SEO Pricing - How Much a SEO Agency Charges

Nearly all professionals involved in online marketing have heard of SEO and know it means search engine optimisation. Most marketers also know what SEO entails at the most basic level, at least. But one area that perplexes many people is SEO pricing.

If you’re a business owner who wants to know how much an SEO agency charges, the following information should help.

SEO Pricing Structures

Before talking about the average costs of SEO services, it’s important to come to grips with how these companies charge. When purchasing SEO services, there are three basic pricing structures being used including:

  • Hourly Pricing

    Some SEOs charge by the hour. The rate you pay per hour is based on the amount of time the SEO professional works on the project. Hourly pricing is not commonly used by SEO companies but is a preferred cost structure for SEO freelancers and sole traders.

  • Monthly Pricing

    Many SEO firms in the UK set monthly rates for their services. For a fixed fee each month, the SEO company will perform SEO on your site on an on-going basis.

  • Fixed-Rate Per Project

    Some SEO firms will quote you a set price for the entirety of a particular SEO project. If you were to use a company that charges a fixed rate, you’d be told in detail what you’d be getting for your money, based on your SEO goals and the industry you’re in.

The most established and reputable SEO agencies use monthly pricing or a fixed rate per project scheme.

Steer Clear of Cheap SEO

There are some companies out there offering cheap SEO that charge anywhere from £50 to £500 a month. This type of SEO is often geared toward small businesses with very limited budgets. If you think this kind of pricing seems too good to be true, you’re right because essentially it is.

Cheap SEO can hurt your company. Google is constantly crawling websites to check for SEO shortcuts including unnatural links, keyword stuffing, and more. If found, these so-called ‘black hat’ SEO techniques can result in a Google penalty which is something you want to avoid at all costs.

Mid-Range SEO is a Slightly Safer Bet

Many business owners opt for mid-range SEO that costs anywhere from £500 to £5000 per month. This level of SEO and especially at the lower end of the scale is typically focused on fixing any existing problems your website is experiencing. The SEO professionals will alter and optimise the architecture of your site so it’s better tailored to the site’s content for SEO purposes.

At the upper end of mid-range SEO, the focus is on developing and optimising content to help improve search engine rankings. This level of SEO is a good fit for businesses that don’t have a great deal of competition.

High-End SEO

The best level of SEO can cost £6000 a month or more. This type of service is best suited for mid to large-sized businesses with lots of competition. A company offering high-end SEO typically employs a team of professionals who are focused on helping a site outperform the other major players in the same field.