SEO Firms: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - When to Think Small
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Small SEO firms or even individual consultants will be the choice for you if you are not happy with dealing with the disadvantages that larger firms create, like customer service. A smaller firm or individual will not have as many clients, and will be able to focus more upon your service, and probably will be far more available to you if you have questions or concerns. Further, if you go with a smaller company, there is a good chance you’ll have a single representative for your account, rather than many different contacts to deal with as you would with a larger company.
I saved the pricing aspect for last, not because it’s the least important (in fact it may be the most important factor for you), but because it’s not the easiest element to define. There is no set rate that is right or wrong for an SEO project. A few companies offer standard packages in tiers that are the same for every client that firm has, but even sol, every website is different, and every project has its own issues that may need to be dealt with. SEO companies or consultants can charge for a initial analysis or consultation, or it can be free. They may have a set price, or they may need to provide you with a custom quote. Prices for SEO have ranged from as little as $5.00 per hour, which you may see from countries outside of the United States and the United Kingdom, to as much as thousands of dollars for a project.
The latest report I’d seen on the Internet reported that on average, SEO companies employ nine people (that’s specialists and administrative people too), have 35 clients with an average value of $30,107 each, and $157,796 in annual revenue per employee (source: MarketingSherpa’s Buyers Guide to SEO Firms, third edition). Since only some of this made any sense to me, I looked up average SEO consultant salaries, which is technically a niche market, and there’s not really any averages out there floating around. Honestly, I could only come up with a broad price range: from about $30,000 to about $150,000, and on average, larger companies pay larger salaries. On that note, please don’t ask me what I make a year, because I probably won’t tell you. It could just be that I don’t really know!
SEOs can charge by the hour, per project, or on a monthly contract. It’s a good idea to know what kind of budget you can truly invest in your project. Keep in mind that the money you invest will be just that: an investment. And no investment is bulletproof. Sometimes skimping on the project just for price will actually cost you more than you can afford in the long run.
Ultimately, whether you choose a small or large SEO firm or company, know what you want ahead of time, and don’t be shy to lay it all out at the beginning what you need from your SEO consultant. Sometimes just talking to them will give you a feeling about how they will handle your SEO project. And no matter which you choose, natural search optimization takes time. There is no miracle formula that will speed your site to the top of the engines, no matter who you decide to hire, and you should run far away if someone tells you otherwise. And that’s the ugly truth.
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