How Much Should SEO Cost for A Small Business?

Share :

Depending on the scope of the project and the client’s needs, SEO services can cost from $1,400 to $10,000+ per month in Australia. It can cost between $3,500 – $10,000+ to perform SEO once a year, depending on the number of pages and target keywords.

In Australia, there is a lot of misinformation about SEO costs. Whether it is SEO agencies promoting Facebook ads with grand promises on a shoestring budget or freelancers offering SEO services on online marketplace like Fiverr that make outlandish promises for a one-time payment.

Pricings are some of the most common questions we receive at Top4. And that makes sense. If you think about it, when you’re investing in your business, it all comes down to how.

Some of these questions include:

  • How Much Does SEO Cost in Australia?
  • How Much Does SEO Cost Monthly?
  • Why Does SEO Cost So Much?
  • What is the Average Price for SEO Services?
  • How Much Should SEO Cost Per Keyword?
  • Why Does SEO Agency Pricing Vary So Much?
  • What is the Hourly Rate for SEO?

In this article, we will do our best to answer these questions and dispel some of the most popular misconceptions about SEO pricing in Australia.

Local SEO updates for next years marketing planning

So how much does SEO cost in Australia?

The amount you invest in SEO services will depend on a multitude of different factors. Here are some of the most common factors that will affect the cost of SEO in Australia:

  • The type of business you run
  • Competition in the industry in which you do business
  • Target market size
  • Your service area
  • SEO work that has already been done
  • The required amount of new content
  • Additional pages that need to be created

When it comes to SEO pricing, there is no magic number that you have to pay to get results. Some businesses may invest less than $1,500 per month and see outstanding results while others may need to spend significantly more to impact their industry.

The price of an SEO agency depends on the qualifications, experience and quality of the services it can provide. SEO agencies with a proven track record of success will generally charge more than small companies with limited experience and credentials.

What is the average SEO cost in Australia?

Most SEO projects run on a retainer basis and every month the SEO agency provides a continuous optimisation service for your website in technical updates, link building, content optimisation and content marketing.

The average cost in Australia ranges from $1,400 per month to over $10,000 per month, depending on the unique needs of the client. And according to estimates, one-time SEO projects cost between $3,500 and $10,000, depending on the number of pages and target keywords a website wants to rank for.

The goal of a website setup or foundational SEO package is to put in place the infrastructure that will help rank a website. A foundational SEO package will focus on On-Page and Technical SEO issues.

A successful SEO campaign will focus on an ongoing set of four pillars of SEO, including On-Page, Technical, Link Building and Content Marketing. Good SEO results are dependent upon these pillars.

  • Small Business SEO Cost – $1,400 -$2,500 Per Month
  • Medium Business SEO Cost – $1,600 – $7,500 per month
  • Large Business SEO Cost – $2,500 per month – $10,000+ Per Month
  • Enterprise SEO Cost – $7,500+ per month

The above prices do not include GST and are just a guide and represent Australia’s average SEO costs. The exact SEO cost in Australia depends on the unique needs of each business, market competition and the range of keywords/phrases you are targeting.

How much does SEO cost per keyword?

SEO cost per keyword is an outdated way to charge clients based on a specific number of keywords. In 2022, no one knows a reputable SEO company or SEO specialist who will charge for each target keyword. Whenever an SEO specialist or SEO consultant suggests the idea of ​​setting SEO on a keyword-by-keyword basis, it’s highly recommended that you consider other options.

How much does an in-house SEO specialist cost?

Based on a quick look at job sites like Jora and Seek, you will find that the average salary for an SEO specialist in Australia ranges from $70,000-$180,00 per year. But that also largely depends on both the role and the extent of experience and expertise the SEO consultant can provide.

Many large companies prefer to keep their SEO expertise in-house. The problem with hiring an SEO specialist for an SEO agency-wide job is that you are asking one person to work with agency-wide skills. In other words, you want one person to perfect and master the services that an SEO agency offers:

  1. Keyword research
  2. Competitor research
  3. Website audit
  4. Technical SEO suggestions and implementations
  5. Copywriting
  6. Link building
  7. Offsite SEO strategy
  8. SEO reporting

At Top4, we have specialists who specialise in a single area of ​​SEO. By having a dedicated SEO specialist focused on each SEO pillar, we can handle more work with more expertise than a typical SEO consultant does. What this means for you is that you can expect greater, more quality results for your website and business.

Guide

Why is SEO on Fiverr so cheap?

Because it simply doesn’t work.

A lot of our clients are actually local business owners who are trying to recover from the negative effects of hiring cheap overseas SEO consultants to work on their websites. Have you ever seen a Gig offering “1,000 backlink package”? We even helped some clients recover from Google’s penalty after they fell for that kind of scam. They basically spammed their sites with 1,000 cheap backlinks with exact match anchors. The dropdown from purchasing this gig was almost instantaneous and it took more than 6 months to recover the traffic lost during that time.

The lesson of the story is there are no shortcuts to SEO success. Cheap SEO is cheap for a reason.

SEO success can’t be achieved overnight

SEO is an investment that will continue to bring benefits to your business for years to come. Unlike SEM and Social Media Marketing, SEO generates value for your business on a quarterly, annual and lifetime basis.

The main difference between SEO and SEM is that SEO keeps attracting traffic to your website for years after you pay your final invoice. At the same time, SEM traffic stops as soon as the campaign is deactivated. You can retain the content, landing pages and links you’ve acquired during your SEO campaign.

Finishing an SEO campaign or suspending your SEO efforts doesn’t cancel all the hard work you’ve spent working on a legitimate SEO company. The sharp uptrends you enjoyed while working with SEO specialists can slow down. That said, you’ll still receive some traffic.

In general, if SEO is done correctly by a reputable SEO agency, website traffic should grow gradually — even after SEO work has been done. But let’s say your website traffic drops dramatically after you complete your SEO campaign. In this case, there are other factors you need to take into consideration. For example, malicious tactics used by private blog networks (PBNs) or SEO providers. If you find that your traffic drops instantly the moment you stop investing in SEO services, then the SEO agency you’d worked with may have been using illegal tactics and blackhat SEO.

Final takeaways

When it comes to researching SEO costs for your business, you need to think about the value proposition on top of the bottom line. We see many businesses stuck in choosing SEO based on the cheap price instead of what is actually delivered. Before you pay for SEO services, you need to make sure what deliverables you would be getting each month.

Top4 Marketing is a leading SEO services agency based in Sydney, Australia and now — to serve the growing APAC market, Surabaya, Indonesia. We know the ins and outs of search engine optimisation since we’ve been doing it for over two decades. Top4 Marketing offers you SEO services that are customised to your business industry. We offer general SEOlocaleCommerce and franchise SEO services for multi-location businesses.

Check out the complete list of deliverables and pricing for our SEO services today! Or you can get in touch with an SEO specialist at Top4 Marketing to get a free SEO strategy session for your business and find out exactly how much SEO will cost for your unique needs. Better yet, you can actually get a free snapshot of how your business is performing online now and our SEO strategists will be in touch to discuss how you can start optimising your site for organic search.


How we can help

To find out how we can help you with your Website + Marketing, using our unique location marketing platform called Top4, get in touch today at www.top4marketing.com

Top4 - the all in one platform for your local marketing needs

Looking to build customer loyalty through social media? Don’t forget to add your business to Top4.global

List your business, create your own digital store to sell goods and services, and share posts on social media. Promote your business on Google instantly! Should you need help with local digital marketing then view our new Google Marketing Platform and services Top4 Marketing

Get Found On Google Promote Your Website, Reach local customers today!

Our Digital Marketing Agency Services Across All Industries Include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Google Marketing, Website Design, Corporate Web Development,  and local location-based marketing using our own Google Marketing Platform!

Engage A Social Media Agency For Only 1/3 The Cost Of Employing A Social Media Manager…LET’S TALK!

Comments are closed.

About the author

Michael Doyle

Michael is a digital marketing powerhouse and the brain behind Top4 Marketing and Top4. His know-how and over 23 years of experience make him a go-to resource for anyone looking to crush it in the digital space. To get the inside scoop on the latest and greatest in digital marketing, be sure to read his blog posts and follow him on LinkedIn.

Top4 - Made in Australia with Love
\