When your marketing budget is limited, the place to start is with SEO. A properly optimized site can produce leads and sales within a short time period. Case studies have shown that search engine traffic is equal to or better than traffic from more expensive sources.
The four search optimization programs described on this page give you an idea of the costs of basic no frills services.
You will see that each is either narrowly targeted or addresses only a phase of the overall process and the reason for that is simple. The number of variables and the complexity and technical nature of the process is such that the one size fits all aspect of a fixed price product doesn't make sense for the client or the service provider.
The first, Basic Optimization, includes versions of the second and third. The second, Ongoing Verification and Tracking ensures that results, once achieved, are maintained. The third, Industry Specific Directory Submissions, is a program which addresses the evolving nature of the web and the emergence of new opportunities on an ongoing basis. The fourth is Site visibility evaluation and recommendations.
See also the SEO telephone consultation service one component of which is a fixed price, in-depth telephone consultation service.
Basic Optimization
Basic optimization consists of:
- a half a man-day of keyword phrase research, reporting and discussion to select …
- 3-5 keyword phrases half or fewer of which are not highly popular which keywords are allocated to …
- 3-5 pages revised to add metadata, titles and headings and to revise copy to for keyword location and density for …
- manual submission to the dozen major search engines and directories in order to achieve …
- top 20 rankings for the keywords selected.
More research increases the accuracy of the targeting. More keyword phrases increases the number of people who would comprise the target population. Creating content in new pages specifically to attract people increases the likelihood of a high ranking. More and more relevant search engines means a larger potential audience. Manual submissions are much more effective than automated ones. And so on.
In addition, there can be additional costs which may be applicable depending on your objectives. Expedited handling of a listing in the Yahoo directory costs $400 USD per year and, for AltaVista, $40 USD for the first page per six month period.
Here is a simplified view but enough to give you the basic idea. Budgeting requires bringing together the costs which the variables address and the value of the result.
For example, for a site with little or no visibility, even as modest a program budget as $500 would be sufficient to make the home page visible and top 30 rankings for several keyword phrases. Increasing the budget to $1,250 would deliver a basic scheme of the scope outlined above. At $2,500, the budget would be sufficient for a half a dozen keyword phrases, 5-10 pages revised and several new ones created for top 20 rankings. In these 3 examples, the recommended listing fees to be paid to search engines would be approximately $100, $250 and $350, respectively.
Single Basic Submission package — $500 - 2,500 US.
Ongoing Verification and Tracking
- Verification of your listing in the top 13 search engines and directories and re-submission as necessary.
- Evaluation of your site's rankings for keywords in the top 13 search engines and directories.
- Optimization recommendations for improving site rankings for each of the major engines.
- Reporting spread out over your choice of time intervals.
- Complete, secure online reporting.
- Excellent complement to our Basic Submission package by helping continue with rank improvement.
Packages:
- Single Report — $250 US
- 3 Pack — $600 US
- 10 Pack — $1,750 US
Multiple report packages can be scheduled on a bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly basis or or synchronized with website changes, promotions or other events.
Industry Specific Directory Submissions
- Includes industry specific, regional and special interest directory submission.
- Enhances any past submission work by reaching a pre-qualified, targeted audience.
- Provides high quality research data for other promotional opportunities.
- One of the largest databases of industry specific directories available on the web.
$75 US/hour. Average of 2 directories per hour. Minimum of 5 hours.
Site accessibility evaluation and recommendations
A thorough review and analyze of your web site with specific SEO suggestions as to the best key phrases, copyrighting tips, developing better META data, and how to strategically increase your web site's link popularity.
Suggest areas of improvement, places to submit your site, and answer your SEO questions.
$600 US one-time fee.
