SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost?

SEO pricing varies massively, ranging from as little as $500 to over $50,000 per month. So, how do you figure out where you fit in? Let’s break it down.

My team and I surveyed 500 professionals to find out what they spend on SEO, how they pay, which services they value, and how they measure ROI. 

So, whether you want to refine your pricing or ensure your fees are fair, read on to learn more.

Key Takeaways

• We surveyed 500 U.S. professionals to find out how much they pay for SEO.
• Most businesses spend between $500 and $7,500 per month on SEO. The most common price range was $1,001 – $2,500 per month.
• Nearly 10 percent of businesses spend more than $20,000 per month on SEO, and 4 percentinvest over $50,000.
• Monthly retainers are the most common payment method across all SEO spending bands. Project-based fees are also common for low to mid-level budgets.
• Companies with big budgets are much more likely to work with agencies. Companies spending between $1,000 and $2,500 per month are more likely to work with consultants.
• Most respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with the ROI of SEO services. Only 1.6 percent of respondents thought the services weren’t worth the money.
• Clients can cut costs by handling keyword research or content creation themselves.

Our Methodology

We surveyed 500 U.S. full-time working professionals with knowledge of how much their business spends per month on SEO.

We asked them how much their business spent on external SEO services over the last year, what services they used, and how they paid. 

We also asked if they plan to increase or decrease SEO spending next year.

Finally, we asked them which services they feel are most valuable, along with how they determine SEO effectiveness and return on investment (ROI). 

How Much Does SEO Cost Per Month?

According to our survey, most businesses (50.8 percent) spend between $500 and $7,500 per month on SEO. The most common price band was $1,001 – $2,500 per month. 

33.8% of businesses also fell into the $500 – $1,000 per month and $2,501 – $5,000 per month bands. 

It’s not uncommon for large or high-growth companies to invest even more heavily in SEO. Almost 10 percent of respondents said their companies spent more than $20,000 on SEO each month, with 4 percent spending over $50,000. 

Only 5.4 percent of businesses spend less than $500 per month. 

Here are the monthly SEO pricing results in full:

Most respondents expected to increase SEO spending, many by significant amounts. The most common predicted increases in spending fell within the $2,501 – $5,000 and $5,001 – $7,500 ranges.

Only a small percentage of respondents are planning to decrease their SEO spending. These tended to be businesses spending less than $5,000 per month. Almost no respondents spending more than $10,000 per month on SEO planned to cut back. 

How Businesses Are Paying for SEO Services

Businesses pay for SEO through multiple models.

Monthly retainers (27.2 percent) and project-based fees (26.2 percent) are the most common, but other methods include: 

• Hourly rates (17.80 percent)
• Performance-based fees (16.20 percent)
• Multiple payment models (11.40 percent)

Monthly retainers are the most common payment method across all SEO spending bands. 

Project-based fees are more common methods for companies with low and mid-level budgets. For example, businesses that spend between $1,001 – $2,500 per month and $2,501 – $5,000 per month are just as likely to use monthly retainers as project-based fees. 

Businesses commonly use hourly rates between $1,001 and $2,500 per month.

Performance-based pricing is emerging as an alternative payment method where SEOs tie pay to results. Businesses with budgets above $5,000 per month agree to this method more than others. 

Companies that spend the most on SEO use multiple payment methods. This reflects the fact these businesses work with multiple providers, choosing different payment methods for different SEO services. 

Interestingly, smaller-budget companies often skip traditional payment models. More businesses spending less than $500 per month chose the “none of the above” option in the survey. This could be because they use one-off services or freelance marketplaces like Upwork. 

Factors That Impact SEO Pricing

SEO pricing depends on many factors, including the type of provider, payment model, and the services companies require. 

Here’s what influences SEO costs. 

Pricing Models

Payment models impact pricing. 

Monthly retainers are common at all expenditure levels, but they are especially common with businesses spending between $1,001 and $2,500 per month on SEO. Project-based spending is also common at this level. 

Hourly rates are much more common at lower budgets (less than $2,500 per month). This is likely due to small-scale projects or one-off consulting needs. 

Performance-based pricing is much more common with higher budgets ($5,000+). 

Services Required

The value customers place on SEO services reflects the price they’re willing to pay. The services that respondents found most valuable are:

• Keyword research and optimization
• Technical SEO
• Competitive analysis

The services they found least valuable are:

• Link building
• Video SEO
• Performance reporting

Companies with small budgets ($500 – $2,500) were more likely to find value in foundational SEO services like keyword research and technical SEO. Link building and reporting were seen as the least valuable, possibly because they were skeptical about the lack of ROI. 

Businesses with mid-level budgets ($2,500 – $10,000) invest in strategy and execution. They value competitive analysis, local SEO, and content optimization more highly. However, they do not value content creation as highly, suggesting they write copy in-house. 

Brands with large budgets invest heavily in content, technical SEO, and multi-channel approaches. They value niche services like video SEO less. 

Why Businesses Need Help

Why do companies hire SEO experts? Here’s what they told us:

• A lack of internal expertise (36.4 percent)
• Needing to launch a campaign quickly (23.8 percent)
• A lack of internal resources (17.2 percent)
• Wanting to reduce costs (14.8 percent)
• Dissatisfaction with internal results (7.8 percent)

Smaller businesses ($1,001–$2,500 range) often hire SEOs due to limited expertise. They also do this to a lack of internal resources and a wish to reduce internal costs. 

Companies with big budgets ($10,001 – $15,000) are more likely to need to launch campaigns quickly.

Who Delivers Services

Businesses use the following services to deliver SEO services: 

• freelancers (16.20 percent)
• consultants (21.60 percent) 
• agencies (24.80 percent) 
• a combination of providers (37.40%)

SEO agencies lead in high-budget projects. They are the leading provider for business spending over $10,000 per month. On the other hand, companies spending between $1,001 – $2,500 per month are more likely to work with consultants. 

Unsurprisingly, companies spending the most on SEO ($15,000+ per month) are more likely to work with multiple providers. These are large companies with comprehensive strategies that require help from multiple specialists.

How Does SEO Pricing Correlate With Satisfaction and ROI

Organic traffic (38.8 percent) and conversions (28.8 percent) are the top metrics respondents use to determine the effectiveness of SEO. Other measures included improved keyword rankings (18.8 percent) and increased authority and visibility (11.4 percent)

The majority of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with the return on investment (ROI) of the SEO services they paid for. Only 1.6 percent thought the services weren’t worth the price. 

Premium SEO services deliver higher satisfaction and ROI. High spenders (those with budgets exceeding $15,000) were more likely to feel their investment was “well worth the money”. This may be due to more comprehensive strategies and dedicated account management. 

Satisfaction with mid-tier and low-tier SEO services was more mixed. Most companies spending between $2,500 and $10,000 thought SEO was somewhat worth the price or delivered a neutral ROI. 

Over 25 percent of companies spending between $500 and $2,500 thought SEO was “not really worth the price.” This suggests budget SEO services may not deliver enough improvements or fail to set realistic expectations. 

Ways To Reduce SEO Costs

If clients aren’t happy with your SEO consulting pricing, you can suggest a couple of things to help them reduce costs:

• Keyword research. Have your clients use Ubersuggest to compile preliminary keyword research. This works particularly well because business owners should be familiar with the kinds of topics consumers search on Google. They may even find keywords you miss.   
• Content creation. There’s no need for you to create content for your clients if they want to save money. If they have in-house capacity, suggest that they create collateral like landing pages, social media messaging, and blog posts. Make sure to advise them on strategy first, though. 
• Local SEO. A lot of local SEO tasks, like creating NAP citations, are straightforward. Anyone can do them with a bit of training. It wouldn’t be hard to teach a client to manage their own Google Business Profile after a one-off consultation.

Don’t let clients try to reduce SEO costs too much, though. There are plenty of SEO tasks that require your expert input. So make sure you get paid your worth. 

FAQs

How much does SEO cost?

SEO can cost between $500 and over $50,000 per month, depending on various factors, including the services required, payment model, and industry. For example, a multi-market SEO campaign for an e-commerce brand will cost much more than a local SEO campaign for a regional plumber.

How much should you spend on SEO?

If you want to be like the average business in our survey, you should be spending between $1,000 and $7,500 per month on SEO. 

That’s if you’re a small to medium-sized business, however, national and multinational brands with complex SEO needs will need to spend in excess of $20,000 per month on SEO. There’s a reason 4 percent of companies in our survey spend more than $50,000 per month.

Why is SEO so expensive?

SEO can appear expensive because it requires a large upfront investment and doesn’t show immediate results. Increases in traffic and conversion can take several months to appear. 

The good news is our research shows the more businesses pay for SEO, the less expensive it appears. That’s because those with budgets exceeding $15,000 were more likely to feel their investment was “well worth the money”.

Conclusion

SEO pricing can be a minefield, especially if you’re starting out or moving from running a one-man consultancy to an agency. You need to strike a balance between getting paid your worth and creating an attractive SEO pricing package for clients.

I hope this article helps you understand client attitudes to pricing and the factors that affect them. Consider carefully what payment model you want to implement and which clients to target. 
Regardless of how much you charge for SEO services, be clear about expectations and prove that you deliver a return on investment to increase customer satisfaction as much as possible.