You'll probably have noticed that most websites belonging to SEO firms don't contain a price list, so how will you find out how much SEO costs? This might seem odd, but there's an excellent reason for this, and it's nothing to do with keeping their prices secret.

The reason is that each SEO package is unique. As unique as your website.

Sure, you could buy 500 backlinks from a random stranger, but they probably wouldn't be contextual. Someone could say that they will do your on-page optimisation for $100 and then find out that your site has 10 000 indexed pages and then probably not be able to see it through.

Just think about it. Would you trust your business to someone who had no knowledge of it?

No you wouldn't.

Some payment agreements I've dealt with in the past have base monthly payments with performance based additions. Some are flat fees, while PPC management is often a percentage of the advertising budget. An hourly rate is often the most honest way if your relationship is new, otherwise a well researched proposal with a monthly rate is the way most companies will go.

The old adage of "let the buyer beware" really applies here. A consultant who gives you a quote without seeing your site and doing even a small amount of research probably isn't to be trusted. Either he's taking a hit or you will be.

If it's too cheap it's likely to be sub-standard and while I don't suffer from 'Google-noia', another truism cannot be ignored.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Poor SEO can hurt your site.

Things to consider:

• SEO should be part of your advertising budget. Google after all is the biggest business directory in the world.
• You might not see financial result for months, so make a point of knowing how to gauge your consultant's success.
• Insist on regular reporting. In fact, if this isn't mentioned in the pitch, ask for it.
• Anyone who guarantees where Google will rank you is pushing too hard (that's putting it politely). Only Google can guarantee you that, and only if they cheat their own system.

I often find clients at a site where you have to make a concrete bid or not win the business. The proliferation of people willing to sell their 'SEO skills' for less than the UK minimum wage is staggering. It's no skin off my nose, as to be honest, and harsh it may be, I don't want to partner with people who pay their consultants £5 an hour. The danger is that the people who do pay £5 an hour end up with poor results and then form the opinion that SEO is a waste of time at best, and at worst a big fat con.

My favourite recently was a guy who wanted to rank in positions 1, 2 or 3 on Google for "weight loss" for £5-£6 an hour. And he would only pay when he got results. You may or may not know, but "weight loss" and related terms are some of the hardest to rank for. It's big business. Huge. Certainly bigger than a fiver an hour spam-jockey.

My guess is that weight-loss-guy is still waiting.

If you need SEO at a reasonable price, that suits your budget and your company, that is long-lasting and effective, contact ShadeFish Media now. And you'll find out that even business SEO doesn't cost as much as you thought.