Affordable SEO: 8 Services Worth It For Small Businesses

What Is An Affordable SEO Service?

Let me clear this from the beginning: An affordable SEO service doesn't mean cheap or low quality. It means finding an SEO service that fits your budget while still providing significant value to your business's online presence.

An affordable SEO service balances cost and value and is specifically tailored to small businesses with limited budgets. It involves strategies and techniques designed to improve your website's visibility on search engines without breaking the bank.

These services cover the essential aspects of SEO, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building, and may involve additional services like local SEO, technical SEO, and eCommerce SEO.

Is It Worth Investing In SEO?

Investing in SEO is not just worth it. It's crucial for small businesses looking to grow in a competitive digital landscape.

SEO helps improve your website's visibility, driving more organic traffic without expensive paid ad campaigns. It enhances user experience, making it easier for potential customers to find and engage with your content.

Moreover, SEO benefits small businesses by building credibility and trust, as websites that rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) are often perceived as more authoritative.

Lastly, SEO provides long-term benefits. Unlike paid advertising, which stops when you stop paying, SEO continues delivering results over time, making it a cost-effective strategy for business growth.

In fact, according to studies, SEO has the highest ROI (29.2%) compared to other digital marketing channels.

8 Affordable SEO Services For Small Business

Here is a list of budget-friendly SEO services any small business can afford. The first four can be considered basic SEO services, and the rest as nice to have.

1. SEO Audits

An SEO audit is the foundation of any effective SEO strategy. It involves a comprehensive analysis of your website to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement.

It's a low-cost service (you can get it for as low as $500), and it's a great way to evaluate the work of an SEO services provider before committing to ongoing SEO work.

SEO Audits usually include the following:

• Technical SEO review (including crawling and indexing errors).
• On-page and Off-page SEO evaluation.
• Keyword research and content gap analysis.
• SEO Competitor Analysis.
• Suggested content marketing plan (for new content and updates to existing content).
• UX Analysis.
• Recommendations for recovering/protecting traffic from Google Updates.

We've been doing SEO audits for years, and in this post, you'll learn how to perform an SEO audit of your website (for free).

2. Keyword Research

Another affordable SEO service you can try is keyword research.  Keyword research is crucial for understanding what your target audience is searching for.

The keyword research process involves using tools and techniques to:

• Understand a website's target audience.
• Find what keywords users type in Google for related products and services.
• Identify the search intent for each keyword.
• Analyze the keyword difficulty of each keyword, i.e., how possible it is to rank for a specific keyword, taking into account the website's domain authority, content, and competition.
• Identify keyword gaps between your website and competitors.

The outcome will be a list of keywords to target in your content. The list will include head keywords and keywords with low competition (long-tail keywords), making it easier for small businesses to rank higher.

If you want to save money, it's a task you can do yourself using a keyword research tool.

3. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO involves optimizing the content and structure of web pages to help search engines and users understand the context of your content.

This usually includes:

• Optimizing title tags.
• Crafting engaging meta-descriptions.
• Optimizing page headings.
• Creating SEO-Friendly URLs.
• Optimizing images.
• Improving internal linking.
• And many other factors that are important for achieving high rankings.

On-page optimization is another relatively cheap service. You can hire an SEO expert to review your web page structure and suggest what to improve. Once you understand the basics, it's a matter of following the same guidelines for all your content. It's not a service that requires ongoing work.

You can also learn how to do on-page SEO by following an SEO certification course.

4. Technical SEO

Technical SEO focuses on improving the technical aspects of your website. Services include:

• Finding and fixing crawl errors.
• Improving mobile responsiveness.
• Increasing page load speed and core web vitals course.
• Adding relevant structured data to your content.
• Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines.
• Ensuring proper use of canonical tags.
• And many other tasks.

These improvements will make your site more crawlable for search engines and provide a better user experience.

In most cases, you need to hire a web developer with an SEO mindset to get your technical SEO correct. You can also enroll in a technical SEO course to learn how to complete the necessary tasks yourself.

5. Local SEO

Local SEO is only applicable for small businesses targeting local markets. If your business accepts customers to a local store or provides services within a specific geographical area, local SEO is a must.

Local SEO is a subset of SEO that involves optimizing your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. This includes:

• Claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile listing.
• Add the relevant structured data on your website.
• Managing local citations.
• Optimizing content for local keywords.
• Getting positive online reviews from customers.
• Getting mentions from the local press.
• Pursuing links from other local businesses.

For this service, you can hire a Local SEO specialist. These experts optimize websites and business listings to appear in Google Local Pack and other places where small businesses are listed.

You can also try to do this yourself by signing up for a local SEO course.

6. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO is one of the services you should consider outsourcing to SEO professionals, especially if it's something you haven't done before. It's a challenging and time-consuming process that can drain all your resources.

In a nutshell, off-page SEO involves activities outside your website to improve rankings. This includes building high-quality backlinks from reputable sites in your industry (known as link building).

The most common link-building techniques are:

• Content Marketing
• Outreach
• Guest Posting
• Competitor Analysis
• Digital PR

Here is an overview of the process to understand how it works:

• First, you must identify what kind of content (related to your niche and business) can naturally attract links.
• Then, you create the content and promote it to the right people (through outreach, guest posting, paid ads, or digital PR) to get backlinks to your website.

To avoid any confusion, the above techniques do not involve buying links (which is against Google guidelines) but reaching and connecting with other webmasters or creating content that can get the attention of other websites and link to it naturally.

Off-page SEO is traditionally one of the most expensive SEO services, but you can reduce the cost by handling some parts yourself and outsourcing only the challenging parts to SEO agencies.

If you want to learn more, read our link-building for SEO guide.

7. Ecommerce SEO

For online stores, ecommerce SEO is essential. It involves optimizing your homepage, product, and category pages to rank higher in search results and attract more traffic.

But it's not just about traffic; it's about getting the right kind of traffic - potential customers ready to buy what you're selling. Ecommerce SEO allows small businesses to compete with larger competitors by making them visible to a targeted audience.

The most common Ecommerce SEO tactics involve:

• Performing keyword research to find buying keywords, i.e., with a commercial or transactional intent.
• Optimizing product page content, including titles and meta descriptions.
• Creating a hierarchical site structure with breadcrumbs and proper internal linking.
• Targeting informational keywords with blogs.
• Create a product feed and submit it to the Google Merchant Center for greater visibility on Google.
• Adding schema markup to make products eligible for rich snippets.

ECommerce SEO is more expensive than other SEO services because it requires specific skills, but it can still be affordable by hiring small agencies that offer services at a lower cost compared to big SEO companies.

To learn more about eCommerce SEO, check out the best ecommerce online courses.

8. Social Media SEO

While not a direct ranking factor, social media can significantly impact your SEO efforts. Social media SEO services include optimizing your social media profiles and content to drive more traffic to your website.

Engaging with your audience on social media can increase your brand's visibility and indirectly boost your search engine positioning through brand mentions and backlinks.

How To Choose An Affordable SEO Service Provider?

Choosing an affordable SEO company or consultant is crucial if you outsource SEO. A good company can help you achieve your business goals without breaking the bank and without causing any damage to your rankings and online reputation.

You can find SEO agencies and freelancers by searching Google for your preferred service or posting a project on popular freelance websites like Upwork and Flexjobs.

Follow these steps to choose the best possible SEO agency:

1. Establish Clear Business Goals

Before contacting SEO agencies, define what you want to achieve with SEO. Are you looking to increase sales by ranking for specific keywords, enhance your website's user experience, or improve your site's visibility in general? Clear objectives will help you find a provider that aligns with your business needs.

2. Find Affordable Packages - Check Their Pricing

Explore SEO agencies that offer packages within your budget without compromising the quality of their services. Remember, the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Look for packages that offer a good balance between the services provided and your budget.

3. Check Their Reviews and Past Clients

Reviews and testimonials give insight into an agency’s performance and reliability. Perform a search on Google to see what other people say about them. Check their social media profiles and website.

Additionally, review case studies or ask for references to understand what kind of work they did for past clients, especially those in your industry.

4. Start with an SEO Audit to Evaluate Their Services

A reputable SEO service provider should offer an initial audit of your website before proposing a strategy. The SEO audit should highlight areas of improvement and how they plan to address them. It's a good way to test their work and the value they can bring to your business.

5. Evaluate Communication

Assess how well the SEO provider communicates during your initial interactions. Are they responsive? Do they explain their strategies in a way that you understand?

How Much Does SEO Cost For A Small Business?

The average range for SEO services for small businesses is between $1,500 to $5,000 per month.  This number can change depending on the business size, scope of work, location, and service provider.

Here is a breakdown of how much popular SEO services cost:

Initial campaign setup - The initial setup for an SEO campaign can vary widely depending on the scope and goals of the project. It often includes keyword research, site audits, and initial optimization efforts. The cost can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the complexity and size of the website.

SEO Audits cost - Prices for SEO audits can vary significantly, from around $500 to $7,500, depending on the depth of the audit and the size of the site [1][2].

Link Building cost - Link building costs can vary widely depending on the strategy and the quality of the links. Some agencies or freelancers may charge $500 to $1,000 for a basic link-building package, while more comprehensive efforts can cost upwards of $2,500 to $5,000 per month or more [1][2].

Ongoing SEO - Ongoing SEO services typically involve a monthly retainer. This includes content creation, link building, and analytics monitoring. The cost can range from $500 to $10,000 per month, with most small businesses spending around $500 to $2,500 per month [1].

Local SEO - Local SEO services can range from $500 to $5,000 monthly. This variation depends on the number of locations, type of business, competitors, and the scope of services included​​​ [1][2].

Ecommerce SEO - Ecommerce SEO can range from $2,500 to $10,000 or more per month (depending on the size of the online store, type of products, competition levels, etc.) [1]

Technical SEO - Cost can range from $1,000 to $7,500 or more, depending on the website's size and the complexity of the technical issues to be resolved​ [1].

SEO Freelancers - The average hourly rate for SEO freelancers ranges from $50 to $150.

What Is a Good Budget For SEO?

A good budget for ongoing SEO services for a small business is $3000 monthly. We arrived at this number taking into account our extensive experience providing SEO services to clients in different industries for almost two decades.

The $3000 allows your SEO agency or consultant to work on on-page SEO, content marketing, and link-building. It's an amount that most small businesses can afford, and consistent work over a few months can start generating measurable results.

If this number is outside your available budget, you can choose which services to pay (giving preference to content marketing), but results will take much longer.

Can I Do SEO On My Own For Free?

Yes, doing SEO on your own using free tools and online guides is possible. For small businesses on a limited budget, this is actually the best approach to get started.

Trying to learn SEO will help you understand how SEO works and what effort is required to get the desired results. This experience is valuable for choosing an SEO services provider and evaluating their SEO packages.

Register for a free SEO Course to learn the basics and a premium course (like The Complete SEO Course) to learn the latest SEO techniques and practices.

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