It’s the million-dollar question: How much should you pay for SEO in Sydney?
The truth is, Sydney SEO prices are hugely inconsistent. Depending on who you talk to and what you want to achieve, the SEO quote that you receive can vary by hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
If you’re here looking for a quick answer to the age-old question: “How much does SEO in Sydney cost?”, you might not like the answer.
The most accurate answer that we can give you is this: It’s complicated.
Before you go looking for an ‘SEO Sydney Price List’ or ‘SEO Pricing Breakdown’, hear us out.
Asking how much Sydney SEO services costs is a lot like asking how much a holiday will cost. There is no arbitrary number to answer that question.
Improving and maintaining high search engine rankings for competitive search terms takes a lot of hard work and patience. Despite what many people think, search engine optimisation is not a one-time quick fix project. In order for long-term success and sustainable visibility, an ongoing SEO campaign is crucial for businesses
This, combined with the fact that SEO is increasingly becoming a vital part of sustaining and running a business in 2020, is leaving many people scratching their heads and asking how much an online service such as SEO will cost.
Let’s go back to the holiday example.
If you’re going to book a holiday, there are a number of factors that will influence the cost. You will need to consider the holiday destination, how long you’ll holiday for, what time of the year you’ll go, how you’ll get there, where you’ll be staying and who will be going. Every holiday will be entirely different, and so every holiday is going to come at a different price.
SEO Sydney prices are no different. There are a variety of elements that determine the costs of digital marketing services and with every business being entirely different, the strategies for SEO campaign will also vary.
Every SEO campaign is unique. In order to garner success, search engine optimisation strategies need to be properly tailored and fitted to the overall objectives of the business. There is no one-size fits all SEO campaign for businesses in Sydney – there are, however, a number of factors that will influence the nature of the campaign and how much it will end up costing.
What Factors Influence SEO Sydney Prices?
1. Industry Competition
How competitive is your industry?
If your company serves in an industry or niche that is particularly competitive, it will be take more effort to compete for search engine rankings positions. More competition means more work and time will need to be put in to obtain SEO visibility and success.
The costs of an SEO campaign will be significantly higher for a business with a more saturated and competitive market.
2. Target Areas
Where is your business targeting?
Some areas are more competitive than others for search engine rankings. A business operating and servicing the entire New South Wales region will require more search engine optimisation work than a business attempting to rank for a small targeted area.
It is much easier to rank for a keyword targeting a single suburb in Sydney, than it is to rank for that keyword in the whole of Sydney, the state, or Australia. Search visibility will be easier to obtain for areas that are lower in competition, and therefore the cost of local SEO in Sydney will be lower.
3. Business Objectives
What are your business goals?
This is a huge influencing factor. If your business goals are to be rank #1 for all relative search terms and sustain that top position, you will require a more thorough and comprehensive SEO campaign. If your business goals are to increase visibility and experience moderately higher rates of traffic, less work may be required than the former.
A comprehensive strategy will need more work and time invested to achieve those higher business goals, and therefore the SEO Sydney Prices will be higher.
A more conservative and local SEO strategy will allow for lower SEO prices due to less work needing to be put in to achieve those goals.
4. Previous SEO work
What SEO has already been done?
Something that is often overlooked when considering how much SEO will cost, is the influence of the work someone else has already completed for the website. Whether the SEO attempts were damaging or positive, this may have an influence on the price of your next SEO campaign.
An SEO specialist may have to spend time undoing the damage a previous agency may have caused as part of ensuring their SEO efforts don’t go to waste in the future. This will increase the costs of Sydney SEO.
Moreover, if your business has previously hired someone to do content marketing or local directory link building, this may decrease the amount of work an SEO consultant will have to do; lowering the overall price of the SEO campaign.
5. The Agency
Where is the work being completed from?
Another large influence on the price of Sydney SEO is the SEO Agency itself. If the work is being completed from elsewhere, it will cost less.
It should come as no surprise that the labour wages in Australia are much higher than some other countries. Australian agencies will pay their staff higher wages, and therefore, your SEO services will come at a higher price.
If your SEO is being outsourced from overseas, it will naturally cost less. The problem with overseas SEO agencies is that the difference in language, time zones and market can be complex, and the quality of work is often compromised. If you want the best Australian search engine results, you should focus on finding an SEO specialist based in the country – more on that later.
With every business being entirely unique, there will always be differences in each SEO campaign.
All of this combined will give you an idea of what SEO costs. However, there can sometimes be a large disparity between how much SEO can cost, and how much you should be spending.
How Much Should You Spend on SEO in Sydney?
Put simply, there is no one-size-fits-all SEO campaign, meaning there is no one-size-fits-all Sydney SEO price tag. However, we understand that you may genuinely need a price bracket to work with for a marketing budget. We’ll try and provide that for you, but please remember; as stated earlier, every situation is different.
The question you need to consider first, is how much are you willing to invest in SEO?
Because that’s what SEO is – an investment.
SEO at its best is a long-term sustainable marketing strategy that expands online presence and increases visibility. Search engine optimisation is the act of manipulating and working with search engines to increase a website’s traffic, clicks, and conversions all from search engine visibility.
The more time spent working on optimising a website, the more visibility the business will benefit from. And the more money you pay a professional, the more time they will invest in your website and you can expect a higher quality of SEO work.
For the purpose of providing a general price bracket, there are typically three types of SEO Sydney Pricing that you will come across.
- A Sydney SEO specialist may charge you an hourly rate. This generally between $75-$200 per hour.
- An SEO Agency in Sydney may require a monthly SEO retainer. The average SEO retainer is between $1400-$3000 per month.
- Pay for Performance SEO. This kind of SEO campaign relies on dynamic pricing that will depend on the overall success of the SEO strategies.
Technically speaking, there is no wrong or right way to pay for and engage in an SEO campaign. However, the plan you choose with your consultant will be reflective of how much you are willing to invest in SEO.
Cheap Sydney SEO Services – What Could Possibly go Wrong?
With many products or services, you are shopping for the lowest price. However, when it comes to SEO, you are shopping for the best service. Unfortunately, you can’t have both. If you find an SEO deal that seems too good to be true – that’s exactly what it is.
To put a number on ‘cheap’, anything under $500 a month should be treated with caution. Generally speaking, if a company is offering you high value SEO for such little money, they are bad news. Not all SEO Services are created equal. There are some terrible SEO scammers out there. If you’re considering going with a cheap SEO company, your business will inevitably suffer.
Quality SEO is a serious investment for your business. Good SEO will increase your organic traffic, make your business more visible, and get you ahead of your competition. Good SEO requires a comprehensive process and specialists to put in several hours of strategic work each day. This is why high-quality Sydney SEO comes at a higher price.
Bad SEO relies on short-term, poor quality black hat strategies. Bad SEO may cost less, but it will hurt your business. For an SEO agency to accept a low price point means the campaign is likely to suffer from one of the following:
- Black hat strategies are being used to obtain immediate, short term rankings that will ultimately result in a Google penalty
- Services being outsourced from overseas and will be very poor quality
- The campaign being completely ignored while the agency continues to onboard as many customers as possible
At the end of the day, cheap SEO inevitably ends up being extremely expensive SEO.
You Get What You Pay For
As is the case with most services, you get what you pay for. The price you pay for SEO services should be reflective of what you want to get out of the marketing campaign. The price of Sydney SEO will reflect the time spent working on the actual campaign. If you’re paying a low price point, expect to have very little time poured into your SEO campaign.
If you’re paying more for a quality SEO campaign, your business will benefit. The price you pay for SEO determines the amount of work going in.
Not sure exactly what you’re paying for? That’s understandable. SEO can seem both vague and complicated at the best of times. Here’s a basic list of things you can expect a high-quality SEO agency to take care of during an ongoing SEO campaign. This list should also give you an idea of what to look for when wading through prospective agencies.
- Industry research
- Competitor Analysis
- Keyword Research
- Content Marketing
- Data Reports
- Link Building
- On-site Optimisation
- Off-site Optimisation
- Tracking Reports
- Account Management
How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off on SEO Services
The trick to avoiding bad SEO companies is to educate yourself. The market is saturated with spammy and risky SEO agencies that claim to be the best. If you have an understanding of what a bad SEO company looks like from afar, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding getting ripped off. Here are some tips for avoiding shady SEO agencies:
Can A Small Business Afford SEO Services?
It all depends on where you are in your business lifecycle and whether you’re ready to make the investment. However, the old saying “you have to spend money to make money” rings true. High quality SEO is an investment that takes time and money and yet, will provide small businesses with sustainable and healthy business growth.
We don’t have to tell you that search engine optimisation is crucial to any marketing strategy, regardless of the size of the business. You know how much time people are spending online, reading reviews, and locating their next product or service to purchase.
The amount of money you pour into your business, will reflect in its success. Search engine optimisation is the key to sustainable online visibility and growth; and online visibility is the key to finding new customers and conversions. Want to get a quote on SEO Sydney prices for your business? Get in touch today.
