SEO pricing explained
SEO and marketing prices can be hard to compare. This guide explains the common pricing models and what to ask before you agree to anything.
Prices for SEO and digital marketing work vary enormously, from freelancers to large agencies, and from one-off fixes to long-term campaigns. That makes headline figures almost meaningless. What helps more is understanding how work is priced and what you are actually paying for. Task Taste does not sell SEO services; this page is a guide for anyone comparing quotes.
Common pricing models
Monthly retainer. The most common model for ongoing SEO, content and social media work. You pay a fixed amount each month for an agreed scope, such as a number of articles, technical monitoring and reporting. Ask exactly what the retainer covers and what happens if priorities change.
Project fee. Used for defined pieces of work such as an SEO audit, a website migration or a new site build. The scope and deliverables should be written down clearly.
Hourly or day rate. Common for consultants and for advice, training or small fixes. It is flexible but harder to budget, so ask for estimates.
Performance-based pricing. Payment tied to rankings, traffic or leads. It sounds attractive, but be careful: rankings can be gamed with low-value keywords, and outcomes depend on many things outside a supplier's control.
What drives the cost
- Scope: a small local site needs far less work than a large online shop.
- Competition: ranking in a crowded market takes more content and more time.
- Starting point: a site with technical problems needs fixing before anything else.
- Content production: writing, editing, design and video take real time.
- Experience and location of the people doing the work.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly will you do each month, and who will do it?
- How will you report progress, and which numbers will you show?
- How long is the contract and what is the notice period?
- Who owns the content, accounts and data if we part ways?
- How do you build links, and can you show examples?
Warning signs
Be cautious with anyone who guarantees first-place rankings, will not explain their methods, offers thousands of links for a small fee or locks you into a long contract before showing results. No one can promise a specific position in Google.
Doing some of it yourself
Many small businesses handle part of the work in-house, such as writing blog posts, updating their Google Business Profile or posting on social media, and bring in help for technical or specialist tasks. Our guides to SEO techniques and content marketing are a good place to start.