They had an e-commerce website but hadn’t done any SEO. I charged them a flat fee to do one-time on-page optimization (titles, meta descriptions, the basic stuff). They wanted to rank for a specific product and their brand name. I achieved both within three months.
Their sales went up by 252%, and organic search clicks increased by 162% after my work. Now they want me to give them a quote for monthly SEO. I don’t really need the money; I have a full-time job in iGaming and sports betting. Link building would be my next recommendation, but effective link building isn’t cheap, and I’m certain they won’t want to pay for it.
Charging them for keyword research and other things agencies include in retainers feels wrong. Or am I overthinking this? I have 15 years of experience in SEO. Is this just imposter syndrome? My hourly rate is higher than what most small businesses can afford, which is why I have a full-time job.
If I do give them a quote, what should it be for? Honestly, I think I did a great job with the on-page work, and it’s made a big difference. But I don’t want them to keep expecting that kind of growth every three months and then have to deal with their complaints (I’ve worked in agencies before and dislike handling clients) if they don’t keep seeing such growth.
I’d appreciate any advice from other experienced SEOs.
What I usually do with my services is offer hourly packages. Instead of specific tasks, I prepare a general SEO package and work on it until I feel everything reasonable has been done. Then I tell the client that besides some basic upkeep, there’s not much more to do. I might also teach someone on their staff on an hourly basis and end the contract. EDIT: I’ve had clients where, after three months, I was basically done, and I had to tell them, ‘No, don’t hire another agency; your website is fine. Let it be. I can’t help more without wasting your money. Reach out to your local clients, offer them discounts for linking to your site, pay local businesses if you must, but there’s nothing more to do beyond that.’ ^O^
If it’s a small website, you can probably tell them the truth. SEO isn’t really something that can keep going unless they keep adding products, pages, or articles.
So logically, the best thing might be to tell them to contact you once they feel they have enough to actually pay you for.
You’re not being stupid; you’re being normal. Welcome to the world of ethical SEO where you just don’t want to scam people. They might not understand because every agency out there will try to upsell constantly and push for more while delivering little or nothing.
So my advice is to tell them the truth and explain why the next job would still need many hours but the effects would be much less, and that’s how it really works. If they want to proceed, then quote them; if not, tell them to reach out in a few months.
EDIT:
To the people downvoting the person who posted this, you’re the problem. He’s an honest guy who doesn’t want to scam people for their money. You’ll never succeed in life stealing from others
@PostPundit
That’s what I was thinking too. I’ll review their site again, let them know what I can do, how many hours it will take, and charge them my hourly rate. Then tell them they’re all set, and if they need anything else in SEO or add new products, to let me know. Thanks.
It’s frustrating to see the downvotes here. Seems some people don’t appreciate honest advice.
Always base your SEO quotes on the value you’re providing, not just the hours you spend. Be honest about how much you had to fix to get the initial results, and that achieving those results every month isn’t realistic. Setting clear expectations with clients is key to a good relationship. You can also give them a ‘I don’t really want this job’ price. I do this with consulting clients who might be more trouble than they’re worth or likely to expand the project scope. Worst case, you get the work at a rate that makes it worthwhile for you. If they decline, you didn’t want the job anyway, so no loss.
I like to start clients with a larger retainer for services and explain at the beginning that as we make improvements, we’ll gradually move them to the lowest service tier because we’ll be doing more maintenance to keep up with changes and not as many big fixes for the site. Most clients are happy with this approach.
Consider how they could expand beyond their current content. Are there chances to create content in new areas? Or less commercial content like lists and ‘Top 10’ articles?
You mentioned you worked on content—are there any technical areas that could be improved?
What about structural issues or internal linking opportunities?
Then, you could look into link building if you think it would be beneficial.
Being honest really helps in these situations. If everything is in good shape, tell them there’s not much more you can do technically, but you can offer consulting at your hourly rate if they have questions.
Definitely let them know about link building and provide some options if they choose to pursue that.
Link building is the hardest sell for me for some reason. No matter how I explain it, people don’t see paying for references or doing outreach as worth their money or time.
But you’ve shown you’re valuable and knowledgeable, so they might want to proceed.
