How much should I charge a client for Web Design/SEO services?

[Christopher]

I've studied SEO for the last two years and done some SEO freelance for clients with good results. As a freelancer jack of all trades type, I never thought about doing SEO and Web Design strictly as a business until recently when I realized it was time to make a decision on what I wanted my main focus to be on. I firmly believe I know a lot about the internet and webpages and am currently a search engine evaluator full-time, so I believe I know enough knowledge on the subject, but don't have enough hands on experience yet to fully make a business out of it. So that means practice and a family friend wants me to redesign his website and add SEO, so now I have an opportunity to practice it. The thing is since I've only done aspects of certain services and never the whole deal, I really don't know what to charge him. Since it's a given opportunity and I'm a beginner I was thinking something low like $300, but now that's I've done more research I see that top companies are making at least $5000 a month, if not more. I'm not at the top, I'm just a beginner. Obviously I don't think I should make that much, but for the amount of time it will take $300 sounds like a joke. What's a fair price? I want to give him a good price since I'm just starting out and this could be an opportunity to get recommended to the hundreds of other businesses he frequently networks with.

[Marcus Darrah]

It actually depends what you have done for clients.

[Krista Brown]

It really depends. You see prices running the entire gamut, which can lead to wonder whether the low prices really know what they're doing, and if the super high prices are ripping people off.

What I would do is compile a list of SEO services you have done in the past and are capable of doing, and figure how much you charged for them. Then figure out how much time it takes you do it. SEO is HIGHLY subjective and individual, so if you're doing broad SEO for someone, you need to talk to them and discuss exactly what they are looking for and what their expectations are and what you can do to meet them. Then, based on the services you will need to provide and the length of time, you come up with a quote for your service.