What to Charge for a Local SEO Audit

[HoosierBuff]

Hi all,

I saw this from John Doherty, about charging for an SEO audit.


Made me wonder what you might charge for a local SEO audit - and how that differs. Given the sites are typically much smaller etc.

Myself, I include the audit in the engagment package, we've never really done them as one offs. . . but, I think they are super valueable to clients. If I had to guess, I would charge $1,000 for a local SEO audit. It varies of course, by size and number of locations. . . but most would fall in this range.

[JoyHawkins]

I think $900-2000 is a fair price for an audit. I know sometimes customers think they should be free because there are so many companies out there offering "Free audits" which are really just stuff run through an automated tool.

[SEOExpertBrad]

A local audit, not much. My goal is long term business, I don't need to make a quick $500. Think long term.

[Eric Rohrback]

What I charge depends on what the client needs. For an extensive audit, I am within the $2000-$4000 range (depends if i'm looking in-depth at their site, site + PPC, site + ppc + social, or site + high level everything else).

It really just depends what's in the audit. If all you're doing is running the client through a tool and calling it a day, then I wouldn't charge for that. If you're dong thorough analysis and really finding opportunities, then explaining the strategy how to attack those opportunities you should charge for your time.


Also worth noting I moved this to the Consultants Corner from "Local Search" since this is more related to the business side of things than actual Local Ranking

[Linda Buquet]

Great discussion starting. I'll Tweet to try to get some more viewpoints.

Also worth noting I moved this to the Consultants Corner from "Local Search" since this is more related to the business side of things than actual Local Ranking

Good move Eric. I meant to but didn't get around to it, so thanks!

[DanLeibson]

I just want to point out that running a site through a tool isn't an 'audit' in the sense of what a technical/strategic SEO would ever provide. Also, this really helps to lower the bar/value for what a an SEO that specializes in local can produce. Both in terms of the value of their exptertise and what the expterise can do for client business.

[HoosierBuff]

Totally agree. . . that kind of stuff may be an ok starting point for some, but, I would never use them (though you see that stuff all the time).

[LJ Ferguson]

No question about it - technical SEO audits take a considerable amount of time, no matter the vertical, the scope, or the size of the site (unless of course the site is an SPA or very small). I agree with Lindsay Wassell who posted that it takes her at least 35 hours: https://moz.com/blog/seo-site-audits-getting-started.

The big issue from my POV is not just how much to charge but how much the client is willing to pay. In my experience clients simply do not want to pay for audits that cost less than even $1,000, much less audits that can cost significantly more than that. Trying to explain the importance to clients of a detailed audit and to justify the cost to them has been a major challenge.

Linda Ferguson
Technical SEO Strategist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-ferguson-83b20a28/

[vivekrpatel]

Wondering what should we cover in local SEO checklist when we charge up to $2000-$4000?

[LJ Ferguson]

Local SEO audits don't differ that much from a "regular" site audit. You'd still be reviewing the site for indexing and other technical issues, content quality, links, social, etc. but you would view the site from a local angle to include citations, reviews, GMB and Bing Places, etc.

For me, there's no magic number for pricing SEO audits. For any audit (local or otherwise), it depends on how much the client is willing to pay as well as the scope and needs of the business.

-Linda

Linda Ferguson
Technical SEO Strategist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-ferguson-83b20a28/