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SEO Pricing Model

by Skyldust
7 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Greetings fellow warriors, this is my first post so I will jump right in.

I come from a web development background and I'm attempting to build an SEO/internet marking agency. Although I've had some experience with SEO in the past, I've spent the last couple of weeks brushing up my skills and laying everything out. At the moment I'm planning the pricing model. I know the three main types of payment are per project, hourly, and monthly. After much deliberation I decided that I will offer hourly service and provide a clear estimate of the number of hours. I have yet to establish whether the rate will be the same for all customers or will vary depending on certain factors. Beside that, there will be a monthly retainer option for more involved customers. Pretty straightforward.

I'm hoping somebody will take up the challenge and shoot holes through my pricing model. I would also be grateful if I could get suggestions regarding what the hourly and monthly rates should be.

Thanks.
#business #model #pricing #seo
  • Profile picture of the author Laubster
    Never really heard of anyone charging hourly SEO unless they're a freelancer. Almost everyone charges monthly, and your pricing should be more based on how much value you deliver than your costs + profit or any kind of estimate related to how much time you spend working.
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    • Profile picture of the author Skyldust
      Thanks for your response.

      Initially, I will complete the first few projects on my own. The reason why I'm calling the enterprise a business is because it's my ultimate goal to turn it into a company. That's beside the point, though. I've done research into the general SEO pricing models, most (or at least a notable portion) of them do in fact offer hourly rates. According to Moz, per-project pricing is the most popular, with monthly and hourly following close by: SEO Pricing: 600+ Agencies Share Costs of Services & Pricing Models - Moz

      My initial though was to charge on per-project basis, but I felt that customers would be "scared away" by large numbers being thrown around. Either that, or I would be doing a lot of extra work for no compensation. Maybe both.

      I agree that value should be the primary factor determining the pricing. Of course providing quality service is one of my main concerns, but how would you propose I establish that though pricing? I'm very much open to reconsider my plan, I have not made my mind up completely.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ontealdon
    Keep it simple, do it straight.
    Just price it per service, create packs and look for similar ones on here to see the market.
    If you're going to do local marketing, then you can price a bit more because generally there aren't much competition.
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    A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
    -Henry Ford
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  • Profile picture of the author FIVE STAR
    I have always quoted based on the customer's need.
    For example...

    Customer #1 has a website and it has been maintained with decent keywords, descriptions, and titles.. He is showing in organic search but not in local results.... So, here's a need
    This same customer has the website but no social media outlets... Here's another need.

    Customer #2 has a Facebook page and no website. He's generating leads through the phone or private message to get customers in the door through his business page. Other than that, he's alone in the wild. Here's a need - Web design, on-page SEO, G+, Local, etc...

    So, in order to please both of these customers, you could "A" create a package for customers that fall into these brackets/scenarios or you could "B" simply quote based on the amount of time you'd expect to deliver results based on the immediate need and leave room for expandable packages to increase rank/visibility.

    I try to give all of my clients "PACKAGES" to choose from. (Usually 3)

    Lay out the packages in front of them and 9 out of 10 times they will go with package B or C... They don't want to be on the bottom. It's a red flag for me if a customer wants to be on the bottom because it shows they don't really care about the services you're providing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Skyldust
      Like Laubster suggested, I will try to base my pricing more on the value I'm providing. The agency will not only focus on pure SEO, but will also actively try to increase the customer business' conversion rate (Hence why I've referred to it as an internet marketing agency). We will try to establish that by improving the UX of the given website and also by supplementing it with social media.

      I'm changing my mind about the pricing model I've suggested previously. Now I'm leaning towards monthly payments. Since I'm planning on charging for value, I'm thinking I could base it on three general factors: rankings, social media, and conversion rate (they could be akin to packages). If a customer wanted to improve in all three of those areas, I would charge more.

      The reason why I want to draw this out specifically is because I want to include the pricing model on the agency website. I want the user to have some idea of what we will be charging.

      Also, any suggestions for the monthly rate ballpark?
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  • Profile picture of the author Laubster
    My friend has a lot of success getting people going for $250 on some low competition keywords, proving he can do what he says he can do, and then raising the price if they want more keywords (that are more competitive). All depends on how good you are at Selling.
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    • Profile picture of the author Skyldust
      I'm gathering that most of the starting-out or lower end companies begin their monthly pricing around the $200 mark. I figure I could establish the basic monthly fee within that ballpark and increase it based on additional value provided. Perhaps initially I could charge even lower by offering a limited time promotion/discount. Thoughts?
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