How much does SEO cost in 2023

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a vital part of digital marketing, but small to medium size businesses often neglect it because the pricing can be complicated and there’s no standardized cost.

However, with around 5.6 billion searches on Google every day, it’s well worth investing in long-term SEO goals to boost your website ranking, lead generation, and grow your business.

This article will give you tips on what to expect from an SEO price point standpoint as well as how to choose an agency that offers real value for money.

When choosing an agency, look for an agency that will use proven successful long-term tactics and SEO experts like Easy As Pie Design!

Topics:

SEO Pricing Models

Key parts of SEO and where is your money going

How much does SEO cost in 2023

Why is SEO cost so expensive?

How to calculate your ROI

How to choose the right solution for you

Is SEO worth it in 2023+?

How to get the best results

SEO pricing models

There are a variety of pricing models used by SEO agencies and consultants. Before selecting a service, it is important to understand what is included in each model. This will help ensure that you get the most value for your money.

Some key items that are included in search engine optimization are technical optimization, keyword research, content creation or content re-optimization, AI requirements, guest posting, pr blitzing, business profile rankings, technical SEO, search results, foundation links, backlinking, domain authority, and so much more.

It’s important to understand that not all agencies’ and small businesses’ offerings are the same and to check the fine print in your project to make the right collection services that will focus on improving your company-specific SEO needs.

The three most common pricing models are

1. Hourly Rate

This is is the most straightforward pricing model. You simply pay for the number number of hours that the SEO agency or consultant works on your behalf. This can be a good option if you have a limited budget and need help with specific tasks.

For this pricing model, you will usually get 1 or 2 options that are extremely niche, this is about search intent and not maximizing search engine results pages. This is great for small gaps in the product lines in your current agency is unable to fill a specific niche need. IE SEO for TikTok. How much is the hourly rate for good-medium-rank SEO consultants? Between $175-$300 per hour.

2. Project-Based

With this pricing model, you pay for a specific project, such as SEO optimization or link building. This can be a good option if you have a clear idea of what you need and won’t want to avoid paying for unnecessary services. Most do project-based as add-ons to current agency work for special launches, testing new product lines, or kick-starting a revenue stream.

How much do most small to medium size businesses spend on projects? There are many variables but the industry starts at $25K for short projects but can quickly escalate to around 75K-200K per project.

3. Monthly Retainer

With this model, you pay a monthly fee in exchange for an ongoing SEO campaign. This can be a good option if you want to make a long-term investment in your SEO and have the budget to do so. Most agencies use a monthly retainer to ensure the long-term strategy can track KPIs the client is looking to increase year over year.

Monthly retainers also offer all-inclusive models that work closely with sales departments and other business verticals in a company. Allowing for more full-service and customized offerings such as PPC, web design, PR, Video, etc.

SEO pricing is not one size fits all and the price will vary depending on the features that are included in the package as well as the size of your business. Be sure to ask lots of questions and get clarification on what is included before selecting a service.

This will help ensure that you get the most bang for your buck! How much should you expect to pay per month for an all-inclusive SEO retainer, depends on the agency but the industry average is 10K-30K per month. (Our monthly pricing starts at 6K and our clients spend on average 12.5K a month.)

Key parts of SEO costs and where is your money going

Search engine optimization can be overwhelming but it is important for businesses of all sizes, but it can be especially helpful for smaller to medium size businesses that want to compete with the bigger guys, especially on search engines. It can be a big task, as there are so many different aspects to consider.

But it’s worth it – investing in SEO companies can help you bring in more customers and boost your profits as long as you confirm your strategy is on the mark for growing your specific niche.

Research and Audit

The first step in any search engine optimization strategy is to identify your target audience. The content on your website must be relevant and useful to them, and easy for new visitors to find via search engines. It’s important to do some research into your audience, to figure out what they want from your site. You’ll also need to do industry research to stay ahead of the competition.

While some of this research can be done in-house, small and medium size businesses will find it very time-consuming and usually a loss of resources and energy, quickly escalating in costs. However, professional SEO services can help with this as well as other aspects.

Keyword and competitor research

SEO also requires a lot of time-consuming keyword research. It’s critical that your site includes the right keywords—if not, it won’t pop up in Google searches, and you’ll miss out on valuable traffic.

Keyword research involves thinking about how potential customers might search for your business. It’s also important to identify direct competitors and check out which keywords are driving traffic to their sites. Google’s Keyword Planner lets you do this for free, but for more comprehensive research, you’d need a paid tool like Ahrefs. Paying for tools can quickly mount up, so you’re better off hiring an SEO Agency to take care of everything in one package.

SEO optimization is a process that takes a lot of time and effort. Relevant keywords are critical in order to make sure your site appears in Google searches. From short keywords to long-tail keywords and everything in between, you will have to create a strategy that is fluid but also structured to attract your demographic and that google rewards.

You also need to identify your direct competitors and see which keywords are driving traffic to their sites. Paid tools like Ahrefs can give you more comprehensive information, but they can be expensive. Hiring an SEO agency, like Easy As Pie Design can be a more affordable way to take care of all of this for you.

Website optimization

The next stage is to use that research to optimize the structure of your website. This includes making it SEO-friendly and offering visitors a great user experience with no missing links or slow-loading images.

If you’re confident in coding, (from meta tags to proper keyword placement in URLs) you could manage this yourself, but most business owners find they need SEO companies. They’ll know all the tricks, such as minimizing the number of clicks from the home page, using internal links, and keeping URLs short.

Content production and optimization

In order to get the most out of projects, businesses, especially local businesses, need to produce high-quality content that is also unique and up-to-date. This can be a daunting task, but an SEO agency that specializes in content marketing can help.

A content strategy should be included in your SEO package in order to ensure success. (Reminder that long-copy always is preferred by google but not always preferred by humans. So it’s important to have the right strategy in place to make sure everyone is happy.)

By working with a reputable and experienced agency, like Easy As Pie Design, which specializes in long-term SEO strategies focusing on lead generation, you can create a custom plan that fits your budget and meets your specific needs.

Link building and Digital PR

Key methods for improving your SEO ranking include link building and digital PR.

Link building is when you get other websites to link back to your site, driving referral traffic and telling Google that your site is worthy of citation (so you’ll earn a higher ranking). You can do this via great content, influencer reviews, and partner links.

Digital PR focuses on generating online coverage for your brand through creative campaigns and newsworthy stories. This can be done by reaching out to bloggers and journalists in your industry, as well as leveraging social media platforms.

Both link-building and digital PR are important SEO strategies that can help improve your ranking in 2023. However, the cost of SEO will vary depending on the competitiveness of your industry and the effectiveness of your SEO

Analytics and Reporting

SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but it’s important for businesses of all sizes to stay on top of their online presence. Professional help is often necessary to keep up with the latest Google analytics best practices and build valuable backlinks without violating any guidelines. (Aka – Blackhat marketing!) Identifying the Marketing KPIs you will be tracking in your SEO is paramount and more important now than ever.

How much does SEO cost in 2023?

The SEO pricing model can vary greatly depending on a number of factors. Agencies will look at your visibility and brand awareness in organic searches, as well as your business goals and target audience, to determine a price. The average cost for SEO services in the US ranges from $175 to $300 per hour or $10,000 to $30,000 per month. However, this can vary greatly depending on the provider’s experience and expertise.

This can be expensive, but it’s worth the investment for small to medium-sized businesses. If you’re a solopreneur, you may want to consider doing it yourself, but be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort.

Search engine rankings and content creation can be learned to a certain extent, using free SEO tools, but you may have trouble with more technical aspects like keyword research, analytics, and link building. Overall, hiring professionals is a better option if you have the money.

Budget or DIY

It can be tempting for small companies to pick the cheapest deal, but let the buyer beware. Often, “cheap SEO” is literally too good to be true. Search intent is time-consuming and labor-intensive, so if an agency offers crazy-low prices, it may be cutting corners. Typical prices for “cheap” range from $1000 to $5000 a month.  They almost might be focusing on other search engines such as Bing or Yahoo.

When it comes to digital marketing, you get what you pay for. I’m sure we all know, but it’s very important to note here that when it comes to your marketing dollars it’s so important to understand the labor and time involved to create good KPIs. So, if an agency offers cheap prices, it might be cutting corners and not providing quality services. Typically, SEO budget-friendly services cost between $1000 and $5000 a month.

If you’re looking for a cheap way to get your website SEO’d, you’re going to be disappointed. Any agency charging a low price won’t put in the time or resources to create high-quality content that actually drives growth.

This is very important to understand that it takes time, research, and a multi-prong strategy for great KPIs in a marketing strategy.

In fact, this could end up damaging your website as using black hat techniques can lead to penalties from Google. Even if it creates short-term gains, you will lose in the long run and create more costs which could harm the growth of google for years to come.

So it’s not only a waste of your money, but it could also cost you organic traffic and revenue.

Mid-range SEO

For small to mid-size businesses, SEO services will generally cost between $6,000 and $15,000 per month in 2023. This price range is considered to be mid-range and provides a safe option for those wanting to invest in their website’s search engine ranking. It is important to do your research before selecting an SEO provider, as not all companies offer the same quality of service.

Mid-level SEO agencies will create a strategy and key in on your marketing and website’s existing problems, such as optimizing site architecture and adapting content. This is the perfect option for companies with minimum competition in the online space. At the upper end of this market, companies will provide a content marketing strategy focusing on the google search engine.

They’ll create new and consistent content while also updating existing content. Most mid-range will include or at least offer PR service, building backlinks along with creating or partnering with visibility companies for your social marketing. Content from a mid-range SEO will satisfy many business needs, but it won’t produce long-lasting, engaging content on an enterprise level.

High-end SEO

If you have a sizable budget and ambitious objectives, it may be worth investing in premium SEO services from one of the leading agencies. These SEO professionals have the infrastructure and know-how to provide a comprehensive service at every stage of the process. This is generally employed by large eCommerce websites operating in highly competitive industries.

A premium agency may be called on to fix technical SEO problems, optimize your analytical tools, or resolve the consequences of a Google penalty.

SEO in 2023 is predicted to be an investment for medium-sized businesses. Premium on page SEO content, focus on Domain Authority, and strong keyword execution from an experienced and reputable firm can provide your business with the guidance and resources needed to increase conversion rates and reduce churn.

Typically, these agencies require a long-term contract that is customized to meet your specific SEO goals.

Enterprise SEO

Enterprise SEO is a more complex and expensive service than most small-business or medium companies need. It requires greater accountability and can cost anywhere from $30k-1 million per month.

This is where full teams and large scaling of marketing happens.

What we have found is many medium size businesses actually grow into enterprise-level of services. What is exciting is that enterprise SEO also offers great potential for increased traffic, conversions, and ROI.

SEO is a complex process that requires a lot of time and effort in order to be successful. At Easy As Pie Design, we have the experience and knowledge necessary to help your business achieve its desired results. We specialize in focusing on your Domain Authority, PPC, foundational links, and more for the midsize business ready to move into enterprise-level SEO, so you can be sure that your website will get the attention it deserves.

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How can we do this for you?

First, we identify your company’s unique challenges and opportunities. We compare that against in-depth competitor intelligence to see where you can get ahead.  Next, we build a strategic roadmap tailored to your online presence. We look at the whole picture to create an integrated solution across every touchpoint.

Every inch of your website and content is optimized with customized content and a high-authority, high-value backlink network.

Why are SEO costs so expensive?

If you are considering investing in SEO costs, it is important to be aware of the reason why this form of marketing is often considered to be expensive. Many SEO budgets that are DIY suggest doing things like keyword stuffing or only focusing on on-page SEO not taking into account the long-term effect and raising your monthly costs over time.

The cost of paid search advertising will continue to increase as your ad spend grows, while the opposite is true for SEO. With a well-executed SEO campaign, your business can see a significant return on investment that will continue to grow over time.

The reason why SEO specialists are often seen as an expensive marketing endeavor is that it requires a great deal of technical expertise and experience in order to be successful.

Unlike paid search advertising, where you simply need to increase your budget in order to see greater results, SEO campaigns require a more strategic and long-term approach in order to achieve the desired outcome with organic rankings.

Furthermore, a good search result and a high search volume is not cheap, especially as a monthly cost, as it demands a significant investment of time and resources from the professionals who are responsible for implementing and managing the campaign. Especially if you are looking to maximize local SEO and your search results.

However, with a well-executed SEO campaign, businesses can see a significant return on investment that will continue to grow over time.

Experience of Agency

The cost of SEO services for medium size businesses in 2023 can vary depending on the provider’s experience and expertise. Experienced agencies that have a proven track record can charge more for their services, while those without as much experience may be priced more affordably. It is important to select a provider that has experience in your specific industry, as they will be better equipped to help your business succeed.

At Easy As Pie Design, we have the results to show for our experience – don’t trust your SEO to just anyone!

Pricing

SEO pricing can be difficult to predict, as it can often depend on the size and complexity of the project. However, for smaller businesses, a fixed monthly fee or an upfront per-project price may be more manageable than hourly rates.

Remember, with SEO pricing that with a fixed monthly fee or per-project price, you know exactly what you’re getting, whereas hourly rates can be more unpredictable.

Size of your business

As businesses grow, their SEO pricing needs also change and become more complex. In order to match the needs of medium-sized businesses, agencies will charge a higher price for their SEO services that need more management, strategic input, local SEO, and volume. This is so we can target and achieve more ROI on investments set.

The industry that a business is in can also affect how much they have to pay for SEO services. It’s also important to note that if there is intense competition in the market, then more work will be needed to make the business stand out from its competitors.

The strategy of SEO

When you engage with a search engine optimization firm, they will take a comprehensive look at everything you have missed or not done to what you have done. Either on your own or with previous agencies.

The big thing – if you have never really executed or deeply committed to your SEO strategy, the firm you hire will need to start from scratch. The same goes for content production and optimization and local SEO.

Let’s cut to the chase, the more help you need the more you will have to pay. It’s normal that most businesses are completely unaware of technical issues or even Google penalties. Additionally, how ambitious your goals are can also impact how much you’ll end up paying for SEO services.

The price of SEO services depends on many different factors. Generally speaking, however, agencies will charge more if they need to start from scratch with your SEO strategy – especially if you have a lot of technical issues that need fixing. Additionally, how ambitious your goals are can also impact how much you’ll end up paying for SEO services.

SEO and ROI

The ROI on SEO can be difficult to quantify because it is not a direct purchase like PPC ads. The first metric you need to calculate is the cost of investment. You then need to track and measure the value of your conversions. Google Analytics provides conversion rates on all website traffic and estimates how much revenue is generated from each search channel.

“The formula for calculating ROI is: (Revenue – Cost of investment) / Cost of Investment

So, if your revenue for a given period was $70,000, and you spent $50,000 on SEO in that time, your ROI would be 40%.”

To calculate the lifetime value of a client, you must subtract the cost of SEO services from your revenue. However, SEO is a long-term investment, and its effects are not always immediately noticeable.

That’s why it is important to track fluctuations over a period of 36 months in order to accurately gauge the ROI of SEO. This gives time for your website to raise in rankings, (SERPs) organically and will continue past 36 months.

Which SEO Solution is Right For You?

When it comes to search engines, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Make sure you pick an agency that can provide what you need. Maybe you are looking to increase local SEO, or maybe you are looking to grow nationally or even internationally.

Do you need more Domain Authority or content creation? Is your reporting need help? Do you even know what KPI’s you are supposed to be tracking?

SEO especially with google search is an important investment for businesses of all sizes. However, the cost of SEO can vary greatly depending on the size and complexity of the business.

For medium-sized businesses, it is generally recommended to invest in a high-end SEO company with a proven track record with a google search. This agency should be able to provide examples of success, as well as testimonials from former clients. It is also important to ensure that the agency uses only ethical SEO techniques.

Is Investing in SEO worth it for 2023?

SEO is becoming an increasingly complex field, with Google incorporating more and more sophisticated algorithms into its search engine. As a business owner, it can be difficult to determine whether investing in SEO is worth your time and money.

Google reviews and has added in more language processing AI, BERT, and featured snippets, and the push for DA is even more influential than ever before.

But if you are looking to increase sales for your small business or medium size business, focusing on getting more traffic to your web pages plays a key role in your business growth.

SEO is one of the most powerful strategies for driving long-term results, despite the many changes that have taken place in the digital world over the past few years.

Google is forever getting wiser and more targeted at separating high-quality content from spam, so businesses that employ SEO experts can maximize their site’s potential in this brave new world.

Now that AI is fully integrated into SERPs and the onboarding of voice search, the human + AI strategies for SEO is imperative to actually create successful and term SEO for your business.

SEO Results

If you want your website to rank highly, you will need to invest in a well-crafted SEO strategy. This involves employing the services of an experienced and reputable agency, as well as incorporating specialized techniques that can improve your site’s visibility.

Beware of cheap deals that promise quick results – many of these so-called “black hat” tactics can actually harm your ranking. Instead, invest in quality content marketing to make your website shine.

SEO can be a great investment for businesses of all sizes, but it’s important to choose a provider that knows what they’re doing. At Easy As Pie Design, we have results that prove our experience in SEO. We can help your business achieve better rankings and improve traffic levels.