What is the good pricing for SEO services?

According to the latest industry figures, 85% of people start their products or services research on Amazon. Nowadays, ecommerce business is one of the most prosperous. It brings million dollars to e-commerce businesses annually. Everyone wants to cut a slice of this pie. That is why Internet retailing sphere is very competitive. 

To be competitive and stand out from the crowd, you need to use search engine optimization. It will help you to make your website visible to your potential customers. If your web source is not coming up in the search results when users enter their queries, you better believe those customers are going to end up buying from your competitors.

What is the average pricing for SEO services?

Many online merchants wonder how much should they pay for SEO services on average? The answer to this question depends on many factors. That is why there is no one standard answer for all businesses. 

If you are in the market for SEO, you probably quickly realize there are way too many choices. You can select from numerous pricing models, services, and agencies. It is difficult to select one suitable company from a great variety of opportunities. Some of the SEO agencies use fraudulent techniques to achieve positive results. However, as practice shows, black-hat SEO techniques make things worse. This effect is not long lasting and can spoil all previous marketing efforts. That is why you should not fall for the low pricing policies as a miser pays twice. 

Let us have a closer look at some numbers in SEO industry. A well-known educational web source Moz polled out over 600 optimization companies and included all the obtained data in an insightful article. According to this report, an average SEO expert in the US charges between $80 - $130 per hour consultation. Average monthly optimization services will cost you up to $1500 without any additional spendings. As you can see an average price is high, but if you are buying optimization services from a reputable SEO company, the rates can get pretty high. So if you want to avoid wannabes and fraudsters, you should be ready to pay such money. 

Let us break down different types of SEO services with prices to help you understand which variant is best for your online business. 

SEO services breakdown

• Hourly SEO services

Hourly SEO is convenient if you need some quick consulting toward some SEO issue or something. As a rule, it can’t be helpful if you need to make some changes on a site. However, using these services, you always know what you are going to pay for. Depending on how many hours were worked, you can estimate how much you will pay. However, there is a bit of catch here. As a rule, it is complicated to assume how much time your SEO project may take. That is why the rates can get pretty high.

Hourly SEO services price is between $75 and $150 per hour. These services are best for individual businesses who run their optimization campaigns on their own. In this case, SEO consultant will help you to validate your work and provide you with a quality assistant services. 

• Project-based SEO services

Project-based optimization services are the most popular pricing model. It provides absolutely all SEO agencies. The price of project-based SEO services varies from $1,001 to more than $7,500 per project. 

There are a lot of pros of this type of optimization services. First of all, they have a stable price. So, you do not need to worry about hourly costs or monthly budgeting. It is perfect when you need help in one specific area. Most companies outsource difficult projects to save their time and human resources. One more plus of using project-based SEO is that you know what you are getting. All services will be provided for you according to the contract. The problem is that there is a lack of flexibility. Such services typically come with a contract that outlines all terms and deliverables. So if you need some changes, you won’t be able to do it without spendings. 

• Monthly optimization services

Monthly optimization services are popular among small business owners as they give an opportunity to try company's services without spending too much money on it. If the entrepreneur is satisfied with the monthly results, he can extend the contract. Moreover, this kind of services is used by companies who need to outsource their SEO completely. 

It costs something between $750 and $1500 per month. For this money, you will get a full range of optimization services starting with keyword research and finishing with link building. As a rule, clients may get a constant support and activity reports. 

A monthly SEO usually means you have the specialists fully managing your campaign. It gives you an opportunity to get results without having to worry about doing the work yourself. 

The problem is that the results can often take up to six months. All this time you just need to believe that the SEO services you get are efficient. If the company you are working with does not produce any results, you can end up wasting your money and time. As a rule, it is complicated to get a refund, so paying for six months or more, you are risking to get stuck in a contract. 

• Pay for performance SEO

There is one more type of optimization services which is called pay for performance SEO. It is a relatively new type of pricing that is why we do not have a statistic survey toward it. Using this kind of SEO you pay for the results, nothing else. Most SEO agencies do not risk to sell this type of SEO as it takes a lot of efforts to provide results with it and earn a profit. If the customers don't see the results, they do not need to pay. This type of pricing eliminates all risks and help customers get what they paid for. 

This pricing model can be best for small businesses who want to know what their investment will be. Partnering with an SEO company that can provide you with good optimization results before you have to can make it easier to start investing in an optimization campaign.