What Would Be The Cost Of SEO In Australia?
When you go out and ask the question “how much does SEO cost in Australia” or local SEO cost, what you’ll hear probably is “it depends”. Determining the cost of Search Engine Optimisation is certainly a minefield as the prices can vary considerably depending on a number of factors. There are too many SEO agencies, too many price points, and too many pricing models along the way, making it difficult to predict the cost of SEO.
Let’s Start With Numbers!
MOZ ran a survey on over 600 SEO companies from all over the world and gathered all of the data which shows that the cost of SEO could be less than $25 per hour or over $20,000 per month! A typical SEO Expert charges between $80 and $130 per hour while the monthly retainer cost lies between $750 and $15000 per month. Though performance-based SEO is free to begin with, the pricing can be dynamic.
SEO Budgeting:
Whether you own a small business or a large enterprise, determining how much you want to spend on SEO should be your first step. Newer businesses must allocate a lot more on the content marketing side of SEO as it would help to boost their online presence. Older businesses may have a lot of content, but there could be some technical problems such as broken links, lost images, unresponsive website design, and other technical issues which hold them back from ranking well in search engines. Businesses dealing with such issues should allocate more of their budget to make technical SEO improvements.
While computing your SEO spending and budgeting, make sure that you have an ultimate goal in mind and desired ROI.
In-House SEO Expert vs Independent SEO Consultant vs SEO Agency:

While it’s possible to hire in-house SEO experts, they are hard to find. Moreover, most of the businesses won’t have sufficient work to keep them engaged all year round. You should also have some basic knowledge of SEO so that you can monitor the work of your staff and track your SEO results.
Another option to consider is to outsource your SEO project directly to an independent SEO consultant. An SEO specialist can typically charge between $80 and $190 per hour based on her/his experience. If the SEO consultant you choose is not up to date with the current SEO trends, you would end up getting an obsolete result.
Finally, you have the option of hiring an SEO Agency. Most of the digital marketing firms have in-depth knowledge of advanced SEO strategies and SEO best practices and could help you accomplish your SEO goals. Moreover, they have a team of SEO specialists, link builders, content writers and project managers who work together to ensure fast progress. Depending on the size of your website and your SEO goals, they charge you anywhere between $500 and $10,000 per month, but it is really worth!
What Does The SEO Cost Cover?
Market Research: This involves conducting comprehensive research on your company, products, competitors, customers, industry and much more.
SEO Audit: SEO audit reveals the current position of your website in terms of traffic and ranking. This helps in determining which areas you should work on.
Strategy Development: Based on the research findings, effective SEO strategies will be formulated to strengthen your online presence.
Keyword Research: Keywords are the ones that tell search engines what your website is about. So, choosing the right keywords is essential to ensure the success of your SEO strategy.
On-Page Optimisation: On-page SEO involves creating your website structure, meta description, page titles, quality content using keywords, and addressing other technical features that influence page speed.
Off-page Optimisation: Off-site involves creating backlinks, ask for reviews, publish quality content on social media and high-authority websites to get to the top of search engines.
Content Development: Content is still the king of digital marketing, so creating unique, relevant, consistent and high-quality content is essential.
Analytics and Reporting: You will be given detailed analytics and reporting which allows you to measure how your investment on SEO is paying back.
Other Digital Marketing Efforts: SEO alone will not provide the result you are looking for. Paid search marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, displaying ads and many others should be part of your marketing strategy.
Do you still think that you can get all these services for $99 or $499 per month? Remember that the best things will never be cheaper and cheap things will never be the best!
Different SEO Pricing Models:
Monthly Retainer (Range from $750 – $15000 /Month):
The monthly retainer option is the simplest and most used of all and is ideal for businesses that need long-term SEO services. You are charged a fixed fee every month and the agency offers SEO service in exchange for the fee. Whereas Local SEO usually cost between $500 to $1500 and vary based on keywords and Suburbs focused. Local SEO is quick to rank and used by local businesses like plumbers, automobiles (Car service, detailing, smash repairs), Laundry etc
Hourly Rates (Range From $75 – $250 Per Hour):
When you hire a company for hourly basis, you are paying as you go. While you can receive an exact portrayal of where your money is going with this model, it won’t work for big SEO projects that take longer to see some results.
Pay For Performance:
This is one of the oldest, outdated pricing models available. Any SEO company offering performance based SEO services is very choosy about the keywords. As they have to invest too much effort for competitive keywords, they go with less competitive ones.
Project Based (Range from $1000-$25,000):
Project-based SEO is one of the most frequently purchased SEO packages as it can provide excellent value for your money. The cost is determined on the number of days required, size of the project, complexity and many other elements.
Which SEO Pricing Model Is Best?
Well, it’s quite difficult to answer this question. Your business industry, your budget, level of competition in the industry, number of keywords you are targeting and how fast you want the result – all come into play.
If you are still wondering which SEO pricing model suits your business or how much should you be spending to optimise your website SEO, why not call 1300 683 783 and have a free consultation with Verve Innovation Seo experts – a leading SEO Company in Melbourne