SEO Services Vancouver - How Much Should You Spend?

2iiS Marketiing for SEO Services in Vancouver

How Much Should You Spend on SEO Services in Vancouver for Top Results?

Whatever amount you think is reasonable for monthly SEO services in Vancouver, you are probably right! Pricing for “SEO Services” is as vague as establishing the length of the proverbial piece of string – refresh my memory – how long is that again?

Clearly, nearly every business today must decide how much to spend on search engine optimization (SEO) Vancouver

This isn't an if question. 

Successful online marketing is acknowledged to be essential for survival in this competitive web-driven world. If not – why would you be reading this?

The question every business professional must clearly ask is, "How much will we spend on SEO?" But not only this – Imagine for a moment if this question was asked in any other scenario – like for a Computer, for example. Because let’s face it – how much you spend on a computer depends on a long list of factors, including what it needs to do for you, what software does it need to run, what do you do most with it... SEO is exactly the same, and hence why there is no “One answer fits all” response… keep reading for all the information you'll need to make a precise SEO budget decision, plus some helpful tips on how SEO agencies work, so you can be successful in finding a workable partnership with an online marketing firm.

SEO Services – There are Payment Options?

Search Engine Optimization in Vancouver - How much to pay?

To fully comprehend the subject of SEO pricing discussed below, you must first understand the payment models used by agencies. SEO agencies in Vancouver typically offer four main forms of services and payment options:

·         The Monthly Retainer: With this option from 2iiS Marketiing, clients pay a set fee monthly in exchange for a pre-agreed set of services. The monthly retainer is the most used payment model, because it provides the most definable return on investment (ROI). Monthly retainer arrangements usually include regular SEO analytics reports, website content improvements, blog releases, relevant link building, ongoing keyword analysis, competitor site analysis and individual landing page creation and optimization.

Contracted SEO services at fixed prices: Nearly all SEO agencies sell contract services, including 2iiS Marketiing here in White Rock, BC. Often, before a client has decided to opt for the monthly retainer, they will request specific services that they want to have done. The services that an SEO agency offers are often advertised on their website, along with a menu pricing. A typical example of a contracted service is an SEO website audit which can help determine existing strengths and weaknesses in a client’s website and online presence, competitor website analysis, as well as industry related keyword research for search terms that have the highest potential to result in a positive ROI. Interesting to note that 2iiS Marketing offer an initial SEO website audit for free, for a limited period.

Get A Free Website SEO Audit Today Here

 ·         Project Centric Pricing: A Project pricing structure is similar to contract services with the exception that they are custom projects and budgets created specifically for the client requirements. For example, a local Italian Restaurant may ask an SEO agency to help them with their local online marketing, and to manage their reputation as “The Best Italian Restaurant in Richmond, BC”. The client may decide that they want the agency to establish, brand and manage their social media accounts. The local business and the SEO agency will decide on the scope and cost of the project and payment for 2iiS Marketiing is normally split between a deposit, then a completion of task installment, then a performance related bonus for meeting pre-set SEO objectives.

 ·         Hourly consulting Pricing: This familiar but basic consulting model is an hourly fee in exchange for services or information by quotation – usually based around an estimate to start.

Most SEO agencies use all of these payment models, for example, a client may choose to purchase a contract service, and engage in a special project with the agency, then maintain SEO performance moving forward with a monthly retainer option, thus effectively entering into three of the payment models.

Typical SEO Costs in Vancouver

So, what should cost expectations be? After a recent survey, here's a range of the costs according to the payment models described above.

·         The Monthly retainer: $250-5,000 per month. Within this range, the amount that a client pays depends on the extent of SEO services provided by the agency & the size of their business/ website traffic/ online profile. On the lower end of this spectrum are smaller companies that require a limited range of services, but appreciate the long term value and ROI of regular maintenance. On the upper range are businesses with greater needs working with full-service SEO agencies. 

·         Contract SEO services at fixed prices: price variable. Businesses that are just testing the waters in SEO management usually choose a contract service first. Typical contract services include things like SEO copywriting ($0.15 - $0.50/word), site content audit ( Typically $500 -$7,500 – but with 2iiS Marketing, this is a Free service, see here to take advantage of this offer ), link profile audit ($500 - $7,500), and social media site setup ($500 - $3,000).

·         Project Centric pricing: price variable. Since there are an infinite variety of projects, there is an infinate range of prices. In our experience, most successful SEO projects cost from $1,000 to $30,000.

·         Hourly consulting rate: $100-300/hr. Professional and experienced SEO consultants with a proven track record of results, whether individuals or agencies, usually charge between $100 and $300 per hour.

(Figures are a combination of a 2011 SEOmoz survey of 500 consultants and agencies plus our experience of the local Vancouver SEO Specialists market.)

SEO Claims to be Suspicious of:

Any discussion of SEO agencies and their pricing needs to be qualified with a few warnings. To help guard against suspect SEO agencies with unethical business practices, read and take heed. The following promises in any offer of SEO services should start the alarm bells ringing, and encourage you to look into claims of prowess more deeply:

·         Guarantees. SEO firms generally can't provide performance guarantees because of the constantly changing nature of the industry, however, it’s worth noting that 2iiS Marketing has sufficient experience to be confident of success, and are therefore comfortable in gearing pricing structures to reflect pre-set achievement criteria. Please contact us for more details.

·         Promises of Instant results. Whilst true that some SEO “Black Hat” tactics can get somewhat "instant results" by gaming the system, think to tread very carefully as many of these practices can and will hurt a website in the long run. Instant results often involve SEO techniques that are in contravention of the webmaster guidelines put out by search engines and invariably Google, Bing, Yahoo etc seek to spot these “shortcut” methods and penalizes sites using them, resulting in lost rankings that can take months if not years to recover.

·         That “Old Chestnut” the coveted #1 spot on Google. If an agency promises you the number one spot on Google in return for getting your business, without qualifying that claim substantially, then run a mile!  #1 sounds great and hopefully we can get you there - however, it's not something that a firm can promise to hand over to you without a substantial budget and considerable skill.

·         Costs lower than $450/month. When it comes to SEO services, shop for the best levels of service and return on investment rather than shopping for the lowest initial cost. Rock bottom prices or "unbelievable deals" will invariably be just that – “Too Good to be True”. Imagine for a moment, would you be comfortable shopping around for cut price healthcare and entrusting to just anybody in any country? No? Then keep the choice of an SEO agency to the realms of the possible, for the cost. 

·         Link Building Services. Highly relevant link building is a crucial part of SEO, that much is true. It’s difficult to have a highly-ranked site without some inbound links. But there's a dark side to link building that is often ignored. Link trust is gaining importance via credible inbound links to appear higher in the search rankings. Before entering into a contract with an SEO agency for link building services, ensure that their link building services are entirely ethical, “white hat” ie. credible links. If in doubt, ask them for some examples of where they may be able to gain links for a business or product in your industry, then visit the page to see whether it is of a quality and statute you feel comfortable being associated with. Remember – the quality of link page content (or not!) reflects back on your company too.

Things to Bear in Mind when Choosing an SEO Agency in Vancouver

As you begin shopping around all the different SEO agencies and forming a decision on which to use, it’s a great idea to remember the following:

·         SEO takes time, so a monthly retainer is probably best. Think of SEO as a medium to long-term investment. Aggressive campaigns and major pushes certainly have their place, but the most enduring SEO results come from a long-term relationship and sustained effort to give site visitors what they were looking for in the first place. Mark Jackson wrote, "The real value of SEO efforts are, generally, not realized in the first month(s) of the effort." This is a good point, SEOs can’t wave a magic wand and get instant results – Sorry! If you wanted results sooner, you should have cut the procrastination and chosen an effective agency sooner!! Lol - There – honesty from 2iiS Marketiing – now you know you can trust us! Search engine optimization is a succession of mind numbingly boring and detailed operations to improve a website until it is better at presenting information how the search engine would like to anticipate that the searchers would like to see it – this produces results often months down the line, and each month passed should build up to incremental improvements until the website achieves consistently good SERP’s. Yep, this sounds laborious, and that’s why you will be happy to pay a small retainer to get 2iiS Marketiing Vancouver to take care of it for you… 

·         SEO requirements change, and website rankings will change, too, but quality content remains. The field is full of competitors, and rankings rise and fall with the changing of algorithms and the entrance of new websites. One-and-done SEO simply can’t and doesn't work. It takes constant monitoring and tweaking to keep a website ranking well and performing at top-ranking levels- Just like a performance car, regular tune-ups and oil changes are what keeps it in top condition.

·         Not all SEO services are Equal. Again, just in case you didn’t get it last time - SEO isn't about getting the lowest prices. It's about finding the finest agency you can to get the best return on the investment. Done properly, the return on SEO should be greater than the expenditure and quantifiably so. Look for an SEO agency that defines its scope of services, takes the time to educate about the job, and that goes beyond SEO into increasing the actual response to visits percentages – because these make all the difference to results and bottom line business.

·         SEO is important – it’s a great time to Do it. The point of any commercial website is to increase and/or improve business results. Unless people find a website, it's not really worth having one. The smart thing is to pay what it takes to keep your site findable by the people who are looking – because if they aren’t finding you, then you can bet they will be finding your competitors, and the sooner you start, the sooner you get results.

·         Hiring an SEO agency is best. Many people ask themselves the question, "Can I just do this SEO thing on my own?" Truthfully, a small percentage of business owners have the skill and savvy to do their own SEO. Even so, comprehensive SEO takes much more time and attention to detail than most entrepreneurs can afford. Having an employee who "knows a lot about SEO," may seem like the answer too – but can the business afford to have them doing hours of work without knowing for certain that this will produce the desired results down the line? The level of services and excellence found in a SEO agency should make all the difference to “having a website”, and “having a website that works”. Imagine the positive results being easily found will bring – it’s like having a high street location or being tucked away down a back street – either business suffers, or the actual advertising spend must be much higher to get the same level of interest in what you are selling. You'll rarely come out on top if you try to go it alone, and you'll never get the same level of ROI that you would with a competent SEO agency like 2iiS Marketiing.

Decisions, Decisions

For most businesses today, SEO is the highest ROI marketing effort. The benefits high Organic search results bring far exceeds the value of other marketing campaigns – direct mailing, broadcast advertising, online ads, etc. Because even if a client becomes interested in a product through traditional marketing efforts, chances are that they will search for advice, product comparisons, stockists or simply the best price online via a search engine and if they can’t find your website?

As Wayne Gretzky says “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”

Businesses in a competitive environment like Vancouver can no longer ask “Do I need SEO services?” Because, “Yes I Do” is the only sensible conclusion to be reached. To help decide how much to spend; contact 2iiS Marketiing for a preliminary and FreeSEO Website Audit here and quickly receive a personalised assessment of the benefits to be gained from being highly visible in the Vancouver marketplace. Contact us now, it’s easy, and we don’t employ Salespeople so there’s everything to gain, and nothing to lose – 100% Guaranteed!

And That’s Priceless…    

Author: Karen Pierson