AKR Solutions

You don’t need to outsource your SEO requirements, but many firms choose to do so, for the following reasons:

• Recruitment challenges. You just can’t get the right calibre staff! Experienced search marketers are hard to find.

• Silo SEO. It can be very difficult to find a single agency to maximise your returns from all aspects of online and search marketing. Many full-service agencies now offer SEO, but many clients often select a specialist search agency, to concentrate on organic – rather than paid – search.
• Focus. Search marketing is a complex game. Search engines update their algorithms all the time, to combat spam. A search agency will naturally keep a closer eye on this than a generalist in-house marketing executive.

• SEO can be expensive. Why? Because it takes time. And there are no guarantees that you’ll get to first place by building up resources in-house, or by using a specialist agency, but using an agency might just help you climb the rankings faster than if you don’t (unless you can quickly build and educate a team of SEOers).

• Trend towards in-house expertise. ‘SEO managers’ are increasingly being recruited by companies, mainly as an interface to oversee agency activity (rather than ditching the agency and assembling an in-house team from scratch). Organisations need somebody internally to coordinate agency your SEO efforts, even if the bulk of the work is outsourced.

Charging Models

1. Consultancy basis based on day rates up to an agreed maximum, e.g. £3,000 per month. With this approach regular review meetings are required so the client can determine they are getting value for money.
2. Results-based. With a results-based approach there is less onus on the client to determine whether or not they are getting value for money. This paid-on-performance model can work well for paid-search but is less straightforward for SEO, and agencies selling on the basis of a ‘we will get you to the top of Google, guaranteed!’ are to be avoided.
3. No results, no pay. This is usually based on positions across a range of search engines – remember it is normally Google (plus a few others) that really counts. This is still offered by some agencies, but it is no longer valid in a competitive market. It depends on the phrases selected and will be difficult to deliver for strategic keyphrases. We don’t like this approach. SEO agencies may resort to unethical techniques to desperately try to boost positions, in order to earn their fee. Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

Typical Costs

Prices for SEO range from about £2,000 – for relatively limited campaigns tailored to suit SMEs – to costs running into tens of thousands of pounds for larger enterprises committed to a long-term approach. Projects tend to be based – either loosely or otherwise – on time.

• In terms of day rates, the fees for agencies profiled in the Search Marketing Buyer’s Guide typically range from £500 to £1,000 per day.

• Charges for SEO are typically based on an initial project set-up fee and an ongoing monthly charge for management and reporting.

• Set-up fees for those agencies profiled in our buyer’s guide are in the range of £1,000 to £6,000, depending on the scope of the project.

• Agencies will also generally impose a regular charge, usually monthly, in line with a longer term approach to improving your visibility. The monthly cost will vary according to the project or projects.