Hiring An SEO Consultant – A Good Use Of Your Money?
A website usually exists in order to be seen by as much of a target audience as possible. A huge part of getting this done is by achieving a high ranking on the results pages of internet search engines. The process many utilize to obtain a high ranking is search engine optimization, or SEO. An SEO consultant can offer tips and strategies on how to raise your site’s rank, or even run the whole campaign for you. So then, how much can you expect to pay for the services of an SEO consultant? Is it a good investment for you?
There isn’t one standard fee that all consultants charge. You can expect to pay based on the services you need and how much help you are looking for. Many SEO consultants will charge a startup fee and possibly the first month’s compensation. You can think of it as a deposit on an apartment or on a utility like a cell phone or cable TV. A startup fee as high as $2500 might be demanded of a consultant who is experienced and able to construct an entire website campaign from the beginning stages to the end optimization. Much like choosing a cell phone minute package, you will decide how many monthly hits you want your site to experience. 50,000 hits garner around $800-$1200 per month. Over a million hits per month usually have a price tag in the $5,000 range.
Smaller businesses, individuals, or a company that already has a good campaign going and simply needs advice would probably be better served paying an SEO consultant by the hour. Established, proven consultants may require a minimum number of hours and charge around $400 per hour. Smaller or newer consulting firms will likely start in the $150 per hour range. Some consultants will provide onsite services. Some will require that travel and lodging is paid by the buyer and the rates can range from $150 per hour plus around a $200 onsite fee. That fee usually only appears if the consultant does not mandate travel and lodging expenses. Larger consultants can charge up to $1400 per day instead of an hourly rate.
Whether or not an SEO consultant is a good investment depends entirely on what you want him or her to do. If you are an established, larger corporation that is looking to rise a few spots on the search engines and are looking for a little more exposure for your site, it is probably worth it. You can view the consulting fees as the cost of advertising. It is probably worth it to someone who is completely new to the process and has the capital to seek someone’s services. Those who have limited funds and don’t need a huge number of page views might want to skip the consulting process.
An SEO consultant can expose a website to a larger number of people. This is important for those who want more traffic flow to their site. If you want the exposure and can handle it, an SEO consultant might be a good investment.
Next : Freelance SEO
