WebFX reveals that businesses spend around $500 to $10,000 for SEO efforts. Although you don’t have to spend over $10,000, especially if you’re a new or small business, you can still get quality work from SEO specialists without overspending your budget. But where can you hire an SEO expert, and how much do their services cost? Here’s our handy guide on hiring SEO experts and costs.
How Do I Hire an SEO Expert?
Before hiring an SEO expert, you need to understand SEO basics. Here are things to remember about SEO:
- Keywords - What keywords do you plan on targeting to entice visitors to your site and rank on search engines? You need to research which keywords would be the best for your business.
- On-page optimization - How do you add your keywords strategically on your site? An SEO expert will know where and how often your keyword should appear on your website, blogs, and other pages.
- Link-building - You can establish authority and trustworthiness with a link-building strategy. You can acquire links from other websites to link to yours. Blogging is one popular way to execute a link-building strategy.
- Technical SEO - As the name suggests, this would involve the other strategies above and other concepts, like improving user experience, ensuring website responsiveness, identifying duplicate content, and so much more.
Once you know which areas you need help with, you can hire an SEO expert to join your team. If you have the basics down, hiring a technical SEO specialist would be the ideal choice. But if you want an all-around SEO expert, you can hire from job search sites like Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Monster to find an SEO professional.
The Seven Best Sites to Hire an SEO Expert
1. Fiverr
One of the leading sites to hire freelancers anywhere is Fiverr. Known for its affordable starting prices, the freelance marketplace allows any SEO expert to post their profile and list of experiences to find clients.
Most Fiverr freelancers offer technical and backlink services. Considering that starting prices are $10, they can work for a few days. And if you want to work with these freelancers longer, prepare to shell out more than $20 or more for comprehensive services. However, if you need SEO writing services, you can find some starting from $5.
Fiverr is ideal if you’re still searching and unsure which SEO service you need.
2. Upwork
Upwork is another freelance marketplace to hire an SEO expert. Unlike Fiverr, you can work with an SEO freelancer hourly. They start prices at $7/hr, doing SEO audits, backlinks, and technical SEO. If you want to avoid any headaches hiring from Upwork, choose Top Rated or Top Rated Plus freelancers to get your money’s worth and employ a reliable freelancer.
3. SEOClerks
Browsing on Fiverr and Upwork can take up time. And if you want a specialized freelance marketing platform for SEO experts, SEOClerks is a good choice. Most SEO experts do link-building strategies and publish content. Prices start at $5. But you’ll encounter freelancers charging $30 and above.
4. GrowTal
Some businesses and solopreneurs didn’t have a great experience after hiring freelancers on Upwork and Fiverr. GrowTal vets its marketing and SEO experts to ensure that businesses match with reliable and dependent SEO pros. They don’t have pricing plans available, but you have to fill out a form to connect with a GrowTal expert. This way, you’ll be matched with vetted SEO experts.
5. Mayple
If you don’t want to do the hiring, leave it to Mayple to connect you with the best SEO freelancers. They have comprehensive SEO plans ensuring that your goals are met. It starts by filling out a form, and you’ll be matched with experts based on the info you provide.
Pricing plans:
- Starter - $3575/mo
- Plus - $5375/mo
- Premium - $9000
6. MarketerHire
If you’re looking for an SEO marketer, MarketerHire should be your top choice. The freelance marketing platform has a rigorous five-step vetting process to guarantee you’re working with SEO professionals.
Their SEO marketers will help you with your keyword and internal linking strategy, competitive SEO analysis, and snippet optimization. They don’t have pricing plans available, but you can request a quote here.
7. Growth Collective
Our final website on this list is Growth Collective. They have a rigorous vetting process, ensuring only experts with five years of experience are accepted. Plus, the freelancer should be communicative and timely. Finally, the expert should specialize in one tool or channel.
The website matches you with two to three SEO experts. Their SEO consultants do:
- Keyword research
- Content strategy
- Optimization & Reporting
- Backlink acquisition
You can fill out a form here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does it Cost to Hire an SEO Specialist?
It depends on how long you need an SEO expert on your team. Some businesses may opt to work with SEO specialists on a short-term basis. However, an SEO expert is an invaluable asset to your team. And it’s preferable to hire one long-term, especially if you want to rank high and maintain it.
Based on prices provided by SEO freelancers on well-known freelance marketplaces, the starting fee is $30. Most freelancers offer technical SEO work and link-building services.
For a full-time SEO specialist in the USA, Indeed finds that the average salary is $62,045 annually.
Why is SEO Expensive?
Many businesses are vying for the top place on search engines.
SEO professionals identify problem areas that hinder businesses from reaching the coveted number one spot. Then, they come up with solutions and strategies that could secure your business a spot on the front page.
But they don’t wing their strategies. They also use paid tools to get data to analyze and see how your business is performing. Moreover, SEO experts undergo various training programs to get updated information and strategies.
Can I Do SEO on My Own?
That’s possible, especially for the basics, like keyword research, keyword targeting, and link-building. This could be time-consuming, and you will need extra training for other SEO strategies. But if you want to focus on your business, you can outsource the SEO work to professionals.
