At Bushwillow Media, we are all about helping our clients become more profitable while not having to stress or overthink how they do it. Our SEO services in South Africa, which are guided by our content knowledge, help clients to effortlessly make their mark online.

Every person researching ways to market their business will come across the suggestion of looking for an SEO company in South Africa when they use Google.co.za. SEO is the ultimate form of digital marketing, and yet for those who have not yet tried it out and for those who have had a terrible past experience with an agency, it is still a bit of a grey area.

There aren’t all that many SEO Companies in South Africa that can live up to the expectations they set. Many are in it for quick money and will unashamedly overcharge clients while under delivering on those sweet, sweet promises, while others just don’t know quite what they are doing.

You would not be the first person to be sitting in front of their computer, wondering how on earth you are going to navigate digital marketing, all while trying to successfully run your business, but we can tell you that when you place your online presence in the right kind of hands, you will see results and you’ll have fewer sleepless nights.

When you are working with the right SEO company in South Africa, you don’t have to beg and plead for work to be done, to be communicated with in a way and at a frequency that you’d like, and you don’t have to micro-manage the agency. Building a relationship with a trusted SEO agency in South Africa doesn’t have to take time, it should come naturally, and it should result in you feeling confident in the agency and what it can do for you.

If you’ve been hurt in the past and you’re having a tough time deciding to work with a new agency, then you have come to the right place. We don’t promise what we can’t do and we like to send weekly updates on what we’ve done so that you are always in the know. We also like to have our clients well-informed about SEO, and we want you to be happy with the service you are getting.

Unlike the other “top SEO companies in South Africa”, we offer a more personalised service and we are always ready to take your call. To help you settle into the world of SEO and to help you decide if we are one of the SEO Companies in South Africa that you should contact, we’re kicking this relationship off by getting you more in the know.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and it is the highly effective and popular digital marketing method that is used to get a website to rank highly on a Google Search Result. All of the website’s you see on the first page of Google are there because they are considered the best optimised and most informative by Google and as such they are rewarded for the effort put in.

SEO basically gives Google what it wants by making sure that a website is not only fully optimised for the keywords the website best represents, but SEO also makes sure that the website is packed full of high quality information and the best kinds of content.

The end goal is to get a website ranking highly on a search engine and as such make it more visible for those who are looking for it. With SEO in South Africa, you can reach a bigger audience, and you won’t have to be confined by your geographical location. By running a well optimised online shop, you can grow a business on a dime and if you are looking to start a business on the side, or if you are a one person show and you want to keep the money coming in, SEO is one of the most efficient marketing techniques to keep you afloat.

Compared to other types of advertising, SEO is a lot cheaper and it can take your company a lot further, basically meaning you can reach more people with less money. And in this day and age, with so many more people looking for products and services like yours on the web, it would be a huge mistake to not at the very least have a website and a social media presence. When you are ready to go to the next step in your development, you can begin the search for an SEO company in South Africa to give you the leg up that you deserve.

SEO will generally be useful for all major search engines, although most people use Google as their primary search engine. SEO in South Africa, when used on its own, can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool. But when it is combined with traditional marketing practices and other types of digital marketing, such as social media advertising, SEO can become the best investment you could make in order to give your company more visibility. Although SEO is fairly modern, it is an online marketing practice that has been around for decades and it has a proven track record for success.

Some companies using SEO in South Africa have increased their sales by as much as 200% within 3 to 6 months. Long term SEO can both continue to bring in leads and it can also cement a business’s place as the best company in its particular field.

SEO is for every company, although some benefit more from it than others. If you are selling online, or looking to find customers outside of your usual word of mouth circle, using SEO can be the better option, when you compare it to more traditional forms of marketing.

SEO is known for its cost-effectiveness and also for its longevity. This is the complete opposite of traditional marketing, which can cost a company a small fortune and only be effective in the moment.

Keywords meet Authentic, Natural Content

Without Keywords, there is no SEO. Keywords are what drives clients to your website. These are the search terms used by Google users to find whatever it is that they are looking for. The only approach to SEO is that which starts with in depth keyword research. In a combined effort, the client is expected and always should, provide keywords that they think potential clients might use to look for the products or services offered by the company, while the best SEO companies in South Africa will then use these terms to fine tune the Keyword research, adding to it and adapting it until there is a viable strategy.

This is just the very start of the process.

After the keywords have been discovered and the client is in agreement with using them on the site, the next step is to create the content. The content process shouldn’t be rushed, instead it should be carefully thought out and well planned, and content should always be written authentically and in the right tone.

For us to achieve this, we send our clients a couple of questions, ensuring that we can create brief that will result in content that sounds just like what our clients want. Guessing games have no place in content creation, and unlike other SEO companies in South Africa we ensure that the content is fresh, original and a good representation of your company.

Experience Driven Technical

Content and the accompanying tweaks done to the visible parts of the website are without a doubt important, but some thought and careful planning also needs to be given to the technical side of the website.

The best SEO companies in South Africa are not only knowledgeable when it comes to working on the technical aspects, but they are also experienced, something that in the SEO world is sometimes more important than what can be learned online.

“How much does SEO cost a month? How much does SEO cost for a small business? How much do SEO services cost?”

Before you hire your forever SEO company in South Africa, you need answers to the all-important questions about how much you are going to be forking out a month for your digital marketing. Any money leaving your pocket needs to be money well spent, so the questions around what SEO costs in South Africa are the first you need answered.

SEO in South Africa is usually priced according to what you want to achieve. And the prices are generally determined by the agency, and how much they feel their services are worth. Local SEO, which is designed to reach a small area like a town or even a neighbourhood, can start from around R2500 to R5000 depending on what the service includes, while HUGE global packages can easily set you back R50 000.

It might sound as though SEO is expensive, but you need to put things into context. If you are paying R5000 for SEO each month, and the site is making you R30 000 a week because you are more visible to clients, the SEO cost is actually quite low. And the amount that you make can actually increase over time as your website continues to climb up the Google search results.

SEO can be a very expensive investment, and even the cheapest SEO in South Africa is going to cost you, but the return on your investment, and the fact that SEO works as a long-term form of digital marketing, makes every cent you spend worth it.

When it comes to SEO prices South Africa, it helps to understand that SEO shouldn’t be offered as a standard type of package. Each and every company is unique, with unique needs and a unique client base. While some SEO elements are going to be a fairly standard sort of thing, others are not, and what will grow your business online, might not grow another’s. When you are looking at SEO prices South Africa, look for an agency that offers a more customised service. They can display packages but they should offer you some wiggle room and they should also be able to present you with a proper proposal outlining what they can and will do for you, deadlines and any other bells and whistles they can add to your campaign. Knowing what you’ll get will have you feeling more confident and comfortable with paying the price for SEO in South Africa.

Every SEO company in South Africa marketing themselves brazenly as the best there is, is kind of showing off. What we mean is they are calling themselves the best, it is not like they have been awarded this honour. SEO companies like to use terms like “best SEO company in South Africa” and “award winning SEO company in South Africa” to get your attention, and let’s face it, it works! You asked this question after all.

There are no awards given to SEO agencies, it doesn’t really work that way as South Africa doesn’t have an award system for SEO agencies. There are marketing awards, but they are usually focused on all-round marketing agencies. If you are being wooed by an SEO agency saying that they are award winning, ask to see the award, because if you are starting off your relationship with the “best SEO company in South Africa” on a lie, it’s probably not going to be a great relationship.

If you are looking for a genuine answer to this question, then here it is. The best SEO company in South Africa is the company that lives up to your expectations, gives you the results you want, and is able to do so within your budget. The best SEO companies in South Africa are professional and serious about what they do, and they will be honest in what they can deliver. They will also be able to show you data and give you advice for growing your business. The best sort of SEO company will also be a team you feel comfortable working with. Sometimes, it is just who you connect with best who will be just the digital marketing partner you are looking for.

There is no special magic wand that will get your business to rank, just know-how, long hours and hard work.

When you are looking for the best SEO company in South Africa, ignore the bells and whistles, the fancy talk and the showmanship. Go with a laidback, humble company that will take your call, send you reports and get your business where it deserves to be on the web.

Aside from delivering on promises of getting you ranking in all the right places and growing your revenue through the web, there are some other things that you should expect from your SEO company in South Africa.

Honest, clear communication

If the SEO company in South Africa can’t even keep in contact with you, they are not a great fit. You might not want to hear from them on a daily basis, but if you never hear from them at all, but they happily invoice you come month end, you are probably not going to be all that happy are you? You should expect to hear about what it is that the SEO company is doing on your site, and how the site is growing at least once a month and you should also expect the SEO company to inform you about new online trends in your industry so that you can tweak your business and move in new money making directions.

Rankings and Leads

No SEO company can promise conversions, because they can only take your business so far. What this means is that while they should be getting you leads, it is up to you to make the conversion. To get you to this point, the point where customers are contacting you on a daily basis, the SEO company needs to deliver the leads through the ranking, which is achieved through the SEO.

Wow, that was a mouthful! But it makes sense right? You should expect good rankings and the leads, and if the SEO company can’t deliver on that, within at least 3 – 6 months, drop, you deserve so much better, it’s time to breakup.

Variety

And SEO company that just offers SEO…wow, revolutionary. We’re being snarky we know, but why would you want to work with an agency that only offers one kind of service? Maybe you also need product photography and social media, and now you have to start the search all over again. When hiring an SEO company, ask what else they can do for you.

Any SEO company worth its salt is going to be able to show you that you are good. According to industry experts, even if the SEO company has not yet got you into a more visible spot on Google, as long as there are able to show you a report on what they have been doing and how your site is improving in the search results, you are probably in good hands.

Pair regular reporting and evidence of work being done, with open and honest communication, idea sharing and an on going working relationship that makes you feel heard and understood, and you have a good SEO company.

Getting to know more about the company you are working with, or thinking about working with, is one task you should prioritise.

1. What services does your SEO company offer in South Africa?
2. How experienced is your SEO team in working with South African businesses?
3. Can you provide examples or case studies of successful SEO campaigns you have implemented for clients in South Africa?
4. What is your approach to keyword research and selection for SEO in South Africa?
5. How do you ensure that my website adheres to the latest SEO best practices and guidelines in South Africa?
6. Will you perform an audit of my website to identify any technical issues that may be impacting SEO performance in South Africa?
7. What strategies will you use to improve my website’s visibility in search engines specifically for South African audiences?
8. How do you determine the effectiveness and success of your SEO campaigns in South Africa?
9. Will you provide regular reports and updates on the progress of my SEO campaign, including key metrics and rankings?
10. Do you have experience with local SEO for businesses targeting specific regions or cities within South Africa?
11. How do you handle link building for SEO in South Africa? Can you explain your approach to acquiring high-quality backlinks?
12. Will you provide guidance and recommendations for improving the content on my website to align with SEO goals in South Africa?
13. Can you assist with optimising my website for mobile devices, considering the high mobile usage in South Africa?
14. What is your pricing structure for SEO services in South Africa? Are there any additional costs or hidden fees?
15. How long will it take to see results from your SEO efforts in South Africa, and what can I expect in terms of organic traffic growth and search engine rankings?

Hiring an SEO company is a great way to get things done fast and done right. When you hire someone to do your SEO for you, it is one less thing on your to-do list and you also don’t have to worry about making a mistake. That said, you can absolutely do the SEO yourself, but it is going to take you a bit of time learning how to get things going, and like all of us when we started out, you are going to make a couple of mistakes that could end up doing some harm to your rankings. We have no doubt you’ll be able to correct any mistakes you make if you DIY your SEO, but if you get stuck, you can always give us a call to pull you out of the Google deep end.

Many businesses choose to hire an SEO company in South Africa based simply on the fact that it will save them time. SEO can be the sort of thing that you have to devote whole days to doing right and to keeping maintained. It also takes quite a lot of time to train yourself. When you weigh up SEO prices in South Africa vs. the time it takes to do the SEO, you’ll see it’s worth paying the money for. Essentially, SEO is a fulltime job.

You are hiring an SEO company to get you ranking faster than if you didn’t, and that means money in your pocket.

We believe that once you get ranking, the cost of your SEO will become quite insignificant, making it one of the most cost-effective investments in your company that you will ever make. Before you sign an SEO contract, be sure that you are financially and mentally prepared to spend 6 months on the project. SEO is an organic form of online marketing, which means the results are never instant. If you are in talks with an agency that offers instant results, you are probably discussing paid for Google AdWords rather than organic SEO. Be sure that when you are discussing your marketing that you know what you are agreeing to.

It is also important to note that SEO is not something that works for every sort of company. SEO is great for some industries but it just doesn’t give good results for every kind of business. When you first start looking for an SEO company in South Africa, discussions should include keyword research that’ll show you that SEO is the right fit for you.

The most obvious way that you can see that your SEO is working is going to be through the number of leads you are getting. You won’t necessarily see the leads coming through via the website, because some customers will find your website and then call you or email you, but you will see an increase in the amount of business that you are getting. The SEO companies for small businesses in South Africa, and big for that matter, should be focusing campaigns on getting you more leads, no matter how they reach you.

Another way you can see if it is working, is to Google your keywords and then manually check where you are sitting on the search results. This is not a fool proof or often very trustworthy method, because it can be heavily influenced by how often you’ve Googled your keywords (the search engine will see that you like that keyword and that favouring could affect the results) and it will also be influenced by where you are Googling from.

The most trustworthy way that you can check if your SEO is working is to look at the data. The best SEO companies in South Africa are going to send you monthly reports to show you how your website is growing, using data shared with them by Google.

Knowing how to choose the best SEO services in South Africa is going to be the difference between selecting something that works for you and something that eats your budget and gives you nothing in return.

We like our clients to be knowledgeable and in control when selecting their SEO services in South Africa, so we’ve created a quick and easy guide that we hope will answer most of your pressing questions.

Many SEO companies market their services as a package, because in most cases the basics stay the same no matter which package you choose. Not all SEO packages in South Africa are suitable for every type of company looking to start marketing online. For this reason, it doesn’t help to opt for a one size fits all SEO service in South Africa.

When choosing SEO packages in South Africa you should always have an idea about the area that you want to target. Usually the price for SEO in South Africa is related to the area you want to reach, which can be local, as in your community or town, provincial, national or international. Packages that cover more than a local scope will cost more not only because more work needs to be put in but also because more keywords are generally added to the site, for maximum effect.

If this is your first time using SEO packages in South Africa, do your research, ask around and find someone you are comfortable working with.

At Bushwillow Media, we might not be a 20 man strong team, but being smaller allows us to work exclusively on a small handful of clients, and not get overstretched. With our approach, you will be kept in the know and after a few short months, reap the rewards of a campaign that will stretch on for years, with a little bit of upkeep.

One thing that everyone wants to know is how much SEO costs. The answer is that the SEO process is largely unregulated and as a result even the best SEO companies in South Africa are going to determine their own prices, based on their own list of criteria.

But there are a few standard things that are included, or at the very least taken into consideration, when packages are created.

SEO prices in South Africa are often determined by the difficulty of the keywords and the area that company is aiming for. Local SEO (regional and provincial) using mostly easy to rank for keywords (small, locally focused businesses and niche companies) should result in a cheaper package, while more difficult keywords (usually those related to the accommodation, insurance, travel and car sales industry) and a wider area (national and global).

The more difficult the keywords and the greater the target area, the more expensive an SEO package is likely to be.

Other factors that can affect the SEO price is the added extras. Some agencies, like ours, will include some of the content as a part of the package, while others can charge an additional fee for content creation. Some agencies might also choose to include a monthly blog if you are buying a monthly package.

We like to give our clients all the information that they might need in order to make a good choice when investing in SEO. We want you to feel comfortable and confident about spending your money on this kind of marketing, and while we feature generalised packages on our website, we prefer to customise our packages so that our clients receive a service that actually gives them a good return on their investment, rather than offer them a general approach to marketing that might very well not work.

We specialise in local, provincial and national SEO in South Africa, but we do occasionally take on international clients who want a more personalised service. We are also more than happy to offer our clients cheap SEO packages in South Africa, a service we market towards smaller companies and start-ups. We fully understand that in 2023, many companies are looking to save money and want to work with SEO companies in South Africa who are willing to give discounts and offer specials. With our cheap SEO packages in South Africa, we try to cater to everyone who contacts us.

Search Engine Optimisation is used to make a website more visible. Websites that rank on the first page of Google tend to be treated with more trust and as such visitors assume the company is the best in their field. There is some truth to this, as the companies that invest in SEO usually offer a great product or service to back up their Google position.

Aside from growing your business by using SEO to bring in more customers, you can also use your website to bring in an income through affiliate marketing and Google AdSense. Both of these options will generally work better on interesting blog sites and sites offering unique and useful information.

We focus predominantly on ranking and growing businesses through straightforward SEO and other forms of marketing.

It is true that SEO is not suitable for all kinds of businesses, as some companies just don’t see a great return on investment through SEO as they do through other forms of marketing.

For small businesses, SEO is a great option, especially in 2023. Small businesses have to work a lot harder to get their names out there and SEO can really give the business a leg up, allowing them to be competitive with the already well established bigger names who are offering the same thing. With more traditional marketing, it would take a whole lot longer to grow and it would be a whole lot more difficult to be competitive, but with SEO the process can be both faster and cheaper.

In 2023, it is still worth hiring someone to do SEO for you and we are not just saying that because we offer SEO as a service. SEO is insanely time consuming, not just the initial setup but also the lots of maintenance that needs to be done afterwards. Good SEO will also include things like blogging and you will also need to do backlinking, and both of these practices take lots of time and effort that you could be dedicating to your business (or you could be taking some time off), if you hiring someone to do your SEO for you.

The best types of SEO packages in South Africa are affordable and include everything necessary for growing your online presence.

You can typically find various SEO packages in South Africa, including local SEO packages, regional or provincial SEO packages, niche-specific SEO packages, and even one-time SEO packages for specific optimisation tasks.

The right SEO package depends on your business goals and budget.

Some of the factors to consider include things like your target audience, geographical reach, and specific SEO needs when making your choice. When selecting a package it is also important to make sure that the company you are considering is one that you can work with. Some companies will make a great first impression and then when it comes to the work, they just don’t live up to your expectations. You don’t need a swoony sweet talker, you need a company that will get you ranking.

SEO packages in South Africa often include services such as keyword research, on-page optimisation, content creation, link building, technical SEO audits, and performance reporting. They are generally offered on a monthly basis rather than a once off sort of thing, although you do get highly effective once off SEO package that are perfect for smaller companies looking to rank in their small town, village or neighbourhood.

SEO is a long-term strategy, and the results it provides can vary depending on factors like online competition, keyword difficulty, and the quality of your SEO package. Typically, it may take several months (up to 6 in some cases) to start seeing noticeable improvements in your website’s rankings and traffic. While some people might give up on their SEO when they don’t see immediate results and as such chop and change agencies, something which will eventually do more harm than good.

Yes, many SEO companies in South Africa, including ours, offer affordable packages tailored to small businesses. These packages are designed to provide essential SEO services at a budget-friendly price point and although they are cheap they should include all of the necessary factors to get you ranking.

In many ways, the South African SEO industry is considered ahead of its time and a lot more accessible and sought after than the SEO industry in other countries.

The best South African SEO providers have a deep understanding of the local market, the language and the national personality, and the various cultural nuances. This local expertise can be valuable when optimising your website for a South African audience.

Some SEO packages in South Africa may include content creation and copywriting services, ours does. Choosing an SEO company in South Africa that offers content creation and copywriting services as part of their package can be particularly advantageous, as high-quality content is essential for SEO success.

SEO results cannot be guaranteed due to the dynamic nature of search engine algorithms. However, reputable providers will strive to deliver measurable improvements in your website’s performance and rankings. The SEO companies in South Africa will also be dedicated to keeping up with all of the latest Google updates.

Many SEO providers in South Africa offer flexibility to customise SEO packages based on your unique requirements. In fact, if you can find an SEO agency in South Africa who offers tailored services to align with your business goals, they could be the best option for you.

Regular reporting is common in South African SEO packages. You should expect to receive updates on the progress of your campaign, including key metrics and insights about once a month if you are working with an on-going package. If you have a once off package, you can expect to only get one report updating you on what has been done on your site.

Reputable SEO providers in South Africa should be transparent about costs. However, it’s essential to clarify all pricing details and potential additional expenses before signing up for a package. Know what you are paying for, and also don’t be shy to ask about what other services the company can provide, as it can be better to get all of your digital marketing services done by one company. Not only can this help to reduce your online marketing costs but it can also ensure that your marketing stays consistent.