facility businesses or franchises and include:

• Content Management
• Social Media Management
• Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) Management
• Link Building
• Citation Optimization
• Paid Search Management
• Online Reviews Management
• Reporting and Analytics

An effective local SEO strategy would be focused on ranking in the ‘Local Pack’ – the three businesses that rank next to the local map of the area on page one of a Google search results page. These businesses usually have additional information like their star rating from their Google Business Profile (another reason to keep it current).

What is the SEO Cost vs Benefit? 

When you have the right strategies in place and your site’s SEO is on point, your bottom line should see the results. 

The best way to measure the impact of initiating SEO is to compare your current revenue with the revenue you recognize six to twelve months after implementing strong SEO practices. That means calculating your Return on Investment or ROI. This comparison will give you an idea of the improvements made and how they have translated to the revenue line. 

What is a Good ROI on SEO?

Most companies figure their ROI for budgeting purposes on everything from marketing dollars to capital investments. As a reminder, the formula for calculating ROI is: (Gained Revenue from Investment – Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment.

As an example, if your company’s increase in revenue for a given period was $85,000, and you spent $15,000 on SEO Services during that time, your ROI would be 466.6%. Not bad to say the least. 

Obviously, results and ROI differ depending on the business or product. However, consider your own search engine behavior. Once a search is activated on Google, over 55% of people choose one of the first three entries after the ads – and rarely does anyone look on the second page. If your business isn’t ranking well, it’s all but invisible online.

A Final Word on Pricing

The objective when owning a business is to maximize profit using every tool at your disposal. Your website is a primary tool in today’s business environment. It’s how potential customers find you, review your products and services, and ultimately make a sale.

For many owners, the breakdown comes when they pay a web design and development agency top dollar to create their new website, but don’t follow through with SEO services that ensure they are ranked on the first page by Google. At that point, a business is relying on luck to capture new customers, expand their brand, or get their message out.

By engaging an SEO agency to perform a solid audit, make the appropriate changes, develop a content and digital marketing strategy, and monitor ongoing results, your company can enjoy increased traffic, leads, and sales. Be sure to compare pricing and services for initial needs and as your company grows.

Contact Lounge Lizard to learn more about SEO services, including audit services, building a successful social media and content strategy, local SEO services, and positioning your business to increase revenues.