Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a tricky thing to quantify. By its very nature, SEO is a dynamic process that changes over time as search engines change their algorithms and your website evolves.
What was the best way to optimize your website in 2020 won’t necessarily be the best way to optimize your site today.
However, there’s a lot of helpful information out there on what SEO tricks and techniques work right now and how much SEO costs based on your specific situation.
To learn more about SEO and how much SEO costs, keep reading.
What is SEO?
In its most basic form, SEO is a set of practices that help search engines understand and rank web pages. These practices include:
What is an SEO tool?
You may be wondering about the difference between an SEO tool and an SEO toolkit. Let’s break it down:
How much does SEO cost?
The price of professional SEO toolkits can range from a couple of hundred dollars per year to a few thousand dollars a year. Hiring an agency to do SEO on your behalf will likely cost you many thousands of dollars.
For example, a budget SEO toolkit like Mangools will cost you around $360 per year for their basic plan. A more advanced SEO toolkit, like SE Ranking’s Pro plan, will run you about $1,050 per year. And a full-featured premium business-level plan from Semrush would set you back around $4,500 per year.
Of course, each company often provides a variety of plans at different price points that might meet your needs. If you’re curious, here’s a breakdown of the annual costs for many popular SEO toolkit plans. 😎
What does SEO pricing include?
SEO pricing covers a range of services and tools. The exact number of services included depends on the tool you use or the company you’re working with, but there are some standard features you can expect to see.
Are there any free SEO tools?
Yes, it’s also possible to do SEO for free.
If you are a blogger or small business with a simple website, do-it-yourself SEO might be the most cost-effective option for you… but it will likely take you a lot of time to research and learn each free tool.
If your website is large and complicated (for example, it has more than a few different pages), or if you want to get on Google’s first page in less than 12 months, using a professional SEO toolkit or hiring an expert will likely be significantly more efficient.
Free SEO tools can be helpful in getting started and testing out results, but there’s a reason why these tools are free. The paid versions often do a much better job. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
A popular free SEO tool is Google Keyword Planner, which provides you with data about how much people are spending on search terms and what they’re searching for in general. It also gives you some insight into which keywords may be best to target when building your website.
Professional SEO might not be as expensive as you think!
You can get a lot of bang for your buck by paying for powerful SEO tools, and it will likely pay for itself in the long run. The more traffic that comes from Google search results, the more money you make!
And unlike other forms of paid advertising and traditional advertising (like billboards or commercials), organic online traffic generation through SEO is often much cheaper overall.
Conclusion
If you want to rank for competitive keywords, it will likely be very difficult to do it yourself without using professional SEO tools or hiring an experienced SEO agency. It takes time, effort, and expertise to get the best results from your SEO efforts.
Luckily, there are a ton of reasonably-priced robust SEO tools and toolkits available for your to choose from. 😊
If you want to learn more about how SEO works and see our personal recommendations for which SEO toolkit to use, check out this in-depth guide to SEO tools, tips, tricks, and techniques.
All the best on your SEO journey!
