SEO Price in Canada: How Much Does SEO Cost?

In Canada, most of SEO monthly retainers cost between $700 to $2000. One-time SEO project price ranges from $5,000 to $30,000 and consultation fee could be between $80 to $200 per hour.
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SEO has been around for as long as search engines have, though companies have long been trying to optimize their marketing to appeal to target audiences; search engine optimization is the best way to get your message to the right people online. SEO or search engine optimization on your webpages is designed to target specific search queries and increase the likelihood of users clicking on your website, reading, then hopefully purchasing. SEO is a multifaceted process that takes time. That time that it takes might be something that companies truly don’t have on their own. In some cases, SEO can be contracted off to a digital marketing agency; but how much is that going to cost you? In a nutshell, SEO costs range greatly seeing as no two businesses require the same thing. With that being said, let’s try to break down costs to allow for a greater understanding.

Why SEO is important

Before we even get into pricing, let`s review why SEO is so important.  SEO is a process that naturally boosts your conversion and sales. Rather than paying for broad marketing, or even pay per click marketing, optimize your website to attract users naturally.   But how does SEO get these results?  Results come from a combination of things.  As more consumers click on your site, you increase brand awareness and build a reputation.  On search engines, the first impression you give a consumer is based on what they see from your website.  Make the best first impression you can with SEO.  SEO is also very targeted, unlike traditional marketing, SEO uses keywords to target your ideal customers.  Especially for local businesses, targeting your ideal customer is a must.  When you release a television commercial or pay for product placement, you have no control over who that ad reaches.  You control which audiences you reach with SEO based on the keywords you use in your content.  Besides, ranking number one on a google search might even give you better results than a traditional marketing campaign would.  Additionally, for local businesses, traditional marketing isn’t an option, it might be too broad and not centralized enough.  SEO will also subsequently facilitate results lasting much longer than most of those reaped from traditional marketing.

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What you pay for with SEO

When a company offers an SEO service, what exactly are you paying for? Discuss with your specific digital marketing agency, but you could be granted one, a few, or all of the following depending on what it is that you need.

Add keywords to your URLs, page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and site content

This is very common seeing as some companies are unaware of how to maximize their keyword use, along with titles, descriptions and other various site content.

Optimize alt attributes

Alt attributes are the descriptions within code used to describe images. Seeing as search engines like Google are unable to “read” pictures, they default to reading the alt attributes and organizing results according to that. These are underrated because regardless of your site content and Google ranking, people may still visit your site from a Google images search; that is why it is important to rank higher in images as well.

Update your content regularly

Updating website content is a part of SEO. However with many businesses and companies being extremely busy with orders and services, they might not have enough time to be constantly updating their site content. That is a service that could be provided by a digital agency in an SEO package.

Optimize technical site elements

When it comes to optimizing your site’s technical elements, the biggest thing to remember is that we are optimizing the behind the scenes elements. Visible content isn’t the only thing that matters. Ensuring the coding on your site is correct and isn’t broken has the ability to impact your search ranking.

Responsive Website Design

Responsive website design (RWD) improves the quality of your website on different platforms. RWD changes the way your website looks based on screen size, screen orientation, and which kind of device. While it is fine to tailor the build of the site to a certain device (desktop/mobile), search engine ranking and customer satisfaction can be improved by accommodating for every scenario. Make the navigation easier for mobile users changing font size, layout and even adding features exclusive to mobile phones.

Streamline navigation

Make it easier for users to find what they are looking for. It doesn’t matter how nice your site looks, if a user cannot find what they are looking for, you could be losing out on revenue. To fix that problem, streamline your website to better serve consumers. Have related articles beneath the conclusion of each post, if consumers are interested in reading more, they have to look no further. To create further connections between articles, add links within content. For example if you have related content, dont just link it at the bottom and expect users to click it; add it to your body content, so users have that easily available. Finally, if your site’s content is dense and vast, add a search option. A search option invites users to search for exactly what they need.

Answer users’ questions

If users are searching online they are wanting the answer to their question. As a business writing on the topic, your job is to answer those questions. Don’t always focus on singular keywords. Look at key phrases and related questions, you can gain access to more individuals by answering popular questions.
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How SEO price is determined

SEO pricing is determined based on a few criteria.  First is how many pages you need.  Companies who are early adopters of SEO in their field will most likely need less than businesses who are extremely competitive when it comes to searches.  For example, construction companies are slower to adopt the SEO practices versus say, hotels or insurance companies.  In fact, the cost per click for life and car insurance is above $60.

The next factor that goes into SEO cost is how big your website is, if you have a large website and you want to optimize it all, that is going to be expensive.  Similarly if there is a lot of work that has to be done, you can expect to pay a premium opposed to someone who needs a little bit of work but not a ton.

The next determining factor is your business model.  Are you local or global?  Do you have a very specific target market? Which products and services do you provide?  Very simply, more is more.  If you have a very large market, and are looking to advertise worldwide, your price will be higher than a business who is looking for just local marketing.  If you are not niche, you will not only be spending more appealing to many audiences, but it may be slightly less effective than a niche site with a specific target audience.  Finally, the more services and products you provide, the more SEO will cost.  Seeing as you have so many awesome products you want to advertise, that means more SEO as well.  

Because there are so many things that factor into SEO pricing, the pricing itself is actually quite flexible.

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SEO Flexible Pricing

Pricing varies based on your needs but can be personally created for you and flexible to accommodate exactly what you need.  If you only need content writing and are satisfied with just that, your price will be different than someone who is looking to tackle and conquer search engines in entirety.

Hourly:

The first is hourly. Hourly pricing can range anywhere from $65 all the way to $200. You can expect higher prices from a more experienced agency. Similarly agencies who offer more as a part of their service will cost you a premium.

Fixed:

Fixed prices for SEO vary by the project size and type. When looking at fixed rate costs, make sure that all your requirements are met. You may want to contact the company to get a more accurate quote based on your personal needs.

Project based:

If you have only one project you would like assistance with, contact an agency for their specific pricing. Do keep in mind that in most cases, continuous SEO is more effective and cost efficient than project pricing.

Contact 23e2 for a free, accurate and custom quote that will suit your needs.  Additionally, if your needs don’t quite match what our SEO offers, check out our other services like voice search optimization, snippet optimization and eCommerce SEO.

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Comparing SEO prices

Let’s look at prices for different levels of work and why they are that way.  At 23e2, we offer competitive pricing and aim to deliver far beyond our promises.  While prices at other Canadian marketing companies seem attractive, when we look at what each plan offers, it is clear that there are some lacking elements.  When you are looking for an SEO service, take a look at what they provide in each package.  Look over the pricing and see if there is a discount depending on how long you purchase that service for.  Some businesses may include up to a 20% discount depending on how long you buy their services for.  Finally check out the reviews; cheap prices are nice, but don’t let cheap prices blind you from customer service.  Don’t undervalue customer and service provider relationships; you need an agency with your best interest at heart.  At 23e2, we pride ourselves on facilitating, and maintaining the best relationships with our customers, as well as communicating with our customers quickly and clearly. 

Now that you have more than enough information, feel confident when you make your decision.  SEO can truly make a huge difference, take a look at our pricing and feel free to contact us with any questions or if you would like to hear about any of our other services!

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