If you’re looking for SEO services for your website, chances are, you’ve run into SEO packages. SEO packages are varying combinations of SEO services set at differing prices depending on the amount of work that will be involved. Oftentimes SEO packages can be confusing, intimidating and expensive if you don’t have any SEO experience yourself.
Today we’re going to unpack SEO packages so that you can better understand them and know what to look for when considering SEO for your business.
What Are SEO Packages?
Google incorporates more than 200 ranking factors into its search algorithms that it uses to index and ultimately rank content on the internet. This means that real SEO experts do much more than just one single thing when they attempt to boost your rankings for any particular keyword or search phrase.
SEO includes multiple tasks of varying difficulty, so depending on what needs to be done, the amount of work that goes into SEO will differ for each and every client. SEO packages are an attempt to simplify what an SEO expert will do to boost your rankings. SEO packages will normally outline the work that will be done and will offer differently priced packages to fit your budget.
SEO Package Prices
We have started moving many of our clients away from our SEO packages. The main reason is that the SEO basics that every website requires is different. Your website, what your competitors are doing, and how competitive your niche is all have an impact on what will need to be done SEO-wise for your business. There is no one-size-fits-all SEO solution to get you the rankings you need.
Just some fine print before we start: Our SEO packages are guidelines that we use because we know it helps clients better understand what they are paying for. But, as mentioned, we always adjust and refine our SEO services to best suit the needs of the client. Thus, the below packages and prices should be treated as a guideline, not a set-in-stone solution to all your SEO needs.
Bronze SEO Package
This package is great for small businesses that might not want to jump in the SEO deep end, but have realised that they need to start investing in SEO. If you are concerned about your SEO and you are looking for a local SEO package, this would be a great start.
Bronze SEO package price: +/- R6600 per month which includes:
- Strategy Development
- Google Penalty Check and Recovery
- Competitor Analysis
- Google Business Listing Management
- Monthly Onsite SEO Audit
- On-site Optimisation
- Link Building
- Content Creation (Blogs and/or Landing Pages)
- Monitor Google Search Console for changes in traffic
- Quarterly Meetings
- Monthly Organic traffic report
- Keyword ranking report (available on request)
Silver SEO Package
This is the perfect starting point for many medium-sized businesses that are serious about improving rankings. Your business operates in a niche where competitors are already making use of SEO to reach new customers, and you will need expert SEO services in Gauteng to compete.
Silver SEO Package price: +/- R10 000 per month which includes:
- Strategy Development
- Google Penalty Check and Recovery
- Competitor Analysis
- Google Business Listing Management
- Scheduled Onsite SEO Audits
- On-site Optimisation
- Link Building
- Content Creation (Blogs and/or Landing Pages)
- Monitor Google Search Console for changes in traffic
- Quarterly Meetings
- Monthly Organic traffic report
- Keyword ranking report (available on request)
Gold SEO Package
This package means you are serious about your SEO. You have realised that you need SEO that can compete with the best. You operate in a highly competitive niche and you need on-page SEO just as much as you need off-page SEO. You also operate nationally and as such, a simple local SEO package is not going to meet your needs.
Gold SEO Package price: +/- R19 200 per month
- Strategy Development
- Google Penalty Check and Recovery
- Competitor Analysis
- Google Business Listing Management
- Scheduled On-site SEO Audits
- On-site Optimisation
- Link Building
- Content Creation (Blogs and/or Landing Pages)
- Monitor Google Search Console for changes in traffic
- Monthly Meetings
- Monthly Organic traffic report
- Keyword ranking report (on request)
SEO Packages and Competitive Niches
It’s logical that if you have competitors investing heavily in SEO, then you will have to do the same in order to compete. Clever SEO experts work smarter, not harder than their competition. But even then, if your business operates in one of the following niches you will have to invest heavily in SEO to compete:
- Medical Aid
- Insurance
- Real Estate
- Pharmaceuticals
- Gambling
- Travel & Tourism
- Financial Services
- Gifts and Baskets
- Jewellery
- Computers & Electronics
- Used Car Sales
- Any international market outside South Africa
The Problem with Cheap SEO Packages
The problem with cheap SEO packages is that authentic SEO is not cheap. Chances are that if the SEO package price seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you have never implemented SEO before, going for the cheapest SEO package you can find is probably going to lead to you burning your fingers. No matter what the amount of money you pay each month, you’ll want to see positive results.
An SEO expert that is not experienced or skilled can cause much more harm than good. Experience generally does not come cheap, so tread carefully when you start looking for an SEO package that suits your budget and needs. When it comes to link building (or off-site SEO), mistakes can be a costly matter. In the long run, repairing bad SEO damage will cost more than just working with an experienced SEO company in the first place. Building bad links for your website can lead to a Google penalty, and just like with anything, prevention really is better than a cure.
SEO Package Warning Signs
There are a few things you can look out for, that many SEO experts will consider giant red flags that indicate you should probably avoid the SEO package in question.
SEO package does not include Google Business Listing
A Google Business Listing is an absolute SEO basic and anyone that offers SEO services without including the setup, optimisation or claiming of your listing is a cause for concern. For local SEO in particular, the setup and optimisation of a Google Business Listing for your business is not negotiable and should be included from day one, no matter how much you are paying for your SEO.
One Size Fits All Link Building
Link building is by far one of the most technical and advanced parts of SEO services. The exact type of link building that a website or business will require depends greatly on the niche, region and what competitors have been doing in terms of link building.
Be wary of any SEO packages that stipulate an exact amount of links that will get built each month. These links will often include low-quality directory links that offer no value to your SEO whatsoever. Link building is a time-consuming process of outreach, negotiation and management that can rack up hours of work faster than many other SEO services.
Link building can also lead to Google penalties if not done correctly. The last thing you want is to wake up one morning and find that your website has been removed from the Google index completely. That can be devastating to any business and can oftentimes lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of Rands daily, depending on the niche. So make sure to ask your SEO company to provide more info about their link-building strategies and if possible to show you examples of links that they have built in the past.
If most of the links look like free directory links, blog comment links and forum links, you are treading on thin ice. Our link building comes with an asterisk that explains how the cost of link building differs for each and every client.
Basic On-Site Optimisation Only in Higher Cost SEO Packages
On-site SEO optimisation includes a few very basic things that should always be included in on-site SEO optimisation. Seriously, these are non-negotiable for any on-site SEO optimisation and should be included in every single SEO package offered:
- Keyword research
- Meta title and description optimisation
- Website URL optimisation
- Sitemap and robots.txt creation
- Integrating Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Google Tags
- Alt tag optimisation
- Schema mark-up (not always needed, but included in the basics when needed)
- Organic traffic conversion tracking and event tracking
- Fixing of broken links
- Duplicate content elimination
- H1 tag inclusion
- Page speed optimisation
What SEO Package Price is Right for You?
As mentioned at the beginning, there is no package that is perfect for your specific SEO needs. SEO packages offer a great basic guideline for you to explore, and ultimately it would be wise to look at. That being said, what you really want from your SEO company is a customised SEO solution that will fit your needs and your budget.
When sitting down with any SEO professional, always expect them at the very least to incorporate some sort of personalisation into their SEO packages for you, instead of a SEO pro that is just trying to sell you a standard SEO package that he has sold to many disappointed clients in the past. That one tip will save you a lot of heartache and a marketing budget.