SEO Cost The Ultimate Guide for Each Industry

SEO Cost: The Ultimate Guide for Each Industry

Table of Contents

There’s a reason why the SEO industry is expected to reach $103.24 billion in value by the year 2025. With search engine optimization it doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or a large corporation — everyone can benefit from this type of marketing.

Best of all, when compared to other kinds of marketing SEO tends to be relatively cost-effective. But, precisely what does the average SEO cost? Sadly, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

That’s because depending on your business type or industry the price can vary dramatically. Luckily, we made this helpful guide for you.

In it, we’ll be breaking down some of the average SEO costs for each major industry. That way, you can get a better idea of how much it will cost you. Let’s get started!

SEO Cost By Business Types

The first way that you can break down SEO costs is through the type of business you run. A small mom-and-pop shop isn’t going to have the same SEO needs as a popular fast food franchise.

As a result, there’s going to be a cost difference between these two types. However, keep in mind that these categories aren’t mutually exclusive.

For example, a new start-up might benefit from both small business SEO services as well as local services.

Similarly, a large corporation might want both nationwide SEO services and franchise services if they rely on both of these models. 

Small Business SEO Cost

In the past, it may have been possible for a small business to thrive without a website. However, that’s no longer the case. These days, over 71% of small businesses have a website.

A successful website can level the playing field between small businesses and huge corporations like Amazon. Unfortunately for many of these small businesses, there’s a big difference between having a website and having a successful website.

The reality is that if your website doesn’t appear within the first few spots of a Google search, it’s getting ignored. If you’re not happy with the Google placement, sales, or traffic on your small business website, then SEO services can help.

Best of all, you don’t need to break the bank on you’re marketing budget to afford them. These types of SEO services cost tend to be the most affordable since most small businesses don’t have extra money for huge campaigns.

On average you can expect to spend around $1,150 on small business SEO pricing.

Local SEO Cost

In a recent study, Google found that 30% of mobile searches are related to location. Think about the last time you typed in a ‘near me’ inquiry into the search engine.

Odds are you used it to find new restaurants in your local area or to research specialized contractors. Local SEO is a vital way for both small and large businesses alike to connect with a target audience found in their area.

Without it, you’re missing a huge share of potential clients eager to find businesses in their immediate local location. Unfortunately, this is exactly what ends up happening to many local businesses.

Let’s say you own a local pet store in Naples. You type in ‘pet stores in Naples Florida’ to Google to see what comes up. You eventually find your business, but it’s buried in the second or third page of search results.

As we covered in the first section, you can’t expect your target audience to dig through search results to find you. Instead, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to find you.

And that means landing your website on the first page of a local Google search. When you go with a local SEO company that understands both on-site and off-site SEO it maximizes your chances of improving your organic listings.

Plus, like small business SEO, it tends to be quite affordable. You can achieve a lot with local SEO on a budget of just $1,300 per month. Just keep in mind that this price can go up if you’re competing with a lot of other local SEO businesses in your area.

Franchise SEO Cost

With an average monthly investment of $7,700, franchises are by far one of the more expensive SEO business types. When you think about this it makes sense. Franchises almost always include multiple locations.

At the very least, this translates to a lot more web pages that need to be optimized to rank organically. However, more often than not it also includes multiple websites that require franchise SEO services.

With franchises, it doesn’t matter if one specific location is successful. If the other ones are losing business to competitors, then you’re likely hemorrhaging cash.

That’s why it’s important to not just focus on your flagship store. Instead, treat all your franchise locations equally by prioritizing the SEO on each of them. It will require more work and cash to make happen.

But, the result is that all your franchises (and any new locations you open in the future) will all grow at the same rate.

eCommerce SEO Cost

Did you know that eight out of ten people say that they’re now regular online shoppers? This massive market segment presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses that rely on eCommerce.

On one hand, there have never been more people shopping online. So, there’s huge potential for increasing sales. On the other hand, there’s a lot of competition from other types of eCommerce businesses.

Most of these businesses aren’t afraid to spend a lot of money on their digital marketing budget. That’s why the average cost for eCommerce SEO tends to be around $3,600 per month.

And when you think about it this makes sense. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, then your business isn’t relying entirely on online sales. Depending on your location, you might be able to get by on word-of-mouth or foot traffic.

The same isn’t true for eCommerce businesses. No one is going to stumble across your website unless you do the work to put it in front of them. That means implementing an eCommerce SEO strategy that is tailor-made for your online business.

By focusing your attention on money keywords you can isolate searchers that are ready to buy. And, by optimizing your website you can make your pages stand out from your competitors no matter how competitive the niche market is.

Remember that if you don’t have a physical store location, then you should be taking the money you save and putting it into your website.

Because, in the case of eCommerce stores, your website is the only representation visitors will get of your business. So, you need to make sure that impresses them enough to hold their attention to your products and deals. 

Enterprise (or Nationwide) SEO Cost

If you run a large company, then odds are you either currently offer products and services nationwide or you hope to soon.

It shouldn’t come as much surprise that this type of enterprise SEO is a lot more expensive than small business SEO. Specifically, the average enterprise SEO costs typically come out to around $5,100 per month.

The main reason for this is the scale of operations. With nationwide SEO you aren’t targeting one specific local location. Instead, you’re dealing with an entire country.

This requires a lot of resources to effectively reach such a large market. On top of that, you’re also dealing with other enterprise competition that could have potentially millions of dollars in their marketing funds.

Because of this, it’s a good idea to stick with companies that specialize in enterprise SEO services. That way, you can get the biggest bang for your buck while still ranking high in search engine results. 

Google My Business (or GMB) SEO Cost

Google My Business makes it easy for people that find your business either through a search or maps to get your contact information.

It allows you to give searchers an overview of your business including photos, reviews, websites, addresses, phone numbers, and more. By itself, Google My Business is a free service.

You can easily make a profile yourself by going to their website. However, what’s not free is ranking your GMB profile. When people search for local businesses the first thing they’ll see is the top three relevant GMB profiles available in the area.

Ranking your Google My Business profile high on the map pack is possible with a concentrated SEO campaign. This is slightly different from local SEO because you’re trying to rank your GMB map page, not your website.

It’s also slightly more complicated because Google is constantly changing its criteria for how GMBs are ranked. As a result, the average cost for ranking your Google My Business Map Pack is around $2,100 per month.

SEO Cost By Industry

We’ve gone over some of how the type of business your run and its location can affect your SEO costs. However, that’s only one piece of the pie when determining this type of marketing cost.

The other half of the equation is what industry your business is found in. As we’ll find out this can determine things like the complexity of your SEO strategy, the amount of competition you’re facing, and the amount of work that your website needs.

All of these factors can increase the final price of your SEO services. In this section, we’ll be going over the average cost that each industry faces. We’ll also provide more context for why the price is the way that it is. 

Healthcare SEO Cost

Healthcare SEO tends to be a little more complicated than a doctor’s office that specializes in a specific area of medicine. That’s because most healthcare facilities offer a variety of services.

As we learned in the SEO franchise section, if you treat all of your different locations as one, then you’re not going to have a very successful campaign. The same goes for services.

It’s important to treat every individual service that your healthcare facility provides as a separate entity. That way, each one can receive the individual attention it needs to outshine any competition in the area.

Because of this extra attention that healthcare SEO requires it’s not uncommon to see the average monthly price fall by around $3,900.

Keep in mind that this is just an average. In some cases, this amount may be higher especially if you’ve been neglecting your healthcare SEO. 

Law Firm SEO Cost

Many law firms are often shocked to discover that their industry carries some of the most expensive SEO costs. Specifically, the average SEO cost for law firms is around $4,600 per month or more.

So, why does law firm SEO tend to be more expensive than other industries? For starters, a single client can mean a lot of revenue for a law firm.

There’s a reason why the median salary for a lawyer is $127,990 per year — the right client can bring in a lot of money. That being said, getting these clients to your firm can be a challenge.

Because certain clients are so valuable there’s a lot of competition between firms to draw them to their specific websites. That means that the average law firm isn’t afraid to spend big money to optimize their website and improve their Google rankings.

Doing so can often mean the difference between winning a client and missing them altogether. This demand for quality SEO work in the law industry is what’s responsible for driving up the cost.

However, there are also technical considerations. There’s no denying that legal subjects can be pretty dry for the average reader. If you’re quoting a legal textbook to your website visitors, then you’re going to lose their interest right away.

Instead, your SEO writer needs to take a complex topic and make it simple to understand for the average person. This takes a lot of skill and knowledge when it comes to legal jargon.

As such, SEO companies that can write legal content effectively are in high demand. This, again, drives up the average price. 

Dental SEO Cost

Dental businesses are quite similar to healthcare ones in that they have a lot of different services they need to offer. Depending on the nature of your business you likely offer at least one or more of the following services:

  • Cosmetic dentistry service
  • Endodontic procedures
  • Pediatric dental services
  • Periodontal services
  • Orthodontic services
  • Preventative dental services
  • Prosthodontic services
  • Oral surgery

Because it’s important to SEO each of the different services that you offer, dental SEO can get expensive. Depending on how many services you offer the price will likely come out to around $2,800 per month.

You must hire an SEO marketer that knows how to get each service landing page ranking on Google. If you’re only focusing on one service area, you’re missing out on an entire segment of patients.

When you go with Kelly Webmasters & Marketers you get every page optimized. That means that every service you offer, from routine cleanings to root canals, will be put in front of the eyes of people searching for them.

And, when you combine this with exceptional service, then you have a great recipe for new patients.

HVAC SEO Cost

The good news is that you don’t need to rely on a huge SEO budget when you’re in the HVAC industry. On average it only costs around $1,600 per month for SEO services related to HVAC.

Since the number of services that most heating and cooling businesses offer is relatively limited you don’t need to put a ton of work into optimizing different pages.

What is important in the HVAC industry is being an authoritative source. Remember that customers want a professional that knows heating and cooling inside and out.

Because of this, Google rewards businesses that are consistent and knowledgeable. With an SEO campaign, you can make your website more authoritative by making sure your citations are consistent across the page.

This includes any mentions of your business name, phone number, and address on your pages.

In addition to this, you can’t forget about link building. Linking to credible sources, and getting your link included in other articles, actively increases the authority of your website. 

Plumber SEO Cost

The HVAC and plumbing industries are quite similar. So, it should come as no surprise that they’re similarly priced in terms of SEO services.

Specifically, plumbing SEO only costs about $50 more than HVAC costs coming in at $1,650. However, just because the services are affordable doesn’t always mean they’re reliable.

Make sure you go with a company like Kelly Webmasters & Marketers that helps with keyword research. This is important because keywords are often the first area where plumbers go wrong when it comes to SEO.

All too often, you’ll see plumbing businesses focus on the broadest keywords possible. They’ll see that these terms are being searched the most and think that they’re the best possible fit.

Unfortunately, the popularity of these terms means there’s a lot of competition. If you want to rank with these popular, broad keywords, then you will need hundreds of pages of relevant material to get on the first page of Google.

Keep in mind that this isn’t impossible. But, it’s going to involve a lot of work and money to get there.

However, if you choose more specific keywords (like “plumber in [your city]”), then you’ll only need a few dozen pages to rank.

In these situations, it’s almost always better to work smarter not harder. Doing so requires less money and connects you with local searchers that need access to your services. 

Real Estate SEO Cost

In the past, the real estate industry has relied a lot on more traditional forms of advertising. It was common to see billboard ads, bench ads, and listings in newspapers.

As the internet rose in popularity many real estate agents shifted toward webpage banner ads. Unfortunately, this form of marketing can have a serious drawback.

One poll found that 90% of internet users say they ignore or don’t pay attention to these types of ads on websites. Popular real estate websites like Zillow have only made things more complicated for the industry.

The good news is that SEO is an especially effective marketing strategy for the real estate industry. On average the price of SEO for the real estate industry tends to cost around $2,300.

This market relies on generating new leads and closing sales. SEO can help with this by putting your services in front of the faces of people primed for a new house or apartment.

Of course, there’s always the competition to consider too. Since many real estate sales are commission-based the competition in the industry can be positively fierce.

Because of this, it’s extremely important to define your brand in a way that makes it instantly recognizable to people in the area.

This will make it easier for new clients to remember you and old, satisfied clients to spread your business through word of mouth. 

Roof SEO Cost

Most of the time, you will see the average SEO agency trying to get you to the number one ranked spot on Google. Depending on your industry this can be a good idea. However, in the roofing industry that’s not always the case.

With roof SEO you generally want to go with quality over quantity. With the average roof replacement costing $7,500, you don’t need a ton of jobs to make a lot of good money.

What’s more, unless you’re a huge roofing company you likely won’t have the staff to keep up with all of the clients that a number one spot can bring you. Don’t get us wrong, it’s always nice to rank high.

But, when you’re in the roofing industry it’s just not essential. So, instead of putting all of your efforts into ranking high on Google, we suggest that you put it into revenue instead.

For around $2,150 per month, you can start bringing high-quality leads directly into your inbox. You can do this by strategically targeting suburbs or neighborhoods in your area where you want new business.

And, since roofing jobs tend to be so expensive you don’t need a ton of leads to justify the cost of the SEO services. Typically, one or two new leads per month will be more than enough to cover your SEO budget. 

Medical SEO Cost

The medical industry has adapted quickly to the eCommerce trend that’s sweeping many industries. These days, if you’re a patient, then you can order your prescribed medication from online pharmacies.

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic telehealth is also booming. The convenience of meeting with a doctor over a video call is something that many patients aren’t willing to give up even as the pandemic winds down.

There’s also the B2B component that many medical businesses are taking advantage of. This includes things like selling medical supplies to healthcare facilities.

The good news is that SEO can be your secret weapon when increasing eCommerce sales. Specifically, it helps optimize your sales funnel so that you never lose out on potentially interested customers.

Best of all, it doesn’t take much to benefit from these services. On average, you can expect to spend around $1,900 per month on your SEO medical costs.

However, depending on how reliant your medical business is on eCommerce tools this might result in a higher price. Remember that the average price for eCommerce businesses is around $3,600 per month. 

Plastic Surgery SEO Cost

People tend to do a lot of research before deciding on a plastic surgery provider. Considering the permanent nature of many of the procedures this makes sense.

That’s why so many plastic surgeons rely on referrals to bring in new customers. However, referrals will only get you so far. The good news is that SEO services for plastic surgery providers can also help bring in clients that might otherwise overlook you.

SEO strategies for plastic surgeons can vary from business to business. But, they tend to focus on reviews. As we mentioned, it’s very unlikely someone will contact a plastic surgeon without reading some online reviews first.

If you have a lot of five-star online reviews, then you’re off to a great start. However, if don’t have a lot of reviews, then you need an SEO strategy that encourages your satisfied clients to talk about their positive experiences.

The issue can get even thornier if you have a lot of negative reviews on your site. In that case, damage control may be necessary to resolve these reviews or replace them with more positive ones.

The specific cost of plastic surgery SEO will depend on how much work your website and review section need. However, the average price for the plastic surgery industry tends to fall around $2,400 per month. 

Contractor SEO Cost

If you’re an average contractor, then you likely don’t have the biggest marketing budget around. Whether it’s due to operating costs or expensive self-employed taxes odds are you’re working with a shoestring budget.

This can be a problem because many contractors seriously lack any sense of an online presence. Luckily, SEO can be the perfect solution to this problem.

It helps you get word of your contracting services out there without setting a ton of money aside in your marketing budget. Specifically, you expect to pay around $1,800 for contractor SEO work.

This can vary depending on which type of contracting work you’re offering. Ultimately, the goal will be to convince your reader that you’re an authority in whatever field you’re in.

People want a contractor that’s an expert in whatever type of work they provide. SEO services can help with this while getting you ranking in whatever local markets you’re operating out of. 

Restaurant SEO Cost

Restaurant SEO tends to be pretty affordable. On average it only costs around $1,300 per month for SEO services. This is because restaurant SEO is heavily reliant on local SEO strategies.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is connecting potential customers in your area with your restaurant. If you want a big bump in your business, then you should also consider investing in your Google My Business profile.

If you can land your restaurant info in the top three spots for certain keywords it will almost always result in a lot more foot traffic to your location.

With restaurants, you also want to consider off-site SEO. This is the process of getting your content shared to improve backlinks. With restaurants, social media is a great way to promote this.

When people see TikToks or Instagram Reels of your food then it encourages them to share it and research your restaurant. If you focus on making quality content that provides value or interest, people are going to be more likely to share it.

If you’re purchasing a franchise restaurant, then keep in mind that this can be a completely different beast than an independent restaurant. Make sure to check out our guide on how to succeed as a franchise owner

Doctor SEO Cost

We’ve covered the broad industry of healthcare and the eCommerce found in the online medical community. But, what if you’re a private practice that specializes in a particular area?

In these cases, you’re going to want to focus on optimizing the keywords on the services you offer and local SEO. We’ve touched on the importance of emphasizing the service keywords that you offer.

Most of the time patients know what they’re looking for. So, you need to make it as clear as possible that you can provide them with what they need. For example, let’s say you’re a cardiologist.

You should make sure to include separate pages on your website for each type of diagnostic and therapy service that you offer. The other factor that you need to consider is location.

The distance that a person has to drive to their doctor is a huge determination when making a decision. No one likes driving over an hour for an appointment.

So, take advantage of this fact by including local keywords in your content. That way, your practice shows up when people search for it in or around your city. Doctor SEO services tend to cost around $1,900. 

Photographer SEO Cost

Unless you’re a world-class photographer, then odds are that you’re just trying to target a local market. This tends to include things like families, students, and couples for commemorative event photography.

The good news is that local SEO tends to be one of the most affordable types of marketing out there. In the photography industry, you can expect to pay as little as $1,100 making it one of the most affordable SEO costs.

And, when you factor in all the new clients that this type of marketing can bring in it’s easy to see how it’s worth the relatively small cost. 

Car Dealer SEO Cost

At $3,700 per month for SEO services, car dealerships are another type of business that tend to carry high marketing costs. Why is this? Because car dealerships are much more complicated than the average business.

When you think about car dealers three businesses rolled into one. First, there’s the business of selling new vehicles. This tends to include a variety of makes and models from one or more different manufacturers.

Next, there are the used cars that the dealerships offer. Dealers tend to accept used cars for trade-ins which means there are even more makes and models found in their inventory.

Lastly, many car dealers also provide a service department. They tend to offer a variety of maintenance and repair work including:

  • Manufacturer warranty repair work
  • Oil changes
  • Recall repairs
  • Tire rotations

So, to recap, the average car dealer is selling new cars, used cars, and service repair work. All of these options lead to a complex system that requires a multi-faceted SEO optimization strategy.

If you just focus on one of these areas — like cataloging your new car options in a way that’s SEO-friendly — the other areas are going to suffer.

As a result, you need a comprehensive strategy that will address each aspect of your car dealership business.

The issue gets even more complicated if you own multiple dealership locations. This can drive up the price even more since you need to optimize each website. 

Chiropractor SEO Cost

Like plastic surgery, chiropractic medicine is another area that demands expertise. No one likes the thought of an inexperienced chiropractor causing more harm than good during their session.

So, you can be sure that most people will be researching your experience-level and online reviews. Because of this, you want to make sure that the majority of the reviews coming into your practice are 4.5 stars or higher.

Otherwise, Google will likely not include you on the first page of results. The good news is that chiropractic SEO can help you bring in more positive reviews for as little as $1,600.

Hotel SEO Cost

Depending on where your hotel is located you may be dealing with a lot of competition. This is especially true if you live in a large city. In some cases, you may get hundreds of results when you plug ‘hotel in [your city]’ into Google.

If you’re in a situation where you’re facing oversaturation, then you’ll want to find keywords that help narrow in on the distinguishing factors for your hotel.

For example, if you’re a luxury hotel in North Carolina, then include those phrases in your content a lot. Or, if you’re located in a historic part of the city, or an old building, then highlight this fact.

This can help you hone in on your niche, whether it’s wealthy vacationers or history nuts. Not sure what your niche is? Kelly Webmasters & Marketers can help you out with that.

Our keyword research ensures that we find the best keywords for your specific needs. Maybe you’re located outside of a major city in a location that’s easily ignored.

By rebranding your keywords around travel-friendly or affordable terms you can find the right type of target audience.

Then you can craft content that’s rich with these terms. So, let us help you find what keywords work for your specific hotel. 

Ready For Personalized SEO Services? Contact Kelly Webmasters & Marketers

We hope this article helped you learn more about the SEO cost for each type of industry. Remember that at the end of the day not all SEO services are created equally.

All too often you’ll see SEO businesses brag about gaming the search algorithms for their clients. But, this simply isn’t a sustainable form of marketing.

Instead, consider the approach offered by us here at Kelly Webmasters & Marketers. We believe that authoritative and authentic content will always win the day when it comes to SEO marketing.

Need help strategizing or creating this type of content? We would love to help you out. Make sure to get in touch with us today to get the personalized SEO help that you deserve. 

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