SEO PRICES SYDNEY | How Much Should SEO Cost?

Are You Unsure About SEO Prices & How Much You Should Be Paying for an Effective SEO Campaign?

Most small business owners or companies that I have come across have either been stung by a previous SEO experience or know someone who has been burn’t by a supposed SEO expert.

This happens all the time and has left a really bad taste in the mouth of the business community regarding search engine optimisation. I don’t blame them, I hear horror stories daily and they keep getting worse.

More often than not, they were tricked or scammed into signing up for a lengthy SEO contract, with poor ranking results, and absolutely no accountability. They often refuse to accept that they did anything wrong and are unable to fix those terrible SEO rankings.

This has fueled industry-wide distrust amongst the business community, who may potentially engage a search engine optimisation company.

The rule of thumb here is that you should pay a fair and normal price for an SEO service. Cheap, quick and speedy results JUST DONT EXIST – you have to pay normal prices to see measurable & successful SEO results.

It’s it OK to Engage the Services of a Cheap SEO Company?

In short NO!

This is a massive mistake and will only land your website in a Google penalty. This is a certainty.

Related article: Google penalty help.

Bargaining the SEO price down and expecting to pay a small SEO price places huge and very unrealistic cost restrictions on SEO services.

Cheap SEO budgets will mean that SEO service providers will cut corners, implement dodgy inorganic link strategies and completely ignore basic SEO principles, which should lay the foundations for your internet marketing.

As this is a relatively new industry, the market has been flooded by cheap SEO service agencies offering bargain deals, which put simply, cannot be met.

Paying as little as $300 per month for SEO is just not on and it’s SEO companies like these that are tarnishing the good name of SEO firms like Hopping Mad Designs.

If you are serious about your online rankings and Google is the only way you can get business, then YOU NEED TO HAVE A REALISTIC SEO BUDGET FOR THE YEAR.

Giving cheap SEO companies business only adds to the problem and encourages them to keep ripping people off – it’s time to wake up, and understand that they are nothing more than con artists.

Also read: 5 Ways To Tell That Your SEO Team is Ripping You Off.

What Should SEO Cost & What is a Fair Price to Pay for an Ethical + Proven SEO Company?

If you want to go down the path of paying $39 per month for your SEO then you should not read any further. SEO is based on a number of factors and is it these following variables that help determine the fair price and cost that you should be paying:

Reputation

First, reputation must be earned, and it is this reputation that takes time and many hours of expertise to implement. Not many companies can say that they have invested thousands of hours in learning and studying SEO principles. It is this background and knowledge that earns them their great SEO reputation. The better the reputation the more these companies should be able to charge. For example, Hopping Mad Designs has been in the web and SEO business since 1998 – we, therefore, feel that we are able to charge a fee that reflects this longevity.

Startup SEO businesses with no reputation or credible working history will not be able to charge as much as their peers. SEO companies that can prove their worth and show that they are able to rank their own website, MUST be able to charge accordingly.

If you are thinking about using one of these cheap SEOs, you will find that you will be treated in a production-like manner, and your work will more than likely be undertaken by someone with little or no SEO experience. Even worse, outsourced with no strategy or goals in place. Again, don’t expect any results. Be prepared to be treated poorly and be given every excuse known as to why you are not ranking!

Experience, Knowledge and Reputation all Mean a Higher SEO Fee.

Service

Next, an SEO company is a business and will have typical daily running expenses. These include: research, educating staff as well as working on your SEO (that is project management).

As an SEO client, you should be asking yourself:

> Do you expect answers to questions immediately or are you happy to wait, perhaps never get an answer or even lied to?
> Do you expect reports – what have they been doing for you?
> Do you expect an above-industry standard, speedy, quality service?

If all of the above is expected, then you will be paying for this.

If you want below-average experience, with poor results, then you do not need to factor the above in determining your SEO payments.

If you are serious about maximising your online performance then you will need to pay a realistic SEO fee. For more information please call us on 02 9360 8514

Education

All credible SEOs spend most of their downtime keeping current on all changes in the SEO landscape. Google makes roughly 450 changes to its algorithm each year, with hordes of engineers inventing ways to improve the search experience.

SEOs must be up to speed on these changes and this all comes at a price. Sure you can pay next to nothing for your SEO but don’t expect your suppliers to know the latest Google updates. They will keep on implementing old SEO tactics with little regard for the algorithmic updates that occur. This is dangerous and can lead to online penalties.

SEO is a continued and evolving process. Nothing stands still and the landscape created by Google is continually changing. Ultimately, you will have to pay for this knowledge.

THINK ABOUT THIS WHEN IT COMES TO SEO PRICING!

If an airline offered you a seat from Sydney to Perth for $15, but could not guarantee you a time for departure or arrival, with no customer service, would you buy the ticket? Or, would you prefer to pay $500 for a ticket and know exactly when you would be leaving and arriving, plus a meal was thrown in? The same logic applies to SEO and its pricing levels.

Basically, you get what you pay for; that is a certainty. The certainty that you will be working with a company that knows the ins and outs of SEO and has PROVEN  and TANGIBLE RESULTS.

At Hopping Mad Designs you might pay just that bit more for your SEO, but we will GUARANTEE you results that can be backed up by over 18 years in this industry.

SEO is Worth the Investment & the Return Can Be Huge.

The price you pay for SEO must be seen in the light that it is a long-term proposition. It is not a tap that can be turned on and off. It is a continuous process that will only add value to your business. Therefore, when considering the cost of SEO for your marketing, think of it not as a cost/burden but as an asset.

PLUS the return on investment, once you are ranking is going to be massive. See for yourself, try it out, measure the performance and look at how great SEO can be for your business.

You should really ask yourself the following questions:

1)  How would 1000 visits a month to your website change your perception of SEO costs? So 1000 visits, 20% will make an enquiry ( and this can be increased if your landing web page has been designed properly). This equates to 200 leads. If you are able to convert roughly 15% of these into clients, you would have 30 sales. This number can be increased if you are able to find an SEO company that has web experience.

2) Is my current advertising working and where do I currently advertise to get new business? In the past, the Yellow Pages was the place to advertise your business. Have you looked at the Yellow Pages lately? It’s gone from a huge 2 book directory to a thin paper napkin-size book.

Google has sucked its market dry and the money you were traditionally spending on the YP should now be diverted into an online SEO strategy. If you find that you have no other advertising options on the table, then SEO is your answer.

The power of being on page 1 of Google for your main keywords is enormous. If you currently have your website there you will know what I mean.

Taking this into account the pricing for SEO can be a relatively cheap proposition.

The best part concerning the cost of SEO is really this: if your business grows by 1000%, your SEO costs will remain the same. Your investment in SEO will not change (unless your strategy does), so your return on the SEO investment will have been multiplied many times. This will cover your costs and more!

SEO is NOT a One-Off Fee.

If you want to maintain your rankings then you must pay monthly for your SEO. Some people may consider this monthly SEO fee as a bit pricey, but if it is bringing in the business, then it should be thought of as a GREAT business investment.

A start n stop approach to your SEO campaign will only affect your rankings long term – so if you are going to commit to this type of marketing, you really need to stick with it for the long haul – the DIVIDENDS will pay…you just need to give it a bit of time.

ONE LAST THOUGHT.

Google your main keywords, for example, if you are a lawyer who specialises in conveyancing type in ‘conveyancing services’ and sees who is on page one. Getting your business to that position is not impossible and it is totally achievable.

As far as SEO PRICING is concerned, you will be more than surprised by what Hopping Mad Designs can do for your online digital marketing.

To learn more about our SEO pricing packages, and to get your website on page 1 of Google contact us at 02 9360 8514.

Why SEO is a monthly fee

For your websites success online you need to be paying a monthly fee for your SEO.

Cutting corners and trying to cram your SEO campaign into a couple of months is a recipe for failure.

To rank on Google, you need to build authority into your web site address and for this to happen you need to be implementing a SEO campaign consistently, methodically and very organically – and all this takes time, hence the monthly fee. This requires, depending on the competitive nature of the keywords, roughly 120-30 hours of work per month and this obviously needs to be paid for each and every month.

If we start an SEO campaign and then after 1 month stop it, then this is simply not enough time to rank and maintain your website. Sites need a good 3-6 months to rank and 1 months work, will just not work. Why? Because Google needs to index the work we are doing, plus we need to build a certain level of trust to our URL. This can only be done gradually. If we push too hard, Google will respond to this with a likely penalty.
Once the site is ranking, then our SEO team needs to be continually working on your site links and content to maintain this position. If you think that once your website has reached page 1, then that is all you need to do, then this is a huge misunderstanding. If you stop your SEO, you will begin to loose rank to your competitors. After a couple of weeks what you will see is your position begin to slide, eventually right off the first page.
Google likes to see an organic approach to search engine optimisation. That is everything that you do in and around the whole SEO process must appear natural. If  your SEO strategy is implemented in an ad-hoc, rushed manner, YOU may get penalised and all the work  done on the site will be for nothing.

This is why  this is such an important point –  SEO must be done slowly and naturally. Short quick wins with SEO simply do not exist and are unfortunately commonly promoted by less than credible agencies.

This means all link building, article writing, blog submissions must be done over a lengthy period of time; hence again the monthly fee. Plus depending on the competitive nature of the keywords you are trying to target, this fee can become quite expensive.

Many companies will promise a 1 month all up fee for SEO and this is all you need to pay.

Basically, these guys are lying to you and just want your money. To get solid, credible and consistent ranking you need to be working with a seo expert that knows the ins and outs of SEO.

If SEO is a monthly fee, how long do I need to be doing this for?

In short, SEO is now part of your online marketing

SEO is not an expense, it is an investment in your business. Like us, if you need to have a high web ranking then the cost is worth it and the monthly fee should be part of your marketing mix. This is a no brainer and if we are able to get your website sky high on the search engines, then paying this monthly SEO fee should be a pleasure, not a burden.

Having said all that it is a good idea to do SEO for say 6-9 months, measure your return on investment and then assess your marketing spend. If you are seeing a positive ROI, then continue as normal, but if your not getting the kind of sales or level of inquiry you were hoping for then it’s time to look at the factors that could be causing this such as your actual web site and it’s conversion rates.

So, if you are thinking about marketing your website online, then note that you have to be in it for the long haul. There is no point is starting this, if you are in it for the short term. A better solution for you would be an adwords marketing campaign, also known as SEM. This is a lot quicker, but the results are not as good and the costs overall can be prohibitive.

Start your SEO as COVID19 eases

What can we say except these are terrible times? COVID19 has really hit all businesses throughout Australia and the world in a way never imagined before.

All sectors have copped a beating; travel, food, cafes, restaurants, real estate, hotels, gyms everyone and every business has been touched by this horrid pandemic. Simply put, it’s stopped business in its tracks. Plus take a look at the unemployment it has created.

Also read:COVID-19 lockdowns have cost 1.6 million Australians their incomes, ABS survey showsinline_199_https://hoppingmad.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Unemployment-queues-due-to-COVID19.jpg

But all is not lost, there will be an end to this and there is light at the end of this tunnel. As of today 8th May 2020 we know that the PM is going to start easing restrictions with the lockdown and this will hearten most people who have been at home watching their business lose revenue, sales, and inquiries.

But, during this time one cannot wait and hope things will get back to normal without starting to work on their business. Now, while you have time on your hands is really the best time to look at what your business needs, what you have been putting off for ages, and what needs to be done to get the wheels of the business turning once we are out of this mess. This is not going to happen on its own and taking a proactive approach to your digital marketing and SEO is the best thing you can be doing.

So, I will list some key points that you should be doing to get your business back on its feet. This doesn’t have to be done all at once but you can take a slow approach to this and ramp it up if necessary if restrictions ease more quickly.

1) Take a look at your website and see if it needs a refresh. Go over all old content on all pages including all your old blogs and news articles. Give them the once over and update where necessary to make all information more current, engaging, and more relevant.

2) Look at your marketing budget. The first thing you might have done when the panic set in at the beginning of COVID19 was to reduce or cancel your marketing. Adwords, SEO, content marketing and your latest web project might have all been put on the back burner taking a wait n see attitude. That was probably a great idea at the time but now is the time to start reassessing your marketing budget (especially as the first Job Keeper payment has come through for most businesses). Get in touch with your SEO or web agency and look at starting your marketing again. Businesses will be back so it’s important that you are ahead of the curve rather than behind it. Businesses are going to be desperate for customers so it’s vital that your online visibility is strong. This can be all facets of the digital landscapes: Google, YouTube, Facebook etc. It’s critical that you don’t wait till COVID19 is over and then decide to start your marketing. Do this now, be the market leader and you will see how this has a positive impact on your business.

3) Look at all your communication material and see if it can be improved. What do your E-newsletters look like and can they be improved? Are you using an old CRM? Can you improve your sales processes and streamline your digital marketing to one agency? Now that you have the time, it’s a good idea to look at all of these things in a methodical manner.

4) What has happened to your Google rankings over the last couple of months and can you see areas where they need to be improved? Has your SEO agency been in touch with you and are they communicating what they have been doing during COVID19? Maybe it’s time to start looking at other agencies to see what they can offer you. Most businesses have their staff working at home and they are contactable. You have the time so do your due diligence.

Related post: 20 Questions Your Potential SEO Partner Must Know

5) Stay positive and look at this time as a time to work on your business model and ways you can fine-tune it to the level you have always wanted.

COVID 19 will not last forever. Yes, it’s here now and yes there may not seem an end in sight when things will get back to normal. But, it will happen and your business will open and it will be trading. But, don’t get too down about this and start looking at your marketing as a way of staying positive and keeping your finger on the pulse.

If you would like some other tips and ideas about how you can work on your business to get more clients during and after COVID19, please get in touch with us here at Hopping Mad Designs.