Compared to traditional SEO services—that is, SEO that caters to small businesses and mid-size companies—enterprise SEO is more complex. Large organizations need to maintain a much more intensive online presence and it takes a great deal of time, money, and effort to maintain peak positions in the search results.
So, if enterprise SEO takes more effort, shouldn't it cost more money? Here are some of the ins and outs of search engine optimization for enterprise businesses and just how much you can expect to spend.
Enterprise vs. Traditional
If you want to break it down into simple parts, SEO services for enterprise companies imply operating on a larger scale than small business engine optimization. Global brands may be trying to reach millions of potential customers and could possibly have dozens of social media pages. Compared to a small business, an enterprise will also face some unique challenges:
- Maintaining scalability: Enterprise websites require solutions that can expand alongside enterprise SEO needs. On-page SEO and page optimization become much more intensive. Instead of an SEO consultant, enterprise websites often rely on an entire SEO team.
- More moving parts: With smaller companies, it's easier for a business owner to see what's going on and when. A small business may be monitoring a handful of keywords. An enterprise SEO company is like targeting hundreds or even thousands.
- Holistic strategies: Where a smaller company may be able to focus strictly on keywords, an enterprise SEO strategy needs to factor in much more. An enterprise SEO audit will take search engine result pages, keywords, organic traffic, social media, and on-page optimization.
- Intensive reporting: Small business owners can often distill their organic search traffic down to a condensed, easy-to-read report. An enterprise SEO solution will likely have to compile numerous reports, white papers, and performance markers.
These are just a few of the major challenges that face enterprises. When you start to factor in other facets of digital marketing such as social media marketing, case studies, and email marketing, and you can imagine just how immense a task enterprise SEO truly is.
So, how does an SEO firm set a price point based on all of these factors? And how do you choose an enterprise SEO firm for your business?
Enterprise SEO Service Provider Costs
Choosing an enterprise SEO platform shouldn't simply boil comparing expenses and aiming for the cheapest SEO team. That's perhaps the best way to ensure you "get what you pay for." Instead, look closely at costs versus services rendered to find an enterprise SEO solution that balances the two effectively. Frequently, an enterprise SEO firm can cost between $11,500 and $25,000 though there are always SEO services outside of these values.
It's a great idea to ask yourself a few questions when reviewing SEO agency costs:
- Is the SEO strategy comprehensive enough to justify the overall price?
- Is the SEO strategy tailored to your specific market?
- Does the SEO company include other add-ons outside of search engine marketing?
- Does the SEO company have an extensive history of working with enterprise websites?
- How much of the enterprise SEO strategy relies on social media marketing?
- Is the cost in alignment with the location?
- Can you buy SEO backlinks?
On top of this, you need to ensure your chosen SEO company follows best practices when providing enterprise SEO services.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, the cost of your enterprise SEO strategy should reflect the amount of effort that's going into it as well as the results. Enterprise SEO encompasses much more than simply reaching potential customers and tweaking on-page SEO. It's complex, sensitive, and massive in scale. If you find an enterprise SEO partner that can comfortably handle this, you're in business.