We have all heard stories of SEO consultants charging too much to give advice. Hiring an SEO consultant can start with $100 per hour and popular, established consultants might even cost upwards of $1000 per hour. Corporate SEO consultants charge even more.
Some people even go to lengths to call SEO consultants con-artists because they only talk and never deliver. Well, SEO is like marketing and nothing is guaranteed. Do companies actually go to their Marketing Department and fire every single employee if the goals are not met? Nope!
Is charging $500 per hour for consultation the right thing to do. Do you think the end-user will make any profit from the advice of a renowned SEO if he has no money left after the SEO consultation?
The thing to realize is that an SEO consultation is not a cost, it is an investment. Would you pay a huge fee to lease a good place to start your business? Sure you would! SEO consultancy works in the same way.
Here I will explain how even a $500 per hour consultation is worth every penny:
1. Price increases with demand. You will not see any renowned SEO consultant charging $10 per hour. When consultants have many clients who they work with, they increase their prices to only cater to the high end consumer, who is more prone to having deep pockets and for that reason is less likely to cause commotion if he does not get results.
2. An established consultant will always know more about internet marketing. If someone is successfully charging $500 per hour on consultation, you can be sure that he knows what he is talking about.
3. An expensive consultation will reduce your learning curve. Try learning SEO on your own and it will bring things into perspective. For example, a lucky internet marketer might have taken, on average 2 years to understand how online marketing works. If you value your time at $10 per hour even, you will understand how the SEO consultation is helping you out.
4. A higher end SEO consultant will tell you exactly what you need to do, how much cost is involved and an approximate idea on when the profits will start pouring in. Try to gauge that on your own and there is a good chance you are in trouble.