With marketing spending down and Google reporting higher earnings, we know that SEO is a tough sell.
Below are seven proven methods to increase clients’ payments for SEO (and the value they receive).
First, a word on value
Before I provide solid ways to increase revenue, we need to discuss value and price.
Humans are hard-wired to fear and avoid loss.
Loss aversion is heavily linked with SEO because it’s the “pay now, might gain later” of the marketing world.
So, as an offer, SEO is automatically less appealing than 99.9% of other marketing activities.
Knowing this, SEOs need to understand value like the back of their hands.
There are two components to price value:
- Acquisition utility: The value you get from the product or service.
- Transaction utility: How good of a deal you feel you are getting.
Research shows that losing money triggers the same area of the brain as physical pain, making financial loss feel psychologically distressing.
This is a key challenge for SEO as a service. Clients are naturally cautious, which affects how they perceive its value.
As a result, SEO pricing tends to remain low across the industry.
I’d say businesses spend more on their Christmas party than they do their SEO.
That’s not to say we can’t increase the price we charge and earn from SEO.
It’s a gentle reminder that SEO often scares clients, especially if they are not the business owner.
Staff put their professional reputation on the line when choosing an SEO agency.
Knowing all the above, here are seven tried-and-tested methods to increase your revenue from clients.
1. Break down your services to reduce client risk
All agencies want to have retainers, but this can create barriers.
When you ask the client to commit to a large sum but to spread that money out, this can raise alarm bells.
The compound cost of retainers can add up, and prospects look at cancellation clauses and think, “I could sink $15,000 on you and have nothing to show for it.”
To avoid this, the first concept to cover is splitting services.
Service splitting involves breaking what you do into core deliverables or projects.
This means that clients are only on the “hook” for specific elements, and they can leave at any time they wish.
Sadly, this makes forecasting hard for agencies as payments are not monthly.
Still, it can increase conversion rates, and if you price differently, you can make more revenue in stages.
2. Sell SEO strategy as a standalone service
The next key aspect to consider is separating SEO strategy and selling it as its own service.
Many agencies rush this process, often reducing strategy to nothing more than a basic to-do list with little competitive analysis or critical thinking.
By offering strategy as a standalone service, you can price it higher – charging for your time, expertise, and insights.
Dig deeper: 8 SEO costs that impact your ROI
3. Offer link building as an upsell, not an inclusion
Many SEO retainers are built with links included in the retainer. This makes your retainers seem more valuable (SEO service + links).
But by selling links as a separate service, you can price at a higher additional level.
This isn’t about delivering less value for a higher price; it’s about offering more value at a higher price and giving clients options.
4. Consider digital PR to add more value
Selling digital PR has taken off over the last few years, and for good reason. It works.
While I don’t want to flood the industry with fake PRs dressed as SEOs, digital PR is a good service to offer clients alongside your SEO deliverables.
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5. Monetize advanced analytics and insights
Most people will do reporting as standard, but much data and insights go unreported.
You can offer advanced analytics services, from set-up to detailed reporting and, more importantly, insight.
Because it’s the insight that people are often interested in the most.
One agency I know charges $2,000 for analytics reports on top of the SEO work.
6. Use SEO sprints to generate quick wins and revenue
SEO sprints allow clients to see results quickly by focusing on intensive, short-term efforts.
While they are less common in the age of AI, some agencies still offer them.
How does it work?
Clients pay a fixed fee for a large body of work to be completed as quickly as possible.
This can include technical sprints, content sprints, or other focused projects – all designed to deliver significant progress quickly.
Selling sprints can be an effective way to generate additional revenue while providing high-impact results.
7. Implement smart pricing strategies to maximize client spend
Pricing is the most significant factor, which is why I’ve saved it for last.
There are many ways to approach it – the simplest is to boost revenue by increasing your prices.
But how?
Over the years, I’ve heard many ways to do this, but here are some solid methods.
Increase pricing by 10% for each pitch
Many struggle with imposter syndrome, which can hold back their confidence in pricing higher.
To defeat this, increase your prices by 10% each time you pitch until someone says no.
Once they say no, ask why, and then reduce by 10%.
The aim is to continue doing this until you reach your highest price and know the market cannot tolerate any higher.
Price architecture
This is a big subject that we don’t have time to go into detail, but essentially offer more than one price and offer.
Often seen in the SaaS market, you combine offers and pricing to create a tiered system.
Call it bronze, silver, or gold service levels if you like.
The point is that the client can pick an option that suits them but is designed to suit them.
Premium offer
Again, this is a version of price architecture.
But here, you have an ultra-high premium offer designed to make your other offer seem more reasonable.
You can have a “deluxe SEO service” at a high cost. But you show them your standard offer next to the deluxe option you give clients.
This gives them a choice, making your standard offer more appealing.
The battle in SEO will involve pipeline and sales for the next year or so.
As the economy continues to grow at a snail’s pace, or worse, possibly contract. You will need methods to increase revenue.
Using any or a combination of the tactics above can yield more profit, which you can then invest back into pipeline development.
Because without increased profit, pipeline development can be a challenge.
Dig deeper: How much does SEO really cost
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