Ask three companies in Kathmandu what SEO costs and the answers will be far apart. Usually they are quoting for different work. One means a single clean-up of your page titles. Another means new pages every month, your Google Business Profile and a monthly report. This guide lists what changes the price, so you can compare quotes properly.
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the work that helps your website show up when people search Google for what you sell. We do it for businesses too, and we don't publish a price list, because no two sites need the same work. What we can show you is what goes into the number.
1. The size and state of your site
A five-page site is a smaller job than a shop with three hundred products. The state of the site matters as much as its size. If pages load slowly, links are broken or Google can't read some pages, those fixes come first, and they are in the quote whether it says so or not.
2. A one-time clean-up or monthly work
A one-time job fixes what is wrong today: a title and description for each page, broken pages, a sitemap, and Search Console set up. Monthly work carries on after that, with new pages, checks and a report. Many quotes are monthly, so ask what happens each month and what you get at the end of it.
3. How many things you sell, and where
Each search your customers type needs a page that answers it. A clinic in one area needs a few pages. A company with ten services in five cities needs far more. List the services and places that matter to you before you ask for quotes, so every company prices the same thing.
4. Who writes the new pages
Most of SEO is writing: pages that answer what people search for, in the words they use. If you write them, or hand over the facts ready, the job is shorter. If the company has to research and write every page, that time is in the quote, or it should be.
5. Google Business Profile
Your Business Profile is what shows in Google Maps, and beside the results when someone searches your name. Creating one is free. The work is getting it verified, keeping your hours, photos and services up to date, and replying to reviews. For a shop or clinic people visit, it is often the first thing they see. Some companies quote for it on its own.
6. Links from other sites
Links from other websites help Google trust yours. Earning them takes time: a listing in the right directories, a local news story, a partner who mentions you. Be careful with a quote that promises hundreds of links a month. Buying links breaks Google's spam rules, and a site that does it can rank lower or drop out of results.
7. Reports you can check
Search Console is Google's free tool that shows which searches bring people to your site and how often your pages appear. A useful report shows those numbers and lists what was changed that month. A report that only shows a few chosen keywords at their best position tells you little.
What to ask before you pay
- What exactly will you do in the first month, and in each month after?
- Is the fee fixed and written down?
- Will my website need to be changed or rebuilt?
- Where will new links come from?
- Will I see the Search Console numbers, and keep every login if we stop?
When a company first looks at your site, give it read-only access to Search Console, as Google suggests. And be careful with anyone who promises first place. Google's advice to site owners says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." It also says appearing in its normal results costs nothing, so nobody needs to pay to be "submitted" to Google. Read Google's guide to hiring an SEO before you sign anything.
How we price SEO
We start with a short call about what you sell and who buys it, then look at your site as it is today. You get the list of work and a fixed fee in writing before anything starts. We usually work on the site you already have. Our own SEO team does the work, the same titles, page fixes, Business Profile and new pages it does on this website. See how we do SEO for businesses.
If your site needs work first, read what changes the cost of a website in Nepal. If you would rather learn SEO yourself, start with how to learn SEO step by step with free tools.
