How Much Does SEO Cost? Learn All About SEO Pricing in 2024

SEO costs $1500 to $5000 per month, with the cost of SEO depending on business size, location, pricing model, reputation of the provider, goals and scale of the strategy, and more.
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    Sarah Berry Lead SEO Consultant, WebFX
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  • August 16, 2024
  • 3 min. read

How much does SEO cost?

SEO costs anywhere between $1500 and $5000 per month on average.

How much search engine optimization (SEO) costs depends on the business and service provider. From a strategy’s scale to the agency’s location, multiple factors determine how much you’ll charge or pay for SEO. However, the average cost of SEO is between $1500 to $5000 per month. Learn more now!

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How much SEO costs (in a nutshell)

SEO costs $1500 to $5000 for monthly SEO services, $100 to $3000 for hourly SEO services, and $5000 to $30,000 for one-time SEO projects on average. SEO prices vary and depend on factors like your SEO pricing model, SEO provider’s reputation, and more.

how much does seo cost infographic

Understanding SEO costs as a buyer

As a buyer, you have several considerations when selecting an SEO service provider, from budget to capabilities to contracts. That’s why understanding SEO costs is a critical part of the buying process.

How much do SEO services cost?

How much SEO services cost varies by the service, as well as pricing model:

Service #1 pricing factor Hourly pricing Monthly pricing One-time pricing
SEO audit Site size $150 – $300 $1000 – $2000 $650 – $14,000
SEO Service provider $100 – $300 $1500 – $5000 $5000 – $30,000
Local SEO Number of locations $100 – $300 $300 – $2000 $1500 – $3000
Ecommerce SEO Service provider $200 – $600 $750 – $8000 $5000 – $30,000

What determines SEO services pricing?

Multiple factors determine your SEO service costs, including the following:

  • Pricing model Chevron

    There are a few different pricing models for SEO services, including the following:

    • Monthly
    • Hourly
    • One-time

    Your pricing model will affect your SEO costs.

    For instance, if you partner with an SEO provider for a one-time project, you might pay less than if you hired someone at an hourly SEO rate to complete the project. In most cases, what’s more important here is how you invest in SEO — is it one-time, ongoing, or as needed?

    As a tip, search engine optimization is best as an ongoing investment because it requires maintenance.

  • Goals Chevron

    Your result expectations will impact how much you pay for SEO. For example, are you looking to:

    • Grow traffic by 1%, 15%, or 50% in the next five years?
    • Double organic leads in the next six months?
    • Get all URLs ranking on page one in the next two years for a designated keyword list?

    Depending on your goals, you might need a competitive SEO package that prioritizes SEO optimizations across your site. In some cases, SEO providers might even say they won’t work with you because of unrealistic goals.

    Note: This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s a good sign the provider knows their stuff.

    If you’re considering paying for SEO, outline your goals before researching SEO companies.

  • Agency reputation Chevron

    Agencies with a bigger reputation in the industry will often have higher SEO pricing.

    The higher price tag comes with a few benefits, including the following:

    • Trust: You can often trust these companies to manage your SEO.
    • Performance: These SEO firms often have a reputation for delivering results, like traffic.
    • Capabilities: Seasoned SEO agencies can also do more, like local and ecommerce SEO.
    • Convenience: You can also find all-in-one service packages with these providers.

    In comparison, SEO providers without a reputation will often charge less for SEO. If you opt to partner with one of these SEO companies or consultants, we recommend digging deep into their past performance so you can ensure you’re hiring a reputable firm.

  • Strategy scale Chevron

    Your SEO strategy vs. the SEO strategy of Coca-Cola likely have the following differences:

    • Needs
    • Considerations
    • Goals
    • Scope

    Strategy complexity scales with business size.

    Typically, larger companies will have more complex SEO strategies, which results in higher SEO costs. They require leading experts in search engine optimization. In comparison, smaller companies have campaigns on a smaller scale that SEO professionals of varying experience levels can match, which can make SEO more affordable.

  • Website size Chevron

    Site size also affects search engine optimization pricing.

    That’s because bigger sites naturally target more keywords than smaller sites, which causes them to need more SEO maintenance to maintain and grow these rankings. In comparison, smaller websites have fewer places for SEOs to work.

    This SEO pricing factor coincides with strategy scale, too.

  • SEO focus Chevron

    Where you’re looking to focus your SEO efforts can also affect the average cost of SEO.

    Some examples include:

    • Ecommerce SEO
    • Local SEO
    • Voice search SEO
    • Technical SEO
    • Off-page SEO
    • On-page SEO
    • SEO audits

    Depending on your needs, you might need one-time SEO assistance vs. ongoing SEO work. Or, you might need a specialist in ecommerce SEO vs. traditional SEO, which could result in higher or lower costs depending on the market’s saturation.

  • Existing SEO Chevron

    Your website’s existing SEO can also impact how much you pay for SEO services.

    If you’re investing in SEO audit services, for example, and hundreds of issues are found, you could pay a significant amount to fix those issues. In comparison, if the audit only found a few errors, you could remedy the problems in-house or pay a lower fee to have them fixed by a professional.

    While shopping for SEO services, many providers will offer to audit your SEO for free.

    When this happens, request they walk your team through the audit results. Some disreputable providers will claim your website has thousands of issues to push you to purchase their services. When pressed, though, they’ll rarely follow through in showing you the evidence of these issues.

  • Add-ons Chevron

    Add-on services can also affect your search engine optimization costs. Some examples include:

    • SEO content writing
    • Graphic design
    • SEO audit
    • SEO web design

    These can even extend to other digital marketing services, like pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, which you’ll most often find with full-service agencies. The advantage here is that you can create a bundled service and manage your outsourced marketing in one place.

  • Agency location Chevron

    Where your SEO agency (or SEO consultant) operates can also affect your SEO costs.

    If your agency resides in an area with a high cost of living, like California, you will see higher SEO prices. That’s because they have higher operating costs, from rental space to employee salaries. However, partnering with an SEO provider where the cost of living is lower can result in lower SEO rates.

  • Tools Chevron

    Your SEO company’s toolkit can also affect your SEO costs.

    Over the years, it’s become more common for SEO agencies to use third-party or in-house toolkits for:

    • Auditing website SEO
    • Completing SEO optimizations
    • Reporting SEO performance
    • And more

    In our experience, these providers often have higher SEO prices to offset their technology costs.

    Higher costs due to technology aren’t bad, especially if you’re getting value from that tech. What is important to consider, though, is how sudden price shifts by third-party providers can impact your SEO costs overnight. In comparison, in-house toolkits tend to have more stable pricing.

Is it worth paying these fees for SEO services?

When it comes to whether SEO is worth the cost, we recommend asking yourself the following questions:

  • Are you meeting your SEO goals?
  • Are you beating competitors in search?
  • Are you fulfilling your other role obligations?

What these questions aim to determine is if you’re struggling with the following:

  • Time
  • Goals
  • Knowledge

If you find yourself struggling, whether it’s with meeting SEO goals, completing SEO work, or fulfilling other job obligations, it’s worth considering paying for SEO services from a reputable SEO provider, like an agency or consultant.

Understanding SEO costs as a seller

As a seller, you have several considerations when pricing your services, from covering your overhead to remaining competitive with other SEO companies. That’s why understanding SEO costs is critical to running a successful SEO agency.

What are the SEO pricing models?

There are a few SEO pricing models available, including:

Pricing model Description Average SEO cost
Monthly SEO services Ongoing services, typically with an initial contract $1500 – $5000
Hourly SEO fees One-time or ongoing services $100 – $300
One-time SEO projects One-time projects for larger initiatives $5000 – $30,000

You can offer all the above pricing models based on your market. For example, many agencies offer monthly services, hourly consulting services, and one-time fees for audits and other initiatives.

What determines SEO rates?

SEO providers consider several factors when determining SEO rates:

  • Project scope Chevron

    Many SEO agencies provide custom vs. flat-rate pricing because every project is different.

    Project factors that can influence your SEO rates include:

    • Existing SEO
    • Focus area, like assisting with a website migration or providing ongoing SEO
    • Project goals
    • Project duration

    That’s why — before signing with a client — it’s important to consult and understand their goals and expectations.

  • Time investment Chevron

    How much time you (or your team) invests into each account will also influence your SEO rates.

    That’s why it’s common for SEO companies to quote clients based on the number of hours given.

    If you’re operating solo as a consultant, your time, experience, and availability often work together to shape your SEO prices.

  • Payment structure Chevron

    Payment structure includes:

    • Pricing model, like monthly, hourly, or project-based
    • Payment structure, like upfront, milestone, or post-project

    As an example, if your agency accepts project-based contracts, you might require clients to pay 50% of project costs at the start and then the remaining 50% at the end.

  • Duration Chevron

    The duration of the project or service agreement can also impact how much you charge for SEO.

    For example, if you’re an SEO contractor, your agreement could be:

    • Provide 40 hours of SEO assistance for six months
    • Provide 1 hour / week of SEO consulting following the six-month contract
  • Market demand Chevron

    The demand for SEO services and your solutions will also determine how much your SEO services cost.

    If you’re in high-demand, that often indicates trust and value in your offerings.

    When this scenario happens, freelancers and agencies can become overwhelmed, which is why many will increase their SEO prices to decrease demand and make it manageable.

Understanding SEO costs as an in-house SEO

As an in-house SEO, you have several considerations when asking for budget, from tools to talent. That’s why understanding how much SEO costs for internal SEO marketing teams is critical.

How much does in-house SEO cost?

In-house SEO costs significantly more than outsourced SEO, like to a consultant, agency, or freelancer. Typically, businesses pay upwards of $40,000 for each SEO team member every year. This amount does not include fringe benefits, like taxes and insurance.

What determines in-house SEO costs?

Several factors determine in-house SEO costs:

  • Experience Chevron

    The experience required for your SEO roles will impact your SEO costs significantly.

    For example, hiring an SEO with four years experience vs. eight years experience will lead to drastically different compensation.

  • Team size Chevron

    Got SEOs? The more you have, the more SEO costs you’ll have, since each will receive compensation regardless of employment status (full-time, part-time, etc.).

  • Business location Chevron

    Your company’s location can also affect employee compensation. Businesses located in California, for example, will pay different rates than organizations in Minnesota.

    Companies that support remote work will adjust compensation based on the employee’s location.

    So, if the employee lived in Minnesota vs. California, their compensation would align more with the cost-of-living in Minnesota vs. California.

  • Tech stack Chevron

    Your SEO tech stack will also shape your SEO costs. While free SEO tools exist, in-house SEO programs often benefit from some paid options like Ahrefs or Semrush.

Get custom SEO pricing for your business

When outsourcing your SEO, you’ll find immense value in working with a provider that builds a custom solution for your company. If that’s what you’re looking for, we speak your language. Contact us today to receive custom SEO pricing for your business from WebFX (the team behind SEO.com)!

Portrait of a smiling woman with long hair, transparent background.
Sarah Berry is a Lead SEO Consultant at one of the largest SEO agencies in the USA — WebFX. With more than 10,000 hours of SEO experience, she offers practical insights and strategies you can use to grow your rankings, traffic, and revenue from search.
Team WebFX

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