SEO Cost
How much should you pay for search engine optimization services? This is the question that has baffled most business owners who are new to SEO. There are companies or freelancers who offer $49/month. Some web design firms, including yours perhaps, claim they can provide SEO as an add-on service for $400 a month. Then, there are SEO firms or SEO consultants who charge $5000 a month or $1000 per hour. Which one should you choose? Which one will deliver the results? How much business you need to attract to break even with the SEO expense? How do you justify the costFirst of all, forget the $49 per month deal! It is nothing but a scam. Can you get a prime time TV commercial for $100 per minute? Most of these low-priced SEO packages are nothing but some software-automated spams which can end up hurting your SEO campaign and your site's rankings. Services like this don't include any consultation with a real expert. They treat all websites the same. Remember, no two SEO campaigns are the same.
A good SEO starts with an in-depth analysis of your business, your competition, your web design, and most importantly, your keywords. Then, a considerable amount of work is done both on your website and off your website. There isn't any software that can substitute the experience and intelligence of a highly trained SEO consultant.
Second, SEO should never be an "add-on" service offered by your web design firm or web master. Most of web designers have no training or experience in SEO. SEO and web design require very different skill sets and thought process. Would you think a dentist can do an open heart surgery? Do you see a dental clinic advertising open heart surgery as their "add-on" service?
If you see a company that is known mostly for their web design or development services, chances are they have no clues about search engine optimization. These companies often charges anywhere from $100 per month to $1000 per month for pretty much nothing. We have seen web design companies that use old spam techniques like doorway pages and keyword stuffing, which can draw penalties by search engines.
Third, is the $500 per hour or $1000 per hour SEO consulting fee by SEO firms fair? Yes, if they can deliver the results. Top SEO firms are hard to find and their services are in high demand. How do you tell if an SEO firm is worth the cost? Google them. Use search engine optimization relevant searches and see how their own website ranks. Remember, if an SEO firm or expert can't get their own website ranked at the top, it is a sign that they can't deliver results for you. Another way to assure you are hiring a good service is to check out references. Satisfied SEO clients LOVE tell you their successful stories.
How can you afford paying $5000 a month for SEO on top of all your marketing? Many business owners simply reject SEO, reasoning that they can't afford it. However, upon a closer look of their marketing budget, we often find that these companies are flushing money down the drain by spending tens of thousands of dollars every month on Yellow Pages, print ads, billboards, and TV commercials. Every business owner should ask themselves this question: when was the last time you hired a service out of a Yellow Pages ad, newspaper ad, magazine ad, billboard ad, or TV commercial?
Compared to the cost of traditional advertising, search engine optimization is still the most cost-effective marketing. Your business doesn't have to spend extra money on marketing - all you need is to re-allocate your marketing dollars from the old advertising venues and invest them in SEO.