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With a flood of options and claims of “top rankings” and “guaranteed results,” pinpointing the right fit for your business’ SEO needs can be challenging. Hiring an incompetent SEO “expert” could result in lower rankings and missed opportunities to find and engage your audience. Plus, if you have a tight budget, you don’t want to waste it on something ineffective.
I’ve spent weeks analyzing freelance websites, focusing on those that attract genuine, proficient SEO specialists. These platforms not only host a pool of talented individuals but also give you access to detailed freelancer profiles, project portfolios, and client testimonials to help you make an informed decision.
After extensive research and testing, I’ve identified the top six freelance SEO specialist websites where you can find reliable SEO experts. I’ll list them in this article and explain what makes each unique. I’ll also share my top 3 SEO specialists with you. So, read on if you’re looking to enhance your website’s search engine ranking.
What We Look For in the Best Freelance SEO Specialist Websites
In my search, I prioritized specific features and benefits that enhance your experience when hiring SEO specialists.
SEO category filters. I included platforms with effective category filters that streamline the search process, saving you time and effort.
Wide range of SEO services. Diversity in service offerings ensures you can find specialists for every SEO need, from keyword research to link building. All my recommended websites excel in this aspect.
Competitive and transparent pricing. I only included platforms with clear pricing structures so you can make informed budget decisions. Plus, some of my recommendations are very cost-effective and suitable for tight budgets.
Experienced freelancers. I selected websites that provide valuable insights into their freelancers’ SEO experience and skills to help you with your selection process. Some of these websites have a rigorous vetting process for their freelancers, so you’re only working with experts.
Hire an SEO specialist on Fiverr for $5
Fiverr is the best website for hiring cost-effective freelance SEO specialists. You can find SEO services for as low as $5. However, this $5 mark is for less complex services like do-follow backlinks. More complex services, like increasing your domain rating, typically start from about $20, which is still very affordable compared to other platforms.
Tens of thousands of SEO specialists are on Fiverr. Don’t be overwhelmed – Fiverr’s filters make narrowing down your search results easy. You can filter results by skill categories (like off-page SEO, on-page SEO, keyword research, etc.). You can also filter by budget, industry (such as real estate, health & wellness, gaming, etc.), and more.
If you’ve had experience with SEO experts who make guarantees, fail to keep them, and run away with your money, Fiverr’s got you. The funds are held in escrow whenever you make payments, so if you’re not satisfied with your seller’s service, you can request a full refund.
Features
Seller rating. Fiverr’s rating system ranks SEO specialists according to their experience, customer rating, and response time, so you can easily assess how qualified and reliable an SEO specialist is.
Fast delivery. Some Fiverr SEO experts offer add-ons whereby they’d deliver their service faster than their standard delivery time but for an extra cost.
Secure messaging. Fiverr’s secure messaging feature allows you to communicate safely and effectively with SEO experts. This ensures that your project details remain confidential and secure.
Multiple languages. Fiverr has a large pool of SEO specialists who speak various languages, so you can optimize your website in different languages.
Find your ideal SEO specialist with Upwork’s search filterDue to its comprehensive project management tools, Upwork is best for long-term SEO projects. Time-intensive tasks like keyword research, on-page optimization, and content creation require ongoing attention and collaboration. Upwork’s platform facilitates this with text and video chat, a work diary, file sharing, advanced reporting, and payroll features, making it ideal for sustaining long-term relationships.
Like Fiverr, Upwork has an advanced search filter that makes it easy to find the type of SEO specialist you’re looking for. You can find anything, whether a local SEO expert with an hourly rate of $10, an SEO keyword researcher with a $30/hr rate, or even a mix of both.
Upwork’s SEO specialists typically charge by the hour, which is a bit pricier than Fiverr’s entry-level options. However, you can still find experts who work for as low as $5-$10/hr. Some have a 100% job success rate (which means all their past clients reported a great experience) and have earned over $100,000 on Upwork – proof that people keep entrusting them with SEO projects.
Features
Payment Protection plan. Upwork’s Payment Protection plan allows you to file a dispute and get your money back if you are unsatisfied with your freelancer’s work.
Job posting. While Upwork’s advanced filters are pretty effective for finding your ideal SEO professional, you can alternatively post a job with your specific requirements.
Detailed profiles and portfolios. Each freelancer’s profile includes their work experience, formal education, and a portfolio of their past SEO projects, providing you with enough information to select an SEO specialist.
Time tracker. If you’re paying for long-term or hourly projects, you can use Upwork’s time tracker app to ensure your freelancer only logs billable time when working on your task.
Hire a freelance SEO developer on ToptalToptal receives about 100,000 freelancer applications annually, but only 3% are accepted due to Toptal’s rigorous screening process. As a result, Toptal doesn’t have as many freelance SEO specialists as Fiverr and Upwork.
While it may have fewer options than Fiverr or Upwork, Toptal has a good range of SEO experts. These include experts in the software niche – such as SEO developers, engineers, coders, and programmers – and specialists in digital marketing, such as keyword researchers, search engine marketers (SEM), advertising experts, and many more.
Hiring on Toptal isn’t cheap: Rates start from $60/hour. There’s also an upfront deposit of $500, which is credited to your account so you can use it to pay your freelancers. The good thing about Toptal is that you can rest assured that any SEO expert you invest in will be top-notch.
Features
Extensive user profiles. Each SEO specialist’s profile is well-detailed. Profile information usually includes a freelancer’s education, certifications, skills, location, employment history, and more.
Freelancer matching. Toptal’s freelancer matching accuracy is near-perfect. It will match you to your ideal SEO expert within 48 hours of your call with one of its team members.
Refund policy. If you decide not to proceed with any SEO specialist, Toptal will refund your initial $500 deposit.
Multiple payment options. Toptal accepts all major credit cards, Paypal, bank wires, and ACH payments, so you can pay using the method most convenient to your business.
Check out our in-depth Toptal review for more details.
Speed up project commencement with one of GrowTal’s SEO packages
GrowTal is a freelance platform that provides businesses with marketing experts, including SEO professionals. You just submit your job requirements, and GrowTal will give you a list of SEO specialists to pick from. Or you could go for one of GrowTal’s Accelerator Packages and access a team of SEO specialists at a fixed price – this way, you instantly know how much you’ll spend and if it’s within your budget.
There are two Accelerator Packages for SEO services: SEO Audit and SEO GTM Roll Out Setup. The SEO Audit package costs $1,200 and involves a full examination of your website’s SEO structure, which helps the SEO specialists determine what steps to take to improve your website’s overall visibility in SERPs.
Meanwhile, the SEO GTM Roll Out Setup will help execute your SEO strategy so you can spend more time growing your business. You’ll also get an SEO content marketing program and tracking of your technical SEO metrics. If none of these packages address your business needs, you can hire an individual SEO specialist.
Features
Rigorous vetting process. All SEO specialists on GrowTal pass through a multi-step screening procedure where their skills are tested.
Grow your agency initiative. If you own an SEO marketing agency, GrowTal can streamline the hiring process by providing you with pre-vetted SEO experts.
No commitments. If you’re not satisfied with a particular SEO specialist, you can switch and try working with a different freelancer.
Top-notch support. GrowTal has an expert support team that will guide you through the entire hiring process. They’re available via live chat, phone, and email.
Share details of your SEO needs with Mayple’s team so they can find you suitable professionals
Mayple primarily caters to businesses with a set budget. Essentially, it’s more of an agency than a freelance platform, as it assigns a team of vetted SEO experts to work with you rather than having you pick from a list of freelancers.
I’m really impressed with the way Mayple vets its SEO specialists. Mayple doesn’t rely only on freelancers’ testimonials when vetting talent. It also imports the data of the accounts the SEO expert has worked on, allowing Mayple a full view of the expert’s past performance.
I’m also impressed by how Mayple matches its specialists with clients. Not only does Mayple consider your objectives, but it also performs extensive personality testing to ensure each freelancer blends well with your team members. That said, I still prefer Fiverr and Upwork’s approach, which allows you to choose from a pool of skilled professionals.
Features
Free growth strategy meeting. In your strategy meeting with Mayple’s team, you’ll share details on the work you want your SEO freelancers to perform. You can also ask any questions you may have.
SEO packages. Mayple offers several SEO packages that include different bundled services. For instance, the SEO Essentials package includes an SEO audit, optimization for 10 pages, keyword research, and technical roadmap that suggests future changes.
Dedicated success manager. Mayple assigns you a success manager to monitor how your freelancers perform and ensure they meet all your SEO needs.
Dedicated Slack channel. Once you start working with Mayple’s SEO specialists, you can communicate with them via a dedicated Slack channel.
Bark will help you find an SEO expert within your area
Bark is a great pick if you’re looking to hire an SEO specialist in your country/region. Bark specialists will be better equipped to optimize for local search queries and attract a local audience.
Unlike with Fiverr and Upwork, you can’t manually search Bark’s platform for qualified SEO specialists. Instead, you tell Bark your SEO requirements, and it’ll provide you with several relevant companies, agencies, or freelancers. While I’d prefer to glance through all the available experts, Bark does give you a long list of matches to select from.
Bark is totally free to use. You don’t even have to pay an initial deposit. You can contact the freelancer immediately once you choose one of Bark’s suggestions. Most Bark experts list 1 to 5 minutes as their response time, but it might take a couple of hours to get a response since Bark’s freelancers actually have to pay first to access your contact details.
Features
Communication options. After selecting an SEO specialist, you can communicate with them via email or phone or use Bark’s messaging system. This gives you more flexibility to talk to a freelancer in the mode you prefer compared to other platforms that limit you to their own channels.
Straightforward sign-up. You can sign up on Bark and post your first job on the platform within a few minutes.
Rating system and profiles. Bark evaluates each SEO expert using a 5-star rating system. On the freelancer’s profiles, you can also check out their client reviews, additional services, FAQs, and more.
24/7 customer support. Bark offers 24/7 phone and email support, so you can expect a speedy response whenever you relay any issues to Bark’s team.
Read our comprehensive Bark review to learn more about its features.
According to my research, Fiverr is the best platform for finding freelance SEO specialists. I looked through several highly-rated SEO professionals and narrowed my list down to 3.
This 12-year SEO veteran provides quality work for as low as $5
Seomano has 12 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing. Their services include keyword research, technical SEO, off-page SEO, on-page optimization, and backlink analysis. They claim to have found the answer to ranking your website on the first page of major search engines, and they have 44 five-star reviews to back this claim.
I like how affordable Seomano’s SEO services are. Typically, you’d expect to pay at least $100 for someone of their level and experience. However, their cheapest package actually starts at $5 and includes off-page strategy and backlink analysis, usually delivered within 14 days.
Jennifer is a top-rated Fiverr SEO specialist with 833 five-star reviews
Jennifer S is a top-rated YouTube video SEO specialist. As a top-rated freelancer,they’ve passed Fiverr’s highest performance criteria. Here’s what that title means in concrete terms: Jennifer S has a whopping 833 five-star reviews. They focus on optimizing YouTube channels, videos, shorts, thumbnails, titles, descriptions, and playlists to improve your SEO rankings.
Jennifer S has extensive experience with US clients, but they’ve also worked with clients in the UK, Canada, and Australia. In addition to YouTube SEO optimization, they offer related services like Facebook advertising and marketing, Amazon listings, and Instagram advertising, in case you’re interested in a more holistic approach to improving your online visibility. Jennifer’s services range from $25 to $75.
This five-star Pro seller is highly recommended by Fiverr’s teamJames_browne is a Pro seller, which means Fiverr’s Pro team hand-picked them as a top-class SEO specialist. They have 3 years of experience working with clients worldwide, including New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Slovenia, and the Cayman Islands.
James_browne will do a full-page optimization for two of your websites for $100. But if you want them to optimize 10 websites and include image alt tags and schema markup, it would cost $350. James_browne might be more expensive than my other recommendations, but their Pro seller status assures you of getting the best SEO services Fiverr has to offer.
Are You an SEO Specialist Looking To Sell Your Services?
Fiverr is the best platform for selling SEO services. Its global reach allows you to connect with clients worldwide. You can categorize your services into specific niches, making it easier to target your desired audience. What’s more, as you complete SEO projects and maintain high ratings, Fiverr’s tiered seller system will reward you with increased client visibility.
Signing up for Fiverr is straightforward. Simply visit Fiverr’s website and click the “Join” button at the top right corner. You can complete your registration using your email address or your Google, Apple, or Facebook account.
Click Join to create an account with FiverrAfter signing up, navigate to your user icon, select “Become a Seller,” and follow the prompts to set up your seller profile. This is your opportunity to highlight your skills, experience, and the unique value you bring as an SEO specialist. That said, there’s no pressure to complete your profile right away – you can always come back and edit it later.
Click the Become a Seller button to set up your profile
Being a Fiverr seller comes with the major benefit of being able tochoose your work hours and set your rates. Fiverr also offers analytics tools to help you track your performance, gain insights into your sales trends, and make informed decisions about how to grow your business on the platform. Check out our Fiverr for Freelancers article to learn more about selling on Fiverr.
Hire Your Ideal SEO Specialist From One of These Freelance Websites
All my recommended freelance websites are great choices for hiring an SEO specialist. But when it comes to affordability and quality, these are my top three.
I recommend Fiverr for SEO services between $5 and $201. Not only is Fiverr super affordable, but its freelancers are well-experienced and offer value for money.
If you want to hire SEO professionals long-term, go with Upwork1. The platform offers an array of project management tools that are great for time-intensive tasks and encourage long-term relationships.
Or, consider Toptal if you want a rigorously vetted expert1 and have a large budget. Toptal’s SEO freelancers go through a strict screening process that only 3% of applicants pass, so you can be sure you will work with first-rate professionals only.
Here’s a simple comparison of the best freelance SEO specialist websites:
Pricing
Best Feature
Best For
Fiverr
$
SEO services from as low as $5
Businesses on a tight budget that still want valuable SEO services
Fiverr is the best freelance site for SEO because it hosts many skilled SEO specialists who cater to various project requirements and budgets. On Fiverr, you can find SEO experts offering keyword research, link building, and on-page optimization services. You can browse through ‘gigs’ or services and directly compare prices, delivery times, and specific SEO services.
How much do freelancers charge for SEO?
You can hire SEO experts on Upwork for as little as $5/hr. Outside of Upwork and Fiverr, freelancers typically charge $75–$150 per hour for SEO services. This rate can vary based on factors like experience, expertise, and the complexity of the services. Monthly retainer fees for ongoing SEO work can range from $500–$1,000, while project-based fees generally fall between $2,500–$5,000.
How much does Google SEO cost?
You can find Google SEO services on Fiverr and Upwork for as little as $5. On Toptal, rates can start at $60 per hour, but part of that price is because you’re accessing top-tier freelancers. Outside of these platforms, hourly rates for SEO services typically range from $75-$150 . Monthly SEO services can cost around $500.
Can I do SEO on my own?
Yes, you can do SEO on your own, but it requires time, effort, and knowledge of SEO best practices. So, while it’s possible to manage SEO independently, I recommend hiring an SEO specialist to ensure optimal results and allow you to focus on other critical aspects of your business.
Kamso specializes in writing about credit card processing and fintech. He has been writing for over three years and has worked on several comparisons, product reviews, and news stories. He has a degree in mechanical engineering and has a strong fondness for anything tech-related.
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