You’ve probably heard of SEO. But what you don’t know is that it does come in different forms and packages that make up for SEO services.

Local SEO services in Kenya can cost anywhere from kes9,548,000 to kes14,584,000, for a website with 100 top-level landing pages and location-specific pages.

A seasoned digital marketer won’t just hire an agency for SEO services; they’d be more specific about what kind of SEO services they’re outsourcing from the agency (Link Building, On-Page SEO, Content Creation, Guest Posting, Local SEO, and more). 

Today, we want to look at Local SEO services in Kenya, specifically the cost of hiring an agency for one.

So, how much does local SEO cost in Kenya? Let’s find out.

The Difference Between Local SEO and SEO (or Generic SEO)

SEO, as you know it (Search Engine Optimization), is the process of optimizing a website’s content to rank high on search engines like Google.

Local SEO, on the other hand, focuses specifically on improving a website’s visibility in local search results. It helps businesses target potential customers within a specific geographic area.

For example, if you own a small coffee shop in Nairobi, local SEO will ensure that when someone searches for “coffee shops near me” or “best coffee in Nairobi,” your business is among the top results shown.

So, while SEO is only interested in ranking your website high on search engines, Local SEO would focus more on increasing organic traffic and leads from the local community of users (in our case, Kenyan users).

Why Local SEO?

Because about 46% of all searches on Google have local intent, with approximately 88% of local searchers taking action within a day (like visiting or calling the business).

Even better, 78% of local mobile searches result in offline purchases. That means that optimizing for local SEO will significantly increase the chances of acquiring new customers.

So, unless you’re targeting an international audience, local SEO is your best bet for acquiring customers and increasing revenue.

But what does this mean in terms of costs? How much should you expect to invest in Local SEO services in Kenya?

We’re here to break it down with numbers and examples.

Who’s Needs Local SEO?

Before we dive into the costs, let’s first identify who would need local SEO services in Kenya.

Local SEO is mainly targeted at small and medium businesses that operate within a specific geographic location, like shops, restaurants, hotels, or even service-based companies like plumbers, dentists, or electricians.

If you’re an online business with no physical address or a larger corporation targeting multiple countries/regions, then generic SEO might be more suited for you.

In other words, if your business relies heavily on local customers, it’s time to invest in Local SEO services.

So, How Much Does Local SEO Cost in Kenya?

Local SEO encompasses many services, each with a price range and package.

The cost also depends on several factors, such as the size of your business, competition within your industry, and the specific services you require.

Mostly, local SEO pricing depends on the scope of work involved, your business type, and the agency you’re outsourcing from.

The Scope of Work

When giving you a quote, an agency will first consider the scope of work involved or how much work they must put in to meet your desired business goals.

Let’s break it down:

Let’s say you’re a dentist in Westlands, Nairobi, with clinics nationwide (one in Thika, Malindi, Mombasa, and Kakamega).

The dental clinics offer a wide range of services, including:  

1.    Teeth Whitening

2.    Crowns & Bridges

3.    Veneers

4.    Dentures

5.    Root Canal Therapy

6.    Tooth Extraction

7.    Dental Implants

8.    Invisalign

9.    Paediatric Dentistry

10.  Orthodontics

11.  Mouth Guards & Night Guards

12.  IV Sedation

13.  Braces

14.  Emergency Dentistry

15.  Metal Braces

16.  Ceramic Braces

17.  Retainers

18.  Cosmetic Dentistry

19.  Gum Disease Prevention & Treatment

20.  Dental X-Rays

Assuming you want to optimize your website for local searches, here’s what you’re looking at in terms of scope of work:

Your business has five locations and twenty different services.

So, the agency will prepare a spreadsheet to list all the locations you’re targeting, all the services you offer, and the work needed.

First, they’ll have to determine how many pages your website needs for all these services.

Each service will need a page dedicated to it.

So, if your website has dentalkenya.com, then here are the pages you’ll need to create and optimize:

  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening
  • dentalkenya.com/crowns-bridges
  • dentalkenya.com//veneers

…and so on for all the twenty services.

These are the top-level pages.

Next, each service will need a location-specific page.

That means you’ll need to have pages for all the services offered in Westlands, Nairobi, and other locations like (Thika, Malindi, Mombasa, and Kakamega)

  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening/westlands
  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening/thika
  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening/malindi
  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening/mombasa
  • dentalkenya.com/teeth-whitening/kakamega

and so on for all services in that specific location.

That translates to 100 pages (20 services x 5 locations).

The Cost of Creating the Necessary Landing Pages

Suppose your website is built on a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, Wix, or Squarespace. In that case, creating a page for each service is just a matter of duplicating an existing page, changing the content to match the service it’s dedicated to, and optimizing images and meta tags.

But if you have a custom-built website from scratch, each page will need development time.

So, let’s do the math:

A page needs content creation, optimization, interlinking, and, in some cases (not always), custom design.

Content Creation

Content Creation (1000 words per page) at kes5 per word (the standard industry price for professional copywriting) will set you back to kes5000 per page.

For 100 pages, that’s ke5*100 = kes500,000

Optimization and Interlinking:

Optimizing every page for maximum visibility should take the SEO team about an hour or two.

At an hourly rate of kes2,000 (the average hourly rate for SEO services in Kenya), that’s kes2,000 – 4000 per page.

Assuming an hour for each page, that would be kes2,000*100 = kes200,000 on the lower side.

And, assuming two hours per page, that would be kes4,000*100 = kes400,000. (more realistic)

Custom Development

If your website has a custom design, creating each page will require time and effort from the development team.

The idea would be to design a simple template that will be used for each page.

So, creating this template would incur an additional cost.

But, let’s use the same rates as in optimization: kes2,000 – 4000 per hour.

Assuming it takes the developer 10 hours to create a simple template that will be used on every page, the cost would range between kes20,000 – 40,000.

If you do not wish to create a landing page for the services and locations, you can ask the agency to use your homepage template as the service template (which we do not recommend)

You won’t need a template for each page. One template should be enough, as it can be duplicated and edited to match each service.

So, if the agency charges you kes20000 to build a landing page template, then it will only cost you kes20,000 for all the pages.

The Cost of Creating 100 Local Landing Pages in Kenya:

Let’s add up all the costs:

  • Content Creation (100 pages x kes5 per word) = kes500,000
  • Optimization and Interlinking – Hourly rate of kes2000 (some agencies have higher hourly rates. That’s the lowest it can get) = kes200,000 – 400,000
  • Custom Development – Hourly rate of kes2000 = kes20,000 – 40,000

That’s a total cost of between ke720,000 and kes940,000.

Remember that this price estimate only covers the cost of creating the pages and feeding them with content.

We’ve not done anything to rank these pages on search engines; that’s another task requiring different resources and skills.

The Cost of Optimizing Each Page

You may be wondering, “How much will it cost to optimize each page?” Well, the answer is not as straightforward.

Again, it depends on the scope of work required to optimize the page.

Here’s what the agency has to do to each page to get it to compete effectively with the other pages in the industry:

  • Off-page Link Building
  • Citations
  • Directory Listing
  • Press Releases
  • Link Inserts
  • Guest Posts
  • Home Page Links
  • Local PR Outreach
  • Keyword Optimization
  • Meta Descriptions and Titles

Each page needs a few, if not all, of the above.

Now, let’s add some numbers:

Off-page Link Building

Each page will need high-quality, relevant backlinks pointing to it.

Assuming you need five links for each page.

That’s 500 backlinks (100 pages x 5 links per page).

The cost of acquiring a high-quality link varies from one agency or freelancer to another, but on average, you’ll be looking at between kes2000 – 10,000 per link.

  • Using the lower end of the scale: kes2000 * 500 links = kes1,000,000
  • Using the higher end of the scale: kes10,000 * 500 links = kes5,000,000

That’s a total cost of between kes1,000,000 and kes5,000,000 for off-page link building alone.

Note: PBNs, spammy links, and link schemes should never be used as they’ll only get Google to penalize your website and ruin your online reputation.

So, think again if you’re considering going to Fiverr or SEO Clerk for cheap backlinks.

In the future, we’ll write an article detailing why those links don’t work or, worse, could harm your website and throw a wrench in all your SEO efforts.

Citations and Directory Listings

Each page needs to be listed on relevant directories and citations.

Assuming an average cost of kes1,000 per listing, that’s ke1000 * 100 pages = kes100,000.

Press Releases

Press releases can help generate buzz and backlinks for your website.

The cost varies depending on the distribution service used and the target audience.

A decent press release distribution agency will charge you between kes5,000 and kes10,000 per release.

Assuming two releases per page: kes10,000 * 100 pages =kes1,000,000

Link Inserts

Some agencies won’t charge you for these, while others will.

The idea is to make sure all the pages are interlinked, with no loose ends.

If the agency charges you kes100 per link insert (assuming three inserts per page): kes100 * 300 = kes30,000

Guest Posts

That is where an industry influencer writes content for your website and links back to it in their post.

The cost varies depending on the influencer’s rates, but you’re looking at between kes20,000 and kes50,000 per post.

Assuming one guest post per page: kes50,000 * 100 pages =kes5,000,000

Home Page Links

You’ve probably heard of Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA).

These two metrics determine how authoritative a website is.

The higher the DA or PA, the easier to rank on search engines.

PA applies to individual pages, while DA applies to the entire website.

Assuming you want links from high-DA or PA websites (kes10,000 per link), that’s kes10,000 * 100 pages =kes1,000,000

Local PR Outreach

If your business has news or events worth sharing with the local media, this is another opportunity for backlinks and brand exposure.

Assuming an average cost of kes5,000 per outreach campaign (some will charge you more), that’s kes5,000 * 100 pages =kes500,000

Keyword Optimization, Meta Descriptions and Titles

Most agencies won’t charge you for this as they’ll have done it with on-page optimization.

But, for the sake of completeness, let’s put kes5,000 per page: kes5000 * 100 pages =kes500,000

Off-Page Link Building (1000,000 to 5,000,000) + Citations (100,000) + Press Releases (1,000,000) + Link Inserts (30,000)+ Guest Posts(5,000,000) + Home Page Links(1,000,000)+ Local PR Outreach(5000 00)

That’s a total optimization cost of between kes8,630,000 and kes13,130,000 for optimizing each page.

Note: This cost estimate is only for optimizing the landing pages we created.

How Much Does It Cost to Design a Website in Kenya?

Additional Costs

Aside from the costs mentioned above, you’ll also incur additional costs:

Here are some of the costs you might incur:

  • Onboarding Cost: This refers to the cost of setting up your account with the agency. It’s where the agency talks to you about your business and goals and does some preliminary work to get things started. It involves getting your website logins, Google Business Profile access, and other relevant information. Expect to pay between kes2,000 and kes20,000 for this.
  • Monthly Meetings or Reports: Depending on the agency, you may be charged a monthly retainer fee to cover consultation and reporting costs. Some agencies charge you per hour of the meeting, while others have a retainer fee. So, if the agency charges you kes2000 per hour and you meet twice a month, that’s kes4,000. Over the year, that’s another kes48,000 going to meetings alone.
  • Keyword Research: Some agencies charge you for keyword research. It is where they identify the keywords to target with your website pages and content. Depending on the number of keywords, this can cost between kes5,000 and kes20,000.
  • Backlink Research: An agency may also do backlink research to see where your competitors get their links and try replicating those efforts. That can cost between kes5,000 and kes20,000.
  • Content Creation: Your website’s blog could use localized content to rank for location-specific keywords. If you’re not a good writer, you’ll need an agency or freelancer to develop high-quality content for your website. Depending on the length and quality of the content, this can cost between kes5,000 and kes20,000 per article.

If you need 20 articles per month:

  • kes5,000 * 20 =kes100,000, on the lower side.
  • kes20,000 * 20 =kes400,000 on the higher side.

Technical SEO (Website Audit): Technical SEO involves optimizing your website’s code and structure to make it more user-friendly and search engine friendly. That can cost between kes20,000 and kes50,000.

Let’s sum it all up:

On the lower side:

  • Onboarding Cost: kes20,000
  • Monthly Meetings or Reports: kes4,000
  • Keyword Research: kes5,000
  • Backlink Research: kes5,000
  • Content Creation: kes100,000
  • Technical SEO (Website Audit): kes20,000

Total Cost: kes198,000

On the higher side:

  • Onboarding Cost: kes20,000
  • Monthly Meetings or Reports:kes4,000
  • Keyword Research: kes20,000
  • Backlink Research: kes20,000
  • Content Creation: kes400,000
  • Technical SEO (Website Audit): kes50,000

Total Cost: kes514,000

The Final Cost

As you can see, the cost of local SEO services encompasses a wide range of services and prices.

Let’s run down all the costs to come up with the final cost of hiring a local SEO agency in Kenya.

The Cost of Creating top-Level Landing Pages and Location-specific Pages: kes720,000 to kes940,000.

The Cost of Optimizing top-level Landing Pages and Location-specific Pages: kes8,630,000 to kes13,130,000

Additional Costs: kes198,000 to kes514,000

That brings the final cost of local SEO services in Kenya to between kes9,548,000 and kes14,584,000.

Payment Modules and Installments

It doesn’t matter if you DIY or engage an agency; local SEO is expensive and too much work. You’ll need a team to get around everything we’ve mentioned and the technical know-how and experience to make it work.

If you go the DIY way, you’ll have to pay for tools (Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, etc.), and the time and effort you’ll put into it.

Still, there won’t be much difference in the total cost, considering you’ll still need to hire writers, reach out to journalists and bloggers, keep up with the latest SEO trends, etc.

Therefore, it’s best to work with an agency that offers flexible payment modules and installments to make the cost more manageable for your business.

How Agencies in Kenya Price their Local SEO Services

Agencies work with your budget. If kes9,548,000 is too much for you to invest in local SEO services right away, they’ll work with a smaller budget, and do it bit by bit.

You don’t have to do everything at once. You can start by creating one landing page, optimizing it, and moving on to the next. You can then add more pages as you go along.

Local SEO agencies in Kenya also offer different pricing models, such as project-based or retainer-based.

In the project-based model, they’ll charge you a one-time fee for a specific project, while in the retainer-based model, they’ll charge you a monthly fee for continuous services.

Why Zelisline?

Our tagline is “We Grow Together” because we believe that the success of our clients is also our success.

We offer competitive pricing and flexible payment modules to cater to different needs and budgets. You can get our local SEO services for as little as kes5,000 per month.

Our pricing models are also transparent, and we provide detailed reports on the progress of your campaign.

Email us detailing your business and SEO goals, and we’ll provide you with a personalized quote based on your budget and requirements.