Hi all, I'm building a scope of work for SEO writers for the B2B space (non-technical) and looking for guidance on the typical cost for a 1,000-1,500 word article. What's the typical cost? Do SEO writers typically charge a project rate (per article) or hourly rate? If hourly, is 3-4 hours a reasonable estimate for content creation plus one round of feedback, assuming we're providing the keywords and top ranking URLs.

Cost can be anything from $100-$1,500+ for a 1,000-1,500-word article, depending on the writer’s years of experience, level of industry expertise, location, etc. “Typical” would maybe float around $300-500 for the non-technical B2B space (Approx $0.30/word). SEO writers can swing both ways, charging per article or hourly. Many are leaning toward per article as it leads to more pay predictability for all parties involved. Re: if 3-4 hours is a reasonable estimate, I'd say it depends on the amount of effort you want the writer to put into the piece, and how hands-on you'll be with providing them project specs. For example, if you provide a comprehensive SEO brief + proposed outline with keywords, top-ranking URLs, etc (and you don't expect them to do any more than summarize top SERPs and add a unique brand twist), then sure, it could only take them 3-4 hours to write the article (not including edits). But if they need to coordinate with internal or external SMEs, mine voice of customer insights, or any other more time-intensive task, that time estimate could easily double… or triple. En fin, sooo many variables to take into account here. 😅

I estimate 5-6 hours per 1500 word article for myself when I'm building my schedule. That's if I have all the SEO research done for me, a solid brief and an understanding of my topic. I typically charge per article anyways because sometimes it takes longer than that, and agree with the rates above!

The best writers I know charge $0.50/word and take about a 3-5 days to deliver an article.

@gentle-lamp-95006 You already explained this so well😅

Hi Courtney, I'm an SEO content writer and couple of my works have featured on Hackernoon, entrepreneur.com and a couple of other authority websites. I usually charge ($0.30 for a ghostwriting) and (0.20 if I will an author's profile/byline). Feel free to ask for my portfolio and track records)

I'm a UK-based SEO writer in the B2B space and I currently charge £450/piece (or£500 if I know it needs to be over 2,000 words to compete)

The range can vary hugely but I wouldn't go lower than $.20-.$30 per word just for quality reasons. Edit: the per word is just to give you an idea of cost but most writers will charge a flat rate just to make things easier

Thank you for this valuable insight. @gentle-lamp-95006 your detailed explanation is very helpful in understanding an appropriate range to pay based on the output we're looking for.

@victorious-lion-65872 glad you found it useful! Feel free to DM me with any other questions you might have.

I usually see in the $300-400 per post range for that length. I will say though, don’t hire an “seo writer.” Hire a subject matter expert, give them a good brief and some education on writing seo-friendly content, and go from there.