How Much Does SEO Cost? The Price of Organic Search Success

Different goals, different services, different providers - there are so many factors that make up the cost. Without evaluating your individual needs, it’s impossible to get that “how much” answer you’re looking for, but a clearer picture can be painted.

Factors That Determine SEO Costs

The more work = the more time = the higher the cost. How much needs work needs doing will ultimately determine the price, but what factors influence that?

Competition

Your website,and how it compares to the top performing competitors is going to play a massive part in how much needs to be done. Consider: How far am I from matching the competitors' efforts?

· Are you targeting everything they are and more?

· Compared to them, how well are you targeting them?

If you've invested in SEO before, the likelihood is the cost will be lower than the price than starting fresh. Websites on aged domains always give an advantage - lots of high quality backlinks pointing to your domain already is a good head start.

Goals

With a goal to be seen locally, it will likely cost a lot less to achieve than getting seen across the UK. That said, with a business in a competitive industry, it could be more expensive for them to rank locally than a low competition business to rank well across the UK. All in all, it all depends.

Website Setup

Notoriously, custom code websites cost more to optimise than those on CMS like WordPress, Shopify, and so on. With custom code websites, changes need to be made in the backend, which all in code, takes time - time of a developer. With common CMS, there are often plugins e.g. ones to change the URLs of internal links, which can save lots of time, and cost.

Common SEO Pricing Models

With each and every provider, SEO is done differently. Different service offerings, different approaches, a price from one will always be different to another. That said, there are a few common pricing models, those of which being:

·  Monthly retainer

·  Project based

·  Hourly rate

Monthly retainer

An SEO monthly retainer is an ongoing service package designed for websites to receive continuous search engine optimisation. Usually used by agencies, these allow websites to receive ongoing attention, keeping them up to date with best practices and highly competitive, all at a fixed cost per month.

Retainers are priced in different ways - some providers offer different tiers of packages, whereas others assess your needs and calculate price based on the estimated amount of work required. Monthly retainers can range anywhere from£300 for small businesses all the way to £2,000 or much higher for large businesses. It really depends on your specific requirements and the provider you choose.

Project based

Project-based SEO is a common pricing model used for specific SEO tasks like one-off optimisations, audits, and technical fixes. This approach is used by most agencies and consultants, particularly during onboarding or for ad-hoc support when you need specific deliverables completed.

Pricing is usually calculated based on estimated time multiplied by hourly rate. For standardised services like SEO audits, many providers offer fixed packages with set deliverables and timelines.

Hourly rate

Hourly rate SEO pricing, as you can probably guess, is where an agency or consultant gets paid for work to be complete by the hour. It's very common among providers who also offer monthly retainers, particularly for additional work outside the standard retainer scope.

Hourly rates work well for businesses that need flexible, on-demand SEO support without long-term commitment, or when you have specific tasks that don't warrant a full retainer. Rates typically range from £40-£150+ per hour depending on the provider's expertise, scale, and location.

Average Cost of SEO by Service Type

Each SEO service doesn’t follow the same pricing model. Whereas one may be done on a project-based basis, another may be on a fixed monthly retainer. So, for the three most common SEO services, what can you expect to pay?

SEO Auditing

Proper SEO audits are quite often the first cost to SEO, finding what needs doing to shape the start or next stage of a strategy. On average, they can cost anywhere from as little as £400 to £2000+, coming down to the size of your website, audit depth, and more.

Quite often, there is the misconception that SEO audits are free. Each provider does things differently and has different standards, but proper SEO audit services don't just consist of neatly presenting "issues" from a tool. Consisting of manual reviews, they present actual value that takes time to uncover - that's why they come at a cost.

SEO Consultancy

Consultancy is usually sold as a fixed price monthly retainer, inclusive of access to professionals' exclusive advice, planning, and support. On top of this, ad hoc support may be provided for tasks you might struggle with internally.

Retainers can start from as low as £80/month for smaller businesses, rising to £1,000+for larger. Factors like industry competitiveness, level of involvement, and consultant expertise all influence the final cost.

SEO Management

Of all the ongoing SEO services, SEO management typically costs the most. As the complete hands-on execution of a strategy, it requires the most time and input. Most providers deliver it on a monthly retainer over a set period.

The more work required, the higher the cost. On average, you can expect to pay £300 to £2,000+ per month. If you've already done SEO, are ranking well, or operate in a low-competition space, costs may be lower. If you're in a competitive industry, with a new site that's yet to rank, expect to pay toward the higher end due to the increased work involved.

Why You Should Consider More Than Just the Cost

Cost is always going to be an important consideration, but with SEO, cheap doesn’t mean good – nor does expensive. Like any investment, you wouldn't just buy the one that’s the cheapest, you'd choose the one that has the best chance of driving you a return.

Agencies are notorious for charging more due to their overhead costs and established reputations, but this doesn't necessarily mean they'll deliver amazing results. Independent consultants can frequently deliver comparable or even better outcomes while working more closely with your business, all at a more competitive price.

When evaluating SEO providers, consider factors beyond pricing that directly impact your success. Think about whether the provider works in a way that suits you and has the experience and expertise to deliver results. Examine each provider, ask them questions, and find one you trust. Those wanting to do paid in-depth research first to develop a strategy is always a good sign.

Budget SEO: Ways You Can Low The Cost

Hiring any provider to do SEO isn't going to be cheap any way you look at it. At the end of the day, it's a sought-after skill that, when done right, can deliver valuable long-lasting results for your business. That said, there are ways you can still do SEO on a smaller budget.

Going DIY

Giving SEO a go yourself isn’t uncommon, and there are lots of resources out there to help you do it. When trying to work on your business however, time intensive and so much to learn, it can become a drain on your time.

If you want to do SEO yourself, go for it, but it's advisable to work with an SEO consultant for guidance. Without really knowing what you're doing, you can spend a lot of time on low-impact tasks or worse, make changes that have a negative effect on your performance. A consultant can help you focus on the right priorities and avoid costly mistakes.

Collaboration

With some providers, particularly independent ones, you may be able to work closely with them on some of the less technical efforts to save yourself some cost. At Search Mad, this is something I encourage clients to do, as at the end of the day, you know your business best.

An area where collaboration is particularly effective is with content strategy. Working together on creating and optimising content, we can make sure we bring the most valuable content to the web, filled with unique information that search engines love.

Clear SEO Pricing, Every Step, Every Service

SEO is an investment, and the cost is different for each business. How much it'll cost for you, really does depend. Want to be a step closer to knowing exactly how much it'll cost for your business? Let's have a chat and go from there.

An independent search marketing specialist, I'm here to help you invest in SEO with confidence. Providing complete transparency into my pricing from day one, at every stage of all my SEO services, you'll know exactly where your money is going.

Take your next step towards search success – get in touch today.