Why SEO is not a free traffic source? How much should it cost? Is it better to hire a freelancer or an agency? How to ensure you will see the results for what you pay for. Answers to these questions we will discuss here.
Hi, my name is Valeriia Rettig. I have created an Search Engine Optimization agency JettSEO. My team and I have been doing SEO for 5 years. We have raised 100+ businesses to TOP 10 Google in different locations, niches, and languages. So I know from my own experience the costs involved in high-quality effective SEO, common misconceptions about SEO and reasons why people may pay for SEO and never get to the first page of Google.
First of all, SEO is not free. Even though it is proven to be one of the cheapest and the most effective traffic sources for certain types of businesses. You cannot really force Google to rank a specific keyword but you can influence that, so you will have all the chances to rank for the set of keywords that will bring you desired clients.
What are the things you need to invest in to make your SEO work for your business?
- SEO keywords analysis and selection of the relevant keywords phrases for each page on the website
- SEO strategy creation
- SEO website analysis including manual analysis and SEO audit using professional tools
- On-site optimization
- Creating a content plan and technical tasks for the copywriters
- Writing unique SEO optimized text
- The most important and the most expensive part of SEO optimization is link building
- SEO analysis and strategy review
- Reacting to Google algorithm updates with the SEO campaign changes
Yes, all of this is very important to reach the desired results of TOP 10 rankings for major keywords that attract the targeted traffic. By the way, to get a ready-to-hand-in technical task for your copywriter check my article here.
Often, SEO is misunderstood for on-site SEO optimization. But only complex implementation of all steps above will take the website to Google page one and bring in the organic traffic.
How much should it cost?
1. Freelance SEO
There are ways to find someone for the job on the freelance websites then the price could be determined by the hour. It usually varies from 30 to 200 CHF per hour and would require 15-30 hours a month. In addition to hourly costs, there must be a budget to perform link-building activities. This budget depends on the type of backlinks being purchased. It could be from 600 CHF to a couple of thousand per month.
This is obviously one of the riskiest ways to do SEO and trust one person in all complex parts of the whole process. As all-in-one SEO expert must be a good copywriter, a good negotiator for the backlinks, a good programmer to perform on-site audits and implementation, and a good SEO after all. In addition to that Search Engine Algorithms are always changing and it is so important to always update the SEO practice to keep up the clients’ rankings.
An extra note about link building. Link building is the key to being ahead of the competitors and ranking at Google TOP. It is not rocket science but it requires know-how technology and constant updates due to Google changes. The wrong decision here can cause the backlinking budget to be wasted and no rankings on the first page achieved.
That’s why so many people who tried SEO are frustrated and don’t believe in it after all.
2. Flat rate all-inclusive SEO
This type of pricing is the most convenient and result-oriented. It also removes the hassle of project management from the client that involves dancing between the copywriters, programmers and SEO professionals. The agency is taking over and the client is getting traffic, clients and clear reporting.
Usually, in Switzerland, the agencies would ask for a 12-24 month binding contract and set a price from 2000 – 10 000 CHF per month to do SEO. There are different agencies, of course. In this article here I explain how to choose the right agency for SEO.
In the case of my agency the contract is fully flexible with no long-term obligation and lets the client see real results in 90 days. The deliverables are set upfront for the selected set of keywords.
The estimated price for the flexible flat rate all-inclusive SEO can be:
600-1000 СHF per month including link building investment
This price is suitable for small businesses in small towns (with small geographical reach)
Examples:
- Dentists
- Local sellers
- Local professionals
1000-2000 СHF per month including link building investment
Companies in medium-sized cities that function in more competitive markets. That price can also be suitable for national wide and global businesses in low competition niches.
Example:
- Lawyers
- Medical clinics
- Beauty professionals
- E-commerce stores
2000-4000 СHF per month including link building investment
This can be suitable for companies competing for worldwide promotion and businesses operating in highly competitive niches.
- Digital marketing agencies
- Web studios
- Large E-commerce stores
Flat-rate all-inclusive SEO keeps you away from unpleasant surprises such as more hours billed or extra professional needed. You are always in control of your SEO investment and can count on real results as rankings and traffic are brought to you by experienced professionals.
By the way, there are companies that don’t need SEO at all, and these types of companies I have uncovered here.
With these figures in mind, it is crystal clear that SEO for 100 CHF per month (or even once) is an illusion.
How to control your results and ensure the SEO investment is working to bring you clients?
Before diving into a contract – ask your agency or freelancer what reports they are going to provide you with.
Reasonable reporting is:
- Weekly ranking reports so you know the dynamic of your keywords and it should be positive, of course.
- Monthly traffic reports so you know how much traffic is brought by the SEO activities to you.
- Check for keywords in the TOP 10 in 3-4 months after the start of the SEO campaign. If none of the keywords entered the TOP 10 at this time this is a big alarm.
Would you like to approach SEO for your business systematically & professionally and scale up your traffic?
find out more here
To check if SEO is low-hanging fruit for your business – read this article.
To check why it is better to start SEO right now – watch my video here
