Imagine the scenario where you are having a well-optimized website, ranking in the top position and enjoying heavy traffic on your website without paying a single penny. This magical situation gets true with good quality SEO practices. We all know and understand the importance of SEO in the growth of any business.
But you might be wondering what will be the cost or amount you have to add to your expenses to rank your website at the top position. So there is no fixed cost that we can state to you because it gets changed with requirements and varies from company to company. Below we are describing some of the important points that will help you in deciding what amount you need to expand for enjoying SEO services in Sydney. So continue your reading as it will help you in making the informed and right decision.
SEO Pricing Factors You Need to Know
There is an important role of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in improving the traffic on websites, doing brand promotion and increasing sales and revenue with the help of sales funnel services also. Each of us aims to rank on the very first page of the search results and SEO helps in fulfilling that. For that reason, you will need quality SEO services and quality work demands some pennies. You should understand the difference between good SEO and bad SEO as selection will affect your budget. A well-done and properly researched campaign will cost you more but will give you organic traffic, clicks, and visitors and improves authority. The cost of SEO services depends on several factors and you should know these factors if you are planning to optimize your website.
- Number Of Pages
The total number of pages of the website that need to be optimized affects the cost of SEO. If you are aiming to rank each page of a website with the right keywords then the cost of SEO services will increase. Time, effort and resources invested in SEO campaigns are directly related to cost. The more of them, the higher the cost.
A small website with fewer pages will get ranked on search engines in a limited time and with limited resources. It will get optimized with ease. Thus the cost of SEO campaigns for small businesses will be generally lower than for larger websites.
Because large websites demand much time and effort to get the desired ranking on search engines. The total number of pages of websites directly affects the cost of SEO service.
- SEO Competition
Before quoting the price for optimizing the website, the SEO professionals will check the level of SEO competition for your business or keyword. It is very obvious that to secure the top position in search engines you need to outgrow the competitors. And SEO experts consider some of the points before submitting the final quotation:
- Ranking of competitors
- Social media presence
- Type and number of back-links they have
- Quality and quantity of content on competitor’s website
- Domain authority
- User experience and architecture of the website
After analyzing all these things the SEO professionals will check out the dethrone of your website and find out the ways to rank your website. The tough competition, the more effort is required and thus the SEO cost will get high.
- Current State Of Website
The fine-tuning level of your website will contribute to increasing or decreasing the cost of an SEO campaign. Whether your website size is small or large, fine-tuning will be applicable for both. Most individuals consider that their website is small and thus there will be short fine-tuning required but this is not so. The type and level of fine-tuning of a website are totally dependent on the technical state of the website.
Updates released from Google hit every website and to secure a top position it is very much required that the website should follow all the Google updates such as Panda and Penguin. Sometimes SEO professionals have to do extra efforts to fix the penalties imposed on websites and that will act as a major SEO cost-determining factor.
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- Value You Expect
What type of result you are aiming for, from SEO campaigns directly affects the SEO cost. Every set of SEO services is a combination of several sub-services. The cost of each SEO campaign is decided on the basis of the type of services clients need and what are their expected results from that.
Before finalizing the type of SEO package, one should ask ownself some questions such as
- Is there a requirement for full-scale SEO that provides quick results?
- Or a decent SEO package that fulfils the monthly budget will be suitable?
By knowing the answers to these questions you will be able to understand all priorities and expectations. Also, you can easily discuss your requirements with the SEO agency to get results under budget.
If you need a full-scale aggressive SEO campaign that provides you quick results then you have to pay more for that in comparison to a decent SEO package.
- Geographical Scope
The location of your business and the number of other businesses that are present in that area affects the SEO cost. Along with this, the number of locations the client aims to target also affects the price. If you are offering your service in more locations then there will need to optimize the pages according to those locations which means the involvement of more time and effort.
If you are offering services that are high in competition then much effort will be required along with creativity to rank at the local level. The content of the webpage needs to be unique and of good quality to catch the attention of readers. Thus, in simple terms, if you are targeting multiple locations for your business then it will cost several dollars to your SEO packages.
- Time
It is well known to everyone that time is money and it goes very well in the case of SEO. The time frame required for optimizing the website or creating new pages will impact the cost of the SEO package. The package and cost calculation of every SEO company varies but they all consider time as a cost-determining factor. You can go with SEO packages that offer a certain number of hours to optimize the pages. This will come under your budget but it will most often provide you with the desired result in terms of ranking.
Also, you can have a month-to-month basis contract allowing SEO companies to work continuously for your website and ensure the top position on SEPR. And as the proverb says that “You get what you pay for” the same goes for digital marketing services. If you spend more time optimizing your website then it will help you to achieve the top rank which implies that there would be a higher return on your investment.
SEO Pricing Models
There are certain types of SEO pricing models on which basis Sydney’s SEO agencies charge their clients. Here we are explaining some of them:
- Hourly Rate
This is simple and understood from its name that SEO professionals will work on the basis of an hour and costs will be charged on the basis of the total number of hours worked. You can get your website optimized either from a freelancer, SEO agency or any solo agency and they will charge you some amount on the basis of the hour. They can provide you with the estimated hours required for specific SEO tasks and what time will be required for bringing the result. Hourly rates vary from company to company and the type of service you are looking for. However, you can expect to pay between $75-$200 per hour if you are selecting an hourly rate pricing model.
- Project-Based SEO Rate
Such projects which do not involve recurring work and have multiple activities, go well with this SEO pricing model. SEO consultants or agencies bundle several activities into packages such as website technical audits, on-page fixes, and content that are suitable for any project. The finite time limit and delivery come under this SEO pricing model. The cost of project-based SEO varies according to the service received, desired output and the time the project will take. However, for a basic project, you can expect $1,500 – $2,500.
Seo Costs By SEO Pricing Model
- Monthly SEO Retainer
This is the most popular SEO pricing model which is known by another name “SEO Packages.” Basically, it starts with technical audits, keyword research, and suggestions and then monthly activities are practiced. By this, you can stick to a fixed price that you need to pay on a monthly basis to the Sydney best SEO agency. You will get a complete report regarding the targeted keyword and achieved ranking. $1400-$3000 is the common monthly cost of SEO services that you need to pay if you are going with a monthly SEO package.
- Results-Based SEO
In this model, a result-driven contract is signed between the SEO company and the client. The SEO agency has to produce the desired result by securing a top position in SERPs. Being a contractor you will not pay until you get a set goal. For certain or desired keywords, the webpage should start ranking at the top position then only you have to pay SEO costs. The SEO experts work on client-oriented interests and deliver quality work.
Cost At A Glance
Average SEO costs
PRICING MODEL | SEO COST |
Monthly | $1400-$3000/ month |
Result based | $1500 – $25,000 / contract |
Project-based or one-time | $ 1,500 – $2,500 / project |
Hourly | $75-$200 / hour |
*** This is not a final cost. You can consider this as an estimated cost only. The cost varies from company to company and depends on cost-influencing factors.
Cost Of SEO On The Basis Of Service
SERVICE | AVERAGE COST |
SEO copywriting | $0.15 to $0.50 word |
SEO content audit | $500 to $7500 |
Link profile audit | $500 to $7500 |
Social media site setup | $500 to $3000 |
SEO Costs By Business Size
Every business demands different SEO activity and thus there will be no single package that will suit each category of business. Here we are providing some of the common businesses and costs associated with them for optimization. Check out this breakdown:
BUSINESS SIZE | SEO COST |
Startup | $650 – $1,800 |
Small Business | $1,200 – $4,500 |
Mid-Sized Business | $2,200 – $6,000 |
Enterprise | $6,000+ |
*** This is just an estimation cost. It will change with the actual situation.
What SEO Services You will Get
Lots of activities are involved in SEO and under each package, you will receive different SEO services. However, there are certain elements of SEO that you will find in most of the SEO packages.
- Website Audit
This is the most important activity that every website demands. Under the audit process, the website is checked against every parameter and reasons are detected that are preventing the website from reaching the top position. This activity is basically performed before beginning other SEO activities. SEO specialists will collect every detail related to the website and present a report along with suggestions and recommendations.
- Keyword Research
Keywords play an important role in the ranking of websites at SERP. Using the right keywords in URLs, meta tags, headings and inside content of a webpage helps bots to easily crawl websites. Keywords describe a website in simple terms and thus they should be relevant to the search results. Long tail and short tail keywords should be there and with proper research, they should be used.
- Quality Content
Content is the king of web pages and plays a huge role in improving the ranking of web pages on search engine results. It should be given priority when the optimization process is going on. Content is the only thing by which you will be able to communicate with your customers and provide them with relevant and useful information regarding your service or product. Content creation includes website content, blogs, testimonials and other elements which have content.
- Off-Page SEO
In this SEO activity, the optimization of the website is done externally in order to improve the ranking and search visibility of your website. It is an effective activity as by this process you will be able to promote your website at other places and that will result in receiving high credibility and ranking on search engines.
- On-Page SEO
Under On-page SEO work, important issues of the website are fixed. The content of the web page and HTML source code are all checked and fixed under on-page SEO activity. Sitemaps and robots are also analyzed and fixed under this.
- Technical SEO
This is a more in-depth optimization of the website including all technical aspects. SEO professionals ensure that the website follows all guidelines that are set by Google. The guideline is followed on each element of the website such as keyword, site speed, architecture, and other such. And if any issue is found then the digital marketing agency will fix them.
- Link Building
SEO is a time taking and complicated process. And now SEO has become a necessity for every business for creating brand awareness and increasing online visibility so that revenue is maximized. Link building is the process of improving the website’s authority by gaining backlinks from high domain authority. Guest posting is one of the common methods in which you can make partnerships with other websites by posting blogs and you can get backlinks for your website.
Seo Is An Investment, Not An Expense
Most business owners consider SEO as an expensive way to optimize their websites. But this is not so. But we can also understand that it’s not a joke to balance the accounting book of the company.
But when you will start thinking of SEO as an investment then your perspective will change against the cost of SEO. The amount you will be spending on the SEO package will come back to you in terms of organic traffic, improved visibility, better conversion and more revenue.
And we all know that most of us trust search engines for finding information or products. more than 94% of individuals click on first page results and if you are landing on the first search results then it will definitely result in increased ROI.
There is a need to remain aware of SEO professionals who promise to rank your website in the top position overnight. Because this is not possible as understanding and analyzing the website takes proper time and effort to deliver the result.
The quality of the SEO service you will avail of is directly related to SEO cost. You should not get trapped in an agency which offers cheap SEO services as in order to save some dollars you will lose your website ranking and authority which will cost you more.
Maintain Distance with Dodgy SEO Agencies
The only thing you have to do for this is to do the proper homework. You need to do complete and thorough research on different SEO agencies that can match and fulfill your requirements. You can trust Google for getting a list of SEO companies and enquire about them according to their preferred services. But you will also get some dodgy companies which will try to rip you off and charge as much money as possible. They will follow bad sales tactics to charge you much more than normal SEO packages. You should try to avoid them at any cost. But now the question arises of how you will be able to identify such dodgy companies. Worry not, we are here to describe some of the points that you should consider while hiring any SEO agency.
- You should not go with a company that ensures a top position overnight.
- Also, you should not sign a long contract with the agency. It will be best that you go with month-to-month basis contracts.
- Don’t fall into the trap with SEO salespeople just by discussing over-call. Some of them will be outside of Sydney and will not come back to you once they will take money from you.
- Always go with a company which has a physical address and is located in your surroundings.
- Remember that all Google reviews are not true. They can be crafted and fabricated by fake ids.
- Don’t go with the cheap SEO packages as they might cost you less in the beginning. You will not get the desired result and even you need to spend much more to get the results later on.
Conclusion
You might be knowing what role SEO plays and what’s the value of ranking at the top position. SEO is a technical field and can be complex, but it’s now essential to allow businesses to stay competitive, increase brand recognition, boost the visibility of their website, generate more leads, and boost revenues. You might have understood that every SEO activity is different and packages offered by SEO agencies are also different. A number of factors are there that influence the cost of SEO services and you should consider them before making your final decision. It is true that you need to pay more for getting quality SEO services as there will be more effort, manpower and tools will be required. Also, the amount you will spend on your website optimization will reflect directly in terms of improved visibility and ranking.