I am getting quotes ranging from $500 a month to $10,000 a month. I'm totally lost on what a "fair" price is for a medium-sized website. What are the common pricing models (retainer vs performance) and what should I expect to get for a $2,500 monthly investment?
3 answers
SEO pricing is generally a "you get what you pay for" situation. Anything under $1,000 is likely automated and won't move the needle for a competitive domain. For $2,500 a month, you should expect a comprehensive retainer that includes: 1-2 high-quality long-form blog posts per month, a full technical audit with implementation support, and a dedicated account manager. Most reputable agencies prefer a monthly retainer because SEO takes 4-6 months to show significant results. Performance-based models can be tricky because agencies might focus on "easy" keywords that drive traffic but zero revenue just to hit their targets.
If you're paying $2,500 a month, how much of that is going toward "content" versus "link building"? I've seen agencies charge a high retainer but then expect the client to pay extra for every guest post or backlink they secure.
Avoid any agency that bills by the hour. You want an agency that bills by the outcome or a fixed scope of work. Hourly billing in SEO leads to inefficiency and bloated invoices.
Spot on, Brian. Fixed monthly scopes allow for better planning. SEO is a marathon, and you need a partner who is focused on the finish line, not how many hours they spent "analyzing."
Steven, that should be clarified in the "Scope of Work" (SOW). A good $2,500 retainer should include a set number of "earned" links. If they are charging extra for links, it might mean they are just buying them from link farms, which is a huge risk. Always ask for an "all-inclusive" price that covers both the strategy and the execution.