Google Analytics consultants making $125/hr - $250/hr. Really?

Marketing
1

I passed the Google Analytics exam some time ago. Was not too difficult at all. I let the cert, I feel confident I could get it again without much effort.

I have found several ads for GA consultants charging rates from $125 to $250 an hour.

I find it hard to believe that GA consultants are actually earning that kind of $$. That is way more than most Linux consultants get, and Linux consulting takes way more knowledge.

Or, maybe I’m missing something?

Here are a few examples, there are lots more:

> “Analytics consulting is available on an hourly basis. Contact me to discuss hourly rates based on your needs. I am available on a retainer basis as well.” Retainer plans require a $500 set up fee for basic installation with retainer fees starting at $467 monthly. Contact me for a site evaluation and more information.
[noparse]http://www.5280seo.com/googleanalytics/googleanalytics/pricing.html[/noparse]

> “We charge $125 per hour for Google Analytics services. If you’re interested in learning more about our services, please contact us using the following form:”
[noparse]http://www.pitstopmedia.com/services/google-web-analytics.php[/noparse]

> “We offer On-Site Google Analytics Training and Google Analytics Telephone Consults on a per hour basis ($250) for phone support.”
[noparse]http://subliminalpixels.com/analytics/google-analytics-certification/[/noparse]

2

[font=calibri]For a start, those are the rates charged to customers, so it’s unlikely that the employees are actually taking home anywhere near that. A large chunk of that will go straight into corporate overheads and profits. And after negotiation and haggling, they will probably charge the clients less than that anyway.

For a second, they are probably working on the basis that a lot of people who are considering paying for a Google Analytics consultant are probably none too savvy, and are ripe for being ripped off! If you make clients think that the service is worth $250/hr then they will believe it’s an important service and too difficult for them to contemplate themselves. If you let them have it for $100/hr then they will assume it’s easy and not worth spending money on, or that you’re not very good at it.

Interestingly, Google almost exclusively gave me UK-based companies when I did a search, and not a single one of them quoted a price. Of the few USA-based sites that came up, one gave an all-in monthly price and one quoted $125/hr. That doesn’t sound horrendous for a consultancy rate to me – I know a lot of companies who charge more than that for all sorts of things![/font]

3

I don’t know. Maybe those consultants are all super stars. Or, maybe they are asking for those kinds of rates, but not getting much business?

Anyway, I am seeing those kinds of rates everywhere. I think the lowest I could find was $70 an hour.

Example Internet Marketing_Businesses
5280-SEO
Analytics consulting is available on an hourly basis. Contact me to discuss hourly rates based on your needs. I am available on a retainer basis as well. Retainer plans require a $500 set up fee for basic installation with retainer fees starting at $467 monthly. Contact me for a site evaluation and more information.
5280seo.com/googleanalytics/googleanalytics/pricing.html

Pit Stop Media
We charge $125 per hour for Google Analytics services. If you’re interested in learning more about our services, please contact us using the following form:
pitstopmedia.com/services/google-web-analytics.php

Subliminal Pixels
We offer On-Site Google Analytics Training and Google Analytics Telephone Consults on a per hour basis ($250) for phone support.
subliminalpixels.com/analytics/google-analytics-certification

Crocodile Marketing
Setup Google Analytics $395.00 (incl GST)
Google Analytics Review $264 (incl gst)
Additional Google Analytics services are charged at $132.00 per hour.
Creating an AdWords Campaign (starting from $360 (+GST))
AdWords Optimising Service (starting $255 (+GST) per month)
crocodilemarketing.com.au/google-adwords-packages

Ressac Media
Google Analytics consulting: 110$/ per hour.
google.com/enterprise/marketplace/viewListing?productListingId=4238249+15865305130961573388&pli=1

Webtrends Analytics Consulting:
The Webtrends Analytics Consulting hourly rate is $200/hour with a one hour minimum. If you pre-purchase 8 hours at $1,200, you save $400 and get up to six months to use our services to analyze and customize your analytics to maximize the value of the data.
blastam.com/webtrends-analytics-consulting.aspx

Vdsys
Consulting based on client needs starting at $175 per hour for the initial consultation, which includes project scope and proposal if required. Pricing for the project in question will be decided by the parameters of the project.
vdsys.com/sem-promotion-monthly-programs.htm

SEO Aware
2 Hours a Month – $500
4 Hours a Month – $900
6 Hours a Month – $1300
8 Hours a Month – $1500
seoaware.com/consulting-services/monthly-consulting-services

Search Commander Inc.
$400 per hour is the current fee for new clients
searchcommander.com/seo-consulting-fees

Ryp Marketing
Our standard consulting rate is $125 per hour. We also offer a discount 5-hour package. 5 hours: $475
rypmarketing.com/consulting.html

360 Internet Strategy
Our hourly rate for projects is $70 per hour.
360internetstrategy.com

Imageworks Creative
These services are offered at hourly prices ranging from $175-$225 per hour, pending the quantity purchased. The rate includes an executive consultant / copywriter and a project manager. Contact us here to get and exact quote.
imageworkscreative.com/lounge/marketing-packages/marketing-consulting-packages/index.html

ACA Web Consulting
While our competitors in San Diego County are charging as much as $150 an hour for web development, ACA Web Consulting takes pride in offering affordable web site design and search engine ranking services with professional results. Our hourly rate on a per project basis (front end and initial development) is $80.00. Agency rates are discounted, please contact us for those rates.
acawebconsulting.com/pages/web_design_pricing

Zimana
One on One strategy & measurement consultation $75 per billable hour (2 hr min)
zimana.com/web-analytics-contact.html

SEO Optimizers
Our standard search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) consulting rates start at $100 per hour.
seooptimizers.com/pricing.html

4

One point you didn’t mention is which country those consultants are working in. $125 per hour would be on the high side in some European countries, and astronomical in India or Pakistan. But it would be a plausible rate in much of western Europe and the US and Canada. A competent and experienced consultant in a high-tech field could certainly charge that sort of money in, say New York City or San Francisco.

Walter Byrd, you started by stating that it wasn’t difficult to get the Google Analytics certification, implying that it is not difficult to set yourself up as GA consultant. I would guess that the consultants who charge $125 - $250 per hour are offering a lot more experience than someone who has simply passed the exam - and they probably have much more resources behind them.

But I stress that, in any discussion of rates, fees and salaries, you have to qualify your statements by referring to a particular country or region.

Mike

1 Like
5

Sorry Mike, I was talking about the US.

You made a good point about those big $$ consultants having experience, and - no doubt - a strong track record.

I wonder how they got started? Probably a website development business.

I wonder if internet marketing, and website development, should go together? The ultimate goal, it seems to me, is conversion optimization. If a website is not properly designed, conversions rates are going to be sub-optimal, even if SEO/SEM is strong.

6

Well, that really reinforces my point. I would guess that hourly rates for high-tech consultants in the US would be amongst the highest in the world (or, at least, some parts of the US). As for how they got started, I would think that most of them came up through the ranks of website development and perhaps SEO. In fact, I personally know an Analytics consultant whose main work is in SEO, and for whom the GA stuff is a side line. You’re absolutely right about conversion rates, by the way. Mike

7

The Google Analytics exam is unlike what is expected from a Google Analytics consultant in the real world, for me at least. :smiley: You are required to deal with different CMSs, e-commerce softwares and coexisting scripts with various shortcomings, potential conflicts as well as weird tracking requirements coming from the clients. Some of the more advanced implementation that kept coming up for me include dealing with third party payment processors, custom variables, compatibility with another Analytics software. Having some knowledge in code and the ability to communicate something technical like how different software uses different data collection methods are definitely going to help a lot.

Google Analytics consultancy does not usually last beyond the setting up, reviewing and troubleshooting a new or existing implementation. Nobody is going to pay someone a high hourly rate just to summarize something that they can view themselves into a PDF report unless you have the lucrative opportunity to work with big brands.

For my own marketing consultancy gigs, I pair Google Analytics consultancy with services like PPC management, SEO, conversion optimization, etc in order to charge a fixed retainer based on the scope of work.

Hope this is useful,
Wayne

8

Hello Walter. Those rates are possible and I will tell you why. Google Analytics is actually the engine, the heart of a business website. Many websites don’t have yet the knowledge to “read” the Analytics as they should.

So, lets say you ask an average of $150. I bet you will close many deals at $75-$100 which is very good.

All the best,
Matt:)

9

Yes, SEO and SEM need to be part of an overall marketing strategy. There’s no point in being #1 in Google if your transaction process is so poor that very few people convert, and there’s no point in having the best checkout system in the world if you don’t appear until page 150 in the SERPs. But SEO is an easy target for snake-oil salesmen, whereas transaction process flow design is much more rigorous discipline, and so doesn’t attract as much attention from the fly-by-nighters.

ALL aspects of your website should be integrally designed. When you try to bolt something on afterwards, whether it’s SEO, usability, checkout process or whatever, you end up with something that doesn’t work as well as it should have done.

1 Like
10

Great conversation, having a GAIQ I push to continually educate my clients about the various GA reports and how they can support their business. Here in the U.S. those rates are possible.

11

Hello @walterbyrd,

I am making an update to my previous post because recently I just got my Google AdWords Certification and now I look as well some startup jobs. So did you had any luck so far with your quest? I saw that most of the employers require this exam as a must when you apply to a PPC online interview besides other marketing diplomas achieved.

Sincerely,
Matt:)

12

Matt, most larger companies are looking for individuals with both ppc and the GAIQ certifications. So your advice is correct.

13

It also depends on what kind of clients you have. If you are dealing with fortune 500 companies that you bill then it’s not uncommon. Some Reps & personal consultants have key people in their network.

14

I think that passing the Google Analytics Individual Qualification does not mean that someone has the chops to be a good GA consultant. Consulting requires superior communication skills, sharp business acumen, and a strategic vision for how a company can collect, analyze, and act on data. Consultants who charge high rates for their work are usually highly qualified, in high demand, and bring great value to companies. IMHO, hourly consulting isn’t a good model in any case. I can usually diagnose a GA technical issue within minutes; the value brought to the company for my fixing their problem is far beyond the minutes I ticked off on the clock. The truth is, the number of folks out there who REALLY know GA inside and out is fairly limited. I think that many businesses are aware of “you get what you pay for” when it comes to professional services, and consulting is no different in that regards.

15

@ycoren, you’ve made some good points. In particular, I take your point about not charging an hourly rate:

On the other hand, that might suggest that you should be charging a high hourly rate - commensurate with your expertise and experience, but still providing good value for the client.

I’d be interested to know what charging model you do in fact use.

Mike

16

I don’t think so that people charge this for setting up google analytic.

Could you please elaborate some of the services/task that you will do for that amount of money.