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Wondering how much you should budget for a search engine optimisation (SEO) audit in 2024? This guide is your essential resource for understanding SEO audit pricing. Discover the cost range for SEO audits, which typically spans from £500 to over £10,000 per audit, and gain insights into what these audits include. Dive into this comprehensive guide to make informed decisions about investing in an SEO audit for your business!
How Much Does an SEO Audit Cost?
The cost of an SEO audit can vary widely depending on the scope and depth of the analysis. Free audits provide a basic overview, while comprehensive audits can range from £500 to £10,000 or more. For instance, the pricing for our standalone audit projects start at £2,450.
Factors influencing the pricing of an audit can include the size of your website, the complexity of your industry, and the specific services included, and the size of the agency you decide to use. There are free alternatives but these often lack meaningful data analysis or insights compared to those delivered by an agency.
Professional SEO Audit Pricing Factors
Website Size, Age, and Complexity
The size and complexity of your website are major factors influencing the cost of an SEO audit. Larger websites with numerous pages, intricate structures, and dynamic content require more time and effort to audit thoroughly. For instance, an e-commerce site with thousands of product pages demands a more extensive analysis than a small business site with just a few static pages. Similarly, different sectors demand differing standards with regards to their on-page content. An organisation that operates in the financial services sector will need to be audited for factors such as EEAT and YMYL, which will require more time and therefore a higher cost.
Audit Depth and Detail Needed
The depth of the audit plays a crucial role in determining its cost. A basic audit might cover essential aspects like on-page SEO, technical SEO, and backlink analysis, whereas a comprehensive audit delves into content quality, user experience, and competitive analysis. A more in-depth audit requires more time and expertise, resulting in higher costs. Different agencies emphasise various aspects of their SEO audit services, which impacts pricing. Some focus on technical audits, while others highlight link audits. Choosing an agency with a comprehensive audit service, including customised features, can provide more value but at a higher cost. A thorough audit can significantly impact your SEO strategy, especially if it’s been over a year since your last audit.
Auditor’s Expertise and Reputation
The experience and reputation of the SEO auditor or agency can significantly impact pricing. Seasoned SEO professionals with a proven track record charge higher fees due to their expertise and the value they bring. Their advanced knowledge and effective strategies ensure a thorough audit, providing significant insights and improvements for your website. The size of the SEO agency influences audit costs. Smaller agencies with fewer team members tend to charge more due to limited capacity, while larger agencies with extensive resources can offer lower rates. However, larger agencies often bring more experience and established practices, providing a more detailed and actionable audit. Depending on your business needs, partnering with an agency of the appropriate size can optimise both cost and service quality.
The Type of SEO Audit
The specific type of SEO audit required for your website also affects the cost. There are various types of audits, including technical audits, content audits, social audits, link audits (off-site audits), and competitive audits. The type of audit needed depends on your website’s goals and current issues. For example, a content-heavy site may require a detailed content audit, which could be more expensive than a basic technical audit. Opting for multiple types of audits or a comprehensive audit combining all aspects will naturally increase the overall cost.
Turnaround Time for Audits
Expedited SEO audits come at a higher cost. The urgency and
size of your website determine how much extra you’ll pay for a faster audit. Larger agencies, with their extensive teams, are better equipped to meet tight deadlines. To avoid delays and additional costs, communicate your target dates to potential agencies early in the process to ensure they can accommodate your timeline and budget.
Pricing and Audit Depth
The depth of an audit can also be dictated by the package or service purchased. If the audit comes as part of a specific package or service tier offered by the agency, the price of these services is likely to affect how in-depth the audit goes. This can present an option that provides more value for money, as the audit and its costs will be targeted specifically on the factors and performance areas your agency will be focusing on improving.
At POLARIS, we offer both options. We include a targeted audit on your SEO performance as part of all our package levels. These audits analyse your entire site, but we provide recommendations specific to the performance areas you’ve selected within your package. If you’re just looking for an audit, we provide standalone audit services with prices starting from £2,450 plus VAT.
What’s the Difference Between an SEO Audit and an SEO Audit Tool?
An SEO tool offers automated, often superficial analysis of your website’s SEO performance. Most tools only provide a basic collection and representation of your data and performance, and often lacks any contextual information or reasoning as to what’s happening with your performance, why, or the factors behind it.
In contrast, an SEO audit is a thorough, manual review conducted by experts, analysing collected data from multiple sources to provide a detailed overview of your performance – including information on the reasons that are influencing changes.
Why Pay for an SEO Audit Instead of Using Free Tools?
An SEO audit is simply a diagnostic tool that helps you understand your current SEO performance as well as notify you about technical issues that currently exist on your site. Using one of these tools can provide you with basic information and insight, but without knowledge of how to use these tools it can be inefficient and there may be errors in the data it produces.
Engaging an agency to conduct an SEO Audit provides some key of benefits:
- Time-efficiency in data collection and assessment. Agencies with SEO audit services have access to advanced audit tools with the capacity to extract more data, and they’re efficient at using these tools.
- In-depth analysis informed by years of experience. With experienced auditors who have years of expertise, agencies are able to apply this deep level of knowledge to your website to provide insights you simply won’t get from tools.
- An audit delivered in a form you can understand. When producing an audit report, agencies won’t just give you the spreadsheets and graphs – they’ll provide analysis you can understand as well as the specific recommendations to fix issues or improve performance.
How Can I Pick the Right SEO Agency to Do an SEO Audit?
Choosing the right SEO agency is crucial for a successful audit. You’ll want an agency that you can trust to deliver good value for money – and tell you the truth about potential issues, their effects, and how difficult it may be to improve performance. Consider the following factors:
- Experience and expertise in your specific industry or sector – do they have proven and visible experience of driving results for a business like yours?
- Comprehensive service offerings – does the agency provide other services that suggest it has experience in all areas of SEO?
- Transparent pricing and clear deliverables – is their pricing criteria easy to find and clear on what services will be delivered and how much it will cost?
- Positive reviews and case studies – do they have positive reviews specifically for their migration services? Have they published case studies showing off their studies.
- Expert analysis and reporting – do they provide clear, accurate reporting of their analysis and is it informed by expertise?
Looking for an SEO Audit?
Ready to elevate your website’s SEO performance? Unlock your site’s full potential with a comprehensive SEO audit tailored to your business. Our experts at POLARIS are here to guide you through every step. Contact us today at to schedule your free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions About SEO Audits and Pricing
Why pay for an SEO audit?
Paying for an SEO audit is essential because it provides a detailed assessment of your website’s SEO health. Professionals analyze technical aspects, content strategy, and user experience to uncover issues and opportunities for improvement. By addressing these insights, you can significantly boost your site’s visibility in search engine results, increase organic traffic, and achieve better long-term SEO performance. Ultimately, investing in an SEO audit ensures your website remains competitive and effectively optimized for search engines.
Yes, an SEO audit can identify issues that affect user experience, such as slow page load times, poor mobile optimization, and broken links. Addressing these issues can lead to a better, more user-friendly website.
After an SEO audit, you will receive a detailed report outlining the findings, including identified issues, actionable recommendations, and a prioritized plan for implementation to improve your website’s SEO performance.
Yes, conducting an SEO audit for a new website is essential. It ensures that your site is optimized from the start, addressing any potential issues early on and setting a strong foundation for future SEO efforts.
Free SEO audit tools can provide a basic overview of your site’s performance, but they often lack the depth and personalized insights of a professional audit. For comprehensive and actionable recommendations, a professional audit is more effective.
