How much does SEO cost?

The cost of SEO depends on three things: the size of your website, how competitive your market is and how much work still needs to be done. A local firm with a twenty-page site needs a very different project from an online shop with thousands of products competing against national brands. This page explains what drives SEO pricing, how to compare proposals fairly and how I put together a proposal.

What determines the price of SEO?

• Website size and technology: the number of pages, your CMS, filters and languages affect the amount of technical work.
• Competition: the more businesses compete for the same searches, the more content and authority you need.
• Starting point: a site with a solid foundation needs less than one with indexing problems or an outdated structure.
• Goals and timeline: entering a new market within six months requires more capacity than steady growth.
• Who does what: if your team writes the copy and your developer handles fixes, the consultant's share stays smaller.

How to compare SEO proposals

SEO prices vary widely, and a low monthly fee says little until you know what you get for it. Compare proposals on substance: which activities are included, how much time per month, who does the work, how results are reported and what happens if you want to stop. A good proposal links the investment to concrete goals, such as more enquiries or revenue from organic search.

How I price my work

I don't sell standard packages, because every website is different. After an intro call and a quick look at your site and competitors, you receive a proposal with a fixed price per project or per month. It states exactly what I will do, what your team does and how we measure results. No annual contract and no surprises.

Red flags with cheap SEO

• Guaranteed rankings: nobody can promise the top spot on Google; those who do often take risks with your domain.
• Link packages: hundreds of links for a fixed fee usually come from networks that Google recognises and ignores, or penalises.
• Reports without implementation: an automated list of hundreds of ‘errors’ says little about what really matters.
• Unclear who does the work: always ask who you will be working with and how experienced they are.

What is SEO worth to you?

‘How much does SEO cost?’ should always go together with ‘what will it bring in?’. Work out what an extra customer is worth and how many visitors you need to win one. Organic traffic has no cost per click and keeps flowing after the investment, whereas ads stop when the budget runs out. A strong SEO foundation also improves your visibility in AI search tools such as ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.