SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2022?

How much does the average SEO project cost?

While SEO is one of the most important types of digital marketing available to you, it is tough to estimate typical costs.

Given the wide range of campaigns, most SEO projects cost between $400 to $10,000 depending on level of service. These projects can range from working with an hourly consultant to hiring an agency for monthly SEO.

For perspective on this average, a small business with a 15-page website will typically be on the lower end of the spectrum while an ecommerce store with 50,000+ products should plan on a larger budget for SEO.

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 is SEO, anyway? Learn everything you need to know (+ more) about one of marketing’s most successful strategies in our Define SEO guide.

SEO costs by SEO pricing model

Depending on the SEO services you choose, the scope of your project, and the agency you work with, you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 to more than $30,000 for SEO services.

When it comes to SEO pricing, most agencies follow one of these payment models:

Monthly retainer

For the monthly retainer, clients will pay a monthly fee for selected SEO services. SEO costs for a monthly retainer plan range from $1500 to $5000 per month.

Fixed-price

The fixed-price contract services allow clients to sign a contract and pay a set fee for specific SEO services.

In most cases, fixed-price contract services will offer the following SEO services:

Project-based

Project-based pricing is similar to contract-based services, but it allows clients to pay a determined fee for custom SEO projects. Project-based SEO services can cost anywhere from $1000 to $30,000. The average cost for project-based SEO services, however, is $5000 to $30,000.

Hourly

Hourly consulting refers to a contract in which clients pay agencies an hourly fee in exchange for SEO services. Hourly SEO consulting fees range from $100 to $300 per hour.

Note: If SEO companies charge less than $750 per month for SEO services, you’ll want to be careful. When it comes to SEO, you often get what you pay for with regards to results. Agencies that offer “cheap” SEO services often lack the resources and experience to help you earn the highest possible ROI.

It’s also important to remember that no matter what plan you choose, SEO takes time — you won’t see results overnight. That being said, SEO is extremely valuable, and it will position your business for long-term success.

You can rest assured that you’ll earn an impressive ROI for SEO services when working with a top digital marketing agency like WebFX.

SEO costs by business size

Curious how much SEO costs based on company size? Check out this breakdown:

What do SEO services include?

What SEO services include depends on several factors, including the service frequency (like ongoing vs. one-time), the type of service (like local SEO vs. ecommerce SEO), and the service provider (like a consultant vs. an agency).

Typically, monthly SEO services will include:

• SEO audit
• Analytics setup
• Keyword research and keyword integration
• On-page optimizations, like title tag and meta description updates
• Off-page optimizations, like link building
• Technical optimizations, like image optimization and page speed optimization
• Content creation
• Routine reporting and/or calls

Meanwhile, SEO consulting services will include:

• SEO audit
• SEO recommendations and/or SEO implementation
• Routine reporting and/or calls

In comparison, project-based SEO services will include:

• SEO audit
• Optimizations specific to your requests, like starting international SEO
• Routine reporting and/or calls

Which service type your business chooses will depend on your unique needs and goals.

How much should you spend on SEO services?

The amount you pay for SEO services will depend on the size of your business and the extent of services you require.

While SEO costs vary from agency to agency, it’s important to remember that you often get what you pay for when it comes to SEO services.

When choosing an SEO agency, don’t compromise quality for “cheap” SEO services. Instead, choose a top SEO agency that offers quality SEO services.

Like many other professional services industries, ongoing consultation with an industry leader in SEO will be more expensive than with an inexperienced and unproven firm.

In the end, your goals should determine precisely how much you should spend on SEO services.

The bigger your website, the more extensive the SEO project will be. This means you should expect to pay more for SEO services.

It’s also important to remember that SEO is an ongoing strategy.

Instead of investing in one-time SEO strategies, you should think about a monthly SEO plan that will keep your site fresh and allow it to continually rank at the top of search results.

Is there a standard for SEO prices in 2022?

Unfortunately, there is no industry standard for average SEO prices.

This means any firm can claim they do SEO and charge whatever prices they desire. The burden is ultimately left to the consumer to determine a fair SEO price, especially if there is an ongoing charge for monthly SEO plans.

This fact only furthers the importance of understanding what you will get for your Internet marketing dollars. That way, you can conclude whether it’s worth the investment based on the return you expect. Ultimately though, your decision should be based on the overall, long-term value of the SEO services included.

The huge variety of opportunities that SEO provides makes it more important to know how to price SEO.

What to look for when researching the cost of SEO

The cost of SEO varies depending on the scope of your project.

However, there are a few things to consider when researching the cost of SEO. As an authority in pricing SEO services, WebFX is qualified to educate you in what to seek out — and what a fair SEO service rate is — when comparing vendors, firms, or agencies.

SEO service rates are different everywhere, so learning what they reflect and how they could impact your business is critical to making the best choice for your business.

Learn the SEO provider’s process

The process behind a strong SEO campaign include countless methods and strategies, and SEO is constantly being refined to meet the search engines’ algorithm updates. You want to ensure that the SEO company you partner with is willing to adapt to the frequent changes search engines make to their algorithm. They should also take a proactive and forward-looking approach to best SEO practices.

Look for customizable SEO packages

Moreover, because each company is unique and should be treated as such, it is important to be vigilant.

Avoid companies that offer a “one size fits all” package, and beware of companies with search engine optimization service prices that are high and set in stone. We know you have unique needs, and that’s why WebFX offers three different plans, and even has custom Internet marketing packages for when your needs just don’t fit within the scope of our standard SEO plans.

WebFX has been in the business of SEO for many years and has some of the best Internet marketers in the business. With our history and expert team of SEO specialists, we’ve created a systematic approach to SEO pricing. We’re experts when it comes to search engine marketing, and we know how much effort goes into a successful SEO campaign.

That means we also know the best price for SEO depending on a customer’s needs.

Focus on full-service SEO solutions

As SEO expands to include other areas, like content marketing, conversion analysis, social media optimization, and other areas of digital marketing, it’s become more advantageous for businesses to invest in full-service SEO solutions.

A full-service SEO solution provides everything your business needs for its SEO strategy.

If an agency doesn’t offer everything you want to cover, they could be lagging in terms of service offerings or offering monthly SEO services that are lackluster. Every company should have SEO service pricing available for you and other potential clients to detail how they work — and if they don’t, it’s a good sign that you should find SEO packages prices somewhere else.

Why work with WebFX?

Why choose WebFX as your SEO agency? Here are a few of the advantages of working with our team.

A history of meaningful results

First of all, we focus on driving meaningful results for the companies we work with. Over the last five years, we’ve generated over 7.8 million leads and $3 billion in revenue for our clients.

Custom strategies

When you work with us, we’ll get to know you, your business, and your goals. We’ll then create a custom strategy tailored to your business’s unique needs.

A plethora of reviews and case studies

If you’re wondering if WebFX is the right SEO company for you, you don’t just have to take our word for it. You can explore our reviews on Clutch, our 1,020+ testimonials, and our case studies.

Cutting-edge technology

In addition to world-class digital marketing services, our clients get access to our industry-leading technology. MarketingCloudFX, our proprietary revenue acceleration platform, helps us use data to power up your campaigns, reporting, conversions, and more.

Full-service digital marketing services

WebFX is a full-service digital marketing company, so we offer everything you need for a full digital marketing strategy. In addition to SEO, we offer web design, content marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising management, and much more.

A team of experts

With WebFX as your SEO agency, you’ll work with a dedicated account manager, but you’ll also get access to our team of more than 450 digital marketing experts. Our team includes subject matter experts in everything from technical SEO to web design to conversion rate optimization who will help make sure your campaigns are providing optimal results.