SEO Consulting Price: The Average Cost of SEO Services in 2021

Published on: 19 July 2021 Last Updated on: 10 January 2025

As more and more people purchase online for safety and convenience, it’s no wonder why search engine optimization or SEO is becoming popular. The internet is growing fast, and ranking high on search engines like Google is now more important than ever.

If you’re searching for an SEO agency to trust with your website optimization, you must first get familiar with what is an SEO consultant or specialist. Before you delve into the price, check what SEO services you can get from your investment.

What Is an SEO Consultant?

A “consultant” is an expert in optimizing websites for search engines. They’re paid to give advice on how you can get higher rankings, more targeted traffic, and more profits for your business. If it’s your first time and you just want to try things out, try to look for an SEO consulting price with a “no strings attached” monthly agreement.

SEO Costs and Pricing

SEO pricing is messy and all over the place. How much SEO packages cost depends on their payment model. But on average, the cost in 2021 ranges from $5,000 to 30,000 for every project, $750 to $2,000 monthly, or $80 to $200 hourly.

According to Ahrefs’ SEO Industry Statistics, the most popular pricing tear for monthly retainers is $501 to $1,000 per month. A retainer package is a recurring pricing agreement that makes it easier for an agency to target long-term digital marketing goals. It’s ideal pricing to make consistent progress towards your marketing goals while optimizing your marketing budget.

Pricing Models

Whether you avail of an affordable monthly retainer SEO from another country or a local SEO agency, there are different SEO pricing models you can choose from. Here are the most common:

a. Packages

If you simply want a specific number of links or a one-time SEO audit, getting a package may work. For business people who don’t have any background in search engine marketing, SEO agencies charge and offer packages like Bronze, Silver, and Gold for clients to choose from and pass all the work to them.

Packages are a convenient way for SEO agencies to get into a process and work out a client’s profit margins. However, remember that not all packages are tailor-fit to improve your website’s online visibility.

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Many agencies and consultants offer monthly retainer contracts to have enough time to develop the best SEO campaign for your business without being constrained. SEO is a long-term process that impacts your website’s performance, so you can’t expect to see significant changes overnight.

A monthly retainer lets an SEO specialist strategize several months in advance, reflect on the work done and the results, then progress at least monthly. This type of SEO pricing focuses on producing results rather than delivering a certain amount of work each month. You can ensure that your partner SEO company always works on what will provide the greatest return on investment than on a mere number of backlinks.

c. Hourly Rates

If you are looking to pay per hour, it may be wise to hire a consultant instead to perform the SEO audit. Then, you can pay hourly rates for specific SEO services needed by your website. However, if you need immediate results with a website with little existing exposure, you can supplement your SEO efforts with paid advertising, like a Google Ads campaign.

Don’t fret. If your budget allows you only to employ SEO services per hour, try to talk to a consultant first and see if they can work around your budget.

How Much Should You Pay?

As you may have noticed, SEO services cost runs on different ranges. To help you find the number of what to expect to pay, ask yourself these questions.

1. What’s your goal?

A small business website won’t need as much work as one from a big corporation. If you have a small business and just want to start an ongoing SEO in-house, an hourly consultant or per project price may be all you need. However, if you want a more effective, ongoing strategy, a monthly or yearly plan is more cost-effective.

2. What’s your budget?

For a starting business, you probably don’t have room in your budget for full-service digital marketing. But still, if you want to grow your business, SEO is one of the important things to consider.

You can start working with a part-time expert, per project, or a basic package from an agency for the first few years. And once your business grows, so will your SEO needs and budget.

3. Does any of your staff know SEO?

One of the reasons why SEO consultants are valuable is because of their years of experience growing online businesses. However, if your organization is tech-related, chances are, you have people who know how to optimize your website, so you can save on the SEO cost and do it in-house. But if your business isn’t SEO-related, then it’s best to leave it to SEO professionals.

Are You Ready To Be Found?

Building a good website isn’t enough. You also need a strong SEO plan to position your business higher on search results. Doing so helps you attract the attention of your target customers and bring them into the sales funnel.

On average, SEO pricing can be expensive, but it’s because the process involves plenty of channels. Link building, keyword research, and other services — require consistent effort applied over time and skill set honed over years of experience to get good results.

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Micheal Suarez

Very well presented. Every quote was awesome and thanks for sharing the content. Keep sharing and keep motivating others.

Reply 2024-03-11 15:16:50

Map Your Content Strategy: Finding Hidden Topic Opportunities

If you think of your content strategy as a map, where are you right now? On a good writing day, you might be on a well-maintained, scenic highway. You are cruising with ease and taking in the view. If you find yourself in the midst of writer’s block, you probably feel like you’re in a massive traffic jam. It takes every bit of energy to move one inch forward. Every content creator and marketer has found themselves in both positions. You’ll have no problem thinking and brainstorming new ideas when writing comes easy. But when you feel stuck and uninspired, it can take everything just to get a single piece published. While there is no quick fix for writer’s block, there are ways to find inspiration and avoid the traffic jam. Here are three tips for finding hidden topic opportunities for your brand. 1. Identify Competitor Content Gaps While you don’t want to chase down your top competitors’ every move, you should keep track of what they’re publishing. Knowing what your competition is doing can strengthen your keyword strategy, allowing you to rank higher on relevant topic areas. It may also improve your overall content quality. Seeing what others are writing about might spark creativity for how you could add to the conversation. Competitor analysis can identify areas that nobody is currently writing about. As long as the topics are relevant to your brand, these untapped areas are up for grabs. Applying this analysis will improve your content creation, allowing you to address questions others have missed. Your audience might already be seeking this information. And providing it helps position you as an authority in the space. However, performing this type of analysis on your own is extremely time-consuming. Consider leveraging software that will conduct a competitive content analysis. This allows you to quickly identify topics others are writing about and where you can fill in the missing pieces. Moreover, these tools exploit weaknesses and share how to structure your content to ensure it ranks high in SERP. 2. Ask Your Audience To best serve your audience, it is important to ask them what types of information they want to read. Predicting and guessing the content your core demographic may be most interested in only goes so far. Asking your target audience directly will help you gather fresh insights and perspectives. To do so, consider launching a survey on your website or including it in your email newsletters. Keep it short and simple. Ask a handful of questions tailored directly to your content. Doing this will give you insight into how to plan your content strategy. Another way to ask your audience is via social media. Gauge your audience’s interest with an Instagram Stories poll, teasing a few topics to identify which gets the most votes. You could also drop in an open-ended question sticker on Instagram Stories. Pose the question, “What types of content do you want to see from us?” and note how people respond. It may lead to a new content pillar or angle you and your team have not yet considered. 3. Read Reviews Customer reviews are an essential component of any business. They help establish trust between the brand and the consumer. Reviews also influence buying decisions: 93% of individuals read online reviews before purchasing. You may already use reviews to improve customer experience and ideate future products; however, reviews can help with content creation. While browsing through reviews, you may notice a similar question regularly appears. There is a good chance your website does not properly address this question. If this is the case, create a blog post answering this query directly. You might also post a Q&A blog to answer frequently asked questions about certain products or services you offer. If a reviewer mentions how your product shines compared to a competitor’s, spotlight this feedback for others to read. An article comparing your product to another product can help buyers in the decision-making process. Create an infographic illustrating how your brand’s offering compares to others, and share it on social media. Reviews can be a goldmine for gaining testimonials, so take the time to read and respond on every platform. Integrating testimonials into your content may help boost potential customers' trust in your brand. Post a quote card with a review from a satisfied customer on your social media pages. Or, create a blog post titled “Here’s What Our Consumers Have To Say About Us.” You should plan to update this post routinely, adding more reviews as they come in. Tips to Improve Content Strategy in 2025 No content strategy or content marketing plan is set in stone. It evolves with the changing market conditions, changes in algorithms, technology, and business plans. Here are some tips businesses can use to improve their content strategy in 2025. Leverage AI Tools The most wise thing to do this year is to rely on AI tools for content strategy, marketing, personalized messaging, content creation, and content optimization. It helps reduce lots of time taken throughout the day for content creation. Focus on Interactive Content Content doesn’t only have to be written documents, blog posts, brochures, and emails. Quizzes, polls, calculators, and AR/VR experiences are also part of the content, and it’s time to put those into content strategy. Short Form Video The best way to drive quick results is through short videos like YouTube shorts, reels, and TikTok videos. Cut long videos into small snippets and share them across channels. Focus on Sustainability Messaging There's a growing focus on environmental and social sustainability. It’s time you made those as a part of your content creation journey. Talk about what helps communities and people build brand trust among audiences. Build Communities The best way to gain impressions and readers is through communities. It’s important to build a community of like-minded people who’d love to engage with your content. Go over to Facebook, Quora, and Discord to build a community of audiences who’d love to read your content and engage with them. Apart from the above-mentioned tips, continue to repurpose your content, publish it across channels, and collaborate with micro and macro influencers to get better results. In the end, it always boils down to analyzing your content strategy and finding newer ways of renovating it. Content Tips and Takeaways Knowing what to write about can be challenging at times. Some days you may have a flurry of ideas, creating and publishing content non-stop. On other days, you might bang your head against your keyboard trying to churn out a single piece of usable content. Finding relevant topic areas often means looking for unanswered questions and solving problems for your target audience. After all, your audience is the inspiration for creating this content in the first place. Addressing their needs will help to pave a path of informative, engaging, and educational content they can’t wait to consume. Read Also: How to Unlock HP Laptop if you Forgot Login password Is ASUS ROG FX503 The Best Gaming Laptop? Know It Here!

Methods of Optimizing Local SEO That Is Essential For Small Business

SEO is a must for a local business no matter how big or small it might be. In the internet age, visibility matters a lot in marketing your products and services. In addition, consumers are inclined to get the types of businesses they are looking for at the right time and this is where local SEO gains its importance. Whether you are a florist or dentist, an accountant or a plumber, as long as you have a business that has an interest in the local market, local SEO is just meant for you. You are able to create two-way communication with the target consumers that build relationships that leads to improved sales. Why go for local SEO If you are wondering what would happen if you do not have a local SEO then be sure that it won’t be long before you are out of business. Despite all other means of publicity that you adapt to let people know about your business, your efforts are no match to what you can get from local SEO for dentists. The reason is that more and more consumers are now turning to the internet before they buy any product or service. At least 64 percent of consumers search the internet to locate the companies that they look for. So, if you are not there, you are losing out on this enormous opportunity of being seen by others. Read Morea: Avoid These 5 Mistakes Before Starting An SEO Speedy business can happen Being seen easily is just the beginning. Many of the consumers that happen to see you would perhaps generate business leads that you can latch upon. Knowing about their interest in your products or services, you begin to roll out the red carpet for them. What happens next bears enough evidence about the abilities of local SEO in garnering business quickly. About 47 percent of people who generate leads interacted with business owners and got the deals sealed just within an hour. This is the finding of a survey. Read also: Understanding Search Engine Optimization With so much potential to increase sales, it is no surprise that the popularity of local SEO is growing at a very fast pace. In addition, by listing in business directories like Google Places and by placing an advertisement on the platform you are likely to get a much higher ranking in search results outscoring many other localized keyword phrases. The advertisement also links consumers to the business website, company address, and hours of business of the stores, phone number and business reviews that can drive consumers in taking a positive decision. Have a responsive website Having local SEO is of no use if it is not properly optimized for local conditions. Measures have to be taken to ensure that the local emphasis remains in the optimization efforts and the majority of the audience is reached. This means that you need to have a responsive website that is viewed with the same ease on desktops as well as mobile devices. With the widespread use of mobile phones, it is imperative that the majority of searches are triggered by mobile devices. The most encouraging fact about mobile users is that of all the leads generated from mobile devices 82 percent users have got back to the sellers to follow up the leads. This provides a big opportunity for converting leads into sales. Local citations are important Pay attention to citations on directory listings. Citations increase the reliability of your business for search engines. Citations mean the mention of your business name and address on some other web pages that are not part of your website. If your business is listed on an online directory, make sure that the citations are correctly mentioned. The ranking algorithms of search engines like Google and Bing consider citations as a key component. Therefore, the higher the number of citations, better rankings you are likely to get provided other factors of a business are all equal. To add more power to citations, add incoming links to it. Increase customer reviews Customer reviews are critical for better rankings and the SEO campaign should target more and more customers who are willing to review and publish their views about the products and services. The reviews create a positive impact on prospective consumers who become confident about buying the product that has many satisfied users. The majority of consumers depend on reviews to decide about purchasing any particular product or service. The reviews also impact search rankings hence it acquires more importance from the SEO perspective. The reviews are equally important for all kinds of search engines and directories and not Google alone. Social media engagement As part of a local SEO campaign, make extensive use of social media to connect closely with consumers. Present interesting and relevant content on the pages of social networks that would ensure that more and more visitors are attracted to it. Google pays a lot of importance to social media feedback about your website and this can influence search rankings. Use localized keywords Localized keywords are critical for local SEO even though Google can do even without it. The keywords phrases are made more specific for the locality by adding a geographical dimension to it. This is of more help to searchers who are able to narrow down the searches without much effort as they are guided by the keywords. Localized keywords throw up more accurate results that searchers are looking for. This increases the possibilities of being found out very easily in search results. Google has its own ways of detecting the location and even if localized keywords are not used, Google can throw up the results that pertain to the area from where the search is generated. However, it is not always necessary that searchers would prefer to find businesses in their own areas but would also like to go beyond it. This is when geographical locations attached to keywords can work wonders for you. What has been discussed above are only some of the ways that can strengthen your local SEO efforts. There are many more things that can be done. However, these are some of the most elementary steps in optimizing local SEO that should never be missed out. Read More: Why SEO Is Still The Digital Channel With Highest ROI SEO For Dummies The Importance Of SEO Based Digital Marketing Services

What You Need to Know When Outsourcing SEO

Various companies have come to realize the importance and effectiveness of search engine optimization (SEO) for improving website rankings, increasing brand awareness, and (ultimately) generating leads for their businesses. Others don’t know much about SEO, or the fact that it’s smart to maximize efforts by hiring a professional SEO consulting company to guide your campaign. Here are some reasons why outsourcing is a good move -- if you partner with the right team. Businesses can choose to hire or build an in-house team dedicated to managing their SEO needs. They may also opt to outsource the responsibility to an agency like Coolbison SEO that can effectively launch an SEO campaign. Despite the potential comfortability of having your own SEO team under your roof, there are pitfalls. Reasons to Outsource Savings: Outsourcing an SEO campaign is affordable. It will save you the time, effort, and costs of having to hire, constantly train, and manage an in-house team. The salary of an in-house SEO Manager alone can cost you up to $65,000. Though the initial cost of hiring a contractor might seem exorbitant, it is more cost-effective over the years. This is especially true when you consider you’ll eventually need to replace your team members, which takes time for recruitment and additional training. Expertise: SEO is a dynamic and multi-disciplinary process that needs consistent attention for it to be fully effective. It is a complex process with a steep learning curve. Agencies specializing in SEO are fully equipped with the tools of the trade. They also stay on top of constant search engine algorithm updates and rule changes. A qualified company can provide you with the most effective SEO strategies to date. Additionally, SEO experts know how to handle the analytics of your website. They’ll interpret data, locate blind spots in the metrics, and pinpoint data relevant to conversion, in addition to many other skills. Focus on Operations: SEO is an important aspect of marketing, but it shouldn’t overtake your main job: running your business. Entrusting your SEO campaign to professionals will allow you to focus your efforts. You do not have to divide your attention between your operations and having to keep up with the frequent SEO updates and trends. Long-Term Maintenance: Employing the proper SEO techniques can provide lasting results. However, it is not a one-time deal; it is an ongoing and quickly evolving effort that needs constant upkeep. If you want the benefits of an SEO campaign, you have to be in it for the long haul. The campaign requires regular updates to your website, content, and social media spaces, so it’s convenient to let someone else do all the legwork. Selecting an SEO Company Once you’ve decided to outsource your SEO campaign to contractors, the next step is to choose which SEO company you trust. There are a staggering number of SEO agencies throughout the world who will be willing to take on your campaign, but do they have the qualifications and integrity required? For example, in Canada alone, there are many digital marketing companies willing to take your money. Businesses in Toronto, Scarborough, and North York needing digital marketing services will be faced with a large number of options. Of course, there is the option of hiring providers outside of the country. Deciding whom to trust with your campaign requires ample consideration and research. In your search for a reliable SEO company, consider: Cost: This depends on several factors, including the number of keywords, content word count, and the condition of your current website (among others). In Canada, average monthly rates can range from $2500 to $5000. The price in other countries (e.g. Australia and the UK) may be substantially above that margin, while others (e.g. India and the Philippines) may be less. Communication: Determine how the team communicates. Are they available when you need them? How quickly do they respond to correspondence or requests to fix issues? How often do they present their reports or updates? Branding: Ascertain the agency’s familiarity or experience with your industry. This way, your SEO efforts stay true to the brand identity of your business. You can be confident in the agency’s ability to attain your goals and communicate your vision. Otherwise, determine how much time you are willing to invest to walk them through the important aspects of your brand. Needs: Identify your goals and what your SEO needs are -- whether it’s the full package or just a small part of it (e.g. content creation or link building). Be wary of providers that: Make extravagant claims: If a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Be cautious of companies who claim they can get you the "number one" spot on the search results page in a short span of time. Rely on “connections": Claiming to "know people" at Google who can boost your rankings is a sign they may not be confident in their own abilities to succeed. Additionally, search engine employees have a confidentiality agreement; so this “connection” is likely to be fabricated. Over- or under-priced services: Companies offering their services at a fraction of the market price are likely either inexperienced or provide low-quality services. On the flip side, those overpricing their services may have minimal commercial awareness. Do your research and get references before signing a contract; you don’t want to entrust your website to just anyone. All manner of businesses (from small “mom and pop shops” to large-scale enterprises) can benefit from outsourcing their SEO campaign to experts in the field. True online marketing professionals will possess the necessary staff, know-how, experience, and tools needed to run your SEO campaign efficiently and successfully. 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SEO Consulting Price: The Average Cost of SEO Services in 2021

What Is an SEO Consultant?