First and foremost, it’s important to realise that SEO isn’t a fixed-price service with a set cost. SEO, or search engine optimisation, is an ongoing process. There’s always something to work on, and the work involved in optimising a website can vary enormously. Much like exercise, really ☺. The goal is always your health, but one week you might go for a run, the next week do yoga, and the next play tennis. That’s why, in the vast majority of cases, SEO is priced by the hour. We simply agree on how much time we’ll devote to it, which key areas we’ll focus on, and what, why and how we’ll optimise.
SEO is, above all, an investment
When it comes to SEO, it certainly holds true that the more time you can invest in optimisation, the better results you can achieve. These days, we don’t view SEO merely as a technical discipline; on the contrary, our work extends into copywriting, where we write articles, add content to the website or publish themed landing pages. It also has a communicative aspect, as we negotiate with owners of other websites regarding the placement of backlinks as part of link building. It also encompasses data analytics, click and heat maps, and conversion rate optimisation, because informed decisions cannot be made without data. SEO today simply involves a wide range of diverse activities.
SEO can secure you relevant organic traffic in the long term. Consider that ‘more expensive keywords’ in PPC advertising (AdWords, Sklik) typically cost tens of crowns per click! If you operate in a highly specific or competitive sector, SEO is definitely a worthwhile investment compared to PPC advertising.
What factors influence the cost of SEO?
When designing a strategy, we take into account:
- The situation you find yourself in – for example, the competitiveness of the sector, and whether the website is established or new. We take into account the current state of the website.
- The goals you want to achieve. What your objective is.
- The timeline – how quickly you want to make progress, whether your offering is seasonal, and so on.
- The results you expect. Or whether your goal is realistic at all.
The price is also influenced by the market in which you operate
. Here we can draw on our own experience: for example, acquiring a customer is significantly cheaper for a fashion e-shop than for a property developer. However, both of these businesses have significantly different commission rates on sales. That is why it is important to consider the return on investment
.
In addition, a reputable agency should ask you for further details to help them propose specific steps within the strategy
, such as:
- Target audience
- Top services or products you offer
- Keyword analysis, or the keywords that are most relevant to you and why
- In addition, they will undoubtedly want to see as much data as possible from your analytics tools.
How much should you invest in SEO?
That’s a tricky question that depends on your goals. Moz.com has published the results of a survey on how much US companies invest in SEO per month. The survey was conducted among agencies and freelancers who offer optimisation services.
- 29% spend between $1,000 and $2,500 on SEO
- 27% spend USD 500–1,000
To give you an idea – $1,000 is roughly CZK 22,800 today. It is true, however, that prices for specialist services are significantly higher in America than here.
The situation in the Czech Republic is therefore dramatically different. Mainly because the services of agencies and specialists are much cheaper. Based on our experience in Florida, we are roughly half the price of local agencies. Not to mention that the Czech market is simply smaller.
Clients at AITOM pay an average of 11
,000 CZK
per month for SEO
. Every month, we analyse the data, monitor changes in keyword rankings and consider our next steps based on current developments. We adjust meta tags, ensure proper internal linking, expand the backlink profile, work on online PR, create new pages to support sales or optimise existing ones, select new ‘long-tail’ keywords, and manage the content strategy. Where necessary, we provide support for PPC campaigns, for example by publishing new landing pages.
What can you achieve with SEO?
We have been working with the interior design studio Kouba Interiér for a long time. In June 2017, 57% of users came from organic search. These users did not cost the company a single penny. At the same time, these users submitted the highest number of enquiries (47%; for example, only 22% of enquiries came from PPC)
According to Collabim, a tool that tracks rankings, the website ranks on the first page for the most important keywords, and in some cases in the top position.
Can SEO be measured?
Of course it can, but it is significantly more complex than measuring results from PPC, for example.
Measure SEO over the long term – track improvements. Note! You can expect the first results to take months rather than weeks.
Focus on the return on investment, not the amount spent. Concentrate on measuring the return on investment – that is, the ratio of how much the traffic costs you compared to the revenue generated. Compare this ratio with other channels.