Separate the work streams
List diagnosis, engineering, research, content production and maintenance separately. An audit without implementation capacity may never change the site. Ask which files will be delivered, who will make the changes and how the changes will be checked. Tool subscriptions and writing costs should be visible rather than hidden in an ambiguous retainer.
Use your own planning assumptions
The calculator accepts your hours and hourly rate. Its output is a planning estimate, not a market price survey. A contingency should cover named uncertainties such as migration redirects. Hours purchased do not guarantee rankings: competition, website quality and search systems also affect the outcome.
Compare an identical scope
Give both suppliers the same page inventory and task list. Inspectable deliverables include URL inventories, prioritised defects, implemented changes and before-and-after checks. Specify ownership of content and accounts, cancellation terms and reporting frequency. A cheaper offer may exclude the engineering that makes the recommendations useful.
- Scope
- Hours
- Dependencies
- Acceptance
Worked example
Illustrative calculation, not a recommended rate: 12 diagnostic hours + 18 engineering hours + 10 writing hours = 40 hours. At €75 per hour with a 15% contingency, the labour estimate is €3,450 before tax and any external expenses.
Make it practical
Budget planner
Calculated on your device. Nothing is submitted to a server. Educational examples, without traffic or revenue promises.
Check before moving on
These checkboxes are not saved.
Sources & method
Sources reviewed on 1 October 2026. Worked calculations use explicitly hypothetical inputs.
Topic provenance: SEO : Comment estimer le prix d’une prestation ? (2009-01). Search Engine Feng Shui. This record does not confirm an individual byline.
This guide is newly written in 2026. It does not reproduce the earlier text and is not attributed to its historical author.