SEO (search engine optimization) is a very popular marketing tactic, and has been for many years. SEO is the process of improving the visibility of your site on search engines. The more your site is seen on search engines, the more website visitors you get. SEO can also boost your business’ sales no matter if you have an in-person or online business. However, many people worry that hiring someone to help with SEO will be costly. The truth is, it depends on your competition, local area, and the type of SEO you wish to do. In this blog post, we are going to answer “How much does SEO cost?” and why you may want to invest in it.
The Different Types of SEO and Their Costs
First, it’s important to know there are different types of SEO. Each type will be at a different rate because of the amount of work it requires. Also, it’s important to note all SEO experts charge a different rate, whether it be hourly or through a retainer. For example, according to Direction, U.S. SEO experts charge anywhere from $100 per hour to $250 per hour on average. Not to mention, the monthly rate for U.S. SEO experts range from $2,500 to $10,000. As you can see, the cost to hire someone for SEO ranges greatly. So, be sure you look around and get quotes, then choose an expert in your price range who has the talents to get you success.
Now, let’s get into the average costs for each type of SEO.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a technique that is used to improve the search results of your website in your local area. If you are a local business, having help with local SEO is important. This is the best way to drive foot traffic to your business. There are some additional factors that determine the prices of local SEO. Some of the factors include:
Local Business Listings
Listing your business on local business platforms such as Yelp or Google My Business is an important local SEO tactic. These platforms show in search results, and can impact your site’s ranking. So, your local SEO expert should add local business listings for you. This, of course, takes time, and thus contributes to the cost of local SEO.
Another essential local SEO strategy is building links. These links lead to your website from other websites. Building quality links is essential to boost your rankings on any search engine. However, it can be very time consuming, so many businesses outsource this task. As a general rule, you’ll want to have about 70% of your SEO activity go into building quality backlinks.
If you are trying to target many locations, this will impact the cost of your local SEO efforts. For example, if you want to target Pace, Florida and Milton, Florida, these are two locations for your SEO team to focus on. So, if you want to target multiple cities, you can expect the cost of services increase. Or, if you want to keep the same budget but split it between the different locations, you can. Just expect it to take longer to see the desired results.
How Much Does Local SEO Cost?
The only way to know exactly how much you will spend on local SEO is to get a quote from different firms. But, the normal budget for local SEO should be around $400 to $2,000+ per month depending on the services you need. Generally, the following factors are the most important when considering the pricing of SEO:
How Much Does Regional SEO Cost?
Another form of SEO is called regional SEO. This form of SEO focuses more on larger cities and areas of different states. For example, northwest, Florida and southern Alabama are part of our regional area. The pricing of regional SEO is fairly different than local SEO. Because it targets a larger area, there is more work required. However, the tactics are mostly the same as local SEO, just targeting a region. With that being said, according to a webpage by Direction, SEO pricing for regional SEO averages from $2,500 to $5,000. However, this pricing can be a bit different in your situation, depending your industry and the region you wish to target.
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How Much Does National SEO Cost?
National SEO can be considered a long-term and extensive investment that can separate your enterprise from its competitors. Most large businesses use this tactic to target an entire country. National SEO focuses on ranking for keywords across the country rather than ranking for certain geographical terms or keywords. The cost of using national SEO ranges from $750 to $10,000+ according to Direction. We have also seen articles suggesting an average cost being in the range from around $2,500 to $10,000+.
National SEO, as the name suggests, is reasonable for organizations that focus on a national audience. It’s great for those who want high rankings without geographical constraints inside a given city. Most of these organizations are online shopping websites such as eCommerce sites. Or, it works well for organizations with locations across the country such as Target or Starbucks. Additionally, businesses that can offer services in any location can also use national SEO.
As a side note, here at Joshua Lyons Marketing, we use a combination of all three types of SEO for our own business. In the past we primarily focused on local SEO. However, once we started ranking well locally, we broadened our focus to generate more Google leads from outside our physical location.
Other Notes on SEO Costs
It is worth noting the cost of SEO will be far greater if your business has a lot of competition. This is going to take a longer time and more effort to see results, unlike a business in a non-competitive industry. If your business is unique and does not have a lot of competitors, the cost needed to see results on Google will be far less.
If you are looking to spend less than average on SEO, you should know it will take more time to achieve great rankings. The opposite is true as well. If you’re an average business and you spend more than average on SEO, you will likely see results more quickly than your competitors. But, the average amount of time it takes to start seeing good results is three to six months.
Why Invest in SEO?
Now that you know how much SEO typically costs, you may wonder why you should invest in SEO. After all, is it worth the amount of money you may spend? The truth is, businesses should focus on SEO because it is among the most effective ways of acquiring leads. In fact, Integrated Marketing Association published a blog post that listed the average cost per lead for 16 different types of marketing. Of all the marketing channels listed, SEO was tied as having the lowest average cost per lead. To learn more about the cost per lead concept, read our blog post titled How Many Leads to Expect Per Marketing Channel.
Naturally, the more leads you get, the higher your sales will be. So, implementing SEO as part of your marketing strategy is a wise strategy for most businesses and is definitely worth consideration.
Who Profits From SEO?
Almost every business can profit from search engine optimization. If you have a service or product to bring to the table, there is likely someone who is searching for it on Google or other search engines. With a powerful SEO strategy, potential clients will be more likely to find your business through search results.
While the statistics show SEO can be powerful for almost every industry, some industries will see better results than others. Consider speaking with an SEO professional to see what they have to say about SEO for your industry.
Also, if you’re doing other types of marketing, those activities can enhance your SEO results. For example, doing social media, podcasts and YouTube marketing can all add supplemental value to your SEO performance.
If you have any questions about getting started with SEO for your business, feel free to contact us. We would be happy to help you see success with SEO for your business. You can connect with us via the contact form below.
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