How Much Does SEO Cost in 2024?

When you consider investing in SEO for your business, you might wonder, “How much does SEO cost?” and “Why does SEO cost so much?” These are valid questions. After all, good SEO isn’t cheap. However, it’s essential for better visibility and growth for your business.

In this article, we’ll give you a clear SEO pricing guide. We’ll break down what affects SEO costs and how much you need to invest to get the results you’re after.

What’s the Cost of SEO Based on a Pricing Model?

There are several ways to pay for search engine optimization services. You can choose between hourly, one-time, or monthly options. Let’s take a closer look at these three SEO pricing models:

Hourly Rates

An hourly fee is the most straightforward payment option and allows you to pay for the total number of hours spent on your project. This particular model is convenient for most business owners because of its flexible nature. It can work out well for both short projects and relatively long ones.

We reviewed the hourly rates of 72 SEO agencies on platforms like Clutch. Our data shows that the cost of SEO services ranges from $25 to $199 per hour, with $150 being the most common rate. Here’s a more detailed overview:

Keep in mind that these rates can vary based on the SEO provider you choose, their experience, and where they’re located. For example, agencies in the US and Canada usually charge more than those in India.

When you consider your options, our tip is to not only look at the price. Sometimes, a lower cost might mean less experienced SEO specialists, which could end up doing more harm than good to your site.

Monthly Retainer

Many SEO agencies offer their services on a monthly retainer basis. This is when you pay a set amount each month for ongoing work. Ahrefs’ survey suggests that the average SEO prices for this model range between $500 and $1,000 per month.

A monthly retainer is a good fit if you’re looking for consistent, ongoing improvements to your search engine optimization efforts. It helps you build a strong working relationship with your agency and offers steady progress over time.

However, this approach isn’t always the best option for everyone. If you’re a small business owner and you only need specific services like keyword research or a technical audit, monthly SEO services might not be necessary. In those cases, a one-time service could be more suitable.

It’s also important to check if the monthly services from the SEO company you choose cover all your needs. Sometimes, agencies may offer lower prices but only provide basic SEO services.

One-Time SEO Services

With a one-time SEO pricing model, you pay a fixed amount for a specific project rather than hourly. The average SEO costs of one-time services is around $500-$5,000 and can go up to even $10,000 for larger websites.

The best part with this model is that you know the cost upfront, so there are no surprises later. This price is agreed upon based on the project’s length and complexity. One of the most popular one-time services is the SEO audit. Other common services include:

• On-page optimization
• Keyword research
• Content creation and optimization
• Backlink analysis and cleanup
• Niche analysis
• Local SEO setup

SEO Cost Based on Business Size

SEO pricing can also depend on the size of your business. Larger companies often have more complex websites and need advanced SEO strategies to stay competitive. On the other hand, small businesses might have simpler sites with less demanding needs.

For example, If you’re a small business with a focus on a local market, you might only need local SEO services and a few on-page improvements. Because of this, SEO costs for small businesses will generally be lower.

But if you’re a larger company with a complex website, you’ll likely require services like in-depth technical SEO audits and a broader content strategy. This means the cost will be higher to handle all these elements and stay ahead of the competition.

Let’s look at the monthly SEO cost breakdown based on your company’s size:

• Small business: $1,500-$3,500
• Mid-sized business: $3,000-$7,000
• Large business: $10,000-$25,000

These figures can give you a good starting point to plan your marketing budget. Remember, it’s all about finding the right balance between what you need and what you can afford.

Industry-Specific SEO Costs

SEO pricing can differ significantly depending on your industry, mainly due to keyword competition and other factors.

To help you get a better sense of what you might spend, we’ve looked into costs across various fields. Here’s what we found:

• Home service businesses like HVAC, plumbing, or landscaping usually face local competition, which drives up SEO prices. However, the cost of local SEO tends to be a bit lower, at $500 to $1,000 per month.
• For B2B SaaS companies, which often rely on content and backlinks, search engine optimization costs are around $75-$200 per hour. When it comes to monthly SEO services, the price generally ranges from $1,500 to $4,500, while larger companies spend up to $10,000.
• In healthcare, you can expect to pay around $100 per hour. The monthly retainers cost between $600 and $5,000 and depend on the type of services you need, your location, and your business size.
• If you’re in the ecommerce sector, there are a few things that can influence SEO pricing — your competition, how big your site is, and what niche you are in. Usually, hourly rates for ecommerce SEO services range from $100 to $300, while monthly SEO packages cost between $2,000 and $10,000. If your site is very large, the price can be even higher because you need continuous work to keep all your product pages optimized.
• Pricing for SEO in the iGaming industry is usually higher for a few reasons. First of all, this field is very competitive and everyone’s fighting for keywords like “online casino.” Also, with all the regulations in this industry, you need a team that knows how to navigate these legal aspects. Naturally, that expertise doesn’t come cheap.
• Legal SEO pricing can vary based on your specialty, location, and the size of your firm. Moreover, the competitiveness of certain legal keywords can drive up costs. So it’s important to consider these factors when setting your marketing budget.

What Determines the Cost of SEO?

There are quite a few factors that can influence your SEO costs, including your existing performance, competition, and more. Let’s explore them in more detail:

The Current State of Your SEO Performance

Your current performance is one of the factors that can affect your SEO pricing. If your site is already well-optimized with strong content and a solid technical foundation, ongoing SEO costs may be lower. In this case, the focus will shift to refining and expanding your strategy to build on existing results.

However, if your site has significant issues — such as technical problems, poor content, or a lack of backlinks — the costs may be higher. Addressing these issues will require more work and investment. In general, the more foundational work needed, the higher the SEO costs.

Competition in Your Niche Market

In competitive fields like law, real estate, or finance, improving your performance can take more time and resources. Keywords in these industries are harder to rank for, so you’ll need a strong SEO strategy. This means focusing on keyword optimization, building quality links, and content creation. As a result, expect higher costs to achieve the results you’re aiming for.

In contrast, if you’re in a less crowded field, say a local bakery or a niche ecommerce store, the competition may be lower and your SEO efforts might not need to be as extensive. This is because keywords in these niches are usually easier to rank for and you can achieve good results much faster, which can keep your SEO cost down.

Finally, even though it does take more time and effort in competitive niches, the potential return on investment can make it worthwhile.

The Urgency of SEO Results

If you need to see results quickly, it might affect your SEO services pricing. Urgent results usually require more experienced professionals, advanced tools, and sometimes even paid advertising. All of these things can be costly.

It’s also important to remember that SEO takes time and you can’t expect results overnight. So if an agency is promising quick results, be cautious. Fast doesn’t always mean safe. They could be using shady tactics that lead to Google penalties, which can hurt your site in the long run. It’s always better to focus on steady progress.

Your Business Goals and Needs

What goals are you trying to achieve? Are you looking to attract more website traffic, get more online sales, or improve your visibility in organic search results?

The answer to this question can determine your SEO cost. If you have big goals, such as outranking your competitors in a highly competitive market or rapidly growing your customer base, your SEO strategy may need more resources. Such goals need advanced SEO campaigns with in-depth keyword research, competitor analysis, and off-page services.

In contrast, businesses with simpler goals, like improving local visibility, can expect lower SEO cost per month. Achieving this goal could involve tasks like basic keyword optimization, content updates, and local SEO, which need a smaller investment.

Similarly, if you’re getting traffic but not seeing sales, you might only need to focus on improving your conversion rates. This could mean changing your calls to action or making the user experience better, which generally costs less.

Target Audience and Demographic

SEO pricing can also be tied to the target audience you’re trying to reach. If you are planning to run a national SEO campaign or target customers internationally, it may affect your SEO costs.

That’s because when you target multiple regions or countries, you need to pay attention to differences in language, culture, and search behavior. As a result, you need services like localized content, geo-targeted keyword research, and optimizing for region-specific search results.

Simply put, the bigger your audience, the more effort and expertise are needed to reach them effectively. This naturally leads to higher SEO costs.

Your SEO Provider’s Level of Expertise

More experienced SEO companies can charge higher rates for their services. This is because they have in-depth search engine optimization knowledge and a proven track record of achieving results for their clients.

Such SEO providers stay up-to-date with the latest trends and algorithms. They also use advanced software and have the skills to handle complex issues like recovering from a Google penalty or fixing technical problems. All of these explain why they can charge higher fees.

Let’s look at how expertise level can affect your SEO pricing:

• For hourly rates, less experienced SEO professionals with under two years of experience might charge around $50-$75 per hour. However, those with more than ten years of expertise charge around $150 per hour.
• When it comes to monthly SEO pricing plans, the difference is even more noticeable. For example, professionals with 5 to 10 years of experience generally charge between $500 and $1,000 per month. But if you opt for someone with over ten years of experience, your SEO monthly costs could be around $3,000.

The higher rates may be worth it due to the value of working with experienced professionals who can deliver better and more consistent results.

Types of Services Offered

As you might expect, not all agencies offer the same services. This, too, can influence the SEO pricing. The reason for this is that some SEO services cost more than others. This could be because they take more time, require specialized skills, or both.

For example, it’s cheaper to conduct keyword research than to build links or create high-quality content. Why? Because finding keywords your potential customers use is a much faster and more straightforward process while building a strong backlink profile requires more time and effort.

What Your SEO Services Should Include?

Since many companies offer different types of services, let’s take a look at the most common ones:

1. Technical site audit evaluates the performance of your site and is usually conducted during the initial stage of SEO. The frequency of these audits mostly depends on your industry and the size of your site. For example, if you run a large ecommerce website, it’s best to perform a technical audit every 2-3 months. The same applies when you make big changes or updates to your site.
2. Link audit is the process of assessing the links that are pointing to your site. When done regularly, these audits can protect your site from harmful or spammy inbound links and improve your site performance.
3. On-page SEO is focused on optimizing your website pages, meta titles, headers, and images. This optimization is usually done regularly, about once a month.
4. Link building involves securing backlinks from authoritative sites in your industry. This process usually takes time but helps to achieve long-term results.
5. Keyword tracking allows you to see the performance of your target keywords. These reports are typically sent monthly to help you see your progress and point out if any changes need to be made.
6. Competitor analysis and monitoring aim to track what your competitors are doing. This includes checking their strengths and weaknesses, as well as identifying potential keyword gaps. This analysis is usually done at the beginning, before creating an SEO strategy, but it is also important to continue monitoring even after optimization.
7. Local SEO focuses on improving region-specific visibility. For example, if your business operates in a certain area, this service helps you show up for relevant geo-targeted keywords and drive more foot traffic to your business.
8. Internal linking is the process of connecting different pages on your site. This service improves your website navigation and helps search engines understand your content better.
9. A/B testing is when an SEO specialist compares two variations of your web page to see which one performs better.
10. Conversion rate optimization means improving your website elements like structure, content, and calls to action to increase the number of conversions. The conversions in this case not only mean sales but also sign-ups, downloads, or consultation requests.
11. Weekly or monthly reports involve regular communication with the account manager or your team to see the results of your SEO campaigns.

Let's Tailor Your SEO

SeoProfy provides all of the key services to drive growth for your business. We customize our plans and create a strategy that fits your goals and budget. Reach out to us today, and we’ll help you:

• Fix issues that affect your site’s performance
• Attract the right audience with smart keyword targeting
• Boost your authority with high-quality links
• Maximize your visibility through on-page optimization.

Get your custom SEO proposal

ROI of SEO Investment

When you invest time and money into SEO, it’s natural to wonder if it will actually pay off. The good news is that many businesses find it to be a worthwhile investment.

In fact, research from Brightedge shows that organic search can account for around 44.6% of a company’s revenue. This means that investing in search engine optimization can contribute to your bottom line.

For example, if over the course of the year, you invest $36,000 in SEO and it helps generate an additional $150,000 in revenue, your ROI would be 316.7%.

Of course, the ROI you can expect also depends heavily on your industry. According to the recent SEO ROI statistics, here are the returns companies across industries see after investing in SEO for three years:

• B2B SaaS: 702%
• Ecommerce: 317%
• Home services: 678%
• Legal services: 526%

These numbers show just how effective search engine optimization can be. Although the average cost for SEO services can be high, the potential for these kinds of returns makes it a smart move for companies that want to grow and succeed in the long run.

Is It Worth Paying for SEO?

The short answer is yes. SEO services can be a great investment for your business. It can help help you reach the right customers and improve your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).

However, the ultimate answer depends on your business, SEO budget, and goals. For example, if your business offers a niche product and there’s no search traffic for your target keywords, then it’s probably not the best investment for your business.

Another factor is your goals. If your budget is $2,000 a month and you need to attract more customers quickly, SEO might not deliver the results you want, as it isn’t a quick fix.

In such cases, we recommend PPC advertising but keep in mind that ads don’t provide long-term benefits. Once they stop running, the flow of leads will also decrease.

On the other hand, search engine optimization provides a steady flow of customers over time. Even after you’ve optimized your site, it continues to attract the right audience. It can also help you:

• Improve brand visibility
• Build credibility and trust
• Generate long-term ROI
• Improve user experience.

Overall, the value of SEO cannot be overstated, as it is a smart long-term investment that offers lasting benefits and sustainable growth.

How Much Should I Spend on SEO?

The answer depends on your business size, goals, and industry. Small business owners might start with a budget of around $1,500 per month, $75 per hour, or $1,000 per project.

If you’re a larger company, you may need to invest more due to the more complex SEO strategies needed to handle big websites. Here are a few other things to consider when figuring out your budget:

The Expertise of the SEO Specialist/Agency

If you want to work with an experienced agency, it’s important to understand that their SEO services pricing is going to be on the higher end.

As we’ve mentioned earlier, these SEO experts understand all the nuances of search engines, know what works for different businesses, and have a track record of success. This expertise costs more, but it’s worth it if you want to see real improvements in your rankings and traffic.

Content Creation

Good SEO requires content, which means you’ll need to hire expert writers who specialize in your niche. This can also increase SEO pricing.

But remember that quality content helps you connect with the right audience and turn them into loyal customers. So, it’s an investment that can really pay off.

Link Building

Backlinks are still considered one of the main ranking factors. The inbound links signal to Google that your site is a trusted source of information and can help increase your authority.

To build a strong backlink profile you’ll likely need to partner with an agency that has an outreach team and established connections with authoritative websites. This also leads to higher SEO costs.

At the same time, we don’t recommend using cheap link building methods. Such links can lower your rankings and even get your page removed completely from search results.

SEO Tools

To analyze your website, find the right keywords, and track your performance, you’ll need specialized software. Tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush are great for this, but they are usually expensive and can also impact SEO agency pricing.

Besides external tools, many companies use their in-house tools. These custom tools offer more relevant and accurate insights that are different from what external tools provide and help agencies check metrics others might miss.

That said, working with experts who use both in-house and industry-recognized tools does come with higher SEO prices.

Invest in the Right SEO Agency to Increase Your Revenue

We understand that search engine optimization is a big investment and you want to make sure it pays off. That’s why, at SeoProfy, we offer clear pricing and only take on your project if we know we can deliver the results you’re after.

We’ve been mastering SEO for 12 years and have helped our clients see returns as high as 780%. Want to see similar results?

Contact us today and our team will develop a personalized strategy to increase your sales and revenue!

Author

Andrew Shum

Andrew is the Head of SEO at SeoProfy. He has been involved in search engine optimization since 2016, gaining practical SEO experience across various niches and countries.