SEO Cost

[bigsefreak]

I was wondering if some light would be thrown on Factors affecting SEO price/cost/fees/$$$$

I mean, we all have heard, someone will say, I charge $ 75.00/hour, while other charges $ 100.00/hour, but what actually makes the project hard or easy? What are the outlines for quoting any client?

1) Number of SERP results
2) Number of web sites
3) Number of key phrases, client wants you to work on?
4) Number of search engiens and dir's (this would go back to # 1)
5) How much possible clients competitor is spending? (approx)
6) What other SEO's are charging? (a stupid reason - atleast I think so)
7) Clients SEO knowledge? (Some client might take 2 hour to understand why text link is better then image link)

Above is just a wild guess and something to start, can you guys tell, what factors do you take into consideration before quoting?

[fathom]

Knowledge, skill, ability to assess and achieve realistic targets, and more importantly your ability to adapt. (Yahoo change is a good example here, wonder how many quick and dirty SEO jobs died, with the client left not knowing what just happened).

Your marketability and approachability - clearly some clients will be more avid web users and can fathom more easily your portfolio, documentations and plans, and scope of work, others will be clueless to appreciating costs in both time and money. This is a huge hurdle that SEO's continue to struggle with.

Market and Industry competitiveness assessments and your personal knowledge within the scope of these specific constraints. The more strayed from your "niche" projects the less confident "YOU SHOULD BE TO PRODUCE".

Term of work.

Any SEO that believes they can push, any site, in any condition, in any industry to any market and without intimate knowledge of both, replying on the client to field this online marketing and competitive expertise in 1, 3, 6, or even 12 months without exception, is not just fooling themselves, they are fooling the client. Adding... SEO tools don't always tell the whole truth and not 100% or even (in some instances) 50% reliable in telling who is actually using a keyphrase.

(In saying that, a monkey can get "big red widgets in Teledo for sale" to #1)

Some SEO's GUARANTEE results. These are "usually" the cheap packages and results are equal to the task and prices.

Proven "integrity" vice "results" pays more.

I have purposely not quoted prices for the simple fact no two projects are the same. The project (client) goals (not yours) SHOULD define the scope and price.

Short-term though -- should be very expensive, long term relationships based on milestones, somewhat less over the duration.

I stay away from quoting: keywords/keyphrases, and SERP's and avoid the top used, all powerful #1 used terms for 4 reasons:

1. Even if you do obtain it - you likely won't keep it.
2. Less (competition) is more and generally more targeted for the clients specific, very "niche" segments.
3. As the contract matures it is definitely more beneficial to both you and the client to improve each and every month than to recede, and
4. Local defined traffic is also always better for the client, this means tying geographical locations to keyphrases which also tend to be less competitive.

Overall, SEO is "marketing" and marketing is not an exact science. Those that analysis, implement, risk assess, and adapt are worth more, than the "at-hock" approach.

IMHO :)

[Travoli]

Price often results from experience and past results. This is especially true when you get a new client through a customer referral. Once you have some customers talking about your work, you can command a higher fee.

Then, one glorious day, you will get a call from yet another prospective customer. You will have to turn them down because you are already booked up. This is when your hourly rate gets a big boost. :)