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Alternatives to the classic retainer SEO pricing model?
Posted by on January 13, 2023 at 7:41 pmHi SEO Community,
I myself am a freelancer and help small businesses primarily with their Technical/On-Page SEO measures. Since I’m working as a freelancer I almost always sign retainer. Mostly over a period of 12 months. The model was attractive to me from the beginning, as I like to have regular cash flow as a freelancer. However, after a few years, I am now questioning this pricing model somewhat. Reasons are:
* \- Constant high expectation from client for each month.
* \- Constant accountability with some clients (what was done when and how…)
* \- Constant customer communication
* \- Mostly always MORE effort (because of support, email communication, phone calls, etc.) than retainer value and customers don’t pay for communication, project management or the like
* \- A retainer is NOT easy to sell/pitch; Especially in SEO, where the client gets bill after bill for the first few months, but can’t perceive any results in terms of leads/conversions; Because the client doesn’t care at all how cleanly I optimized the core web vitals, or improved the inner linking potential. He wants results, not more, not less!These are the main points that have made me somewhat negative about the pricing model. Because the retainer model is very comfortable if you have 2-3 clients. However, with 5+ it is more than a pain as a freelancer and the revenue/effort ratio is then suddenly no longer so attractive. Right away: No, I don’t sell myself under the industry values, but of course cheaper than an agency does (about 30% cheaper, because freelancer and hardly any overhead).
Now, of course, the question arises for me whether there are other pricing models that would somewhat mitigate my previous criticisms?
I was thinking mainly of performance-based compensation and classic one-offs (package for on-page optimization, SEO audit, …). The latter has a clearly defined scope and is simply charged once with effort x hours. This already takes away some of my criticisms of the retainer model, but it’s not the most ideal from a cash flow perspective. Now for the former:
Many of my clients already know the value of SEO and I don’t have to do any more educational work here. At least not from the beginning. Nevertheless, I notice one thing ALWAYS again, after every pitch: they are so despite my arguments in favor of SEO, not 100% sure if it will all work out that way then. It’s probably due to the nature of SEO and the fact that I NEVER promise results, of course. Thus, my thought process by now is that I need to offer something that is very fair to the company, but at the same time I don’t completely fall by the wayside as far as my earnings are concerned. Specifically:
* \- A small SEO setup fee (where, for example, within 2-3 months all necessary on-page optimizations are carried out, so that you are at least here once clean on the road).
* \- Subsequently, no monthly retainer, but a performance-oriented remuneration: For example, there are only costs if a lead or a sales conversion has demonstrably come about through SEO traffic; How high this PPL or PPS value is, you just have to make up with the company. Both are 100% trackable. So the customer only pays if actual results have been created. I see a lot of fairness in this, but also the danger that I may go too far in advance and the output at the end of the day is so low that it is not profitable for me (where the retainer would then again be the better option).What do you think of this approach and do you have similar or completely different pricing models in the SEO area?
I am curious and look forward to lively discussion.
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1 Reply
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Really interesting, thanks for sharing
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I’ve had the following pricing model at two agencies and use a similar one for myself as an independent consultant:
I outline all deliverables I think I’ll need for the year and then a bucket of flexible consulting hours to be used on any ad hoc projects. I loosely use an hourly price but anything that is unit based gets a flat fee based on the value and complexity.
A brief might be 100-300 dollars and a technical audit might be 1000-3000 depending on size, CMS, etc.
I then add up how much time I think I’ll need for communication, meetings, and reports. Again, loosely based on an hourly rate.
I add up all the deliverables and flex hours and arrive at a final price for 12 months. I then amortize it for equal monthly payments.
I only show the client the final number and what they will be paying monthly. Because it’s amortized, I’m doing more upfront work than what they are paying for and that usually eases the ROI concerns. Not to mention thorough expectation setting during the sales cycle anyways.
I also show them a gantt chart so they know when I’ll be delivering each project each month. I let them know it’s flexible but so they can understand the flow of a normal campaign.
I also often come up with multiple pricing tiers to meet their budget needs if I’m not sure they’ll bite. I give a high, medium, and low option.
They care about what the bill is and the value you provide. They don’t need an itemized list of every deliverable and the time it’ll take.
Clearly outlining the projects along with expectations for meetings/communication (and actually buffering in pricing for it) has helped me avoid a lot of problems that come with true retainer models.
Is it perfect? Nope. But it’s helped me stay really profitable and rewards me for being more efficient with the work.
Hope that helps!
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Performance models wouldn’t be a good option, in my opinion because there are too many variables out of your control as to if you can hit them. I’m thinking specifically about:
1. They didn’t write enough new content for their own site.
2. The guest blogging opportunities didn’t happen on time for 50 million reasons
3. The CEO doesn’t see the page in their SERP page in the spot the report said
4. The SEO edits you made to a piece of content got axed by the SME and it’s not really optimized.I’m in your boat, but retainers really are the only way I find to work. I also agree with u/oddodigital on being VERY specfic with expectations. I always make sure monthly reporting is done by me – so I review GA to find the wins over time along with the standard SEMRush/Ahrefs info, so you can show – especially quarterly – how you moved the needle. Also tracking over competition can be helpful as a metric to prove out your worth.
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I don’t know. Reading what you wrote it sounds to me like you are pricing yourself too low and you are not setting proper expectations around deliverables and communication.
My proposals outline how communication will be handled and how often, and none of it is done by email. If you are spending too much time answering emails or phone calls, that’s your fault.
I don’t really understand why you are having trouble dealing with “constant high expectation” from clients each month either. Are you not meeting the promised deliverables?
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