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Are You Confused By The Many SEO Pricing Models?

Here are Tips on Picking the Perfect SEO Pricing Model for your Business Website

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Lalit Sharma
May 22, 2017


Lalit Sharma
Lalit Sharma has written 1 articles for CGIDir.
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SEO companies use different pricing models to attract businesses. You should choose carefully because different websites have different SEO needs based on such factors as:

  • The ranking of your direct competitors and the SEO tactics they are employing
  • Your industry/the products or services you are selling
  • Previous SEO efforts
  • Your SEO budget

Below are the different pricing models offered by most SEO companies and the business situations that they are ideal for.

Hourly Model

If you want to manage your own SEO campaign, hire an SEO consultant using this model to help you on a touch-and-go basis and to validate your work. This is important as you will avoid making common SEO mistakes and you will get peace of mind and valuable insight that trumps the financial investment will you be making.

This is a good option if you want peace of mind. You will get value for money since you will not have to pay when no SEO work is going on (which is a common pitfall with monthly models). However, you should note that SEO projects sometimes take longer than expected.

Go for this plan if you want accountability and transparency. The SEO firm will log the time worked and you will be able to track where the SEO firm is devoting its efforts. This makes this option a good idea if you want to convince your board, business partners, or other stakeholders to invest in SEO.

Go for this option if you have strict deadlines such as if you want to launch a website or a product on a certain date.

This is also a good option if you want your SEO firm to limit specific time to different aspects of SEO. You can, as an example, direct the SEO firm to spend X hours on social media optimization and Y hours on link building, depending on your specific needs.

A La Carte (Project-based) Model

This pricing model is ideal for businesses that want a specific service such as Facebook Profile optimization, on-page optimization, or link building.

This is a good option if you need help coming up with an SEO campaign from scratch.

You will pay a lump sum, making this a good idea if you do not have the time or energy to track hourly costs.

You can go for this plan if you want to add a specific component to your existing/ongoing SEO efforts. If you are not sure about the price point, ask the company how long the added component will take. This will help you determine whether you are paying a fair price.

Performance-based Model

This is a good pricing model for businesses that are skeptical about SEO companies and that fear not getting a return on their investment.

This is a good option if you are a skeptic of SEO services. With this plan, you will only pay once you get real results.

A good performance SEO company will give you prices upfront, making this a good option if you have a fixed SEO budget.

Go for this option if you are a startup business and you do not have enough time and resources for marketing.

However, note that although this sounds like the perfect pricing structure, it really is not. As an example, if you are paying a company to get high ranking, the company may employ Black Hat SEO tactics.  This might have worked in 2012, but it cannot work with Google algorithm changes such as Panda and Penguin, and it could even lead to the banning of your website.

Monthly Model

This is a good idea if you intend to outsource SEO completely. A monthly plan allows you to concentrate on running your business, keeping in mind SEO can be time and energy consuming.

Go for this plan if you have complete faith and trust in the company you are working with and if you are able to verify that it has a good track record.

This is a good option if you are starting SEO from scratch because, in most cases, you get unlimited hours.

You will get good results with this because you will be building a partnership with the SEO firm and there will be no excuse for not getting results, since the SEO firm cannot claim it does not have the time or the funds needed for the work.

Profit Sharing Model

This is a less popular pricing model. It is a partnership in which you pay for results and you pay a portion of the profits. There will be payment caps and a time limit defining how long after the work is done you have to pay the SEO firm.

This may sound like the perfect plan, but you should note there is difficulty in reporting with today’s complex online marketing world.

Whichever SEO pricing option you go for, you should always remember the following.

  • It takes time to get the desired SEO results. You should therefore not push your SEO firm too hard as it might compromise and use Grey Hat or Black Hat SEOtechniques.
  • SEO changes and you should expect your ranking to change as well. The SEO field is full of competitors and you should expect your ranking to rise and fall as search engine algorithms change and as new competitors enter. You should not expect one-and-done SEO tricks by your SEO firm to improve your ranking.
  • Not all SEO services are equal. The SEO services that are usually priced high often give better results and are more difficult to implement, and vice versa. You can expect to pay more for high ranking.
  • Although SEO is not rocket science, you should hire a pro for the job since SEO can be time and energy consuming and it can prevent you from concentrating on running your business.

When choosing between different pricing models, if the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Go for companies that have been tried and tested such as Rankingbyseo.com. Indian companies have a history of excellence and great prices. Read reviews, rankings, and testimonials to get the best company.


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