An SEO price list is not a grocery price list
An SEO price list doesn’t work like a store shelf. You won’t find a single item called “SEO” with one price that you pay and you’re done. When someone sends you such an offer, it’s usually a template package that doesn’t account for a plumbing company needing different content than a law firm.
The query “SEO pricing” stems from the idea that for X crowns, I’ll get Y results. But the price is mainly determined by where the website is starting from, what industry it’s competing in, and what the company expects from the collaboration. That’s why it makes sense to look not just at the number, but at what stands behind it.
We’ll go through three things: what a proper proposal should include, how we think about pricing, and how to compare two proposals that look almost identical.
What a proper proposal should include
A solid proposal is not a single price. It’s a breakdown of items where you know what you’re paying for. You’ll typically find:
- Keyword and topic analysis – an initial examination of what your customers are searching for and with what intent. Without it, there’s no point in writing a single line.
- Editorial plan – a document that states: this topic, this type of page, this deadline. Not “we’ll come up with something as we go.”
- Specific content items – articles, service pages, FAQs, case studies. Each with a clear purpose and a next step for the reader.
- Internal linking – so every new text fits into the website’s structure and you don’t end up with a content vacuum of pages with no path between them.
- Technical minimum – checking indexation, speed, and heading structure. Not a website redesign, but removing obstacles that prevent content from working.
- Ongoing evaluation – what was created, what’s working, what to adjust. Monthly, not once every six months.
If a proposal promises “complete SEO” without specifying how many articles will be created, on what topics, and for what goal, it’s not a proposal. It’s a wish.
Guide pricing to consider
The following numbers are our own guide examples, not the result of market research – they show how we think about pricing, not what the entire market charges. The actual price for each project depends on the scope, industry, and website condition.
Monthly collaboration
The most common model for businesses serious about content. It combines analysis, content creation, website adjustments, and reporting.
| Scope of collaboration | Guide monthly price | What it typically includes |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller | CZK 5,000–10,000 | 1–2 articles per month, basic reporting, updates to existing content |
| Medium | CZK 10,000–20,000 | 2–4 content items, editorial plan, analytics, technical checks |
| Higher | CZK 20,000–40,000 | 4–8 content items, comprehensive content management, strategic consulting |
One-off items
Sometimes you just need to solve a partial task – a strategy, an audit, or a set of key pages.
| Item | Guide price |
|---|---|
| Initial topic and keyword analysis | CZK 8,000–20,000 |
| Content strategy with editorial plan | CZK 10,000–25,000 |
| Expert service page | CZK 2,500–6,000 |
| Expert blog article | CZK 1,500–4,500 |
| Technical SEO audit for a smaller website | CZK 5,000–15,000 |
How much one text really costs and why the price varies is explored in the article how much an expert article for the web costs. How we approach pricing at our end can be found in the price list – but it’s always based on a specific website and goals, not a flat rate.
Why SEO doesn’t have a fixed price list
The wide price range is intentional. Several things determine the price that can’t be squeezed into a single number.
Every website starts from a different place. Someone has a five-year-old website with twenty articles without a logical structure, someone has an empty domain, someone has a technically broken site where not even indexation is running. The starting condition determines the volume of work – and it can vary by an order of magnitude.
The industry determines the difficulty. Writing about accounting is different from writing about industrial cooling. The search competition, complexity of topics, and breadth of customer questions all differ. That’s why topics are chosen based on the industry, not from a generic list – what this looks like in practice is shown in the article SEO for small businesses by industry.
The goals aren’t set by the provider alone. Does the company want five new inquiries per month within a year, or twenty? Cover the whole country, or three districts? Target corporations, or sole traders? The composition of topics and volume of work change accordingly.
A solid proposal therefore does not start with a pricing table but with a conversation about the company, customers, and expectations – we call this the initial analysis at our end. Anyone who sends a price list within an hour of first contact has skipped a substantial part of the work.
How to compare proposals
Let’s say you have two proposals. Both for CZK 12,000 per month, both promising “SEO content.” The price alone tells you nothing – the difference lies in what stands behind it. What to look for:
Asks before proposing. A good provider will first ask about your company, customers, goals, and website condition. If the first email contains nothing but a price list, it’s a shot in the dark.
Talks about topics and inquiries, not positions. “You’ll be first for keyword X” is a sentence a serious specialist won’t utter – no one can influence or guarantee a specific placement. Instead, you’ll hear: “Here are fifteen topics your customers are interested in, and for each one we propose a content format.”
Breaks down the deliverables. “We’ll improve your SEO” is not a deliverable. “90-day editorial plan, eight articles, three service pages, title tag adjustments for existing pages” – that’s a deliverable you can tick off. Compare itemized breakdowns: a proposal that just says “4 articles per month” provides less information than one that lists specific content types and what happens after the first month.
Shows samples. A solid provider has a portfolio. Go through it and ask: does the author understand the topic? Would that text convince you as a customer? If the samples don’t convince you, they won’t convince your clients either.
Defines the collaboration as a process. Writing five articles and disappearing has little to do with SEO. The proposal should describe what happens after the first month – evaluation, adjustments, expanding the content.
The last, often underestimated factor is trust. The collaboration lasts for months, and you will be opening up your data and processes to the provider. If the person doesn’t sit well with you from the first meeting, keep looking.
The risks of cheap SEO
A low price is tempting, but with SEO, poorly done work can harm a website more than doing nothing.
Content without research. The most common saving: skipping the conversation with someone from the company and the query analysis. The result is a text that contains keywords but doesn’t answer what the customer cares about. Such content doesn’t convince, and even if it brings someone in, they’ll quickly leave.
Purchased generic texts. Packages like “50 articles for CZK 5,000” are usually generated without knowledge of the industry or the Czech market. According to its guidelines, Google can recognize mass-produced content without added value, so it doesn’t work as the client imagined.
Thoughtless technical interventions. Someone under the guise of “optimization” changes the URL structure, breaks internal links, and causes more harm than good. The repair then costs more than the original order.
One-off action without continuation. Writing ten articles and doing nothing for a year is wasted money. A website needs content added regularly, updated, and responsive to changes in search behavior.
In short: when the price is suspiciously low, the money saved is usually eaten up in lost time. No one can get that back.
When SEO (for now) doesn’t make sense for a small business
There are situations where investing in SEO doesn’t make sense right away.
You have an overflow of orders from elsewhere. If referrals keep you going and your diary is full for six months ahead, focus on capacity instead. Content is a long-term investment that pays off over months.
The website is in a critical state. When pages take ten seconds to load, break on mobile, and half the subpages aren’t indexed, there’s no point pouring money into new content. The basics must work first – which a good specialist will recognize and tell you.
You aren’t clear on who you’re selling to. SEO works when you know who your customer is and what they need. A company selling to “everyone” will dilute its content and convince no one. Sort out your positioning first, then address content.
You expect results within a month. SEO is not PPC. It takes weeks to months for content to start appearing in results. When you need customers tomorrow, invest in advertising and tackle SEO in parallel as a long-term insurance policy.
