How Much Is SEO?

[Ali-v-8]

How much does seo cost?

In a conversation on another post I commented on how much I charged a client for dealing with his SEO. ( reaction was uncomplimentary)
I am interested as to what people think seo should cost.
I also think people need to realise that SEO is a number of things.
I think for the sake of simplicity it would be time for an analogy.

if you buy a ford focus you are buying a functioning car. ( a website)
If you buy a ford focus ST you are buying a functioning car that will get you there faster. ( A website with tags and titles put in place will get better and ranking quicker)

If you uprated the suspension, tinker with the engine to improve performance and improve looks by adding a body kit and spoilers also a better sound system, you have in effect optimised that vehicle. The result is that you get from A to B faster and more and more people notice you.
(this is what we charge you for)


I hope this make sense so far.

So what are you paying for when you sign up with an SEO firm?

You give an seo a website fine tuned and pimped so to say.
This gets you to the top of Google faster and more people will look at your website. Also it is our job to Identify issues with the website that visitors face and improve the conversion and lower the bounce rate.

The question that you should be asking is - How much am i willing to invest into my own business to secure it future?

Regards
Ali

 

[nickie1105]

I am not a web designer or an SEO expert although I have had my eyes opened recently to both. Until this time last year I had no idea that the was any difference between SEO, web design and web developers! All are disciplines in their own right and I think people are still naive in thinking that the above are one in the same thing and fail to factor in extra costs for the different expertees needed to get their site to do what they want it to do and get it ranked where they want it! I think naivety is the problem and if the client knows nothing about SEO and the efforts and time it takes, the costs can come as a shock!

 

[SFD]

Yes but some people say they are selling you a 3L twin turbo, then when it arrives and you pop the bonnet you see it's only a 1.6l and the head gasket is on the way out.

 

[greenbox]

i would also be interested to hear how much people are charging for SEO.

i had a salesman trying to flog me seo for £500 a month , is that alot ?

what are people generally charging ?

 

[Ali-v-8]

Yes but some people say they are selling you a 3L twin turbo, then when it arrives and you pop the bonnet you see it's only a 1.6l and the head gasket is on the way out.

You on about a nissan 300zx with a 100nx engine in it.

The point is knowledge is power. The information that an SEO knows about how Google works is only a percentage of the work.
I think people need to look into what they are getting for he money they spend.
Please be aware I hate companies that advertise SEO for £99.
Its the same as buying a YUGO (for those of you who don't know it was a car(or a feeble attempt at a car))
Car dont exist no more

 

[Vizcom]

Depends on the website, competition and what I feel the site needs. As a guide we would charge £2000 - £3000 for the year. May sound a lot but there is a lot of work involved, changes to the website, re-writing copy, article writing and submission, link building, new web pages added, review, monitor statistics, adjust site, paid directories, etc. This always works best when a client has an eCommerce website or a high value product or service. Best to ask the SEO company exactly what they intend to do, proof of work done and what other results have they achieved? Ask for references, same business rules apply to choosing an SEO as any other supplier. Most important of all (in my opinion) how does their website rank?

 

[nickie1105]

To me, nothing can be guaranteed with SEO, for example, you couldn't promise a client that you will have them appearing in the first 3 organic listings within X amount of time. Various factors including changes in Google's algorythms affect the SERPs so nothing is for certain in this game. However, it does need keeping on top of and is not something which can just be done and left alone. £500 does seem a little steep to me though but again, it depends what the company are doing for their money and what tactics they're using to drive targeted traffic to your website.

 

[andymayhem]

SEOMOZ quotes lowend $500pm - $2000pm - $20000+pm for link building. but its all relative, if your fighting against other sites where the top site has an income of £10kpm then £500pm for the skill and time of getting there is a little too cheap and the same is also true with SEO for a site for a local plumber who might make an extra £1k pa its not worth £500pm to him.

This about it as ROI as it is basically a form of advertising. think about how much money you will make from being on the front page, if the answer is £10kpa then even £9.9k still sees a return on investment.

 

[SFD]

Depends on the website, competition and what I feel the site needs. As a guide we would charge £2000 - £3000 for the year.

IMO this is the problem.

Someone says it depends on the website then gives a quote!

Surely the competition and the keywords + how the site is already set up make a massive difference to cost.

 

[andymayhem]

IMO this is the problem.

Someone says it depends on the website then gives a quote!

Surely the competition and the keywords + how the site is already set up make a massive difference to cost.

exactly. to get a PR8 site into a niche that requires PR9 sites will be crazy hard, you might need another 500k links.

I have been doing a lot of research and the average seems to be at £1.5k pm. but personally, I am planning on telling the client what is required, the STD industry rate and let them decide what they feel is a fair price.

 

[Ali-v-8]

I agree, nothing is guaranteed through SEO!

This has been approached in another thread.
If you didn't read it here's a quick summary.
positions on Google cannot ( more like should not)be guaranteed.
The level of service provided can be guaranteed but this is between you and the seo.

If they offer you a guarantee, What do they guarantee.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Yep, #1 spot or pay nothing (for a mutually agreed word) is a GREAT guarantee!

The downside of that is that they are going to be focussing on that micro measure to allow them to get paid, rather than doing a pro job on everything.

 

[SEO-Doctor]

exactly. to get a PR8 site into a niche that requires PR9 sites will be crazy hard, you might need another 500k links.

I have been doing a lot of research and the average seems to be at £1.5k pm. but personally, I am planning on telling the client what is required, the STD industry rate and let them decide what they feel is a fair price.

For what though...how many links per month? how many hours per month?

 

[Ali-v-8]

For what though...how many links per month? how many hours per month?

This is exactly what I mean.

Straight away you ask how many links?
Why?
He said he is charging for seo.
If I can get a website to page one in Google with three links, why would i put 10 on to a website?
Links from external sources help, but if your website isn't up to standard then they are relatively useless.

Cost for SEO as a package of result and conversions. Not just how many links are added.

 

Ok gloves off I won't work on a site that does not produce me at least 12k a year.

But before all the oohs and are's

I would not work on a site that I did not think would benefit by my work to the tune of several times my cost.

Product and the value of the goods sold per year is what its all about.

Earl

 

[andymayhem]

hours and links are irrelevant, your paying for results i.e. ROI which is the measure of all marketing/advertising.

 

I agree, nothing is guaranteed through SEO!

That is profoundly untrue.

Earl

 

[OldWelshGuy]

For what though...how many links per month? how many hours per month?

If you take your car to the garage to get the brakes changed, they quote you £50 to change the brake pads. Do you say to them 'how many hours will you be working on my car?' or do you ask them 'how long will it take?

If they say about an hour, then would you expect to pay £37.50 if they did the job in 45 minutes? would you demand they used the rest of the hour doing other things on your car?

IF they went over by 30 minutes, would you be happy paying £75, OR (more likely) would you say NO CHANCE MATE you quoted £50 if it takes you longer that is YOUR problem not mine

SEO's have bespoke software written for them to replace the manual work they did previously. This software runs in the background while the SEO is free to carry out other work, or it speeds up a task 100 fold. so what someone manually doing it would take 10 hours, the SEO can achieve that in 6 minutes. Should you expect only to pay him 6 minutes, and disregard the cost of the software investment.

A person who is very good at their job will carry out a task far FAR quicker than someone less experienced.

How many people when they get a quote for a website ask 'how many hous will you be spending on building my site?

My point is that it is irrelevant, and we have to be careful not to get bogged down in reporting at the cost of doing the work

 

[JustOneUK]

How much does seo cost?

In a conversation on another post I commented on how much I charged a client for dealing with his SEO. ( reaction was uncomplimentary)
I am interested as to what people think seo should cost.
I also think people need to realise that SEO is a number of things.
I think for the sake of simplicity it would be time for an analogy.

if you buy a ford focus you are buying a functioning car. ( a website)
If you buy a ford focus ST you are buying a functioning car that will get you there faster. ( A website with tags and titles put in place will get better and ranking quicker)

If you uprated the suspension, tinker with the engine to improve performance and improve looks by adding a body kit and spoilers also a better sound system, you have in effect optimised that vehicle. The result is that you get from A to B faster and more and more people notice you.
(this is what we charge you for)

I hope this make sense so far.

With regards to your analogy - it depends if you're happy with a Ford Focus

I guess if you own a Ford Focus and needed it servicing (SEO'd) then you'd be looking to pay less than if you were having a Ferrari serviced.

 

on the ball OWG.

my terms and conditions are very similar to another group beloved by society.

http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/about/instructingabarrister/fees/

and a touch more about people who produce zero.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4727832.ece

Earl

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Why don't we just jail everyone without trial, then deal only with the appeals and give compensation where due?. It would be a lot cheaper

 

[OldWelshGuy]

they don't get it do they?

i have some great software that will run off with a couple of footprints and some keywords, search the search engines, and find me all the top ranking pages where I can add links to.

others will pull all the links and tell me who owns them and if there is a patter,
others will tell me if they are blogs, directories etc.

I should work for m%.85 per hour (or whatever minimum wages is these days .

THEy want to earn 10 times as much, but only want to pay a few quid to the guy that makes it happen, and DEMAND to know how many links they get, and how many hours of your time they are getting.

These are EXACTLY the sort of idiots I refuse to work with

 

they don't get it do they?

i have some great software that will run off with a couple of footprints and some keywords, search the search engines, and find me all the top ranking pages where I can add links to.

others will pull all the links and tell me who owns them and if there is a patter,
others will tell me if they are blogs, directories etc.

I should work for m%.85 per hour (or whatever minimum wages is these days .

THEy want to earn 10 times as much, but only want to pay a few quid to the guy that makes it happen, and DEMAND to know how many links they get, and how many hours of your time they are getting.

These are EXACTLY the sort of idiots I refuse to work with

Are you sure your worth the minimum wage.?

I think part of the problem is that few people seem to realise how crucial SEO /SEM is to the success of any online business and tend to think of it as a service you have done ,like getting the house painted.:|

without being on page 1 in general a business is going no where.

And an SEO might be competing against tens of millions of other site's than want to be there.

And as has been said as a pro we can do things at lightening speed compared to your average Joe, because we spent many years learning how to.and I would be only to happy to charge an hourly rate based on your average joe.

Earl

 

[OldWelshGuy]

It is nuts isn't it though how some people want to know macro detail. YES you have to give reports etc, but how can you tell someone how many links you need without knowing what the opposition is?

Do people who want this demand to know the procedure a mechanic will use when rebuilding their engine?

Do they demand to know each step the designer will take to build a site/

Do they demand to know the name fo the sheep that made the wool, the name of the Machinist who spun the wool, the name of the girl who knitted the clothes, the type of machine it was knitted on, the name of the carrier etc..

Do they hell, they tell the supplier I want this product at that price, and as long as they get it they are happy.

The whole issue is one of trust I think. And once achieved, often people think (
" I can't see any different, I have not had my moneys worth'. Intangibles are a bugger.

 

The whole issue is one of trust I think. And once achieved, often people think (
" I can't see any different, I have not had my moneys worth'. Intangibles are a bugger.

Exactly often the site does not look any different ,except for the titles and the tags.

I often warn people that after I have done a site they may think" well that was easy .I could have done that in a couple of hours"

Except they would not know what to do, nor have done maybe the hundreds of hours research to get to the point where pen is put to paper.

Earl

 

[Tej]

Exactly often the site does not look any different ,except for the titles and the tags.

I often warn people that after I have done a site they may think" well that was easy .I could have done that in a couple of hours"

Except they would not know what to do, nor have done maybe the hundreds of hours research to get to the point where pen is put to paper.

Earl

I think this goes for any business. How often someone uses a simple machinery part to solve a problem.. part costs £2.. but work is charged at £500. Its not the value of the part per se.. but knowing from all the experience and previous hard graft as to what and how to use that part that... is worth £500. Customer should be happy that job has been done to satisfaction!

my 2 cents.. hope it makes sense

 

[Ali-v-8]

With regards to your analogy - it depends if you're happy with a Ford Focus

I guess if you own a Ford Focus and needed it servicing (SEO'd) then you'd be looking to pay less than if you were having a Ferrari serviced.

See this is exactly my point.
Each website is not the same.

And to also stick to with the analogy some cars you can T-cut others you cant (metallic paint). For these type of car you use a gloss resin add on (don't ask how I know this). Take this as a flash website. You have to add the content as readable pages.

Point to be made here if you had to add content and create pages would the same charge apply.

 

[Ali-v-8]

i would also be interested to hear how much people are charging for SEO.

i had a salesman trying to flog me seo for £500 a month , is that alot ?

what are people generally charging ?

no its not depending on the industry you are in

 

[barginboyrob]

I know loads of people that work based on results, get paid after rankings achevied

 

[Ali-v-8]

I know loads of people that work based on results, get paid after rankings achevied

I'm sorry but performance is a different subject. What I want to clarify is actual cost.
Example

Limo company based in Blackburn = 20 key terms £2,000
limo Blackburn, limousine Blackburn limo hire Blackburn... etc.

limo company based in London = 20 key terms £3,500
limo London, limousine london, limo hire London... etc.

limo company national = 20 key terms £6-8,000
limousine, limo, limo hire, hire limo, limousine company..... etc.

Same industry, different capture.
Cost between London and Blackburn varies because of competition.
A national campaign covers the whole of the UK and key cities, so in effect London, Blackburn, Manchester and the rest would have to be covered.
As I have always said, the campaign determines the price not just the service.

 

[barginboyrob]

huh, well obviously you agree to the terms with them first...

 

I'm sorry but performance is a different subject. What I want to clarify is actual cost.
Example

Limo company based in Blackburn = 20 key terms £2,000
limo Blackburn, limousine Blackburn limo hire Blackburn... etc.

limo company based in London = 20 key terms £3,500
limo London, limousine london, limo hire London... etc.

limo company national = 20 key terms £6-8,000
limousine, limo, limo hire, hire limo, limousine company..... etc.

Same industry, different capture.
Cost between London and Blackburn varies because of competition.
A national campaign covers the whole of the UK and key cities, so in effect London, Blackburn, Manchester and the rest would have to be covered.
As I have always said, the campaign determines the price not just the service.

Is that a one off flat fee.?

Earl

 

[Ali-v-8]

Is that a one off flat fee.?

Earl

I know, I'm just too kind, but yes in some cases the result are easy to obtain. and I do prefer up front payments for easy results.
i have 3 payments that i only offer depending on industry and company i am dealing with.

New websites require on going developement + retainer plus on going monthly DD's
Wesite need of developement. choose key terms (usually 20) take 50% of total payment upfront then the outstanding balance isn't requested until page one is achieved.
And my favourite. All up front. ONE TIME JUICY PAYMENT.

 

I just see a huge difference in these 2 placings which is not reflected in your charges.?

Limo company based in Blackburn = 20 key terms £2,000
limo Blackburn, limousine Blackburn limo hire Blackburn... etc.


limo company national = 20 key terms £6-8,000
limousine, limo, limo hire, hire limo, limousine company....


Earl

 

[Ali-v-8]

I just see a huge difference in these 2 placings which is not reflected in your charges.?

Limo company based in Blackburn = 20 key terms £2,000
limo Blackburn, limousine Blackburn limo hire Blackburn... etc.


limo company national = 20 key terms £6-8,000
limousine, limo, limo hire, hire limo, limousine company....


Earl

I see where you are coming from.
I already have acheied page one for quite a few limo companies (27)
But in all fairness i think £8k is more than fair.
If the person wants to expand on the original 20 terms than that is an extra

 

[david8765]

you cant put a figure on SEO, you can spend as much or as little as you like.

 

[G. Lasagne]

How much for a website where they are already near the top of the front page for all the right keywords, but want to increase traffic and conversions?
and how much does a good ppc campaign cost to manage?
I pay £49 per month and to be honest i am very happy with the service so far, that includes link building onsite optimisation, adding pages etc and so on.

 

[BreezeMedia]

you cant put a figure on SEO, you can spend as much or as little as you like.

Couldn't agree more!

Case in point

We charge X for a client on phrase "blue widgets" and rank them #1 Another "big" SEO company charges their client 3 x X for the same phrase "blue widgets" and they rank 14. We found this out when their client called us asking about our rates.

However, it was the same company who are paying 3x more that came to us initially that went with the big company - their choice to pay more for the same service. Understanadbly they're rather miffed.

SEO is only one part of the big picture. You can lead a horse to water....etc

We never offer SEO on it's own. We only offer a fully structured package that includes marketing and all analysis on conversions, cpas, ROI. We set breakpoints and measure our performance againts results. If we perform the client is happy and we get more work from referrals.

 

How much for a website where they are already near the top of the front page for all the right keywords, but want to increase traffic and conversions?
and how much does a good ppc campaign cost to manage?
I pay £49 per month and to be honest i am very happy with the service so far, that includes link building onsite optimisation, adding pages etc and so on.

well for me the level depends on many factors.

difficulty / competition.

potential value to a company of my services.

I.E I have built companies into multi million pound international business's from being local suppliers.

Now not only is there turnover increased 10 fold but the value of there website has increased dramatically if they wished to sell it.

So for me charges are very much related to the real time value my services provide.

I think maybe its time other SEO's woke up to the true value there services can bring to an online company and be more prepared to ask for a share of the profits generated by there work.

Hence why I was a bit taken aback by "limo" nationwide for 8k .When the yearly turnover from having these keywords should be quite substantial and ongoing.

I think its time both the public and SEO's realised that SEO's can usually do more for a business than the owner of an online business ever could.

Earl

 

[BreezeMedia]

1.charges are very much related to the real time value my services provide.

2. I think maybe its time other SEO's woke up to the true value there services can bring to an online company and be more prepared to ask for a share of the profits generated by there work.

3. Hence why I was a bit taken aback by "limo" nationwide for 8k .When the yearly turnover from having these keywords should be quite substantial and ongoing.

4.I think its time both the public and SEO's realised that SEO's can usually do more for a business than the owner of an online business ever could.

Earl

I like this man!

1. As ar ours
2. Agreed totally
3. I was taken aback by this figure too! 8K? What's the ROI for the limo company?
4. Agreed totally.

To add to this - IMO SEOs should be regulated. Too many are charging ridiculous fees and hiding behind "rank" to the detriment of the client.