SEO Pricing Guide: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2024?

Search engine optimization is what connects your company to the majority of your customers.

In 2023, small businesses allocated a significant portion of their marketing budget to SEO, making it the third most prioritized channel (Hubspot’s State of Marketing Report) — and 94% of small businesses are looking to increase their digital marketing budgets for 2024 (Taradel’s 2023 Small Business Marketing Survey).

If you’re one of those marketers looking to up your SEO game, you’re likely researching a great deal about SEO costs in 2024. That’s what we’re here to help you understand. Whether you have a big budget or a minuscule one, we’ll guide you toward the right paid SEO services.

Key Takeaways

• Automated Local SEO pricing generally runs between $300–500 per month.
• Small-scale SEO pricing packages range between $1,500-$2,500 per month.
• Comprehensive Local SEO services can be as much as $3,000-$5,000 per month.
• Most businesses have budgets that range from $500/month to $10,000/month.
• Large SEO projects cost an average of $2,501-$5,000 per month. (Ahrefs)
• Average hourly SEO services cost $100-$300 per hour.
• SEO copywriting costs an average of $0.15 to $0.50 per word
• Link profile audits typically cost between $500 to $7,500
• SEO content audits typically cost between $500 to $7,500 each
• For small businesses, spend at least $500 per month on SEO to see results (Search Engine Journal).
• 12.96% of SEO practitioners reported they were working with budgets of more than $10,000. (SEJ State of SEO 2024)
• Nearly 48.9% of marketers expect their clients’ budgets to increase within the next 12 months (Search Engine Journal).
• At least 88% of those using SEO strategies will increase or maintain their investments. (Hubspot)
• Beware of an SEO agency that gives you a guarantee of results.
• Content marketing costs 62% less Compared to traditional marketing programs. (DemandMetric)

How Much Does SEO Cost Exactly?

We know business owners are hoping for a straight answer here. You want a figure that will fit neatly into your monthly or annual budget. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

The reality is that the cost of SEO can differ dramatically depending on the SEO services you need or want. SEO package pricing differs based on many factors, such as the amount of content needed, expectations, projections for business growth, and the range of services required.

You should have a fairly good idea of what to expect when you get quotes for SEO pricing from marketing agencies — so you aren’t overcharged or surprised later on down the road.

In this guide, we want to help businesses of all sizes understand how to budget properly for top-quality SEO services — and avoid getting taken advantage of.

How Are SEO Prices Determined?

To obtain an accurate estimate of SEO pricing from a marketer or agency, you will first need to provide some information about your business. This will help an SEO marketer determine just how much work will be required, the type of content needed, and approximately how long projects should take to complete.

Some of these important factors include (but are not limited to):

• The current state of your search presence
• The average revenue per sale
• Close rate of leads to sales
• Campaign goals
• How quickly you want to see results
• How the current marketing budget is allocated (such as percent of gross sales)

This partly explains why SEO pricing points can differ to such a great extent.

How Much Do Businesses Typically Spend on SEO Services?

According to the Search Engine Journal’s State of SEO Agency Report in 2024, most businesses have budgets that range from $500/month to $10,000/month. However, that same report also indicates that nearly 48.9% of agency SEO professionals expect their clients’ budgets to increase at least a little within the next 12 months.

The Search Engine Journal also shared that businesses with budgets under $5,000/month were likely to allocate the highest percentage of their spending toward SEO-specific services — more than what they spent on paid media, social media, design, influencer marketing, etc.

What Would Be a Fair Price for SEO Services?

Be wary of a company offering their services for $150 a month or less, particularly when you consider that the average SEO specialist in 2024 is making upwards of $70,000 annually (according to Glassdoor). For such a low cost, a company or specialist is either relying on shady methods — such as link schemes — or will provide very few results.

Generally speaking, you should expect to pay a fair price of between $1,500 to $5,000 per month for large projects or between $100 to $300 for hourly services. Of course, these numbers and “fair” pricing can vary dramatically depending on your needs, requests, and location.

One thing to note is that clients who pay more for SEO services have tended to report higher satisfaction rates over the years. According to the Search Engine Journal’s State of SEO in 2024, 12.96% of SEO practitioners reported they were working with budgets of more than $10,000.

In many ways, search engine optimization services are a get-what-you-pay-for kind of deal.

Are Monthly SEO Services the Better Option?

When exploring SEO’s cost, know upfront that it will be a constant service or solution you need instead of a one-off option. Aside from your goals and aspirations for your business, SEO pricing is also impacted by the type of service you want. It’s impossible to consider this aspect without exploring the issue of quality.

It’s worth pointing out that most SEO tactics require monthly attention, including link-building and content marketing. SEO is not a one-time project; it must be constantly updated, analyzed, and adjusted to deliver the desired results.

Content and links must be continuously upgraded and improved. This is why most business owners will be more than willing to pay a monthly retainer for a quality SEO service.

How Much Does Local SEO Cost?

You are likely marketing to a local customer base. If that’s the case, we imagine that you are probably asking yourself the question: how much does local SEO cost?

The good news is that local SEO is comparatively cheaper than global and national SEO services. You are dealing with a much smaller, more concentrated audience, and the competition is far lower. As a result, it’s not uncommon for local SEO campaigns to cost as little as $300 per month, depending on your needs.

Like global and national SEO, the amount you pay will depend on the pricing models you are interested in and the search engine optimization package you need. Generally speaking, local SEO can be divided into three categories:

1. Automated Local SEO ($300-$500 per month)

This is typically the cheapest option and will ensure that business information is provided to directories. This involves ensuring that all contact information — such as phone numbers, addresses, and email links — is correct on sites like Yelp or Yellow Pages.

However, this alone will not boost your search ranking, since this is merely the necessary information that Google uses for geographical search results. Still, this can be enough to gain visibility if you only operate in one location and want to target customers within a specific city or state. These services would involve updating all business accounts on location-based sites and incorporating necessary links and information customers commonly search for. It does not involve content marketing or social media management.

To read more, check out the original article published on Foxxr Digital Marketing.