What does SEO optimisation cost?

What does SEO optimisation cost? The answer depends less on who you ask than on what you are buying, because search engine optimisation covers several different jobs, each priced its own way. This guide explains what you pay for, what makes the price go up, and how to compare two quotes that look the same but are not. I do the technical side of SEO and local SEO myself, in Vejle, so the examples come from my own work.

What is SEO optimisation?#

SEO optimisation, or search engine optimisation, is the work of getting a website found in Google and Bing without paying for ads. In practice it is three trades sold under one name:

• Technical SEO: whether the pages are fast, whether Google can crawl and index them, and whether titles, canonical tags and structured data say the right thing.

• Local SEO: the Google profile and pages that name the service and the town, so you are found when someone nearby searches.

• Content and links: texts that answer what people search for, and mentions from other sites.

It is worth knowing which of the three a quote covers before you look at the price. A quote for "SEO" can be one of them or all three.

What does SEO optimisation cost?#

There are three ways SEO is priced, and each suits a different kind of job.

• A fixed-price job. Usually the technical side: the site is reviewed, the faults are fixed, and you get measurements before and after. The job has a start and an end, and the price should be in writing before work starts.

• A monthly subscription. Usually content, link building and a monthly report. It makes sense when new material has to be written all the time, but watch the lock-in period.

• An hourly rate. Often used for small fixes or advice. It is flexible, but you only know what it cost when the invoice arrives.

If the site has technical faults, the order matters: get the technical side fixed once, then decide whether anything ongoing is needed. Otherwise you pay every month for content Google struggles to read.

What drives the price

• What is holding the site back. Heavy images, missing titles and a site Google cannot read properly are quick to fix. A theme that is slow at its core takes longer.

• The platform. WordPress, Shopify and a site built from scratch can all be fixed. On a site builder like Wix there are things that cannot be changed.

• The size of the site. A site with a handful of pages is a small job. A shop with hundreds of products takes longer to get through.

• Local visibility. If you sell in one town, the Google profile and pages that name your services and your town matter more than anything technical, and that is a job of its own.

What does search engine optimisation cost with me?#

I do four jobs, and you can see what each typically costs in the SEO price calculator. The prices are there rather than here because they are worked out by the same calculator you can use for your own site.

1. A Google profile set up properly, with the same details on Bing, Apple Maps and Krak, and a link for reviews.

2. Technical SEO and speed: the faults fixed in the code, and a report afterwards showing the improvements in speed, SEO and AI search. Delivered within a week.

3. Local SEO: keyword research on the searches your customers use, up to six pages rewritten for your service and town, and the Google profile set up.

4. All of it together, for less than technical and local SEO separately.

You get a fixed price in writing after a short talk and a look at the site, before I start. Ongoing help with texts and the Google profile can be added afterwards, with no lock-in and one month's notice. I do not do link building or large content plans. Adsmark, my partner in Vejle, does content and advertising, and the two can be bought together in the Growth partner package.

How to compare two quotes#

Two SEO quotes can rarely be compared on price alone. Ask:

• What gets done? Do you get the fixes themselves, or a report on what ought to be fixed?

• What gets measured? Speed, indexing and impressions in Search Console can be measured before and after. Rankings move on their own and are a poor measure by themselves.

• Is there a lock-in? And what happens to the texts and the accounts if you stop?

• Is a ranking promised? Then be careful. Nobody can guarantee a place in Google.

Frequently asked questions#

Do I have to pay for SEO every month?

Not necessarily. The technical side is a defined job, and most small businesses get the most out of having it fixed once. Ongoing work makes sense when new content has to be written.

Why do SEO prices vary so much?

Because "SEO" can mean a fix to the code, one text a month, link building or all of it. Ask what will actually be done, and compare that, not the headline.

Can I do search engine optimisation myself?

Part of it. You can create and fill in the Google Business profile yourself, and ask happy customers for a review. The technical side needs access to the code and the hosting.

What does it cost to have my site checked?

The free website check shows in half a minute what is holding the site back. It costs nothing and does not ask for your email.

How long before SEO works?

Speed can be measured the same day. Changes in indexing usually take days to a few weeks. Rankings move more slowly and depend as much on competition and content.

If you want the figures for your own site, you will find SEO optimisation prices in the price calculator, and you can read more about how I work on technical SEO.