SEO Pricing Insights: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2023?

Learn more about SEO prices from our conversation with 500 U.S-based marketing and sales professionals now. For a custom quote, contact us online!

Learn the basics of SEO pricing

What did we learn from interviewing 500 U.S.-based sales and marketing professionals? Plenty, and we’ve summarized the basics, from how much SEO costs per hour to per month, below:

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

How much does SEO cost?

On average, SEO costs $2500 – $7500 per month, $50 – $100 per hour, and $1000 – $5000 per project in 2023. 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.

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?

SEO Pricing Models

• Monthly, $2,500 – $7,500 per month
• Hourly, $50 – $100 per hour
• Project-based, $1,000 – $5,000 per project

Whether you’re looking to provide or buy SEO services, there are a few SEO pricing models to know

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:

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SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2023?

Discover how much SEO costs, and why, in this free guide written by our expert team.

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Why is SEO so expensive?

For many businesses, 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:

1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

Why pay for SEO?

Business pay for SEO for a few reasons.

In our study, the most popular reasons included:

1. Lack of expertise
2. Lack of resources
3. More cost-effective
4. Lack of results
5. Lack of time

Compare SEO prices

Get more insight into SEO costs by comparing SEO prices!

SEO costs by business size

Key Takeaways

• Smaller businesses have the lowest SEO costs
• Larger companies have the highest SEO
• Brand reputation, site complexity, and SEO scale influence how much businesses will pay for SEO

When it comes to SEO costs and business size, larger companies will often pay more for SEO:

Why do larger businesses have higher SEO optimization costs? A few reasons, including:

1. Reputation: A company’s brand is invaluable — especially when that brand is well-known. That’s why larger businesses will partner with established SEO providers (who have higher SEO rates) vs. younger SEO companies or consultants (who have lower SEO prices).
2. Complexity: Larger organizations often have more complexity, from approval processes to unique website builds. That’s why they’ll often partner with enterprise-level SEO providers. These providers have enough experience working with larger brands to deliver a custom and effective SEO program.
3. Scale: Compared to smaller businesses, larger companies operate on a bigger scale. From more products to more markets, they need a partner that can meet their SEO needs, and for that, they often need an SEO company that specializes in enterprise SEO — which costs more.

What this means is experience and capabilities matter in search engine optimization pricing. You will pay more for those benefits if you want to hire an SEO provider with more experience, resources, and capabilities.

SEO costs by provider

SEO Provider Costs

• Agency, $50 – 75 per hour or $2,500 – $5,000 per month
• Consultant, $50 – 75 per hour or $2,500 – $5,000 per month
• Freelancer, $50 – 75 per hour or $2,500 – $5,000 per month

Learn how SEO costs change based on who you hire, an agency, consultant, contractor, or freelancer:

Compared to other service providers, SEO agencies cost more. Why? A few reasons, including:

1. Capabilities: With more team members and tools, search engine optimization companies can do more than other SEO service providers. Using WebFX as an example, your business can access SEOs, web developers, reporting software, and more — everything you need to do SEO.
2. Experience: SEO agencies will also have more knowledge that you can put to work. If your business needs an SEO expert, plus an ecommerce SEO specialist, for instance, an SEO company can often meet those needs. For a consultant, freelancer, or contractor, that’s more difficult.
3. Scalability: Most SEO companies can scale with a business’s SEO needs. That’s convenient because your organization doesn’t have to hire a new SEO agency. Instead, you can upgrade your SEO plan to start capturing more traffic. In comparison, other SEO providers can’t do that.

Multiple factors will determine whether your business partners with an agency, consultant, contractor, or freelancer — and pays their SEO prices. Besides cost, you’ll also need to consider what you want to accomplish with SEO, how involved you want to be in SEO, and what else you need from a provider.

Is it worth paying for SEO?

Yes, it’s worth paying for SEO — when partnering with a reputable service provider. These service providers will work to deliver a return on investment, making paying for SEO worth it. Unfortunately, not all SEO providers are reputable and advertise cheap SEO prices to get clients.

How much should you pay for SEO?

How much you pay for SEO depends on several factors, from your SEO budget and your SEO goals to your industry and your SEO provider’s location. While SEO pricing varies, plan to pay at least $2500 per month, $50 per hour, or $1000 per project.

Keep in mind you will see lower SEO prices than those listed above. Finding freelancers, consultants, and agencies offering SEO plans for less than $2500 a month is easy. Cheap SEO comes at a cost to your team and business, though.

Some of the most common complaints about cheap SEO include poorer:

• Results
• Satisfaction
• Work quality

In some cases, businesses will even see search engines penalize their website — these penalties can include getting removed from the search engine’s index. This scenario can happen when cheap SEO providers use black-hat tactics to optimize a site, like using link farms to earn links.

So, when debating how much you should pay for SEO, focus your budget on quality vs. cheap services.

Learn what you get by paying for SEO

You know how much SEO costs, but what does paying for SEO get you? Find out below!

What do monthly SEO services include?

Monthly SEO services usually include the most deliverables, like:

• SEO audit
• Analytics setup and/or verification
• Reporting
• Keyword research
• Content creation
• On-page optimizations
• Off-page optimizations
• Technical optimizations

When you invest in monthly SEO, you can accomplish goals like:

• Growing search engine optimization’s ROI via continuous SEO
• Keeping pace with competitors, algorithm changes, and more

In some cases, monthly SEO services will specialize in specific on-page or off-page areas, like:

• Link building
• Content creation
• Page speed improvements

What do hourly SEO services include?

Typically, hourly SEO services will include deliverables like:

• SEO audit
• SEO recommendations and/or implementation
• Reporting

When you invest in hourly SEO, you can accomplish goals like:

• Completing SEO maintenance tasks
• Monitoring for SEO issues

What do project-based SEO services include?

When to Use Project-Based SEO Services

• Completing larger initiatives, like a website migration
• Getting specialized assistance, like for improving sitewide page speed
• Solving larger problems, like revamping an SEO strategy

Deliverables for project-based SEO services vary widely, but some common SEO projects include:

• SEO audit
• Project-specific optimizations, like link building
• Reporting

When you invest in project-based SEO, you can accomplish goals like:

• Completing a larger initiative, like migrating a website to a new domain
• Getting recommendations on how to achieve a goal, like improving sitewide page speed

Get expert advice on how to research SEO costs

Learn how to make SEO pricing work for you with these bite-sized how-to walkthroughs:

How to set an SEO budget

Create a realistic SEO budget for your business with these steps:

1. Review your budget allocations: First, learn how your business allocates its marketing budget. How much is available for search engine optimization? Depending on what you find, you may need to get buy-in for a bigger piece of your company’s marketing spend.
2. Outline your requirements: Think about your goals, preferring outsourcing level, and provider type to get started. You should also consider location since that affects SEO pricing — do you want to outsource your SEO to a different country?
3. Evaluate your SEO: Next, determine how much work your provider will need to do to start pushing toward your SEO goals. Does your site have a strong backlink profile or weak on-page SEO, for example? Use a free SEO tool like Screaming Frog to get started on this step.
4. Determine your preferred budget: Use your research to build your desired budget. For example, if you want to partner with a U.S-based agency for hourly SEO, your business will likely need a monthly spend of $6000 (if requesting 40 hours of work per month).
5. Make your pitch: If needed, prepare a pitch for your budget proposal. Your pitch should demonstrate SEO’s potential bottom-line benefits, like attracting more qualified leads or driving more online sales, plus the advantages of outsourcing your SEO.

How to choose an SEO payment plan

Key Takeaway

For ongoing or long-term SEO projects, consider monthly SEO. In comparison, check out hourly or project-based SEO for short- or one-time SEO projects.

Choose the best SEO payment plan for your business with these steps:

1. Determine your SEO needs: What does your company want to accomplish with SEO? For example, do you want to fix a specific issue, like improving your page speed? Or do you want to build and maintain an ongoing SEO strategy?
2. Outline your timeline: Next, build your preferred timeline. Are you migrating your site to a new domain in the next 30 days and need an SEO’s feedback? Or are you looking to optimize your website over time?
3. Check your SEO budget: Research how much your organization has budgeted for SEO and when those funds are available. For example, does your business release department funds annually, quarterly, or monthly? Your answer will influence your payment plan options for SEO services.
4. Choose your plan: Based on your research, determine the best option for your business. For ongoing or long-term SEO projects, consider monthly SEO. In comparison, check out hourly or project-based SEO for short- or one-time SEO projects.

How to evaluate SEO prices

Evaluate a service provider’s SEO prices with these steps:

1. Review the plan deliverables: First, learn what you’re paying for by reviewing the deliverables. If what you’re getting for the price you’re paying seems too good to be true, it probably is — and you’ll often see this with cheaper SEO prices.
2. Ask questions: Meet with the agency, consultant, or freelancer to discuss their pricing. Does the provider charge overtime, for example, after a certain number of hours worked on the account? What other additional fees should your team know about?
3. Read the contract: Next, read the contract. Most providers will share a contract once you enter discussions with them. You’ll want to check for a few things, like whether you’re receiving a short-term promotional price and whether the agency can change rates without notice.

How to spot cheap SEO pricing

Spot cheap SEO pricing with these steps:

1. Look at the price: First, look at the price. When SEO costs less than $500 per month or less than $50 per hour, it’s often cheap SEO. Most providers offering cheap SEO will advertise their prices, like “SEO for $100 / mo.”
2. Check the deliverables: You can also spot cheap search engine optimization pricing by looking at the deliverables. Compare the deliverables to the price, and if it seems too good to be true, restart your search for SEO services. Alternatively, some low-cost SEO plans won’t share their deliverables at all.
3. Read the reviews: What do people say about this SEO company, consultant, or freelancer online? Is the trend mostly negative, positive, or somewhere in between? Look at the most common complaints and see if they relate to results, quality of work, or client satisfaction.

How to request custom SEO pricing

Request custom SEO pricing for your business with these steps:

1. Outline your requirements: Get the most accurate quote by listing your requirements, like whether you’re looking for full-service SEO or something more specific, like off-page SEO. You can even include anything you don’t want in your SEO plan.
2. Research your options: Optimize your time by limiting your SEO pricing requests to your top picks. Read reviews and case studies to see if an agency, consultant, or freelancer is a good fit for your team. Then, contact them with your request and requirements.
3. Meet your potential provider: Schedule some time with your potential SEO provider. They’ll use this time to ask you some follow-up questions to understand your business better so they can build an accurate quote for your team.

Looking for SEO pricing? Get a custom quote today!

Congrats! You know how much SEO costs, what determines SEO pricing, and how to evaluate SEO prices. If you’re looking to get pricing custom to your business and its unique SEO needs, request yours today and receive a custom strategy, flight plan, and pricing from the WebFX team!

FAQs about SEO costs

Get answers to FAQs about SEO costs now:

How much does SEO cost per month?

On average, SEO costs $2500 to $7500 per month. How much your business pays for monthly SEO will depend on several factors, including your company’s size, your service provider’s location, and your SEO package’s deliverables.

For the most accurate monthly SEO pricing, request a custom quote.

How much does SEO cost per hour?

On average, SEO costs $50 to $100 per hour. How much your business pays for hourly SEO will depend on several factors, like your service provider’s experience, SEO plan deliverables, and resources. For the most accurate hourly SEO rates, request custom pricing.

How much does SEO cost per project?

On average, SEO costs $1000 to $5000 per project. How much your business pays for project-based SEO will depend on several factors, like your project’s requirements, size, and deadlines. Your service provider’s experience, location, and resources can also influence your project-based SEO costs.

How much does SEO cost to do in-house?

On average, in-house SEO costs $55,000 to $75,000 — the annual salary of an SEO specialist with benefits, like taxes and insurance. How much your business invests in doing SEO in-house will depend on your company’s location, candidate requirements, and SEO program size.

Does WebFX offer custom SEO pricing?

Yes! WebFX provides pre-built SEO packages and custom SEO pricing starting at $3,000 per month.

What is SEO?

SEO, also called search engine optimization, refers to strategies that help improve your website’s visibility in organic search results. These strategies include keyword research, content creation, and more.

What are the most important SEO factors?

Here’s a break down of some of the most important SEO factors to pay attention to if you want to increase your site’s rankings in search results.

• Add keywords to your URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and site content: When search bots crawl your site, they look for keywords to identify the topic of your content. This helps them display your site in relevant search results. Ultimately, when your site ranks higher in search results, more people can find and contact your business.
• Optimize alt attributes: You will also want to add alt tags to your multimedia. Since search engines can’t “read” multimedia elements, you need to include alt tags — text descriptions of your multimedia. This gives helps search engines better understand and index your multimedia content.
• Update your content regularly: Site visitors and search engines alike love freshly updated, quality content. Keeping your site updated on a regular basis will keep visitors and search bots coming back for more. Regular site updates can also help you establish yourself as a leader in your industry.
• Optimize technical site elements: You can also take some time to optimize technical elements of your site like your coding and page speed. Cleaning up your code and ensuring that your page loads at top speeds can boost your rankings in search results and encourage people to spend more time on your site This year, page speed will also become a major mobile search factor, so you need to ensure your site loads quickly across a number of devices.
• Implement responsive design: In order to improve user-friendliness, you’ll want to implement responsive design. With responsive design, you can ensure that your site looks great and performs well, no matter the device a visitor uses to access it. In other words, responsive design allows smartphone, desktop, and tablet users to have the same great experience on your site.
• Streamline navigation: Search engines want to reward sites that provide great experiences for visitors. To make sure people can find the information they need on your site, you’ll want to streamline your navigation. Instead of cluttering your navigation with links, only link to the most important pages. From there, you can link out to other pages deeper in your site.
• Answer users’ questions: You’ll also want to make sure your site provides valuable answers to visitors’ questions. You can do this by creating custom content. Be sure to conduct keyword research to discover trending topics in your industry, and publish fresh content to answer questions and improve users’ experience on your site.

If you want to improve your rankings in search results for keywords related to your business, paying attention to and optimizing these SEO factors is a great place to start. However, keep in mind that SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. In other words, it takes some time to see results, but they’re well worth the wait!

Why is SEO important?

Why do you want to rank at the top of search results? The answer is simple.

Since 75% of people don’t look past the first page of first results. This means that if you want more customers to find and contact your business, you need to rank in top search results for keywords and phrases related to your business.

Research shows that the first page of organic search results has a 71% click through rate (CTR), while pages two and three have a combined CTR of only 6% — a drastic decline.

Moral of the story? The higher you rank in search results, the more people will find and visit your site. This means that you can reach more customers and earn more revenue for your business.