How Much Should I Pay Someone for SEO?

Whether you’ve just started a business or you’re a seasoned boss with a growing enterprise, to advertise effectively online, you need to implement an SEO campaign to help potential customers and search engines easily find specific pages on your website.

Because of the time-consuming nature of SEO, most business owners hire SEO specialists who can devote the time needed to research the most effective keywords, create SEO-rich content and monitor a campaign to make changes and adjustments.

So, how much does it cost to hire an SEO specialist?

The answer varies based on business type, the scope of work, the specialist’s geographic location and other factors.

Deciding to hire an agency or a freelance specialist instead may also influence the overall cost of a campaign.

Typically, it costs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars monthly to develop, implement and monitor an SEO campaign. And while this is a huge business investment, the return on a successful SEO campaign will make up for it.

Successful SEO campaigns allow businesses to build their brands, increase their customer base and ensure repeat business. Professional SEO specialists can help take your business to the next level.

To learn more about our SEO campaigns and pricing, contact Clark Empire today!

How Much Should I Budget for SEO?

As a business owner, you understand the importance of investing in marketing and advertising to help your business grow. When budgeting for SEO, create a monthly budget that allows you to create an aggressive SEO campaign without causing unnecessary financial strain.

Since SEO is easily trackable with almost immediate results, you can adjust your budget to suit your needs each month, as making changes to a campaign is very easy.

When speaking to an SEO specialist, ask pertinent questions like how much they charge for website and social media page auditing, keyword research and implementation, copywriting, monitoring and report generation. Some agencies charge by the project, by the hour or require a contract and a retainer to get started.

Reputable SEO agencies and freelancers will provide all the financial information you need to hire the best agency or freelancer.

Some provide service plans, while others take an a la carte approach, where you pay for individual services.

Honest and professional, these specialists will never try to hide or minimize the costs for their time and expertise. Walk away from any business that doesn’t provide financial transparency.

Contact one of our SEO specialists today to discuss pricing plans and options for your SEO campaign!

How Much Should a Small Business Spend on SEO?

Businesses large and small can benefit from effective SEO. ‘How much does SEO cost for a small business’? Typically, most small to medium-sized businesses spend between $400 to $3,500 per month.

Monthly SEO services include keyword research and integration, link building, website and social media page audits, image, title and meta description optimization, monthly performance/analytics reports and consultations as needed.

Factors that could influence the monthly costs of an SEO campaign include the specialist’s experience and geographic location, SEO goals, website/business size and SEO plans available.

Before launching an SEO campaign, you’ll need to meet with a specialist to discuss your goals and ways to achieve those goals. Some campaigns require an aggressive approach, which can influence monthly costs.

Luckily, it’s easy to measure the effectiveness of these campaigns, and it’s easy to make adjustments that influence their success. A professional SEO expert will clearly outline what works and what doesn’t, make suggestions about campaign aggressiveness and justify increases to the monthly budget (if necessary).

You’ll receive monthly performance reports that can tell you more about campaign effectiveness.

What are the Costs Associated with Local SEO?

Local SEO involves implementing keywords and phrases specific to states, towns, cities and regions to encourage local customers to purchase goods and services from your website or store location.

Effective local SEO campaigns also utilize various tools such as local search engine directories (Yelp!, YellowPages, etc.), Google maps and backlinks to other local businesses and associations to boost brand awareness.

If you cater to locals in your area, it makes sense to invest in a local SEO marketing campaign.

So, how much should I pay local SEO specialists? The answer varies based on website size, level of advertising aggressiveness, overall goals (increase brand awareness, increase web traffic to your website and social media pages, increase profits, advertise promotions and sales, etc.), specialist expertise and geographic location.

For small businesses, local SEO campaigns typically cost around $1,500 per month, while monthly costs for National SEO can run $2500 to $5000+ per month.

Speaking with an SEO specialist is the only way to get a definitive answer to the actual monthly costs. Some specialists provide service plans, while others charge by the project or allow customers to purchase individual services.

How much does it cost to hire a SEO specialist for a national SEO campaign?

The cost is based on website size, content creation, keyword research and implementation for individual web pages, website and social media page audits, monitoring and monthly performance reports. Typically, business owners can expect to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each month.

With consistent monitoring and lots of trackable data available almost instantly, SEO specialists can make changes and adjustments to ensure maximum ROI. National SEO can run $2500 to $5000+ per month.



What are the Costs Associated with E-commerce SEO?

If you operate an online business, an e-commerce SEO marketing campaign can help increase web traffic, brand awareness and profits.

The costs associated with e-commerce SEO include keyword and phrase research and implementation on web pages and page components such as title, meta description and image tags, keyword implementation on social media pages, backlinks to relevant websites, ongoing monitoring and monthly performance reports.

In addition, website size, expertise level and geographic location of SEO specialists, SEO goals and level of aggressiveness also determine monthly SEO campaign costs.

Given the high ROI of successful SEO campaigns, e-commerce businesses need to create and implement one to generate new and repeat business.

What Factors Influence SEO Pricing?

Common factors that influence SEO pricing include business type, website size, keyword and phrase research, and keyword and phrase implementation (some business owners want to optimize each web page with keywords, while others want to focus on specific pages to draw attention to certain goods and services).

Additional factors include content creation, social media page optimization, backlink creation, website monitoring and performance reports.

As you can see, a lot goes into a successful SEO campaign. Most SEO agencies and freelance specialists charge monthly fees for services, while others charge by the hour or the project.

What Should I Look for in an SEO Service Plan?

When reviewing an SEO service plan, you should look for one that suits your budget while helping you achieve online marketing goals. Many SEO agencies and freelance specialists offer one-time project plans and ongoing monthly plans.

If you want to refresh your website, generate local traffic and build brand awareness in a specific area, a one-time project is a great way to start. You can always move to a monthly plan later on.

Invest in a monthly plan to maintain an online presence, attract new customers or use SEO marketing to promote new products and services.

Most SEO plans include SEO audits, keyword research and implementation, content creation, monthly reports and ongoing consultations to discuss adjustments and changes to SEO strategy.



Why Should I Avoid Cheap SEO Services?

While cost-effective compared to other online marketing strategies, SEO campaigns are not cheap. To execute a successful campaign, business owners should expect to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each month or $5,000 to $10,000 for a one-time project, depending on website size and project scope.

When researching SEO specialists, you will find those who under charge, or worse, tack on additional fees throughout the project. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for.

Don’t be fooled; hire an expert to get the most from your SEO campaign.

Professional SEO specialists will provide their cost for services along with a list of service components before beginning any SEO campaign project.

Contact Clark Empire today to learn more about our SEO services and pricing options.