Why SEO has no fixed price list
SEO is not a shelf product. It is closer to renovating an apartment: the estimate depends on what you start with. A fast site with a clean structure needs one kind of work. A site full of duplicate pages, missing headings and slow templates needs something entirely different.
That is why quotes from different providers can vary several times over. It is not always a sign of a scam, but you should know exactly what sits behind each figure.
What a monthly SEO fee covers
A monthly retainer is, in nearly every case, payment for specialist time. The budget is split across several kinds of work, and the proportions shift from project to project.
- Technical audit: speed, mobile version, indexing, code errors, duplicate pages.
- Keyword research: the queries your customers really type, in both Russian and Uzbek.
- Structure and copy: a page for each group of queries, titles, descriptions, internal links.
- Local visibility: Google Maps listing, reviews, business profile.
- External signals: mentions, links and publications that build trust in the site.
- Analytics and reporting: tracking calls, form leads and Telegram clicks, then reading the trends.
What moves the budget the most
Niche comes first. Promoting a clinic, a developer or an electronics store in Tashkent is harder than promoting a narrow service in a small town. Dozens of sites compete for the same queries, and keeping up costs work, which means time.
Site size comes second. A five-page service site and a catalogue with thousands of products need very different volumes of edits and monitoring. Geography and language come third: if you serve several regions and run the site in Russian and Uzbek, the number of pages and queries grows. Speed is the fourth factor. Wanting results sooner usually means more people on the project.
Pricing models and their traps
A fixed monthly fee is the most common model. It makes planning easy, but without a written list of tasks you may end up paying for vague “support”.
Hourly billing is more transparent for one-off jobs such as an audit or restructuring. Paying for rankings or “top positions” sounds attractive, yet it often leads to promoting easy keywords that bring no enquiries. A ranking is not a business goal. Leads and sales are.
Fix the website before you promote it
The most expensive mistake is paying for promotion of a site that cannot handle the traffic. If pages load slowly, the form is awkward on a phone, and the Telegram and call buttons are buried, visitors from search will simply leave for a competitor. The SEO budget is spent and the return stays weak.
Sometimes it is cheaper to rebuild the site with search in mind first: a logical structure, a responsive layout, fast loading, Click and Payme payments where they make sense. That costs less than patching problems for years.
How to compare offers without overpaying
Ask each provider for a description of the first months of work, not only a price. A good proposal starts with an audit and agreed metrics, not with promises of guaranteed positions.
- Is there a list of concrete tasks, or only phrases like “full-service promotion”?
- Who will work on the project, and how often will you get a report?
- Is analytics set up for calls, forms, Telegram clicks and Instagram enquiries?
- Who keeps the site and access rights if you end the cooperation?
- Is the provider honest about timing? SEO does not pay off in a few days.
Where to start
A realistic first step is an audit of your current site and a look at competitors for your key queries. After that the price stops being abstract: you can see which tasks are essential and which can wait. The markdev team runs this kind of review and can also tell you whether improving the existing site is enough or whether a new one built turnkey would serve you better. If you would like to talk through your task and budget, send a request and we will look at your situation without generic advice.
FAQ
Can I get an exact SEO price before an audit?
Not an exact one. Before an audit you can only get a rough range, because the price depends on niche, competition, site condition and size. Once the audit is done, the scope becomes clear.
Why do SEO quotes differ so much?
Mostly because of scope, team size and depth of analytics. A cheap offer may cover a few tweaks, while a pricier one includes copywriting, technical fixes and reporting.
Is it worth paying for guaranteed rankings?
Be careful. Such guarantees are often tied to easy keywords that bring no customers. It is better to agree on business metrics: leads, calls and enquiries.
Should I choose SEO or paid ads?
They are different tools. Ads bring leads faster but stop when the budget ends, while SEO works longer but takes time. Many businesses combine both.
Let’s look at your task for free
Leave your contact — in a 15-minute call we’ll show where leads get lost and what to fix first.