SEO audits are one way to ensure that your current SEO strategies are working. With an audit, you will monitor the various performance metrics of your website. From learning about organic traffic to a backlink profile evaluation, SEO audit services handle many vital tasks for search optimization.
With an SEO audit service, you would determine the weak and strong points of your SEO strategies. You will be given actual numbers for your website’s performance. With them, you can improve your SEO plan to reach your goals faster.
When you have just encountered the term SEO audit, you might have several questions on your mind. How much does an SEO audit cost? What are the package options for SEO audit services? In this article, you can learn more about SEO audits, their pricing, inclusions, and their advantages.
How much does an SEO audit cost?
Generally, an SEO audit can cost from $650 to $14,000. Some SEO packages include an SEO audit in the initial weeks of an SEO campaign. Keep in mind that pricing is dependent on several items. It would include the current size of your website, which SEO elements need to be audited, and how fast you want the audit to take place.
If you have a personal website that only contains a small number of pages, you can expect to be on the lower end of the spectrum. However, if you own a big website, you should prepare a budget for an above-average range. The pricing is vastly different and is usually customized depending on the website.
What’s Typically Included in an SEO Audit
You already know that an SEO audit will be important in assessing your website’s search engine optimization performance. However, that is simply a general term. If you want to learn what the inclusions of an SEO audit typically are, you can get a brief introduction for them here.
A paid SEO audit, which usually costs between $2,000 and $7,000, commonly includes the following:
- Examination of 50 to 100 pages on your website
- Analysis of competitors
- Assessment of backlinks
- Core web vital metrics Evaluation
- Keyword research along with content recommendations
- Enhancement of title tags, meta descriptions, and alt text for a certain number of pages
- Identification of broken links, redirects, and crawl errors
- Reports on the status of HTTP security certificates
- Configuration of the robots.txt file
- Analysis of the sitemap
- Detection of duplicate content
A Free SEO audit, which is a complimentary service offered by some seo agencies includes:
- General overview of your website’s SEO performance
- Basic keyword analysis
- Competitor Analysis
- Simple backlink analysis
- Multi-device analysis.
Different Types of SEO Audits and Their Costs
When it comes to pricing for an SEO audit, it can vary depending on the specific type of audit and the depth of analysis required. Here are some common types of SEO audits and their typical cost ranges:
Technical SEO audit
This involves a thorough assessment of your website’s code, structure, tags, and internal linking, as well as checking if pages can be crawled and indexed and testing site speed and user experience. The cost for a technical SEO audit typically ranges from $5,000 to $70,000.
Content (or on-page SEO) audit:
This involves checking for duplicate content, assessing if pages are optimized for keywords, and identifying content gaps and opportunities. The cost for a content audit usually ranges from $2,000 to $20,000.
Backlink (or off-page SEO) audit
This involves checking the credibility of websites linking to you, removing bad backlinks, identifying if you’re suffering from Google penalties, and finding backlink opportunities. The cost for a backlink audit can range from $500 to $5,000.
It’s important to note that these cost ranges are just estimates and can vary depending on the size and complexity of your website, as well as the expertise and reputation of the SEO agency or consultant
Complete SEO Audit Includes the following:
Technical SEO of your website
When you get a complete SEO audit, it would usually include assessing the various technical SEO elements in your website. It will check out the dead and broken links that can be found on your page. It will also check whether you have duplicate content. If you have wrong internal links, they will also be included in your technical SEO audit. Most of the time, this is included in essential SEO audit services.
Content (On page SEO Audit)
Content is one of the most critical parts of your website’s on-page SEO. This is why it also receives a thorough review. When it comes to content auditing, there are various factors considered. It will check out all of your content pages and review whether you utilize them correctly. Meta descriptions, site images, keyword usages, page tags, and page readability are usually considered when content audits are included in your SEO audit package.
Backlink Audit
Just like contents are the core of your website’s on-page SEO, backlinks are the foundation of your site’s off-site SEO. Because of this, your website’s current external links need to be thoroughly investigated. It does not only count your existing backlinks, but it will also determine whether the backlinks are from high-authority sites. At times, link audits can also include recommendations of which sites you should get external links from.
Competitor Analysis
Whatever industry your website is in, it is essential that you also monitor your competition. Learning about your competition is a great way to help you set realistic goals. When your SEO consultant does a thorough competition audit, you might also learn techniques to improve your own website’s search engine optimization. You will view how your competition utilizes SEO, what keywords they use, what domains they have backlinks in and others.
Factors That Affect The Pricing of SEO Audit Services
Now that you learn the range of SEO audit prices, you might be wondering which amount your website will cost. If you want to guess it before getting a quote, you should know which factors are considered during the pricing. If you are looking for them, you can find them here. These are the various elements that affect the pricing of any SEO audit service that you may avail.
Size of your website
When it comes to the price of your SEO audit services, the most critical factor is the size of your website. This is because it will determine how much time and effort an agency will take for your website. Sites with more pages are more likely to cost higher than sites with fewer pages.
However, if you think of letting an SEO agency audit just a few pages to lessen the costs, that would be a bad idea. An SEO audit provides the best and most comprehensive results when every website page is appropriately assessed. This is because the pages of your site are often connected, and there is an important statistic to be taken from them.
SEO elements that are being audited
While it does not affect the price of the SEO audit offering as much as the size of your website, the SEO elements that you prefer to be monitored can also have a considerable weight on the pricing. This is because the comprehensiveness of the audit project also depends on which SEO elements are being considered.
If you want to have all the pages of your website audited but you want to save money, you can only audit certain SEO aspects. While this will provide a relatively less powerful result than if you do a full audit, it can impact your next steps for SEO much less, too.
Duration of the SEO audit project
Are you on a tight deadline? Do you need to get your website’s performance metrics as fast as you can? Do you have to meet brands and sponsors who want to get your SEO statistics soon as possible? The length of the SEO audit can also affect the current pricing of your service.
Most of the time, you will be given a rate and a turnaround time for the project. That will usually be the bare minimum for the price for the service offerings. However, if you need it to be rushed and done quicker, you must pay for additional expenses. This is because your chosen SEO agency would need to expend more effort in less time. Similarly, you can get more affordable pricing if you allow your SEO audit project to take longer.
SEO audit service inclusions
In this article, you have already seen the various inclusions that you can get from an SEO audit. There are content audits, social media audits, link audits, competition audits, and technical audits. If you ask your SEO agency to perform all of them simultaneously, you can expect to pay a large sum of money. However, while that may surprise you, you should consider that doing this will provide you with the best and most accurate performance metrics for your website.
If you have to minimize the package inclusions, you can ask your SEO agency if they have advice on which ones you should take at the moment. Most of the time, they will recommend content and technical audits services. However, there are also times when your website will need the other inclusions. Get a professional recommendation first so that you can get the most out of your money.
Size and experience of the SEO agency
Occasionally, a completely new agency with a relatively small number of team members can outdo SEO companies that have years of experience with hundreds of members. However, that has a considerably low chance. While it is possible, you can expect that the more experienced and the bigger the agency is, the larger their service quote will be.
While you may opt to go for the most experienced companies first because of their reputations, you don’t need to do so. While it is a requirement for large company websites, if you only have a small personal website, you can enjoy the services of mid-level companies. This can save you money to spend on other things for your website.
Costs of SEO Auditing Tools VS SEO audits
When it comes to pricing for an SEO audit, there are a few factors to consider. On one hand, you may think that you can save money by downloading SEO auditing tools and doing the work yourself. However, it’s important to understand the costs associated with these tools and the expertise required to use them effectively.
Let’s take a look at some of the tools commonly used in an SEO audit and their associated costs:
Technical SEO audit tools cost:
- Semrush (two users): $550/month
- Screaming Frog (two users): $418/year
- SpyFu: $299/month
- Lumar (f.k.a. Deepcrawl): $170/month
- Ahrefs (one user): $399/month
Content (or on-page SEO) audit tools cost:
- Semrush (two users): $550/month
- cognitiveSEO: $499/month
- BuzzSumo: $299/month
- Yoast SEO (one website): $99/year
- Readable: $69
- Screaming Frog (two users): $418/year
- Ahrefs (one user): $399/month
- Moz: $299/month
- Keyword Snatcher: $47
Backlink (or off-page SEO) audit tools cost:
- Moz: $299/month
- LinkProspector: $127/month
- Majestic SEO: $99/month
On top of these costs, there are also free tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Google Schema Markup Testing Tool that are essential for a thorough SEO audit.
When you consider the costs of these tools, it becomes evident that doing your own SEO audit may not actually save you money. In fact, the cost of the tools alone can exceed the price of hiring a professional to perform the audit. Additionally, there’s also the risk of not having the expertise to effectively utilize the tools and make sense of the data they provide.
For small businesses, the initial investment of over $2,000 per month for tools alone can be a significant financial risk. It may be more cost-effective and efficient to hire an experienced SEO professional or agency to conduct a thorough audit and provide actionable recommendations based on their expertise.
How Much Does SEO Cost?
SEO audits are typically included in fully managed SEO costs. If you’d rather have a team manage your SEO monthly, then just do that since SEO audits are included in monthly seo services.
How Much Does SEO Cost for Small Businesses?
SEO for small businesses typically costs from $500 to $2,500 per month.
Are SEO Audits Worth the Cost?
Yes, SEO audits are worth the cost if you are interested in growing your business through organic marketing strategies such as SEO. It’s important to note that these cost ranges are just estimates and can vary depending on the size and complexity of your website, as well as the expertise and reputation of the SEO agency or consultant you choose to work with. Additionally, some agencies may offer package deals or customized audits that can affect the pricing.
While these prices may seem high, it’s important to consider the potential return on investment (ROI) from an SEO audit. An audit can uncover optimization opportunities that can improve your website’s visibility, organic traffic, and conversions. With proper implementation of the audit recommendations, you can achieve long-term success and increased profitability for your business.
In conclusion, the cost of an SEO audit can vary depending on the type of audit and the scope of analysis required. It’s important to carefully consider the potential benefits and ROI when deciding whether to invest in an SEO audit. Keep in mind that hiring a professional with expertise and experience can often yield better results and ultimately save you time and money in the long run.
