If your website’s ranking in search engines and a high thematic citation index (Yandex’s tIC) are crucial to you, but you lack the time and knowledge to achieve this, your first concern when contacting an SEO company will logically be, “How much does website promotion cost?” This question is common among those reaching out to such services for the first time.
Many website owners mistakenly believe that SEO promotion involves financial transactions between SEO companies and search engine staff or administrators, based on clear price lists, leading to guaranteed top rankings. They think it’s simply about buying top positions.
In reality, this assumption is fundamentally incorrect. It’s easy to see why search engines wouldn’t benefit from making search results paid since their primary goal is to provide high-quality, unique information that users are seeking. The quality and uniqueness of the content directly affect the number of visitors to the search engine itself. Currently, all major search engines have specialized systems for selling contextual ads, which is their primary source of revenue.
A sensible approach is to negotiate with several SEO companies to assess and select queries for optimal promotion. You’ll be surprised to find that the cost of promoting the same keywords and phrases can vary drastically between different SEO companies. This disparity further dispels the myth of buying and reserving spots in search engines. So, how do you avoid mistakes, ensuring you’re not overpaying or underpaying suspiciously low prices? The answer lies in understanding what constitutes the cost of promotion.
Every SEO company has a specific approach to calculating the cost of optimized promotion. Primarily, this depends on the experience and qualifications of the SEO specialists. However, there are standard, unchanging factors that all SEO companies must consider.
The main factor influencing the total budget for “promotion” is the so-called “link mass.” This is calculated by analyzing competing sites that occupy leading positions for key queries. Factors considered include the quality and cost of incoming links, with links categorized as paid (requiring regular payment) and permanent (also known as natural links). Permanent links are typically acquired through reciprocal exchange relationships between themed sites, directories, and blogs.
By considering all these details, the most optimal strategy is chosen, unnecessary elements are discarded, and with the right combination of experience, talent, and knowledge, results will follow.
This explanation is quite theoretical. There are many nuances, and if I were more knowledgeable about them, I would provide more detail. The main point is that no one can guarantee you the first position in search results or a specific tIC score, no matter how “excellent” the SEO specialists are. You can make educated guesses and set expectations, but there will never be a 100% guarantee!