How Much to Charge for Freelance SEO Services
Collis Ta'eedNB. Want a job with SEOMoz? Check out their job ad on FSw jobs!
I love discussing how much freelancers should and do charge, so when I came across a post at my favourite SEO blog - SEOMoz - on how much various SEO consultants charge I thought it was worth a link. Especially because believe it or not, SEO consultants go right up to a staggering $1000 p/hr - no that wasn’t a typo, I said one thousand with three zeros!
Specifically according to the site SEO experts charging on an hourly basis fall like this:
The simplest way to price a project is to charge by the hour. Rates in SEO vary with the lowest, entry level folks around $40-50, mid-tier consultants around $100-$200 and high-demand firms & people from $300-500. SEOmoz is obviously actively trying to limit our clients by going way outside the norm and charging $1000 / hour.
Aside from charging by the hour, the post also goes on to explain other methods of charging like:
- Pay for Traffic
- Pay for Rankings
- Monthly Retainer
- Modified Profit Sharing
- Standard Profit Sharing
- Contract Services
- Project-Based Consulting
The author - Rand Fishkin - also describes what projects tend to go for. If you’re a freelance SEO I highly recommend giving it a read.
Rajesh Shakya
July 1st, 2007
Hi
Thank you for the posting reference to the SEO charging. Charges look realistic and also in some cases hyped. SEO job is not easy but somehow its developing inorganically.
Rajesh Shakya
http://www.rajeshshakya.com
Helping technopreneurs to excel and lead their life!
joey
July 1st, 2007
Good to know! So I’m entry level…I just thought I was affordable. Yeesh!
Frankie
July 1st, 2007
Shocked at only $1000? I was laid off by someone here in my town that was charging clients $10,000 a year for SEO, and wouldn’t take a penny less.
Jermayn Parker
July 2nd, 2007
I knew it was expensive and I think from reading this I will have to charge a bit more than what I previously do.
I think maybe by the hour is the best bet but maybe if you do a really good job (top 2 etc), you can a clause or a bonus from the client..
Josh Garner
July 2nd, 2007
RE: Frankie: Shocked at only $1000? I was laid off by someone here in my town that was charging clients $10,000 a year for SEO, and wouldn’t take a penny less.
Only $1000? That’s per hour. Though I’m not shocked. SEOMoz provides a real quality service and the ‘Moz’ team is a staple in our industry.
And $10,000 a year isn’t much at all…if the service is of quality. As a matter of fact, $10,000 a year is pretty low. I start the most basic of my services at about $3,000 one time, and that’s mostly for local campaigns, which doesn’t expend me for more than about 3 months.
Lindsey Walsh
July 21st, 2007
Good data to bill by. I’m in the PPC field, and I find the pricing is just as spread out among people with different skill sets.
I liked their different options for billing, though. I’ll have to explore the ‘1 day training seminar’ in addition to my ‘1 hour FAQ fielded’ option.
Hemanth Balaji
February 17th, 2008
This can vary from one seo freelancer to an other. I believe in charging just $149 / site / month. I SEO a site for 3 months. If my client is happy he would continue SEO work with me which has happened in the past.
Freelancer SEO India
March 13th, 2008
Hi,
Thanks for your post. I am a SEO freelancer and working with few International clients. Your post will help me to give reference to charge my SEO consultation fees with a competitive price rate.and this post also boost my energy to read that someone freelancer charging $1000 p/hr. Somewhere someday i can also charge like them.
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SEO Reseller India
April 18th, 2008
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Mahesh
June 27th, 2008
Great Post, I got something new from you..
Really Great!