How Much Does SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Cost?

How Much Does SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Cost?

Today’s consumers more and more are researching online before they buy a product or service. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can give businesses a strong organic presence and opportunity to be found first when potential customers actively look for a product or service. Sometimes it’s challenging to compete in a marketplace where other businesses have more time or money to dedicate to their online marketing strategy.

CI Web Group specializes in bringing the value of online marketing to the small business market by providing SEO services for a variety of small businesses at an affordable cost:


We specialize in specific industries (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical) so we can use our experience as the backbone of how we package our SEO Plans.  Our SEO pricing tool to determine the number of hours each customer needs to rank on the first page depending on the products/services they sell, target city they want to service and the number of competitive pages for each service.

We will take those hours, combine them with the flat rate based on customer SEO preferences, and form an optimal package to deliver the SEO work customers need. A dedicated account manager (regional manager) works with each customer to come to a consensus of the work needed to rank. Many companies overcharge for the work it takes to rank in a customer’s area, or they underfund a campaign so a customer cannot rank. Avoid these companies, as overcharging and underfunding are both simply schemes to keep money flowing with no SEO results.  CI Web Group SEO Services are measurable - we agree on the phrases (services) and the target cities (geo locations) within the SEO plan, we track their rank and we can show progress. 

We ONLY include SEO for the services (keyword phrases) and the cities that we have pages and content available for on the website.


Three major factors determine what quality SEO costs for a given customer.

  1. Market Category - I.e. Service or Product you wish to sell - that consumers are searching for.
  2. Market Location - The Cities you want to sell your products or services in (market location and population)
  3. The number of Competing pages in the drawer (SERP) for that individual Service and City or product and City search term combination.

The first is the market category. The category of a business’s product or service and its relation to its surrounding competition heavily influence the amount of work and spend needed to achieve high ranking. For example, competition for a heating company in Arizona would most likely be slim due to the region’s hot climate. However, a heating company in Idaho would likely need to spend a greater amount on SEO to stand out from the competitors in its market.

Next, the size of market location has a significant influence on the cost of SEO. Businesses looking to rank in smaller, rural markets with scanty competition do not need to spend as much on SEO. Larger, more urban markets with heavier competition require a greater SEO spend simply because beating that competition is a bigger job.

The larger the area targeted for ranking, the more SEO will cost. Local businesses looking to target an area outside of their actual location also need to spend more because it takes more extensive work to convince Google of the business’s relevancy to that targeted location.


Not all keywords are equally difficult or easy to target!

Lastly, the cost of SEO depends on the number of keywords desired for ranking and the competitiveness of those keywords (How many Pages are in that drawer / SERP). More keywords for ranking require more SEO time and, therefore, more SEO spend. It’s important to note that not all keywords are equally difficult or easy to target. Some keywords are harder to rank for than others, and some are difficult for certain businesses, but not for others. Not all keywords and not all businesses are created equally. Most SEO companies operate on a basis of a flat rate, plus an hourly rate for the actual SEO work. Any reputable SEO company considers the market, the size of the market, and the number of keywords when determining cost for the SEO work needed to achieve results.


Steer clear of SEO companies that:
  1. base their prices entirely on keyword count
  2. guarantee results or offer money back guarantees. This is usually done by breaking Google's rules, getting your money and rankings and then moving the the next company who thinks this is a good deal.
  3. offer SEO services on old websites 
  4. offer SEO for keywords and target cities that you have no pages or content available on your website
  5. don't provide rank tracking for the performance (position) of the keyphrase on SERPS
  6. say getting to page 1 of google guarantee they will get the business (there are other factors that heavily impact conversions such as your reputation, reviews, your web design and your conversion tools (text, call, chat, schedule?)).

At CI Web Group, we carefully consider each of the three contributing SEO cost factors to create a budget that is just right for our customers and we are experts in their industry with Regional managers and SEO engineers who have studied and know the local markets within their regions.. We neither overcharge for SEO efforts nor underfund targeted goals (we will tell you if you need to increase or decrease your budget or if you need to start other services to improve your seo results such as Local Marketing, Reviews and Reputation, Social Media or Content Marketing. To determine how much you should invest on a monthly basis for SEO to achieve the rankings you want, text