Choosing a SEO provider is a tough process. Different agencies tell you different things, Pennsylvania SEO prices range from a couple thousand dollars to well into five-figures, and it can be difficult to tell if you are getting your money's worth.

The reason that SEO prices vary so considerably has to do with the two types of agencies that sell and price SEO campaigns, and the way each views SEO price. The two primary providers of SEO services are advertising agencies and web developers.

Traditional advertising agencies who have recently decided to venture online operate using the "billable hours" business model for pricing SEO. This practice began as a way to catalog expenses over a long, ongoing, multilevel advertising campaign. But it is ill-suited and impractical for SEO price.

Advertising account executives price advertising packages in terms of the total amount of time that will be required to complete the client's deliverables, regardless of what they are. They sell media "campaigns," not services. In essence the SEO price is not a "product" (SEO for your website); the product you buy is the time of the creative staff at their advertising agency.

That time, as you probably know, can be very costly. "Time" can mean anything that relates to your project: even merely visiting competitors' out-of-date websites. When you sign up for billable-hours SEO pricing you are locked into a contract to pay the time it takes them to complete the service, regardless of the quality or revisions necessary. And the bigger the ad agency, the bigger the per-hour SEO price.

However, SEO price quotes are much lower at web development agencies because our business model doesn't revolve around billable hours.

Web development/internet marketing shops price SEO and other internet services on a "per-product" basis. We view these services as a product, not the time we spend on them, allowing us to price them effectively up-front (and drastically cut costs).

Unlike ad agencies, most internet businesses begin as the founder working on the side as a freelance webmaster. As the operation picks up and the client list grows, the price-per-hour business model becomes less and less desirable. It's easier for both client and vendor if a set price can be established up-front, with any necessary monthly monitoring reflected in the agreed-upon price.

Web development deliverables (a website redesign, SEO, an ecommerce shopping cart, etc.) have a pretty standard and streamlined process of implementation at a web developer, allowing us to price SEO much more accurately and reasonably than a non-web-focused advertising agency. And because we frequently do little else, you can be sure you're getting experienced designers and developers to build and manage your online presence.

So what's a fair PA SEO price?

The price of an SEO campaign involves many steps, among them:

• Industry analysis
• Competition analysis
• Keyphrase research
• Keyphrase selection
• Keyphrase implementation (title tags, meta tags, website copy, etc)
• Linkbuilding
• Search engine submission
• Directory submission
• Monitoring and reporting

Each is equally important and vital to your campaign, and web developers like WebpageFX have a long list of satisfied customers. A good-value SEO campaign from an experienced web developer should cost from $1,500 to $10,000 up front, depending on the competitiveness and focus of your market.

Any lower the web developer is not experienced enough to charge more, any more and the agency is too large to offer a competitive price.

Basic (presence on search engines for relevant terms)

• $1,500-$4,000 setup / $450-$900 quarterly

Advanced (top 5 ranking for specific search terms)

• $4,000-$6,000 setup / $900-$1500 quarterly

Market Leader (no holds-barred, all-out national SEO blitz)

• $6,000-$10,000 setup / $1500-$3000 quarterly

WebpageFX has over 35 years combined experience in the SEO industry. Call us today to start monetizing your online marketing affordably.