When discussing SEO pricing within the industry, it’s impossible not to mention the different settlement methods – the two most popular models include subscription (fixed, monthly amount paid regardless of the agency’s results) and performance-based SEO (the client pays only if the agency achieves the promised results).
At Delante, we charge based on the subscription business model. Every month we also provide a comprehensive report where you can find the results of our work – it contains information about website traffic, page impressions in the search engine, phrase positions or performed SEO activities. We truly believe that transparency is the key to successful cooperation.
Why have we decided to choose the subscription business model?
In the past, performance-based SEO was the most popular settlement method, however, it’s not chosen so willingly anymore. It mainly boils down to the pact that Google algorithms are constantly updated, search engine requirements change over time and it’s not possible to promise clients that they’ll reach specific positions in the SERPs and keep them forever. Website positions are affected by so many factors (including many elements SEO specialists don’t have any control over) that it’s beyond the bounds of possibility to guarantee that a given position is achievable.
Contrary to what you may think, performance-based SEO isn’t always the most lucrative option for the client. This SEO settlement method may encourage the use of dangerous and prohibited methods of the so-called black Hat SEO which help to quickly achieve the promised results. These may involve spam, keyword stuffing or text hiding. However, such actions can lead to a decrease in the website’s positions and in the most extreme cases, the page might be indexed out of the search results.
Remember that SEO takes time, effects won’t appear overnight and you need to be patient to see the fruits of the SEO labor. However, if you follow the rules and principles determined by the search engine, you’ll enjoy more durable and long-lasting results of SEO activities.