We outline three basic ways to bill for SEO services:
- positioning in the subscription model – these are simply equal monthly payments throughout the contract period. This payment model for SEO services is the most common and is by far the fairest and most predictable for the client.
- positioning in the effect model – it functioned more widely a few years ago, but it became the source of many pathologies in the SEO industry and now most agencies have already abandoned it or it is gradually being replaced by other solutions.
- positioning in a hybrid model – this is a combination of both mentioned above. Part of the payment is a monthly subscription fee, and the remaining payment is a success fee, which is paid once the agency achieves the desired visibility of the positioned website.
The benefits and costs of positioning in different models are described below.
Subscription-based positioning settlement
Subscription billing is the most popular payment model for SEO services, effectively providing equal payments throughout the duration of the SEO contract. This setup allows the agency to invest significant optimization effort into the website at the outset of the collaboration, and then, in a sense, "recoup" the initial investment in time and costs.
Of course, the following months aren't marked by inactivity. Working with text, building a link profile, and redesigning the website—all of this keeps the SEO specialist busy throughout the contract's remaining months.
First, however, you need to lay a solid foundation! Subscription pricing is also more convenient for the client, providing predictable costs that aren't a one-time, significant drain on the company's budget. How much does website SEO cost on a subscription basis? You can find a price list for website SEO in various packages above. You can also request a personalized quote.
Positioning settlement for the effect
Performance-based SEO pricing is a model in which the client pays the agency for achieved or maintained visibility results for selected keywords. Does it sound fair? Well, it doesn't. In the vast majority of cases, clients of various agencies lost out on this type of pricing. This was because the average SEO agency chose keywords for positioning that were relatively easy to achieve but likely had little business value.
Often, a phrase's success could be considered reaching the top 10, when in a given business, it would only make sense to reach the top 2 or top 3, or sometimes simply to occupy the top spot. Thus, clients potentially paid a high success fee for phrases that didn't actually generate customers.
It's also important to note that an SEO agency dedicates a significant amount of time to technical website optimization at the very beginning of the contract, and may be relatively less involved in the remaining months. An arrangement where most of the work is done "upfront," and then the client decides to leave the agency, for example, would be a minor disaster for such an entity and completely unprofitable.
Due to the above two factors, performance-based billing is a rare payment model. Website SEO pricing is much more often based on fixed monthly fees, i.e., subscription-based billing. Website optimization requires a methodical approach, not a one-off.
Hybrid SEO billing model
A hybrid billing model combines a subscription with a performance-based billing. This means you pay a fixed monthly fee plus a success fee for achieved visibility or organic traffic . This billing model requires significant expertise, trust, and understanding on both sides of the contract. The website positioning pricing in this arrangement is dynamic, and the cost of website positioning may change monthly.
