If you’re familiar with SEO, you probably already know that it’s not a one-time investment. With the landscape evolving rapidly and with new algorithm changes, SEO requires ongoing work and improvements to ensure long-lasting and sustainable results. Otherwise, you risk losing your ranking to another business that’s proactively optimizing for search engines. That’s why SEO agencies offer monthly SEO packages for ongoing maintenance.
But what are monthly SEO packages really? And what do they contain? This guide provides you with the answers you’re looking for and helps you explore how a monthly SEO package could benefit your business.
What are Monthly SEO Packages?:
- Understanding Monthly SEO Packages
- Components of Monthly SEO Packages
- Benefits of Monthly SEO Packages
- Choosing the Right SEO Package
- Tips for Getting Started with a Monthly SEO Package
- Case Studies or Success Stories
- Additional Considerations
- Future Trends in Monthly SEO Packages
- Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding Monthly SEO Packages
A monthly SEO package is a pre-packaged plan that consists of a number of essential SEO maintenance services provided on a monthly basis. While each package may vary depending on the agency that provides it, it typically covers the basics such as keyword targeting, on-page and off-page optimization, link building, monthly reporting, and content development.
The goal of these monthly SEO packages is to perform ongoing optimization to improve the ranking and visibility of your website in relevant search engine results pages (SERPs). In other words, they help you to effectively execute your SEO strategy.
Components of Monthly SEO Packages
To get a better understanding of monthly SEO packages, it’s important to look closely at the components. As mentioned above, the coverage may vary depending on which agency you ask. However, most monthly SEO packages will include the following key SEO services.
Keyword Research and Targeting
Keyword optimization is one of the most crucial steps in SEO. You need to optimize your content with the right keywords so when people search for those keywords, your page will turn up in their search results. A monthly SEO package will include keyword research and targeting where the agency helps you identify the most relevant and impactful keywords to target for your business.
For instance, WebFX doesn’t just provide keyword research and selection services in their SEO packages. They also help with keyword mapping to target pages, keyword rank checking, and ongoing keyword reporting.
Source: webfx.com
On-Page Optimization
The agency will also help you use those target keywords to strategically optimize your website content and meta data. Additionally, you’ll get help with other aspects of on-page optimization. Depending on the agency, this may include improving your internal linking structure, creating a sitemap.xml, and more.
For example, Winston Digital Marketing performs technical SEO audits and on-page competitive analysis. This enables them to come up with customized on-page optimization strategies for their clients.
Source: winstondigitalmarketing.com
Off-Page Optimization
A crucial part of most monthly SEO packages is off-page optimization. This typically includes building high-quality links from authoritative websites. Most agencies will also help you optimize your Google My Business listing. Some packages even include getting reviews and citations to boost your off-page SEO.
At Moburst, the team conducts a thorough analysis of your backlink profile as a part of their off-page optimization efforts. This helps them track whether your profile is being spammed with links from cheap and questionable websites that could affect your domain authority.
Source: moburst.com
Content Marketing
With content being the backbone of most SEO strategies, your monthly SEO package will also include content marketing services. Although the specific approaches and level of support may vary depending on the agency, it essentially involves creating and distributing high-quality content that attracts visitors and retains them.
SEO copywriting is often a part of a typical monthly SEO package, with many agencies such as SmartSites also offering blogging services. Some packages may even include a robust distribution strategy that primarily uses social media channels relevant to your business.
Source: smartsites.com
Monthly Reporting
Finally, a monthly SEO package isn’t complete without monthly reporting. The agency will proactively track your website’s performance in terms of traffic, rankings, conversions, and more. It will then deliver monthly reports that outline your progress, especially after implementing specific optimization efforts.
At an agency like Thrive, you get a monthly breakdown of the SEO tasks that the team has performed in addition to your performance reports. The agency can also provide a video summary to review your SEO strategy and any improvements that your website may have experienced.
Source: thriveagency.com
Customization and Variability
While the above essentials are almost always included in a monthly SEO package, most agencies tend to offer customized packages according to the unique needs and goals of the business. They’ll start out with a comprehensive SEO audit, which will help them determine exactly what your SEO needs are.
Based on this, you’ll get a monthly SEO package that addresses your specific concerns. The package may also be revised along the way if there are any changes in your goals or if there’s a need to pivot.
Additionally, many agencies will offer different package tiers with varying levels of support. As the pricing plan advances, you may be able to enjoy a higher level of support or even add-on services such as PPC management to complement your SEO strategy.
For example, the basic SEO package from Comrade Digital Marketing comes with 100 key phrases optimized, 20 web pages optimized, and two new pages of content. Upgrading to the Faster Growth plan comes with an additional 50 key phrases optimized and four new pages of content monthly. Moreover, it includes additional services such as reputation monitoring and lead qualification. Upgrading to the highest-tier plan unlocks many more key phrases and web pages optimized as well as more comprehensive add-on services.
Source: comradeweb.com
Benefits of Monthly SEO Packages
Before you decide on a monthly SEO package, you may be wondering why you need one in the first place. Here are the key ways in which your business can benefit from monthly SEO packages.
Boost Your Website Ranking
A monthly SEO package ensures ongoing optimization for your website – whether it involves on-site elements such as its content and meta tags or off-site factors such as backlink profiles. This steady and consistent effort ensures that your website ranks prominently in relevant search results. Moreover, it allows you to get ahead of any recent updates to search engine algorithms, which allows you to retain or improve your ranking in the long run.
For example, Thrive Agency helped one of their clients to move to the first page of search results for 688 search terms. They also helped them rank for an additional 730 keywords.
Drive More Traffic
When your site ranks prominently in relevant search results, it automatically improves your chances of driving traffic to your site. So when you have a monthly SEO package consistently helping you boost your site visibility, you can experience increased traffic that contributes to your bottom line.
In the same case study from above, Thrive Agency helped the client increase organic traffic by 44.7% month over month.
Get Predictable Pricing and Cost Savings
A monthly SEO package guarantees some level of predictability when it comes to pricing. You’ll have some idea of how much you can expect to spend on a monthly basis, which allows for better budgeting and expense planning for your business. Moreover, you can enjoy significant cost benefits compared to hiring an in-house SEO expert full-time or using up your valuable time on necessary SEO activities.
According to Indeed.com, the average base salary for SEO specialists in the United States is $62,763. In comparison, say you’re spending around $4,000 per month for ongoing SEO maintenance by an agency, that only adds up to $48,000 a year.
Source: indeed.com
Constantly Monitor and Improve
Monthly SEO packages come with regular reporting and updates on your performance. This gives you visibility to constantly monitor your SEO efforts so you can pivot as needed and make improvements that will boost your performance.
Choosing the Right SEO Package
With so many SEO agencies in the market, you may have a hard time deciding on the right SEO package for your business. Use the following key considerations to make the right choice.
Package Inclusions
First – what kinds of services are included in the package? This is the most crucial consideration since the package should be able to address your specific SEO needs. Does it include all the services you’re looking for? On that same note, if you only need a few specific SEO services, you don’t want to spend money on a full-service package that includes solutions you don’t need.
Pricing
Compare the pricing of different packages and pricing tiers across various agencies to find a solution that works best for you. Remember that cheaper doesn’t necessarily mean better, especially when it comes to digital marketing services. Make sure to weigh the cost of the package against the contents to thoroughly assess its value.
Some agencies offer different prices for initial investment and monthly maintenance and optimization, so it’s important to consider these as well. For example, WebFX requires a minimum initial campaign investment of $7,750, but the progressive optimization afterwards costs $2,500 per month.
Source: webfx.com
Results and Ratings
Finally, it’s important to look at case studies of their past or existing clients to see what kind of results they’ve been able to deliver. Make sure to look at case studies that specifically include the types of SEO services you need to understand their capabilities. You should also look at their ratings and reviews on third-party sites and Google to get more unbiased opinions.
Tips for Getting Started with a Monthly SEO Package
Now that you know what to look for when choosing an SEO package, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Clearly Identify Your Needs
Start with a clear outline of your specific needs so you can find the perfect fit for your business. If you’re just starting out, you may even need help with content creation and website development, for example. Or if you’ve been around for a while but just need to revamp your SEO efforts, you’ll need a package with more advanced solutions such as site restructuring or complementary services like PPC management. Have a clear idea of the issues you’re facing and the goals you have to assess your needs.
Understand Your Budget
Next, have a specific idea of how much you can afford to spend each month on SEO. Consider your overall marketing budget and assess how much of it you’re willing to dedicate to SEO. This step will streamline your search so you can really narrow down packages that match your budget.
Consider Customizability
While there are many pre-packaged monthly SEO packages available, you may also want to look into customization options. Some agencies build fully customized solutions from the start and tailor your monthly packages according to your unique needs. So if none of the pre-packaged solutions work for you, you’ll likely need to look into customized packages.
Case Studies or Success Stories
1. LYFE Marketing for Egyptian Magic
LYFE Marketing assisted Egyptian Magic with their SEO and blogging efforts, providing services for blog creation and keyword research and implementation. They targeted popular search queries used by the brand’s target audience and added 1,500 new keywords to their content. Starting out with no first page rankings, the brand eventually gained 53 current first page rankings.
Source: lyfemarketing.com
2. Searchbloom for The Perfect Sleep Chair
Before partnering with Searchbloom, The Perfect Sleep Chair was targeting generic keywords in a highly competitive space where they were going up against retail giants like Amazon and Walmart. This led to slow sales and poor traffic. The agency helped them to rank for 1,791.33% more keywords, achieving a 608.52% increase in first page rankings. Their referring domains also grew from 3 to 36 – a 1,100% increase.
Source: searchbloom.com
3. Thrive Agency for Ready Seal
Prior to their partnership with Thrive Agency, Ready Seal was dealing with an outdated website that wasn’t optimized for search. The agency helped them by creating a more functional and updated website, writing compelling copy, and making optimizations after an SEO audit. This helped them gain 29.29% more site visitors and increase their organic traffic by 40.99%. Their online leads also grew by 26.59%.
Additional Considerations
Before making an investment in monthly SEO packages, it’s important to carefully consider how the packages are structured. Otherwise, you might end up with a package that doesn’t really meet your needs while the costs build up to outweigh the benefits of working with an agency.
Some agencies may limit their packages to only a few select services or a to certain level of assistance. In this case, you’ll have to pay additional fees for every additional service that you receive, which means the costs could easily build up. For example, if the package only includes keyword research and optimization without content creation, that means you’ll end up paying additionally to create new content. Similarly, if the agency offers separate packages for link-building, SEO audits, content creation, keyword optimization, and so on, the costs will add up very quickly.
Future Trends in Monthly SEO Packages
As the SEO landscape evolves with new algorithms and trends taking over, you can also expect to see changes in how monthly SEO packages are offered. For example, with video having a prominent place in search engine results, you might witness some agencies offering video SEO as a part of their packages. Additionally, the rise of AI copywriting will also result in agencies pivoting to create stronger, more helpful content to compete.
Google has even introduced Search Generative Experience, which provides AI-generated results and displays them prominently at the top of search. While this is still only available to a limited number of users, agencies could eventually pivot to adapt their SEO strategies to compete with SGE.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does monthly SEO include?
Monthly SEO includes essential SEO maintenance services such as on-page and off-page optimization, content development, link building, and reporting.
What does SEO cost per month?
Depending on the extensiveness of optimization, SEO typically costs between $2,500 and $10,000 per month.
What does monthly SEO look like?
Monthly SEO typically starts with keyword research and targeting, followed by content optimization and creation along with additional services such as link building and on-page optimizations, which is then followed by reporting.
How do I plan a SEO budget?
To plan your SEO budget, take a look at your business revenue and understand your goals, after which you can look at typical SEO costs at various agencies. This can help you set aside a budget for SEO.
