In an increasingly competitive ecommerce world, search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the most powerful ways to attract qualified organic traffic, build brand authority, and boost sales for your Shopify store. Yet many store owners struggle with key decisions: How much should you budget for SEO? Is it better to hire an SEO agency or manage SEO internally? What exactly do ecommerce SEO services include? And how long will it take to see results? In this guide, we will explore the essential aspects of SEO decision-making for your Shopify store, giving you practical insights and data-backed recommendations to help you make the right choices.
1. How Much Should SEO for a Shopify Store Cost?
The cost of SEO for a Shopify store can vary significantly depending on the size of your business, the competitive nature of your niche, and the SEO services you require. Understanding the pricing models available will help you make informed decisions on how much you should invest in SEO.
Typical Pricing Models & Ranges
While the cost of SEO can fluctuate, there are a few common pricing models that most SEO providers use. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect:
- Monthly Retainers: Professional ecommerce SEO services often range from around £1,000–£4,000 per month for small to medium stores, rising to £4,000–£8,000+ per month for larger or highly competitive ecommerce businesses. These retainers typically cover ongoing SEO work, such as content creation, technical optimisation, backlink building, and performance tracking.
- One-Time Projects: If you’re looking for a one-off service such as a full site audit, content optimisation, or technical fixes, the cost can range from £1,000 to £8,000+ depending on the scope of the work. One-time projects can be useful for smaller stores or businesses looking to optimise specific aspects of their SEO.
- Freelancers & Basic SEO: Freelancers or lower-tier SEO packages may cost anywhere from £300–£1,000 per month. While more affordable, these services often have limited scope, such as basic on-page optimisation and small-scale link-building.
For most businesses, investing between £1,500–£4,000 per month will yield the best results, especially for long-term growth. Understanding the impact of your investment is crucial in measuring ROI for SEO campaigns.
2. Is It Better to Hire an SEO Agency or Do SEO Internally?
One of the key decisions in building an effective SEO strategy is whether to manage SEO internally or hire an SEO agency. Both approaches have their advantages and drawbacks, so it’s important to assess your business’s needs and resources before making a decision.
SEO Agency: Pros & Cons
Benefits
- Expertise and Experience: SEO agencies bring years of expertise in digital marketing and SEO best practices. They stay up-to-date with the latest algorithm changes and trends, ensuring that your store is optimised according to the latest standards.
- Time Efficiency: Working with an agency saves you time by delegating the SEO workload to experienced professionals. This allows you to focus on other aspects of your business while the agency works to improve your rankings.
- Comprehensive Strategy: Agencies typically offer a complete SEO service, including on-page optimisation, technical SEO, link-building, and content creation. Their holistic approach ensures that all aspects of your SEO are covered.
Drawbacks
- Cost: Agencies can be more expensive, especially if you want high-quality services. However, they often provide faster results and better ROI in the long run.
- Less Control: By working with an external agency, you may feel a lack of direct control over the strategy. Clear communication and regular updates are essential to ensure the agency is on the same page as you.
Doing SEO Internally: Pros & Cons
Benefits
- Full Control: Having an internal SEO team allows you to have direct control over your strategy and decisions. This ensures that your team can respond quickly to changes in SEO or business priorities.
- Cost-Effective: If your team has the right skills, handling SEO internally can be a more cost-effective solution. You won’t need to pay ongoing monthly retainers to an external agency.
- Deeper Knowledge: Internal teams often have a better understanding of your brand, products, and customers, which can lead to more personalised and targeted SEO strategies.
Drawbacks
- Time-Consuming: SEO requires constant monitoring and updates, which may be difficult for small internal teams already stretched thin with other responsibilities.
- Expertise Gaps: SEO is a multifaceted field that requires expertise in several areas. It may be challenging for an internal team to have in-depth knowledge of all aspects, including technical SEO, content creation, and link-building.
3. What’s Included in Ecommerce SEO Services?
Ecommerce SEO services are comprehensive and aim to optimise your Shopify store for both search engines and customers. Here’s a breakdown of what is typically included in a professional SEO engagement:
On-Page SEO
- Keyword Research: Identifying the most relevant and profitable keywords for your store to rank for. This includes commercial and long-tail keywords specific to your product offerings.
- Optimising Product Pages: Writing keyword-optimised product descriptions, improving meta tags (titles and descriptions), and optimising images to ensure your pages are search-engine-friendly.
- Internal Linking: Building a solid internal linking structure to help both users and search engines navigate your store effectively.
Technical SEO
- Site Speed Optimisation: Ensuring your store loads quickly, as page speed is a key ranking factor for search engines and impacts user experience.
- Mobile Optimisation: Ensuring that your website is responsive and performs well across all devices, especially mobile, which makes up a significant portion of online shopping traffic.
- Crawl Errors: Fixing any issues that prevent search engines from crawling and indexing your site properly, such as broken links or incorrect redirects.
Off-Page SEO
- Backlink Building: Acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative sites within your industry to boost your site’s credibility and improve search rankings.
- Brand Mentions/Social Signals: Building your brand’s presence on social media and other external platforms to increase visibility and indirect SEO benefits.
4. How Long Does SEO Take for an Online Store?
SEO is a long-term investment that typically takes **3 to 6 months** for noticeable results. However, you’ll likely start seeing improvements in rankings and traffic from around **6 to 12 months** depending on the competitiveness of your industry and your current SEO status.
Typical Timeline
- Months 1–2: Site audit, technical fixes, keyword research.
- Months 3–6: Initial ranking improvements and traffic growth.
- Months 6–12+: Strengthening backlinks, expanding content, and seeing significant long-term growth.
SEO requires patience and ongoing work, but it pays off with sustainable traffic growth and improved conversion rates.
Conclusion: Making the Right SEO Decisions
SEO for your Shopify store is not a sideline task — it’s a strategic investment that can dramatically improve visibility, traffic, and sales over time. But to get the most out of it, you need to think strategically about your budget, your execution model (agency vs internal), what services are included, and how long you are prepared to wait for results.
If you’re ready to elevate your Shopify store with expert SEO services, Lezzat can help. Our team specialises in crafting customised SEO strategies tailored to your unique business needs. Whether you’re looking to optimise your product pages, boost your rankings, or increase traffic, we’re here to make it happen. Contact us today to get started and take your online store to the next level!
