SaaS SEO consultant pricing: All you need to know

1. How Is SaaS SEO Different From Traditional SEO

When it comes to SEO, a different product means the need for a different strategy. So, SEO for SaaS has its own needs. And when it comes to hire a SaaS SEO consultant, a lot of things need to be taken into account. But, first, we’ll go through what makes SaaS SEO different from other types of SEO work.

1.1. Marketing Goals in SaaS SEO

Whereas most products have sales as their main goal, SaaS SEO is based on a need of getting new leads into the sales pipeline, but also maintaining current customers engaged and subscribed.
This makes SaaS SEO strategies different from your average SEO plan. You need not only to get leads into your pipeline and convert them during a specific period (which is typically longer with SaaS), you need to make sure current users stay with you.

1.2. Keyword Strategy

When it comes to picking your target keywords, SaaS SEO tends to go for long-tail keywords that are specific to the industry, rather than generic keywords. SaaS products have a very specific customer profile, and they search for what they need.
Let’s say for example you’re choosing keywords for your content, and you own a SaaS that specializes in invoicing and billing systems for small and medium businesses. A typical keyword you’d use would be “best billing service for small business”, which is long-tail and highly specific.

1.3. Content

Once again, since you need to engage your users even after they’ve subscribed, your content strategy is different. You need to produce technical content that helps customers use your product or service, so it includes white papers, tutorials, and similar educational content.

1.4. Long-Term Relationships Vs Short-Term

In SaaS, you want your relationships with customers to last for as long as possible. You don’t want someone to subscribe to your service only to leave a month after.
This is why a lot of strategies you’d employ with other products don’t really work with SaaS. Contests and other short-term interactions are not ideal for SaaS, because they don’t really tell much of a story. Storytelling is essential in SaaS SEO.

2. How Much Does SEO Cost for your SaaS?

SEO is usually paid for in a monthly retainer. However, how much it costs will depend highly on the level of service you get. Let’s go through the usual price tiers and how far each of them takes you.

Under $500/month
Unless you have a tiny business with a simple website that really does not take too much to optimize, you should be wary of budgets under $500 a month. For SaaS businesses, it really doesn’t pay off to cheap out on SEO, so we advise you to stay away from companies that offer you services in this price bracket. It might seem like you’re saving money, but, in fact, you’re setting yourself up for failure and having to pay a lot more to get your SEO fixed afterward. It’s just not worth it.
$1000 to $5000/month
If your company is small to medium, you can find decent service closer to the 1000-dollar mark. However, this is still a low budget when it comes to the average needs of a SaaS company. If you’re after a SaaS SEO consultant, in this price bracket you can find some decent professionals, but bear in mind this retainer might not get you full service – you might have some tradeoffs when it comes to quality and hours spent working on your SEO. Closer to the 5000 dollar mark is where you might hit gold if you want to smash the competition while still being a small business.
$5000 to $10000/month
This is where most established agencies usually set their prices for competitive businesses that have grown out of startup status and are actually up for the game. However, if you’re looking for a SaaS SEO consultant pricing, an individual can get you a good service, usually, under $7000.
We know this is a big investment to be done, but we have mentioned how awry things can go if you go for a cheap professional. At this price level, you can trust your SaaS SEO consultant pricing will be fair – you’ll get all you need to grow your company from a medium business to a corporate level. To make money, you have to invest first.
Over $10000/month
If your company is aiming high, you will get the right service over the 10 thousand dollar mark. This kind of budget, obviously, is not for a startup – unless you have extremely generous investors behind you. A SaaS SEO consultant pricing does not usually get to these levels unless you’re hiring a full team behind them as well – which we would recommend if you are really ambitious with your business.
Once again, what you pay is what you get. The higher the price, the higher the service level. You might not need to pay $10000 a month right now to get the service you need, but keep in mind that as you grow, your needs will most likely change.

3. Risks and Considerations When Choosing a Solution

#1. Instant Results

No company in this world can guarantee that you’ll get to the number one spot in Google for your main keyword in a month. This is the kind of over-the-top offers you should turn down. In order to achieve results, you usually need a time-frame of 12 months or more. Your consultant should be honest to you and show you they are going to achieve the results they promise.

#2. Black Hat Techniques

If your SaaS SEO consultant recommends buying email lists, backlinks, or any other data that you don’t have earned the organic way, stay away. Those will damage your SEO quite quickly.

#3. Low prices

You should also be wary when prices are too low, as we mentioned, or when the company requests a very high retainer without proof of their previous results. Also, what works for other companies might not work for you, which is a reason why you need to look into portfolios when analyzing SaaS SEO consultants’ pricing plans.

If you’d like to learn more about how we help B2B SaaS companies grow their MRR through SEO and PPC, contact us online or send us an email today at info@getuplead.com to speak with someone on our team.