This transformation threatens to upend the traditional agency model in three ways:
- Dramatically lower costs.
- Automate technical capabilities.
- Provide unbiased, data-driven decisions.
Yet, this disruption might lead to industry consolidation and expansion as fewer but larger agencies emerge to serve an expanding market of SEO adopters.
This article looks at how to survive the new agency economics.
The economics of disruption
Today’s SEO agency model typically involves monthly retainers ranging from $2,000 to $20,000, depending on the scope and complexity of services.
Even with premium pricing, AI-powered platforms might deliver comparable or superior results for a fraction of the cost – perhaps $500 to $2,000 monthly.
This dramatic price differential doesn’t just create competition; it fundamentally challenges the sustainability of traditional agency pricing structures.
Consider a mid-sized ecommerce website currently paying $5,000 monthly for SEO services.
An AI platform could deliver automated technical audits, content optimization recommendations, and competitive analysis for $750 monthly.
Even if the platform doubled or tripled its prices, it would remain significantly more cost-effective than traditional agency services.
At the same time, it provides in-house marketers with enough SEO expertise to tackle the job themselves, maximizing in-house budget.
For the SEO agency, this threat needs to be taken seriously.
When the clients can choose a platform over an agency, the agency model will hit a stumbling block.
The automated technical evolution
The technical capabilities of AI platforms represent the most immediate threat to traditional agencies.
These systems can now:
- Automatically detect and prioritize technical SEO issues.
- Generate and implement fixes for common problems.
- Monitor site health in real time.
- Adapt to algorithm updates more quickly than human teams.
- Assess competitor code changes to see impact across sites.
This automated approach has a significant impact on those skilled in technical SEO.
Even recently, we used AI to identify code-related issues in a client’s site that were not identified by traditional SEO tools.
As AI becomes more embedded within web and SEO platforms, we’ll see the value of technical expertise reduce.
This isn’t hype. The rise of no-code platforms is proof of this.
The benefit that tech SEOs should bring to their clients is knowing what needs doing and when based on experience.
But in an AI code era, websites can be made technically perfect and even “self-heal” code issues – essentially making tech SEO irrelevant.
The trust factor (No more snake oil)
The SEO industry has always had its share of spam.
A quick search online, and within seconds, you’ll find someone promising instant rankings for a cheap monthly fee.
It’s natural for agencies to prioritize their needs. They will sell a dream that will burn the industry one client at a time.
SEO-powered platforms change this.
These platforms provide unbiased, data-based advice.
They can see links being added, content changed, and technical fixes made, and they can track the results across sectors.
This feedback allows these tools to provide unbiased, non-agency advice.
And don’t think this is not going to happen.
Soon, SEO platforms will be able to look at any website and show all the changes and how they impacted SEO results.
It’s just a matter of time.
Weeks, months, or maybe a few years. But it’s coming.
OK, so that’s all the bad news.
What should you do?
The agency response
SEO agencies cannot sit on the fence right now.
The last few years have been mainly carnage for the SEO and content industry, and we have seen the freelancer market boom as agencies struggle to grow.
However, we need to understand that agencies suffered an artificial boost after COVID-19, and as such, we saw them grow far faster than they would have usually.
And then we’ve seen an overcorrection due to global economic issues.
Today, we are entering a lean phase in SEO, one in which AI efficiencies will lead to the greatest and most powerful agencies.