The simple fact of the matter is that white label SEO should be profitable for both the white label agency and the agency who is offering the service under their name.
This does obviously raise the question of how much you should markup white label SEO services.
In our experience working with agencies across the world, we see our services resold for 50 to 100% margin. This means that our basic SEO plan ($500 per month) is resold typically from $750 to $1,000 per month, and you can do the math for our other plans.
This probably raises even more questions than you initially had, like why the price can be raised, what it means for the client, and much more.
Don't worry, we'll clear up everything in this guide.
How White Label SEO Markup Works
White label SEO is designed for both parties to profit, while the client is delivered consistent results on a monthly basis.
The markup aspect of white label SEO is complicated in practice, but the theory behind it is simple.
The white label agency - in this case us - delivers SEO for an agency's client under their name. The agency pays us for the work, and charges the client a certain value for the work, and pockets the difference.
For an effective white label SEO partnership, a few things need to be in place:
- Affordable white label SEO services (this one is very important)
- Clients who can benefit from SEO (and actually want it)
- Streamlined communication between the white label provider and the agency
Why Are Your SEO Services Priced Low?
Our white label SEO services are definitely on the lower end of the price spectrum for SEO, but this is by design.
We are extremely systemized and work on scale. This means that we can handle a large volume of clients, and dedicate each specialist to a certain area of SEO, ensuring our clients get the best results for the lowest price possible by optimizing our usage of time.
We also never outsource to overseas workers because, at that point, you might as well just hire them directly yourself. All of our staff are US or UK-based currently.
The GrubSEO Method
I wanted to touch on our method in more detail so you can understand why we price our services at the price we do.
As mentioned, we rely on scale, which means our SEOs can each specialize in one area and apply this to multiple websites.
That means that when we audit a website, it is done in the same way for every website and handled at the start of the campaign. We have streamlined the audit process so it gives us exactly the information we need to help the website grow without focusing on shiny objects that don't move the needle.
The same applies to content production, on page SEO optimizations, the list goes on. As we work with more and more websites, we keep learning and refining our process to work on what actually delivers results and ignore the rest.
The Actual Value Of Our SEO Plans
Our SEO plans are designed to provide the most value possible for your clients, meaning keyword ranking improvements on their top keywords.
The actual value of this varies from client to client, but can be estimated by understanding the keywords your client ranks for, the search volume of these terms, and how much revenue they generate currently.
For this, actual client data is always the best to use - a lot of the time, the estimated CPC for keywords is very inaccurate on tools like Ahrefs.
Our white label SEO plans focus on the main keywords for the business that generate revenue. From there, you can estimate the increase in lead generation by looking at the average CTR for the top positions in Google vs where they rank currently (see study here).
That said, our plans are extremely valuable because we work to scale and hire the best in house SEO specialists and let them do what they do best.
Ok, So How Do I Price White Label SEO?
SEO still needs to be affordable for your client, especially in this context as a new service being offered to them.
Most of our partner agencies upsell by 50 to 100%, as mentioned, but how do you decide on price?
This depends on a lot of contextual factors.
Target Keywords & Client Niches
The first one is the target keyword and the niche of your client or clients.
If they're targeting very high-value keywords, it's much easier to sell the value of SEO to them and get approval for a larger fee.
The same can be said for the reverse. Most businesses we work with service local clients who offer services like plumbing, dental work, and so forth, where SEO optimization is super important for lead generation.
Current Services Being Offered
Another thing to consider is what service the client is currently getting from your agency.
For example, social media marketing can be on the lower end of the price spectrum, but there is a range to this and with all other services like ppc. If your client is spending a lot of cash, SEO can complement their current marketing efforts and be pitched for a relatively low price easily.
Balancing Value And Agency Margins
The whole idea of white label SEO is to deliver value to your clients without any extra work, while benefitting from the profit margin.
The final price you decide to charge ultimately depends on a lot of individual circumstances, which is why we are systemized to provide a very fair rate for our work, making it easier to sell on.
Most of our partners work anywhere from a 50 to 100% markup rate, so take from that what you will.
Industry Averages For White Label SEO Markup
It's hard to know how much agencies markup white label SEO services due to the nature of the business - the agencies, a lot of the time, don't want their clients to know the work is outsourced.
There are a few figures we can look at though, namely how much white label SEO services usually cost, and how much SEO services are sold for in SEO-focused agencies:
- White label SEO services cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars per month for the basics, to between $1,000 and $2,000 for advanced campaigns that include significant content, link building, and custom strategy.
- SEO agencies vary greatly in how much they charge, but $1,000 per month is usually the average starting price. From there, prices can range all the way into the tens of thousands, depending on the agency and who they serve.
All in all, you shouldn't feel bad reselling our SEO services at a profitable rate.
How To Get Started With White Label SEO
Getting started with white label SEO is very simple, assuming you have clients who want SEO.
Here are some tips to ensure the white label SEO partnership works out, based on our experience working with agencies across the world.
Get The Pricing Right
Hopefully, by now, you've got an idea of how to markup your white label SEO properly.
If your client is happy and the numbers work, then this will set the partnership up for long-term success.
Ask For Proof
Another very important aspect of white label SEO is trust, and this comes through proof of concept.
Ask your white label SEO provider for case studies of client websites they have worked on and what results they have gotten. Make sure the case studies are up to date, and ask for hard proof where it is possible, such as live sharing google analytics or search console data.
Test Run
Another easy way to build trust is to do a test run with one client for one month.
This way, you get to see exactly what is being done by the white label SEO provider, how it feels to work with them, communication, and much more.
At GrubSEO, we offer 50% off the first month of any campaign, meaning you get to try out our services with as little risk as possible.
