SEO is search engine optimisation. SEO works by optimising specific on-page and off-page aspects of your website and brand to gain better visibility by searching keywords relevant to your website. Any platform with a search bar can be SEO’d. Think Google, Bing, Amazon, eBay, Yandex, Duckduckgo, Youtube, and more

Most Kenyan business owners know SEO is the best way to grow their business, with 60% of marketers now agreeing SEO generates the highest quality leads. But what many business owners who haven’t used an SEO company before don’t know is how much they can expect to pay for SEO, and what they can expect to receive for their money.

Agency SEO Costs

Established SEO agencies will usually charge between Ksh. 50000 – Ksh. 500000 per month for their services,  depending on the amount of time your project requires.

The amount of days your website will need per month will vary greatly depending on the industry and type of website you have.

For example, SEO for online shops (eCommerce) requires more time to be spent working with developers to improve the technical SEO aspects of the website than a B2B or B2C lead gen website does.

Lead generation websites will usually require less time per month, but can require more – depending on how competitive the industry is.

Consultant SEO Costs

Companies who hire consultants will usually use their services for an hour a month to get feedback from an SEO expert who can help guide their marketing team in the right direction.

The price of an SEO consultant will depend on their experience level and specific area of expertise, but you can expect to pay anywhere from Ksh. 10000 per hour to Ksh. 100000 per hour.

It’s important to establish whether or not the consultant has worked in a similar industry before. They don’t have to have worked for a competitor, but a similar type of SEO is crucial.

The 3 SEO Pricing Structures

There are 3 main pricing structures when it comes to SEO, these are: monthly retainers, hourly and per project. 

The Monthly Retainer SEO Price Structure

The monthly retainer SEO service is perfect for companies that are looking to partner with an agency who’ll help them grow their business long term.

By having an established retainer in place, you’ll have guaranteed access to a dedicated SEO professional (at most agencies) who’ll dig deep into what search terms potential customers are typing into Google, identify any new trends in your industry and create in depth plans of action to achieve first page rankings.

You are essentially employing the services of a company who dedicate 100% of their time to SEO and the latest updates in Google’s algorithm to position your business higher online.

Having that sort of resource available to your business on a monthly basis can do powerful things for a company, especially if you’re in a competitive industry where you competitors are dominating most search queries.

The only downside is most SEO agencies lock you into lengthy 12, 16 or 24 month contracts for their services to ensure their employee’s have a high level of job security.

(we don’t do this by the way, we let our results keep clients coming back)

The Hourly SEO Price Structure

The hourly SEO service is ideal for companies with an in-house marketing team that might be a little bit stuck with their SEO and want some advice from an expert who can point them in the right direction to grow their traffic.

This is why the hourly pricing structure is most suited to SEO consultants who’ll often be incredibility experienced and knowledgeable.

The SEO consultation will usually be conducted via a VOIP service like Skype and will typically consist of you explaining what you’re trying to achieve and the consultant advising you on your best course of action.

The hourly fee for a consultant can be very expensive, but the value you can get out of them can be a complete game changer, if you have a team of marketers who can action the advice given.

The main downside to hiring an SEO consultant is that you’ll be fully responsible for project management, meaning you’ll only get out of the session what you can actually action.

And if SEO isn’t your primary job role, an SEO agency will be far more efficient and faster at implementing changes that see results as they do it on a daily basis. This allows your employees to spend less time actioning SEO tasks and more time doing what they’re actually good at.

The Per Project SEO Price Structure

The per project SEO pricing structure is often seen as very attractive by less experienced business owners who are looking for quick hacks to business success.

The unfortunate reality of these services is they’re often very dangerous to your website domain name and business as a whole.

You’ll often find various bad reviews online for companies who offer cheap SEO services where customers have had their entire website penalised by Google for using black hat SEO tactics like using PBN’s or spam backlinks.

The problem is that companies who charge per project need to get the job done as fast as possible, which means they’ll have to cut corners and take big risks to get you results.

If you’re happy to risk getting you website removed from Google, some of these services can increase your traffic – but we wouldn’t advise it for any company interested in the long term results of SEO.

If you’re considering using the lower cost SEO services, you’ll get far more for your money by setting up a Google Ads account yourself and paying per click – there’s no risk involved and you’ll protect your domain name and online reputation for when you have the budget to invest in professional SEO services.

Criteria for selecting top SEO Companies in Nairobi

In compiling this list of the top SEO companies in Nairobi, we came up with a criterion on how agencies would make it to this list. There are a lot of agencies especially the major ones who have it just on paper as part of their service offerings but have never offered it as a service to any Kenyan businesses.

During the compilation of this list, we also noted that some agencies did not even have SEO experts on staff yet had it listed as a service offering. So below is the Criteria that we followed to compile this list.

• SEO Specialists

We wanted this list to capture SEO experts in Nairobi, so it was important that we started by looking out for Agencies that specialized exclusively in SEO. We figured out that only Sprout Media Specializes exclusively in SEO. The rest of Digital marketing companies in Kenya had SEO as a service offering but were not specialists. We, therefore, opted on adding a little bit of a leeway to accommodate at least 15 SEO companies in Nairobi.

• Google Reviews

The next step involved analyzing Google reviews of digital marketing agencies in Kenya who offered SEO as a service and actually had the capacity in house to deliver on SEO projects. We were looking for positive reviews which reinforces the point that these agencies had actually delivered on projects to the satisfaction of clients.

This is an important factor in choosing an SEO partner in Nairobi.

• Referring Domains

We also looked at referring domains to websites of these agencies as we needed to see if they were an authority in the SEO space and be sure they were actually working on building backlink networks for their own businesses.

You want to buy cakes from a baker who eats their cakes. We wanted to be sure they were practising what they were preaching to Nairobi businesses.

• Housekeeping Details

We also checked a series of minor SEO housekeeping basics, Like ensuring their sites and those of clients they handled had SSL certificates, Were mobile friendly and had great loading speeds.

These are basic housekeeping details that give you an idea of how seriously the agency takes its SEO business practices.

• Content

Finally, we looked out to ensure the agencies were putting out valuable content on SEO or just putting out fresh content to improve on their SEO and provide value to Kenyan marketers and business owners.

SEO is very important to local businesses. You should be concerned with your site’s rankings as long as you want to be in business. To get organic traffic, you have to have excellent SEO, especially when more and more businesses use the world wide web for advertising their products and services. Nevin DigitalMarketing Agency is a Nairobi SEO company that can get your website to page one of Google!

SEO in Kenya 2022

While in the western world SEO is a huge component of businesses online strategies, Nairobi is yet to catch up and a lot of businesses don’t do any form of SEO. Our inhouse estimates point at over 65% of small businesses not doing any form of SEO.

This is disappointing considering SEO is one of the most powerful tools small businesses can use to outdo the bigger players and build massive traffic and new customers into their businesses. Most Digital marketing agencies in Nairobi offer the service only on paper and actually don’t have the in-house capacity to deliver results through SEO for businesses. That is why we compiled this list. To give businesses owners a list of agencies they could approach for their SEO needs.

Nevin Digital is the only agency in Nairobi which exclusively offer SEO as a service. Most agencies just have it on paper or among the other 15 services they offer in the digital marketing space.

However, more Nairobi companies are taking a keen look at how to scale their businesses through digital marketing and SEO in Nairobi is starting to grow and we hope more businesses will take advantage of this goldmine.

Most SEO companies in Kenya will tell you that it takes 4 to 6 months to start seeing results. That’s generally accurate, but bear in mind this is when you start seeing results, and SEO results grow over time. Whatever results you’re getting at 6 months should be considerably less than what you’re getting at 12 months.

SEO is probably more important for a small business than it is for a large one. A large business has the cash to maintain big ad budgets. They often already have an established brand, as well as a track record of success. A small business is still building these things, and while they do, they need to get noticed. And an effective SEO campaign is one of the best ways to do that.

We strongly advise against starting and stopping Search Engine Optimization. SEO is not a sprint, it is a marathon, and results take time to develop, and it’s through continual efforts that those results keep up. By stopping, you will lose momentum in the SERPs that someone else, such as your competition, will take advantage of and rise above you, and get in front of your customers.

Top 5 Best SEO companies in Kenya

1. Nevin Digital Marketing Agency. Delivering market leading SEO services in Nairobi Kenya that transform businesses, large & small. Invest in the future success of your business with a tailored SEO strategy that will grow your business online presence.

Nevin Digital Marketing Agency is a leading Kenyan 360-Degree Digital Experience Agency. Guiding game-changing & growth-focused companies, across online marketing platforms in Kenya, through agile design & digital solutions. The firm brings experience that spans the breadth of digital marketing, Web Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO),  business development, marketing operations, and digital optimization in order to tackle their clients’ challenges with pragmatic and implementable solutions. Their digital marketing models create a self-reinforcing cycle of truly 1:1 customer experiences and deepening brand engagement, delivering value for both customers and the business.

2. DimeHub 

DimeHub is a results-driven digital marketing company in Kenya that offers Web Design, Web Development, PPC, SEO, Content development services to help you generate qualified Sales Leads and Increase Website Traffic and Sales.

They customize the best mix of digital marketing — from PPC and email campaigns to SEO-based responsive websites — to provide results that move the needle.

3. IDevelopers Technologies

This is an IT organization providing all sizes of organizations with IT & Web Design Services Kenya. They were formed with the aim of assisting organizations in using modern technology. iDeveloper Technologies has been providing outsourced desktop, web design services in Kenya IT Consultancy and network management and currently supports a number of clients across the country. 

4. Akus Digital Solutions

This is a digital marketing agency based in Nairobi, Kenya that offers a range of digital solutions to businesses. They provide services ranging from Web design, SEO, Content marketing, Social media marketing, Branding, Paid search advertising, and Lead generation services to clients of all industries.

5. Empex Digital

Empex Digital is a go-to full-service digital agency in Kenya that helps brands and businesses in building competent brands that win market share and achieve growth. Their digital business strategies resonate with the latest trends in the digital space.

6. Sprout Media

Sprout media is a #1 rated Agency specializing exclusively on search engine optimization and website design for clients in Nairobi. The Agency started out in late 2018 as a generalist digital marketing agency and has since shade other services to specialize exclusively in providing excellent SEO & website design services to Nairobi Businesses who want to scale fast through solid digital marketing strategies.

Contact Information

Name: Sprout Media Limited

Office Address: Top plaza, 1 Kindaruma Rd, Nairobi

Phone :0712 652 106

7.     Bean Interactive

Bean is a full-service digital marketing agency specializing in digital marketing, campaign planning and execution. The company was founded by Martin Kiarie and Allen Kambuni and over a short period grown into one of the most innovative and creative digital marketing agencies in Nairobi.

Contact Information

Name: Bean Interactive

Address: Kabarsiran Close, Kabarsiran Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya

Phone: 0711 977017 

8.     Dotsavvy

Founded by Moses Kemibaro in 2002, Dotsavvy is mainly considered the first digital marketing agency in Kenya and over the years have done great digital marketing campaigns for some of the most impactful brands in Kenya.

It’s also easily one of the most recognizable names in Kenyan digital marketing space, having dominated the industry for over 18 years.

Contact Information

Name: Dotsavvy Africa

Address: Suite No.25 Lower Hill Duplex, Upper Hill Road

Phone: 0736 796505

9.     Zilojo

Zilojo is a full-service advertising agency in Nairobi who offer a unique blend of traditional and digital marketing to some of the leading brands in Kenya. Its service offerings range from TVC and radio ads production to content creation for digital channels.

Contact information

Name: Zilojo

Address:8^th Floor, Pinetree Plaza

Phone:0722 787 725

10. Creative VMLY&R

Creative VMLY&R is one of the leading full-service advertising and communication agencies in Kenya. It is affiliated to the global VMLY&R group hence its name. It was the first Kenyan agency to win the Cannes Lion award in 2015. Over the years they have executed compelling through the line campaigns for some of Kenyan leading brands.

Contact Information

Name: Creative VMLY&R

Address: Level 5, Eden Square, Westlands

Phone: 0716 514 444

11. Brand 2D

Brand 2D is a digital and creative marketing agency founded in 2009 and in a short window has grown into one of the most impactful marketing agencies in Kenya, handling communications for among other clients Nivea, Samsung, Colgate, Zuku among others.

Contact information

Name: Brand 2D

Address: Nelleon Place Rhapta Road, Westlands

Phone: 0717 663 220

12. Ace solution Africa

Ace solutions Africa is a web design agency who have delved also into the digital marketing space and by default provide an array of digital marketing services including search engine optimization.

Contact Information

Name: Ace Solution Africa

Address:03, Mogotio Road, Parklands

Phone: 0721 585 355

13. Get sales

Get sales offers comprehensive digital marketing solutions and is one of the better-optimized SEO agencies in Kenya. They handle SEO for an array of Kenyan businesses and is one of the best-equipped SEO agencies in Nairobi to hire for your project.

Contact Information

Name: Get Sales

Address: Greenhouse Mall

Phone:0700 045 749

14. Agency Africa

Agency is an award-winning digital marketing agency in Nairobi offering an array of digital marketing services including web design. They are also one of the agencies deemed to be taking SEO in Kenya seriously in terms of valuable content they have shared on their platforms.

Contact Information

Name: Agency Africa

Address: Agency Africa

Phone:0703 636 060

15. Global Desarts media

This is one of the players in SEO Kenya and has been helping Kenyan businesses rank in the search engines for over 8 years. They have also been awarded as the most improved SEO solutions provider in East Africa.

Contact Information

Name: Global Desarts Media

Address: Kimathi House, Kimathi Street

Phone:0720 744 763

16. Dimehub

Dimehub is a result-driven digital marketing company in Kenya offering SEO and social media marketing services so an array of Kenyan businesses. It’s is one of the main players in the SEO space in Nairobi.

Contact Information

Name: Dimehub

Address: 7^th Floor, Citadel Muthithi Road, Westlands

Phone:0792 513 432

17. Web creations Design

Web Creations Design is web experts in Kenya specialising in, web hosting and SEO services to Kenyan businesses. The company also offers logo design, email marketing among other services

Contact Information

Name: Web Creations Design

Address:4^th Floor, Kenya Cinema

Phone:0721 998 368

18. TDS marketers

TDS marketers are a digital marketing company in Kenya offering tailored services ranging from web design, content developments, SEO and social media marketing

Contact Information

Name: TDS marketers

Address: 5^th Floor, Fortis Towers, Westlands

Phone: 0787 888 909

19. Page One

Page one is a leading SEO and online marketing firm based in Nairobi, Kenya. One of the key players in the SEO space. Though relatively small it offers one of the best SEO services in Kenya and is a respected name in the SEO Kenya community.

Contact Information

Name: Page One Kenya

Address: Unity Plaza,4^th Floor

Phone:0724 505 643

20. SEO Kenya

SEO Kenya is still a relatively small player in the SEO Kenya community that’s slowly building its name in the community. They offer SEO services alongside other online marketing services and is set to grow significantly with the growth of search engine optimization in Kenya.

Contact Information

Name: SEO Kenya

Address: 4^th Floor, Norwich Union

Phone:0722 911 906

Hire SEO Companies in Nairobi

There are a lot of upcoming great digital marketing firms in Nairobi that offer SEO services but these are the top 20 SEO companies in Nairobi according to our criteria, that can help you with your SEO needs.

SEO in Kenya is still growing and more players are bound to join the space as more businesses take up the services.

Here are a few pointers to have in mind when choosing your SEO partner in Nairobi:

1. Smaller agencies are bound to deliver great results as they give more attention to your business compared to larger clients with 100 clients to serve with different services
2. Do not fall for the instant results lie.SEO is a process and takes time
3. Not that SEO is not an exact science and results and tactics your agency will employ will mostly be influenced by experience, research and Experiments/tests
4. Give close attention to your backlink strategy as some SEO agencies in Nairobi will bombard your sites with very low-quality links which will only work against your business ranking
5. Have an idea of SEO prices in Nairobi, prices for SEO services may vary depending on many factors including Keyword difficulty