SEO Services Pricing, What You Are Actually Paying For

• Monthly retainer for continued work on technical fixes, content and links.
• One time project for an audit, a migration or a content plan.
• Hourly consulting for advice and training. Retainers fit long term growth. Projects fit a clear, limited need. Hourly work fits a team that can do most of the work itself.

• The pages and problems the work will address first.
• The content to be written, and by whom.
• The links to be earned and the way they are earned.
• The reports you will receive and the questions they answer.
• The access you will have to analytics and search data. If a quote lists only hours or a package name, ask what is inside.

The size of the site, the competition for your terms, the state of your current content and the speed you want all affect the price. A small local site with clear needs is a different job from a large store with thousands of pages.

• A guaranteed position or a guaranteed date.
• Links sold by number instead of quality.
• A secret method with no explanation.
• Reports with traffic and no business result. Our SEO optimization company guide covers these in detail, along with questions to ask.

Ask each provider for the same things: the first three actions, how success is measured and what you own at the end. Choose the quote that explains more, not the one that promises more. Run each through Pitch Check.

SEO takes months to show results. A minimum term can be fair if you have a written scope and a clear way out. Plan the budget over six to twelve months, and review progress every quarter.

See digital marketing agency cost for all fee models and how to choose a marketing agency for the selection process.