What We Did
So you want to help your rankings and increase sales coming through your website by doing search engine optimization and don’t know where to start. So you go to Google and search for an SEO company or freelance SEO consultant and find thousands of companies, freelancers, and digital agencies who say they do SEO.
Where do you start, and how do you choose the best SEO company to complete to help build your brands? To help, we’ve done some of the leg work for you.
The comparison chart below includes information that we’ve gathered, such as; what each type of company typically offers, who will be working on your SEO, the average SEO cost, etc.
We included the following types of agencies and SEO companies:
- DIY SEO (using an SEO Tool)
- Subscription SEO
- Boutique SEO Agency
- Mid-Size SEO Agency
- Large SEO Agency
- Full-Service Digital Agency
- PR Agency
- Website Design Firm
- Freelance SEO
The Results
*on small screens, scroll right to see more info.
| Subscription SEO | Boutique SEO Agency | Large SEO Agency | Full Service Digital Agency | PR Agency | Website Design Firm | Freelance SEO | Linchpin SEO | |
| What’s Included | ||||||||
| Audits | ||||||||
| SEO Maturity Assessment | No | No | Maybe | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Technical Audit | No | Basic | Basic | Basic | Basic | No | Maybe | Yes |
| Competitive Audit | No | No | Basic | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Inbound Link Audit | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No | Yes | Yes |
| Content Audit | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No | No | Yes |
| Site Architecture | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | No | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Website and Page Structure | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Content Audit | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No | No | Yes |
| Tagging Audit | Maybe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Maybe | Yes | Yes |
| Website Speed Audit | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | No | Maybe | Maybe | Yes |
| Analytics Audit | No | Maybe | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Strategy | ||||||||
| Content Strategy | No | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | No | No | Yes |
| Information Architecture Strategy | No | No | Maybe | Maybe | No | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Keyword Research | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Content Creation | No | Maybe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tagging Optimization | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speed Optimization | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | No | Yes | Maybe | Yes |
| Link Strategy | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Measurement | ||||||||
| Measurement Strategy | No | Maybe | Yes | Yes | Maybe | Yes | No | Yes |
| Scorecard Creation | No | Maybe | Yes | Yes | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Yes |
| SEO Monthly Management | ||||||||
| Analytics scorecard and monthly review | Maybe | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No | No | Yes |
| Identification of keyword topics for new content | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | Yes |
| Optimization of new pages and content that is created | No | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Yes |
| Current Google ecosystem review | No | No | Yes | No | No | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Strategic brainstorming sessions | No | No | No | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Overview | ||||||||
| Who will be working on your project | Jr Level SEO | Jr Level SEO | Depends | Jr Level SEO | Jr Level SEO | Jr Level SEO | Depends | Senior Level SEO |
| Do Local SEO | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | Yes |
| Are Experts In SEO Transition Planning | Maybe | Maybe | Maybe | No | No | No | Maybe | Yes |
| Project Pricing Type | Subscription (Limited) | Bucket of Hours/Month | Bucket of Hours/Month | Bucket of Hours/Month | Bucket of Hours/Month | Bucket of Hours/Month | Bucket of Hours/Month | Project (few limits on hours/month - we work towards your goal, not hours) |
| Turnover Rate (will the same person work on my SEO the whole time?) | High | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | High | None |
| Understand Holistic Marketing | No | Maybe | Maybe | Yes | No | Maybe | No | Yes |
| Will They Need To Outsource | Yes | Yes | Yes | Maybe | Yes | Maybe | Yes | Never |
| Average Monthly Price | $99+ / month | $1500 - $3000 | $5000+ | $4000+ | $3000 - $6000 | $1200 - $3000 | $500 - $2000 | $1600 - $4000 |
| Holistic SEO Value | Poor | Average | Good - Great | Poor - Average | Poor - Average | Poor - Average | Poor - Average | Great |