How Much Does SEO Cost in 2024? [Data]
Last updated: August 5, 2024
SEO costs $2500 to $7500 per month on average, though some will spend as little as $500 or as much as $10,000 per month on search engine optimization. The cost of SEO depends on your company size, SEO pricing plan, and service provider. Learn more about SEO prices from our conversation with 500 U.S-based marketing and sales professionals now!
methodology:
- 500 U.S-based marketing and sales professionals share how much their companies spend on SEO.
An Inside Look at WebFX SEO Pricing
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Highlights
📝 Includes on-page SEO with copywriting and implementation
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Key Takeaways
- 49% of businesses pay for SEO because it’s more cost-effective than doing in-house
- 48% of businesses pay $2500 – $7500 per month for SEO
- 64% of businesses pay $50 – $100 per hour for SEO
- 43% of businesses pay an agency for SEO services
- A monthly retainer is the most popular SEO pricing model
- A monthly retainer had the highest satisfaction rating
- Price is the second most important factor in choosing an SEO provider
- Company size influenced all aspects of SEO pricing, including price, pricing model, service provider, and reasons for outsourcing
Learn the basics of SEO pricing
So, how much does SEO cost? Well, we interviewed 500 U.S.-based sales and marketing professionals to find out. And we’ve summarized the basics, from the cost of SEO per hour to per month, below:
How much does SEO cost?
On average, SEO costs $2500 – $7500 per month, $50 – $100 per hour, and $1000 – $5000 per project in 2024. How much you pay for SEO will depend on factors unique to your business, like your size, goals, and more.
How much does SEO cost per month?
On average, SEO costs $2500 – $7500 per month (48% of respondents). How much you pay for SEO will depend on your company’s size, with smaller businesses spending less than larger companies, which often coordinates with an organization’s SEO needs.
How much does SEO cost per hour?
On average, SEO costs $50 – $100 per hour (64% of respondents). Around 28% of businesses pay less than $50 per hour, but report less satisfaction with their service provider than companies paying more for hourly SEO services.
How much does SEO cost per project?
On average, SEO costs $1000 – $5000 per project (51.92% of respondents), though some businesses pay upwards of $10,000. How much your SEO project costs will depend on the project’s scope, timeline, and requirements. For the most accurate SEO pricing for a project, request a custom quote.
Data roundup: How do business pay for SEO?
41%
Monthly
Source: WebFX
30%
Hourly
Source: WebFX
28%
Project-based
Source: WebFX
FAQs about SEO prices
Get quick answers to common questions about SEO prices below:
What determines SEO pricing?
Several factors determine SEO pricing, including:
- Agency, contractor, or consultant’s experience
- Agency, contractor, or consultant’s location
- SEO pricing model, like monthly or hourly
- Business size, like startup or enterprise
- Scale of SEO strategy
- Status of existing SEO strategy, like your backlink profile’s strength
- SEO goals
- And more
You’ll often find that the more experienced SEO providers, from agencies to consultants, have higher search engine optimization prices. Similarly, an SEO strategy with a bigger scale, like an enterprise-level plan, will see higher SEO costs.
What are the SEO pricing models?
Whether you’re looking to provide or buy SEO services, there are a few SEO pricing models to know:
| Pricing model | Average cost | Overview | Offered by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $2,500 – $7,500 | Pay a monthly retainer for SEO services performed. | Agencies Consultants Contractors |
| Hourly | $50 – $100 | Pay an hourly fee for SEO services performed. | Freelancers Consultants Contractors |
| Project-based | $1,000 – $5,000 | Pay a fixed fee for completing a specified project, like an SEO audit. | Agencies Consultants Contractors Freelancers |
What should SEO services include?
SEO services should include the following:
- SEO audit
- SEO reporting
- On-page, off-page, or technical SEO optimizations
They should also include what your business requires.
That’s why many SEO service providers (WebFX included) will create custom SEO packages. At WebFX, for example, we structure these plans to meet your unique needs, from your preferred involvement level to your key performance indicators (KPIs).
Which SEO pricing model is the best?
There is no right answer when it comes to choosing an SEO pricing model. The best payment plan will depend on your business and its SEO needs. That’s why we’ve compiled each plan’s best use cases and some examples of how businesses use those plans:
| Pricing model | Best for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Ongoing SEO Small, midsized, and large companies | A business looking to grow its organic search visibility, traffic, and revenue |
| Hourly | Smaller SEO projects Small companies | A small business looking to investigate a drop in traffic following a redesign |
| Project-based | One-time SEO projects Small, midsized, and large companies | A business looking to improve its sitewide page speed |
Why is SEO so expensive?
For many businesses, the cost of SEO can seem too expensive — which isn’t the case. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies, especially compared to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
The reason why SEO seems expensive is that:
- SEO takes time to work: Your pay-per-click ads can start driving revenue as soon as you launch them. That’s not the case with SEO. With SEO, you need to optimize your site for four to six months before seeing a return on investment (ROI).
- SEO takes multiple skills: From producing SEO content to optimizing page speed, SEO requires multiple skill sets to work — that’s why many businesses outsource SEO. Full-service agencies (like WebFX) fill these skill gaps so you don’t have to, which is why they have higher SEO prices.
- SEO takes experience: Search isn’t new. Companies of all sizes now invest in SEO. If your business wants to compete, you need a reputable SEO partner. Compare these providers (and their higher SEO costs) to other, less reputable SEOs, and SEO will seem expensive.
Look at the cost of SEO as an investment, and you’ll start seeing why SEO is cost-effective, like:
- SEO works 24/7: Pay-per-click ads stop working for you as soon as you stop paying. In comparison, search engine optimization drives continuous results, helping your business drive traffic, leads, and sales 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- SEO drives conversions: Search engines like Google use more than 200 ranking factors, including ones related to user experience, like page speed. Optimizing for these user-focused elements often leads to higher conversion rates because you reduce pain points in your conversion process.
- SEO targets the whole funnel: You can target top-, middle-, and bottom-of-the-funnel users with SEO. The advantage here is your business widens its reach, connecting with users throughout their journey and then nurturing them to conversion with SEO and other digital marketing strategies.
With organic search generating more than 40% of online revenue, SEO is a worthwhile investment.
How do businesses pay for SEO?
When it comes to paying for SEO services, there are three main ways to do so: by project, by hour, and by month. How you pay for SEO can depend on a number of factors like your budget and the services you need.
Because SEO is a long-term digital marketing strategy, most businesses (41% to be exact) prefer to pay on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, some businesses only feel the need to partner with an SEO provider for a shorter period of time, so they elect to pay by the hour (30% of businesses) or by project (28% of businesses).
Why pay for SEO?
Business pay for SEO for a few reasons. In our study, the most popular reasons included:
- Lack of expertise
- Lack of resources
- More cost-effective
- Lack of results
- Lack of time
Data roundup: Why do business pay for SEO?
26%
Lack of expertise
Source: WebFX
22%
Lack of resources
Source: WebFX
21%
More cost-effective
Source: WebFX
Compare SEO budgets
Get more insight into SEO costs by comparing SEO budgets!
When it comes to the cost of SEO and business size, larger companies will often pay more for SEO:
Key Takeaways