A: SEO has always been labor-intensive but as the years have ticked by, the industry has evolved. Now, it’s not only labor-intensive but also requires a monthly budget allocation as well.

A: Yes, it absolutely is worth every penny. SEO is to your law firm’s online visibility what signage is to your office’s physical location. Not only does it validate your presence, but it confirms to others that your law firm exists and is just waiting to be discovered.

The value SEO can contribute is solely based on the goals and objectives of a business. For example, a personal injury law firm in Jacksonville looking to acquire more new customers in the area can tell if its SEO efforts are paying off once it identifies the source of its incoming business. If these new customers started out as leads from the web, that is a strong indication that the SEO being paid for is doing its job.

A: Search engine marketing (SEM) is a broader term that includes SEO as well as other search marketing tactics such as online advertising. Both have the same goal of promoting your website by helping it become more visible in the search engine results. Think of SEO as earned and SEM as paid.

A: SEO pricing can be as complicated or as simple as you need it to be. Ideally, what you’re paying for is a highly customized plan where you’re only paying for what you need. SEO costs vary among SEO agencies and it’s important that business owners understand exactly what they’re getting and that they trust the people they decide to partner with.

A: Effective SEO requires an ongoing commitment of time and money. While one-time SEO packages are offered at some agencies, they come with short-lived success. Without consistent SEO maintenance, you can expect to see your Google ranking drop dramatically in no time and it can take months or even years to get it back.  Another reason it is important to pay for SEO every month is because Google’s algorithm is constantly changing. Just when you think you have mastered search engine optimization, other factors come into play that must also be considered, so leaving it up to the professionals can help you prevent making a costly mistake that can impact your business. 

A: For the four main ways to contract for SEO services, refer to the section above on the different SEO pricing models. In general, the costs look something like this:

1. Hourly SEO. $75 to $200 per hour.
2. Project-based SEO. $1,000 to $7,500+ per project
3. Results-based SEO. Too keyword-dependent for any generalizations!
4. Monthly retainer. $250 per month to $5,000+ per month.

A: While there is no industry standard for SEO pricing,  the average cost a small business can expect to pay for SEO services ranges from $500 – $5,000. In fact, several marketing companies have adopted pricing models that allow them to determine how much a client will owe on a monthly or annual basis. Some of the most common pricing models used are an hourly rate, a monthly retainer, a project based rate (fixed or variable), and a performance-based rate. Another factor that contributes to how much SEO can cost a small business  is the quality of the services they have selected. When it comes to SEO, you get what you pay for. Some SEO services on the market are priced at $200 a month and although the price point is compelling, the service itself will not cover everything your business needs to remain visible in SERPs. Quality SEO companies typically charge around $125-$200 an hour and this fee includes all of the services your business needs to remain competitive. 

A: The best type of SEO package for you depends on your industry, your website, your goals, and your company. An SEO audit is usually the tool used to assess your unique situation and come up with relevant goals for a customized plan.

A: Sometimes an SEO audit is offered for free. Be wary of these offers, however, since a truly effective SEO audit takes about two full days for one person to complete.

A: See above.

A: Clients who come to us for an SEO audit fall into two categories:

1. Those who know very little about SEO and don’t know what they need
2. Those who want validation of their current SEO

A: Also called on-page SEO, this refers to the technique of applying best practices to the code on your website. There are multiple ways that a website can be improved for search by adding to the backend code. Visitors won’t see these changes but the search engine bots will certainly take note.

A: This refers to SEO strategies that send “SEO juice” to your website to improve its ranking in the search engines. High-quality links from authoritative, reputable sites are considered an excellent form of off-site SEO.

A: Freelancers are really all over the place with SEO pricing, even more so than agencies. Keep in mind that if someone is charging too-good-to-be-true prices, they are probably using shady techniques that can ultimately do more harm than good in the long run.

A: The most effective type of SEO plan is tailored to fit your goals and includes only the services you need. Therefore, we employ a mix of techniques and pricing models to create your custom plan. To give an accurate answer here, we’d need some basic information from you. Please feel free to use our handy online contact form to get in touch.

A: No. DAGMAR Marketing makes it easy to partner for SEO services by not requiring you to commit to a long-term contract.

A: You can do your own SEO, but there are a number of things to consider before taking that on:

• Time: Do you have the time to dedicate to properly doing SEO on your website? The amount of time needed to optimize a site and do all the necessary research (in addition to the other responsibilities you have within your business) needs to be considered. Also, SEO is constantly changing; Google frequent rolls out both minor and major updates, and you will have to stay on top of these to make sure they’re not affecting the work you’ve already done.
• Technical skills: Are you comfortable with HTML to make minor edits? Can you install files and code on your site? SEO isn’t purely technical, but it does require some know-how to perform some relatively basic tasks. (One way to cut down on the amount of technical skills you need to know is to use WordPress for your site and follow our SEO Setup Guide.)
• Writing: Are you willing (and able) to create content regularly? Fresh, relevant content is becoming increasingly important to search engine rankings, so you’ll need to either invest your own time or pay someone to write content for everything from your blog to your service pages.

If you’re willing and able to learn the major aspects of SEO and commit to working on them for at least 10 hours per week, then doing your own SEO may be an option for you. For others who realize their time is better spent on parts of their business or job they understand, paying an SEO agency or consultant is probably a better use of time and money.

A: SEO consultants first learn about your company and your goals. Then, they work with you to support your marketing objectives in all areas: website traffic and conversions, social media, and more.

A: For a brick-and-mortar business, foot traffic means a higher chance of getting customers in your door. SEO works to place your website in a position on the search engine results pages (SERPs) that will result in more traffic, too. When your website is easy for people to find, you’ll have more visitors that may become customers.

SEO also serves to assist the search engine robots, which need help understanding your website. When the right clues are embedded in the code of your pages, it’s like guiding those robots to place your site in front of the right users.