How Much Is A Site Review Worth?
by DazzlinDonna
I almost never do any kind of client work. I’ve said that time and time again, however, there are some rare occasions where I’ll take something on, and when that happens, it’s almost always in the form of a site review (or site audit, depending upon what term you’d like to use). I don’t have time to devote to ongoing client work, so a one-time review, with some follow-up Q&A via email to clarify the review’s points is all I can generally commit to. But when it comes time to tell someone how much I charge for a site review, I always wonder what the client thinks of the price.
I charge $500 for a site review. When people can get absolutely FREE site reviews from many experienced SEOs at places like Cre8asite Forums, SEOrefugee, and any number of other places, why would anyone agree to pay $500 for such a service? Granted, the forum users have no obligation to give your site all of their attention, but you generally get pretty good advice in those places.
But wait, now, I know my $500 charge is actually on the low side. I know others who charge $5000 and more. I have no idea if those reviews are worth that price or not, since I’ve never used them, but I’ll just assume that you get a great site audit, since I don’t know any different. Still, $5000? For a site audit? Is that a good deal or not?
I’m not looking for any definitive answers. Since I so rarely deal with client work, it really doesn’t matter much to me. But since I recently had someone mention that the $500 seemed high, and I just yesterday noticed someone else advertise for $5000, I thought it might be a good idea to turn this over to all of you.
Is a site review ever worth anything beyond FREE?
Assuming the SEO is reputable, what is a price point that is comfortable?
Would you pay for a site review, or would you just entrust one of the free reviews available at the forums?
Is it more a matter of who is doing the paying? (i.e. mom and pop shop vs. big brand)
Or is it more a matter of who is doing the review?
Just one of those days when my curiosity gets the best of me. 
If they implement what you suggest and their profit increases by that amount per day, or even per week, simply by following what you suggested to do, then their ROI is huge.
So, for some industries, with massive turnover, the advice of an expert could be worth a small fortune. They could hire you for a few thousand now; or delay, and see their competitor hire you…
I just did a simple AdSense audit at SES in a panel. I implemented the suggestion and saw an immediate and sustained uptick in CTR and revenue per page (I still refuse to use the term eCPM — sorry).
But that was a special instance.
Given the experience, would I hire those panelists or someone of their caliber like you for a more in-depth look?
Yes, but as it related to ROI, which is how I think these things have to be positioned. There are usability audits and accessibility audits and all sorts of stuff one person can look at. In this case, it was a small but significant part of the site’s revenue stream.
Would I pay for a landing page audit? Maybe from a well-known person. Would I pay for a brand audit or code audit? Probably not.
Did I ask more questions than I answered?
Good points. ROI would make all the difference, true. And it’s ok to ask more questions. More questions might prompt more answers!
I think it all depends on what type of prospect your dealing with in regards to how much cash they will part with. I don’t think a mum and pop business would part with 5K when if they do a little searching they will find places that do it for $500 – or if they dig a bit deeper and find places like Cre8asite.
I think 5K is a bit rich personally. I don’t think I would be comfortable changing that.
Would I pay for a landing page audit? For sure. Good landing pages are tough to create and if I could get some advice from a *expert*, which will help me sign up prospects, I would sign a contract with him straight away.
In the past, the cost of my site reviews have been based on:
1) Size of site
How well/poorly their site is optimized and if it was previously optimized
2) Whether ongoing services are needed/asked for
3) How many topics are contained on the site (extent of KW research)
4) If application specs need to be developed
5) Access to site stats
6) Inclusion of any competitor analysis
7) Access to programmers/developers/DBAs
9) If conversion/usability recommendations are also requested
10) If other services are also requested (PPC, link building, media buying, etc
There are some times other factors too, but the deliverables can also vary per client. Some just want a quick overview, others want detailed page by page recommendations.
$500 could be seen as expensive for a static 5 page mom and pop site, but $5000 could be cheap for a large big brand site.
I think the review-ers have to decide how important site reviews are to their overall business plan.
If your focus is elsewhere, but doing a site review every once in a while is good for extra cash flow – then set a higher price. This helps you manage how many referrals you get.
If you’re a startup and you’re trying to attract new business – do a free evaluation to try and gain new clients.
If you’re established with some big names or big results – and prefer to work with clients who have substantial budgets – go for the big bucks!
Seems most everyone is answering this question from the same viewpoint as Donna.
I’ve paid for a site review. Rand F. And he did it for less than half of what you’re charging. But this was in maybe ‘04 or ‘05, before he really made a name for himself.
Was it worth it? Absolutely.
Why?
Because I was able to get a review from a person I trusted to be qualified to provide such a review, and was confident that their 100% focus on my site, be it only for an hour or two, was going to be worth more than almost any free review.
It also helped me to understand what’s provided in a paid review.
Now it’s a few years later, and I’m charging the same thing for a site review that Rand did 2-3 years ago. My niche is very focused and decidedly non-techy, so the reviews are usually pretty easy, and following my advice nets positive results pretty quickly because competition tends to be low.
I could also see spending $500 pretty easily.
For $5,000 I’d want to see a proven track record of substantial success. I’d also want a website that had $5K laying around to spend on something like that.
At my firm, prices fluctuate, but we’re a bit higher than your estimates (and we’ve been called “low” too). I have worked on large scale audits, whereby we do a lot of preliminary research for clients for when they redesign, and dig as much as we can into competitors’ available data. Those tend to push 5K, as more than a week of research and writing goes into them.
Don’t forget that the “price” you pay to have a review at a place like Cre8 is that the review is public. Anyone can see it including your competitors. They also often come up in the SERPS for the domain/business name.
A paid review is a private review and often well worth the money.
There was a great thread somewhere a few years ago where the person out up their prices and found they were getting more work. Wish I could remember where it was being discussed.
A paid review is only worth as much as it delivers. It should come with some kind of satisfaction guarantee I guess, if I’d have to pay $500 for a review without being sure about whether it’s going to help or not, I’m not so sure I’d be comfortable. If you told me that I could get my money back if I wasn’t satisfied with the review, then I’d be more at ease and perhaps … just perhaps give it a shot!