One of the big questions most website owners and online marketers have regarding SEO is the costs involved. There’s a reason for the pricing architecture of SEO and knowing why makes it easier to feel more secure in your investment.
First of all, an honorable SEO company will explain the costs upfront. Each action they take has a cost to it and that means they have to explain it and any technical terms to you clearly. Any company that doesn’t is after your money, plain and simple. It’s tough being an SEO expert when it comes to enlightening a client about the industry. Most people just don’t get it. They have to be baby walked along the way which is time consuming and frustrating. A professional understands this and will be patient. Just don’t nag them to the point that they’ll see you as a ‘problem client’ and withdraw from servicing you. If you’re a royal pain, they’ll up the prices, which is what you don’t want.
There are several applications of SEO technology and tactics that are perfect for the pricing. You’ve got your automated services that submit your website data to various directory types. This updates your information on a regular basis, allowing for the search engines to keep tabs on your sites and it’s easy maintenance. It has its benefits but the minute you stop paying the monthly or yearly fee, the automation stops and it would be tedious and time consuming for you, not too mention even more expensive than if you hired a firm to do your automated SEO. It’s a first step and useful one and not that expensive.
For more extensive SEO you’ve got the local SEO campaigns which are an essential part of everything. Local SEO is far too overlooked by websites and marketers because they don’t get the fact that surfers are looking for services in their area and if your area is under perusal and your site has little or no indicator of your location, you’re losing out across the board to your competitors that do. You can hire a local SEO company and spend smart money on it and what they’ll do is make sure your site has your contact and location which they’ll spread around to citations and other venues. This will be the second layer of your foundation for local SEO and your SEO campaign altogether.
The final step is holistic local SEO application. This is where the higher prices come in but for good reason. Professionals dig in deep when it comes to this level of SEO. The can operate your website and make sure it’s stable and efficient for SEO, local SEO, and mobile SEO. They take care of directories, citations, even social media interaction, which is fast become what Google is looking for. Without social media interaction your site will look as dead as a door nail. You have to keep your site active and have this form of local SEO established strongly. To do otherwise is foolish and irresponsible. It may cost more, but the ROI is significant for survival.
Finally, price compare. Ask several SEO companies what they charge and don’t always take the cheapest, value shop for excellence, it means a better ROI.