How much does SEO cost?

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. As the name suggests, the goal is about making your content easily identifiable by search engines. Doing so will allow your website to climb up the rankings, which will in turn increase its visibility and drive visitor traffic. 

SEO requires technical expertise and in-depth knowledge of Google’s algorithms, something that business owners simply don’t have the time to get their head around! That’s why many outsource their SEO to an expert instead. 

All content whether it’s landing page copy, your blog entries or even your domain name should be SEO optimized. Even though it can take time to reap the rewards of SEO, it’s crucial that it’s implemented across your website.

How much does an SEO consultant cost?

On average, an SEO review and implementation will cost between $500 and $1,500. Packages are usually a set price, though it may be possible to pay by the hour which could work out much cheaper for smaller jobs. 

The cost of SEO is going to depend on how much work is required, and whether specialist software is used or not. Even when you have all the keywords, many hours will be needed to fully implement them into your content.

Remember, given the goal of SEO is to boost traffic to your website and ultimately conversions, if implemented correctly the cost will pay for itself. This is especially the case if you climb to the top pages of search engines when you previously ranked much lower.

What changes the cost of an SEO expert?

The cost of an SEO specialist can change depending on a few factors, including: 

• Initial project scope 

• The competitiveness of your market

Initial project scope 

The cost of SEO is going to depend on where yours is currently at, and how much content the SEO freelancer or agency needs to get through. Some websites only have a handful of pages, whereas others may have hundreds if not thousands of pages. 

The initial project scope will factor in both the number of pages needed to be rewritten, as well as where your website currently ranks.

Based on this, your SEO consultant will come up with an initial quote. The cost will likely cover copy re-writing, backlinks, H tag suggestions, video and image optimization and keyword implementation.

The competitiveness of your market 

No two SEO jobs are the same, and neither is the pricing! The competitiveness of your market is a huge factor when working out how much an SEO expert will charge you. After all, the more people in your field who are competing to be on the top result of Google, the more finite your SEO strategy will need to be. 

Other considerations 

If this is the first time tackling the world of SEO, here are some key points to consider when discussing your SEO strategy with your consultant.

• Keyword research 

• SEO implementation 

• Technical tweaks

• Reports

Keyword research

First and foremost, your SEO specialist will conduct an SEO audit to understand where your SEO is at and where it needs to be. There are free tools for this as well as paid ones such as SEMrush or Surfer SEO. The paid tools are much more comprehensive, though do come at a cost that will be passed onto you by your SEO expert.

Keyword research is vital because it tells you exactly what your website is currently lacking. If your page isn’t the top result on a search engine, you will be told which keywords you need and how many times they should be added. 

SEO experts will never ‘keyword stuff’ either, as the content still needs to remain easy to read and personable to your brand. But, within the headings and body text, there needs to be plenty of keywords to make your website more visible to your audience.

SEO implementation

To implement SEO, your content either needs to be rewritten from scratch or edited directly. Usually, website owners will coincide their new SEO-rich copy with the redesign of their website. This would also allow for a website designer to make sure the design and features of your website best support the SEO. For example, having easy-to-read fonts, clear headings and a user-friendly design.  

But on a basic level, rewriting your existing content and tweaking headings will make your page much more SEO friendly. If using professional software, your SEO expert can then compare the new changes with how the site was before they started. Even small tweaks such as renaming your image files need to be implemented, as the more clues you can give Google about what you can offer, the more likely users will be able to find you.

Technical tweaks

Before your SEO is good to go, your SEO expert may implement some technical tweaks. For example, adding more tags to your blog posts. Or changing the H tags on your website. These seemingly small touches are extremely useful, especially when it comes to aspects such as making your location more prominent. 

Reports

You may wish to check in with your SEO expert after they have finished the main section of the job. One such service is compiling a report to check the progress of your SEO, which may also be included in their original quote. Ideally, your SEO should have hugely improved from where you started. But, it’s always a good idea to keep a close eye on your SEO performance even after you’ve finished working with your SEO consultant, especially as keywords and trends are ever-changing.

Is it worth hiring an SEO expert?

It’s possible to implement your SEO in-house. However, this requires skills not to mention the time that most business owners don’t have. SEO experts are well versed in all things digital marketing. They know how to write snappy website copy, all while making sure it’s keyword rich. From headings to tags, they will leave no stone unturned in the battle of making your website more SEO-friendly. 

If you want to build traffic organically over time, then you can’t ignore the benefits of well-implemented SEO. Like with any service you wish to outsource, enlisting the help of an expert can make all the difference. 

Get more traffic to your website by finding an SEO expert with Bark.