Bootstrapped startups have their place, and many, including myself, started as one. But there is no cheap or free way to access search engine optimization (SEO) that will truly help your business grow.
It’s all about one thing: solid SEO takes time.
Whether it’s your time, mine, or another SEO company’s time, the time is worth the dollar. You have to decide whether to spend your time on SEO or pay someone else to do it for you. If the answer is neither, he’s not SEO ready yet.
To determine if you’re ready to take the SEO leap, ask yourself:
1. Can word of mouth and referrals alone help me grow?
2. If not, will you invest in your sales team, grow your online presence, or both?
3. If online visibility is a priority, how many customers do you need to reach?
4. Capital can i Should you invest to reach more customers?
5. Capital do you need it Should you invest to reach more customers?
Note that questions No. 4 and No. 5 are not the same. If your answer to No. 4 is less than your answer to No. 5, then you need to deal with cash flow first. But there are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The only mistake people tend to make here is not asking them about themselves and their business.
Before we delve into the cost of SEO, let’s double check if it’s really necessary. Many SEO experts say everyone should have her SEO. wrong.
what? An SEO expert who says SEO isn’t always necessary? exactly.
I love taking on new clients, but I also have a conscience and like to sleep at night. My success in founding SEO National is based primarily on honesty and transparency. If SEO is bad, or at least it’s bad right now, you should know it.
But if you want to spread your message further or increase your revenue, SEO might be just what you need. So how much does it cost? The answer depends on several factors.
• Scale and scope of work: The bigger your business and the more competitive your industry, the more time, effort, and money you need to invest in SEO.
• Content management system: Some content management systems (CMS) are better suited for SEO than others, so they can be optimized more quickly. Similarly, some are very slow, time consuming and expensive.
• Previous SEO efforts: If your business has done SEO in the past, this can negatively impact future SEO costs. If a business is looking for another His SEO provider, it’s rarely because his previous provider had great results. Bad results are usually the result of poor SEO strategies being used. In short, a new SEO company has to clean up the mess.
It’s no exaggeration to say that if you want effective SEO, you either pay now or pay more later. So, if you’re tempted to cut corners, I’d recommend waiting until he can do SEO properly from the start. This brings us to the elephant in the room: what kind of investment are we talking about here?
• Basic SEO: Typical SEO costs start around $750 or less per month. This is as a small business holder working with his similarly small SEO agency that offers a limited range of services. This may sound like a big deal, but the most important word here is “limited”.
• Full-service SEO: At the high end of the retainer pricing model, full-service SEO companies typically charge between $2,500 and $10,000 per month. These full-service agencies not only offer website improvement, keyword research, and competitive analysis, but PR agencies create a constant stream of positive brand awareness signals picked up by search engines, which is essential for SEO success. also works as This is why this model is popular and offers high SEO ROI. This is because they are specifically structured around the uniqueness of each individual website, its goals, and the exact content/assets needed to achieve those goals.
Clearly, not all companies are ready to invest $30,000 to $120,000 or more per year to establish reliable SEO results. For this reason, other options may be attractive and represent a reasonable bridge to the standard retainer model.
• Contract SEO: Contracted services are a common SEO starting point when budget is a key factor. They help with basic SEO components such as site structure audits and cost-per-word copywriting. As a result, contract services from reputable providers will set up your website for success at a one-time price (often $2,500 to $18,000). With such a wide price range, it’s important to ask your SEO firm the right questions and provide a clear overview of costs to fully understand the scope and limitations of what you’re buying.
• Project-based pricing: Similar to the contract SEO option, buying SEO a la carte will give similarly limited results. If a company were to use this model to perform his full range of SEO services, it could cost as much (or more) than a retainer would pay for the same work.
• Hourly SEO Consulting: For companies that plan to do SEO in-house, it can be helpful to hire an SEO consultant if needed (expect to pay about $100-$300 per hour). This arrangement doesn’t take the burden of the time-consuming work required, but it can get the business on the right SEO path to success.
SEO is not a mindless endeavor. You earn rankings and no cutting corners. Copywriting skills and graphic design proficiency are entry prices. Someone has to do the work, and it’s either wasting your time or you’re paying for someone else.
