How much does SEO cost

SEO can play a significant role in the success of almost any business, even if they don’t focus on web based sales (but more on that example below!).
Every SEO business in NZ has a different starting point in terms of cost, and it also depends on the scale of website, existing website issues, geographical reach, and the goals of the client.

The typical monthly average cost of SEO in New Zealand is between $1,000 and $5,000 per month. In cases where a one off SEO project is needed, it also heavily depends on the full scope of the SEO work needed – and this can range between $1,000 and $30,000.

How can something that seems as simple as once off project SEO cost as much as $30,000? That’s easier to see when you step back and look at the process of SEO as a whole.

SEO (which is short hand for Search Engine Optimization, by the way), is the process of refining and creating content on a website with the aim of improve the brand’s visibility through improving the ranking on search engine results pages.

The act of aligning the website’s content, structure, and user experience with “best practices” favoured by the major search engine algorithms can help your company to appear higher in the search results when potential customers are looking for your services.

By using a variety of keyword research tools, optimizing and reorganizing on page elements, managing backlinks, and enhancing technical website performance, SEO influences the level of long term organic traffic as well as providing ongoing monitoring and analysis of customer behaviour which can help you to target your marketing better in the future.

Because of complexity we just discussed there is no easy way to give a blanket answer to those asking how much SEO costs, so let’s break down some examples of some hypothetical situations.

(Please note that these examples are given to provide education only and are not intended as an exact guide or quotation for services.)

Example of SEO cost in Christchurch:
In this example let’s assume the following:

Brand Description:
Joan runs a mid sized restaurant and family friendly bar in the most popular area for tourists and local families alike, and has done so for about five years. Much of their competition is from similarly sized and located businesses – there is even one right next door! A lot of their business is walk in clientele looking for somewhere to eat and see that it is a nice and clean place with a good looking menu, some are drawn in by the open play area advertised on a poster by the door – they can eat a meal while the kids blow off some steam in a safe and enclosed environment. Her website is attractive enough but a little hard to use, and in some places, a little out of date. She doesn’t post much on social media, travel review sites, or use ads.

Goals of the Brand:
Joan is looking to book more tables ahead of time, to stabilize the level of trade she does every night, and to win a greater portion of the tourist market than her competitors.

Hypothetical SEO Provider:
In this example is a large sized consultation company with many branches across the world. They have writers, graphic designers, website building teams, direct marketing specialists, and dedicated marketing strategy consultants.

Circumstances:
For Joan, the job isn’t easy as there is high in-person competition and she offers much the same fare as they do. So, the SEO company in this example will need to revamp the website, update all existing webpages, renovate her social media, and help her find a direction for her marketing strategy that will bring in reviews from patrons on booking sites, search engines, and social media.

As this is a big job and Joan wants the best of the best, the company is going to put two of their writers (one for website cope and one for social media copy), two of their graphic designers (one for the website and one for sharable social media images), completely re-design the website from the ground up, create and maintain direct marketing strategies, and actively pursue improvements every month.

So, how much does SEO cost for this example?
The initial project of renovating the website, rewriting and creating upwards of 20 web pages (and the graphics to go with them), and setting up initial strategies for marketing could easily be in the 300 to 500 hour range.

The median wage for New Zealander’s is $27 an hour – so the initial project could cost Joan between $ 8,100 and $ 13,500.

If ongoing monitoring and social media creation accounts for 20 hours a month, that’s an ongoing $540 per month.

In a year, then, SEO costs Christchurch pub owner Joan $6,480, plus the initial project work.

Example of SEO cost in Auckland:
In this example let’s assume the following:

Brand Description:
Luke owns a small accounting firm that specializes in tax returns and helping people with complex situations stay on the right side of tax law. There are not that many accountants in Auckland with such a narrow focus, and yet most of Luke’s clients come to him via word of mouth.

Goals of the Brand:
Luke loves that his clients are so happy with his services that they recommend him, but he’d like for people who don’t happen to personally know his existing clients to be able to find him.

He does have a website but hasn’t updated it in a while, and does not have a social media presence as he thinks it’s a bit weird for an accountant to be doing TikTok dances.

Hypothetical SEO Provider:
A mid-sized local company with a few people employed to help with administration, writing, and client care.

Circumstances:
In this case Luke needs a website facelift, ongoing blog posts, newsletter updates, and social media education.

Because there is a very specific client that Luke needs to attract, the competition is lower but he will still need a sturdy SEO approach to out rank the big finance firms offering easy “tick and flick” tax returns that don’t solve his client’s pain points but do tend to be on the first page thanks to their company heft.

When it comes to social media, Luke sits down for an hour briefing on the benefits of social media for businesses of all kinds and he’s shown a posting plan that focusses on personal finance tips, reminders about deadlines, and discussions about changing legislation.

Once a list of blog post topics is approved, the websites refreshed and updated, and Luke realizes that no one expects him to dance or follow trends he decides that he’d like the company to come on for ten hours a month and take care of updating it for him.

Because the website is reasonably simple and Luke only wants a bare-bones approach to blog posting and social media this kind of SEO costs Aukland accountant Luke approximately $$

Example of SEO cost in Tauranga:
In this example let’s assume the following:

Brand Description:
Alex is the owner of an online shop selling handmade soap and accessories. The shop was going quite well until about three months ago when their traffic dropped almost to zero – and so did sales. Alex couldn’t figure out what was happening or why, then one of their social media accounts was hacked and it seems like no matter what they do no one can get this other person out of the account. They still have loyal customers who have standing orders or find them at farmer’s markets, but when they’re asked, they say they can’t find Alex’s shop on Google anymore.

Goals of the Brand:
Figure out why the traffic tanked and they lost their reasonably good ranking, and to get their social media back!

Hypothetical SEO Provider:
A one-person show, this SEO consultant has 15 years’ experience and only takes on a few projects at a time. Their consultation for SEO costs more than some of the big companies but this is justified as you get their full attention and are essentially paying for exclusivity – they’re full service and have the exact skills you need.

Circumstances:
Blackhat SEO is a term referring to a set of unethical behaviours that focus on pulling down competition, rather than improving in order to move up the rankings. In this case, the SEO specialist was able to uncover thousands of spammed links to Alex’s store on untrustworthy and unsavoury websites. The process of removing these is tedious and can take a lot of time. Retrieving the social media accounts took longer as the person who had done so had also gained access to the email address Alex used to manage the accounts and so could see every time Alex reset the password!
Eliminating the source of the problems is only one half of the work, Alex needs the SEO consultant to stay on the job and help rehabilitate their online presence, monitor spam links, and attend to their cyber security.

So, how much does SEO cost for this example?
This case required very specialised skills and dedicated work from a highly experienced and in demand provider and so the forensic and corrective SEO costs Tauranga soap maker Alex over $12,000 for the initial work – even though nothing new was created.

The ongoing cyber security monitoring and careful rehabilitation will account for nearly 20 hours a month to ensure that it won’t happen again, that the company will once again be on the first page after the search engages come to trust Alex again, and so that people can enter their payment details with confidence. Knowing that Cyber Security average wages are around $50 an hour and SEO specialists can bring in between, $100 and $375 an hour – you can see how specialist help can add up quickly.

Let’s say this specialist charges $250 an hour – the ongoing monitoring and SEO may well cost upwards of $5,000 a month.

Example of SEO cost in Hamilton:
In this example let’s assume the following:

Brand Description:
Mandy runs a hairdressing salon in Hamilton and is on a tight budget, she’s just starting out and doesn’t really understand SEO but has a good handle on her own Social Media – she just doesn’t know how to be professional on the salon’s page. She wants to attract young and fun clientele, as well as somewhere for older fun people too. The problem is that people see her ads on socials and think she’s fake, or they don’t trust her enough to put their hair in her hands.

Goals of the Brand:
Create a solid base of trustworthiness and social proof, improve click through rates on ads, and get more people who do come to her site to actually make an appointment!

Hypothetical SEO Provider:
This SEO provider is a small, one person operation with a good range of services, who is also just starting their business . As Mandy is on such a tight budget, they have out together a basic package for her that will help get her on her feet.

Circumstances:
In line with the budget package, they have put together a plan for Mandy to take forward for her social media with guides and some templates for future use. The website was fresh and clean so only the content needed addressing, her advertising plan was trimmed down and revised to be more targeted, and her social media was only tweaked.

The basic starter package has a once off cost, and when Mandy realized that she really – REALLY – didn’t like writing blogs, she added a single blog post a month from the provider.

So, how much does SEO cost for this example?
Very basic starter pack SEO cost in Hamilton hairdresser Mandy’s experience is very affordable – just $350 for a quick refresh and assessment of her approach to ads, social media, and web posting. Going froward, but still on a budget, a single blog post per month can cost as little as $100.

Variability of SEO Cost in NZ

So, as you can see, how much SEO costs varies wildly between large international SEO providers working on holistic, multi divisional digital marketing packages, to highly specialized.

The below industry guidelines can give a general idea of what differently sized businesses should expect SEO cost to be:

• Startup – $900 to $1,500 per month
• Small business – $1,500 to $3,000 per month
• Medium size business – $1,500 to $5,000 per month
• Enterprise – $5,000 + Per month.

Broadly speaking it can be said that the standard going rate for an SEO specialist is between $100 and $375 + GST per hour.

Here at Net Branding, we strive to make sure that our services on offer are transparent, well priced, and provide value to you as our client to ensure it’s affordable to companies of all sizes. We tailor everything to your needs and will be happy to chat and provide a quote.