Paying for traffic in SEO is no cheaper than paying for results

Properly organized SEO promotion brings businesses stable and targeted traffic from search engines, for which you do not need to pay extra. This is a great opportunity to grow sales. However, such a task requires experience and professionalism. When choosing an SEO company, it is important to decide on the form of payment: a fixed monthly amount or payment for work performed. Let's look at the pros and cons of each of these schemes.

SEO by subscription fee

In this payment model, the amount is fixed - either for each month of work or for the hours spent on the project. This does not mean that a specialist can work ineffectively while receiving payment. The contract specifies a clear list of tasks that must be completed within the agreed time frame, and the customer can track the progress of the work.

Before signing the contract, the tasks and the amount that the client is willing to allocate for optimization are discussed. The SEO company responds by offering the scope of work, format of cooperation and expected results.

The work plan is drawn up for several months; the budget includes not only services, but also costs for external and technical optimization, content creation, including texts, images, videos.

Benefits of a subscription fee:

• A clearly defined list of tasks that a specialist must complete within a month.
• Fixed cost of services, which allows you to calculate costs in advance.
• Transparency of the process - you can track the results at each stage.

For most SEO studios, this format of work is preferable, as it provides a stable income and allows you to record results step by step.

Cons:

• SEO is a long-term process, and a significant effect may not appear earlier than 6 months, and monthly payments will have to be made from the very beginning.
• If you want to control the work, you will have to understand the basics of SEO, which will take up your time or the time of your manager.
• Studio work often includes technical guidelines that must be followed to improve results, and this may require additional resources, such as programmers or freelancers.

Payment for results schemes

Some companies prefer to pay only for specific results. In this case, SEO agencies offer various cooperation models. While they all have their advantages, they also may not guarantee sustainable growth. For example, a client may pay not for the number of links added, but for specific achievements, such as getting to the top of search results.

With this approach, it is important to remember that achieving results will require an increase in the promotion budget, which is not always justified by an increase in profits. There are also situations when an increase in indicators does not lead to an increase in income.

Let's consider the main models of payment for results:

Paying for promotion for organic traffic

In this model, the client pays for traffic coming from search engines. Highlights:

• The cost of one visitor who came, for example, from a search engine is negotiated.
• An agreement is concluded and the current site traffic is recorded.
• After the selected period, it is measured how much the traffic has increased and the cost is multiplied by the number of new visitors.

Advantages:

• A specific and understandable calculation system, which makes it easier to predict costs.
• The cost per visitor can be advantageous.

Risks:

• Agencies can set a minimum fee even if the results are minimal.
• Visitors may come not only due to the efforts of the SEO team, but also due to external factors, such as seasonal fluctuations or changes in search algorithms.
• There may be attempts to artificially increase traffic.

This model remains controversial, although it is convenient for some companies.

Payment for promotion by position

In this model, the customer pays for the promotion of his website for certain key queries in search results. The cost is charged for each day that the page is in the specified position.

Stages of work:

• Key queries are selected for which the site will be promoted.
• Timelines, costs per day of being in the desired position, and differences in costs for different positions (for example, for the top 3 and top 10) are discussed.
• A contract is signed and the agency monitors the results.
• Every day the result is recorded, and at the end of the period a report and final invoice are provided.

Advantages:

• The simplicity of the model is understandable even for beginners.
• Clear results: increasing rankings means increasing the number of targeted visitors.

Risks:

• You need to understand how search queries work and how to choose the right phrases to promote.
• Results may be affected by external factors such as competition or search engine algorithm updates.
• It is not always possible to come to an agreement on which requests should be promoted.
• In case of dishonest methods, prohibited techniques may be used, which will lead to sanctions.

Payment for promotion based on leads

Here the customer pays for specific actions, such as requests, calls or other actions that are important to the business. The cost for each action is specified in the contract.

This model implies a higher cost per lead, since such actions are more significant for the business. However, studios do not always agree to this approach, since many factors, such as the quality of work of managers or the cost of goods, can affect conversion.

Risks:

• Not all leads lead to a sale.
• The cost per lead may be the same, but the performance of each lead may vary greatly.
• There are risks of fraud if the agency uses dishonest methods to generate leads.

Let's sum it up

As can be seen from the models considered, there is no ideal scheme. When choosing, it is important to focus on what will be more profitable and understandable for you.

You should also choose responsible companies with a good reputation to minimize the risk of unscrupulous work.

To receive a free consultation and estimate your promotion budget, you can send a request to several SEO studios and, based on the proposals received, choose the optimal solution for you. But remember that cost is not always the main selection criterion, since cheap work is often of poor quality.

For any question, you can write to the SEO studio at info@seo.computer.

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