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SEO How much does it cost?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by Valhalla, Feb 23, 2007.

  1. Ar3d

    Ar3d Banned

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    #21
    its depends, its has no permanent rate but the most important to think is to delivered the ROI by much of their cost..
     
    Ar3d, Feb 23, 2007 IP
  2. pc_user

    pc_user Notable Member

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    #22
    Unlike what some would say, you can put a price on this. Like any service oriented offering, while prices do range greatly based on what exactly you are looking for and who you go to, there are ranges to consider and details to keep in mind. Just as you wouldn't spend $500 on a plumber to unclog your toilet and you wouldn't spend $20 per hour on good legal advice, there are benchmarks here. Too often so many people are use to overcharging for services that ultimately have no value that it's just insane. See Link #3.

    It varies on a couple of bits of criteria. My advice, go with a person who can provide verifiable proof of their work. How do you do that? Simple, just contact a few of their clients (major clients at random), then check their work. The best approach is to take their clients site, search for a few of their primary keywords and see if they rank in the top 3. If they do, then you are in good shape so far.

    Again, consider that everyone now a days wants to overcharge for their work but at long as you know the benchmarks, you are ok.

    First off, if anyone guarantees their work, run. In SEO, the only guarantee that you can expect, is that they do their job.

    Secondly, for any good SEO provider, expect to pay an upfront fee. Make sure, without a doubt that you verify it's a legit business or never expect to see your work or money again. Otherwise, expect to pay between $250 and $750 upfront. Sorry, for a legit SEO company, there is no way around this one as any real SEO campaign includes set cost that are out of their hands and obviously they can not afford to get burned. If someone says no upfront fee, you are just wasting your time as any good SEO company doesn't have time to waste on no money upfront no matter what they say.

    Third, don't expect overnight results. Too often people judge SEO work based on what comes next. If the company is any good, expect results in 30 days to 90 days, that's typically the norm.

    Being the set fee, expect to pay between $1 and $25 per month per keyword optimized, in addition to $100 per page up to 10 pages and $10 for every page after that up to 1,000 pages. After that, it's pretty set.

    So for example, lets say you have a 20 page site, expect to pay $750 upfront and $500 a month. This will typically include directory submissions, paid inclusions, one way links and general PPC marketing but very limited. Now, if you have a site with 10,000 pages, expect to again pay the $750 upfront and up to 10k a month if you want the entire site optimized.

    Hope this helps.
     
    pc_user, Feb 23, 2007 IP
  3. drionix

    drionix Peon

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    #23
    I agree with pc_user. What he said is very informative. And be advised that SEO / web marketing is like getting prescription from a Doctor: always get a Second Opinion. Good SEO Analysis and Suggestions can give your site a better life. ;)
     
    drionix, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  4. seo_expert

    seo_expert Well-Known Member

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    #24
    "You get what you pay for"...so do not fall for cheap/low rates. It can hurt you instead.
     
    seo_expert, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  5. SkGold

    SkGold Peon

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    #25
    The SEO price depend from the way you want to do it.
    I mean that you can do it yourself (1) almost for nothing or hire somebody (2) to do it for you.
    1. You just need to know what to do. But generally SEO is 90% consist from building the quality links. So mostly you need to know link building strategy and techniques.
    2. SEO is a time consuming so it is really depends from SEO expert time cost. I would agree with pc_user on that.
     
    SkGold, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  6. Old Welsh Guy

    Old Welsh Guy Notable Member

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    #26
    Plenty of good info there pc user, but you are putting in place set rates and you simply can not do that as you have tried to do.

    Different people work in different ways, so for that yousimply can't put prices and rates on it. Going by your logic, I would charge the same for a 5 page site about clog dancing in Kansas, as I would for a mortgage site :(

    As for picking a major client at random and checking them out, how are they going to do that? most SEO's are fiercly protective of their clients out of respect. If they are any good, then the last thing the client will want is for someone to know the site has been seo'd.

    For some SEO is placement of keyword in the SERP's. nothing else, just that. They do this by link building alone, so according to your theory they will only pay an up front fee? If they are not working on the actual site, then how can you be expected to pay p[er page :(

    Some charge a flat fee for the whole site regardless, including long tail searches and the most competitive. This is based on knowing the difficulty of the search terms. Others say'we will do 10 keywords for $xxx.

    It is a little like a taxi journey. A normal hopto the local town is say $10 but if you wanted him to take you to the other side of the island, you would want to know a price for the whole job .

    There are also other options. I charge £500 for a website report that goes into everything that needs doing to the site from top to bottom. This is the basis of ANY work I carry out, as it evaluates all the stregnths and weaknesses of the site, identifies the keywords the site should be targeting, matches them to the pages (or indicates new pages needed), suggests link partners, and as I say is more or less a blueprint for the SEO of the site.

    This report costs £500 (it is my most popular product as site owners can then learn SEO while at the same time sorting their site out. they can also contact me unlimited for email support for a while).

    So with this in mind, saying that people should not pay more than $750 up front means that they would never be able to buy my reports, or even engage me as their upfront cost is lower than my basic report. (I do have cheaper reports but they are not as comprehensive).

    Top seo's can charge a lot of money. WHY? because their experience allows them to. I can look at a website and instantly see the problems, I look at the code, I carry out some tests because I just KNOW what to look for.

    Using an inexperienced SEO can cost you a lot more in the long run. A Good SEO will be able to identify the needs of that site quickly, and know from experience the best way to approach it.

    An inexperienced one will be learning on the job, YOU will be paying him/her to learn the job you are paying them for. Don't get me wrong, I know SEO's have to learn somehow (which is probably why over 50% of my reports are done for OTHER Seo's ;) )

    As I said earlier, choosing an SEO is a nightmare, leraning it properly from start today is only made possible by forums like this. When I started there WERE no forums, we had to work alone working out the algo and cause and effect on our own via test sites.
     
    Old Welsh Guy, Feb 24, 2007 IP
    Tyler Banfield likes this.
  7. NYDAz

    NYDAz Peon

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    #27
    SEO is a continuos process ... so I think you could spend money over and over again :)
     
    NYDAz, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  8. poksa

    poksa Banned

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    #28
    can you prove that cheap rates can hurt you? and Besides there are Companies
    or SEO Predicting results and guaranteed thier showing in SE and Brings Traffic to your site.
    The Results is "None".
     
    poksa, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  9. theseokit

    theseokit Banned

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    #29
    Well as I said before, a track record is the way to go.

    Most SEO company's will come off their high high prices if you ask them the right way! But instead of charging customers a arm and a leg, I would rather just give them the lower price along with my track record. That way their is no doubt that it is the real deal!

    Track Record Is The Way To Go

    ;)
     
    theseokit, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  10. MarcRoman

    MarcRoman Peon

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    #30
    Why though? Why should I come off my "high prices"? I took a small regional company, and tripled their sales in less than three months. Why should I skimp on what I charge? I'm going for more, rather than less these days. I'm in negotiations now with a stake in a company in exchange for the SEO work. For instance, I have a company that is generally selling $50k a month gross. I will do all the SEO work on my dime. But, I want 20% of the gross above that $50k a month.

    It's a win-win relationship for everyone. I do what I do best, they do what they do best. It works for everyone. And I am NO SEO expert, I just demanded what I wanted, and I got it.

    M
     
    MarcRoman, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  11. coolsitez

    coolsitez Well-Known Member

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    #31
    The best SEO is a self-SEO after studying, learning and experiencing it. If it costs so much, I would go for Adwords to get ranked high in a day. That's mart SEM to me. Save time for a quick result.
     
    coolsitez, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  12. tokyoice

    tokyoice Well-Known Member

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    #32
    Depends on your SEO skill level
     
    tokyoice, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  13. coolsitez

    coolsitez Well-Known Member

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    #33
    I like when people say SEO is about skill...

    It chuckles me. ;)
     
    coolsitez, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  14. thegypsy

    thegypsy Peon

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    #34
    Skill? he he.. I prefer the Art of SEO there Cool .. he he.. (just had to)

    I shall take the high road and go with OWG

    1. Each and every site/target term is unique, so are the prices.

    2. There are many types of sevice contracts - providers vary on this.

    3. WE DO NOT GIVE OUT CLIENT DATA. As OWG mentioned, good luck getting references outta me. I have no probs showing data from my own sites and offerings... but client data? Uh huh

    4. Supply and Demand - I have a 10 year old web design company, with it and my SEO company it is the same, the more we become in demand over the years... the more our prices rise. If you want my attention.. offer more $$ than the next guy.. that usually works
     
    thegypsy, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  15. pc_user

    pc_user Notable Member

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    #35
    I think the best approach is doing it oneself unless the time doesn't warrant it. Personally, I love SEO work, it's almost zen like for me. Just helped a client recently and in 3 months, go them a #1 or #2 placement on over 50 keywords in very competitive categories. The challenge of course being that I don't nor can I do that regularly as the average SEO person can take home $200 to $500 a day if they are really good but when ones time exceeds that amount, then it's just not worth it.

    All and all, if spending probably what will be 2 hours a day is worth the $500 a month to you personally, then do it yourself, if not, then hire someone qualified.

    On what appears to be the issue at hand, there are three frames of thought. First off, you have to come to the realization that there are only so many hours in the day. Why is that important? Simply, because that dictates what you can ultimately charge. This applies to SEO work or most things in general.

    Lets say for example, you are really good at what you do, you have two options ultimately when it comes down to what to charge. You can either charge less than the industry norm. Now with that, as they begin to build up a reputation, you will find yourself with more and more clients, almost to the point where you have to turn new clients away as I have seen and so many I've known see. The advantage here of course is that you spread yourself and your risk amongst multiple streams of income which can often be very comforting. The other line of thinking of course is to charge above the industry norm, this of course will often result in a much smaller client base. Now the advantage here of course is less work in terms of the number of hours put in per day. The advantage here of course is that you have more time to work on other things, the disadvantage being of course that losing a client or two which is a reality can often hurt.

    Personally I like my approach, my clients often find me, they know my work and pay good money for it and I get to focus on a few clients which I provide a lot of support for. On the flip side, I do devote a lot of time to providing advice and services to those type of clients who can't otherwise afford top notch advice, as I call good will.
     
    pc_user, Feb 24, 2007 IP
  16. coolsitez

    coolsitez Well-Known Member

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    #36
    That's a cold fact. And that's why I don't like to consider SEO has got something to do with "skills".

    Techniques and methods are really a matter of knowing them. Most SEO techniques are once you know, you can apply them. It's not like you practice and do drills everyday to gain SEO skills based on gained knowledge. Certain experiences may require to have a better and deeper understanding of some SEO methods. So I would like to point out SEO is more about "knowledge" than skills.

    I have an impression that those who think they know SEO a lot like to "show off" something so they tend to say, "I got SEO skills". And this really chuckles me :D

    What I know is that money talks in SEO. The more money to invest, the better to succeed in SEO, often "skill" parts are overpowered by huge investing SEO.

    The only part I could possibly say "skill" is the writing part. Unique content and quality of what's written, however you define it, is more than just knowledge. But you can see this apart from SEO. This is really about writing skills. And I am not good at it!

    oh yea, BH is actually more technical and more skills required...
     
    coolsitez, Feb 25, 2007 IP
  17. thegypsy

    thegypsy Peon

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    #37
    Uh Cool? Whaddya think I am doing here? I turn down 95% of the work that comes our way. I don't appreciate getting reamed in the ass like that oter thread. I don't make much of anything on eBook sales?

    I am here because at any given time I have only 4-6 clients. That means 4-6 sites and 4-6 markets.

    Going to the boards helps keep my 'chops up'. I experience many unique situations across a wide variety of market segments. This is my training M8 - this is NOT a money making venture (branding? maybe a bit..not much tho)
     
    thegypsy, Feb 25, 2007 IP
  18. Jim2Macs

    Jim2Macs Guest

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    #38
    Just be careful when choosing a SEO firm. SEO is a very vital part of your internet marketing and yes, depending on what the person/firm is going to do it can be very expensive or not so much. We had a woman come to us once that wanted help with her site. She was nervous because she had already spent thousands on SEO services on it and never seemed to get anywhere. Without getting into the whole story, once she had spent over 6 grand on Keywords! Imagine that? I looked at her site and guess what? You got it, NO KEYWORDS!
    I'm certain, most SEO firms/people/professionals are not like that, but like anything, be careful, ask plenty of questions, learn as much as you can about the process yourself and as said earlier, get a second opinion.
     
    Jim2Macs, Feb 25, 2007 IP
  19. seo_expert

    seo_expert Well-Known Member

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    #39
    Normally clients go for companies offering low rates compared to a well planned comprehensive seo package which would cost them more.

    Now the low rate offering firms may or may not have the same in-depth seo package which would get the results the clients wants. Worse still, out of inexperience or most of the time -with the incentive to get more campaigns/business after proving their seo effectiveness to the client, the company uses short cuts to prove their expertise (get quick rankings) and gets things out of control.

    So, I do not mean all low rates are bad and should be ignored. What I imply is when you compare prices, do consider what you are getting out form the low rates package and what out of the higer cost package. You will see the difference.
     
    seo_expert, Feb 25, 2007 IP
  20. theseokit

    theseokit Banned

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    #40
    I am not saying to come off your high prices, I'm simply saying that why would someone want to spend thousands when they can spend 0.00 and do it themselves quite easily? Just doesn't make sense to me.
     
    theseokit, Feb 26, 2007 IP