SEO for Cybersecurity: An Expert Guide (+ Costs and Tips)

SEO can help cybersecurity firms increase traffic and leads from search engines. The average cost is $3,000 to $10,000 per month. Learn the strategies we use to get clients to the top of Google results.

Here, you’ll find:

• What is SEO for cybersecurity?
• 6 SEO strategies for cybersecurity 
• How much does it cost?
• How does SEO benefit cybersecurity companies?
• SEO services for cybersecurity: What to look for

The internet is crowded — how will you make your cybersecurity website stand out? To increase your visibility in search results and attract qualified leads, you must optimize it.

SEO for cybersecurity helps cybersecurity businesses do just that.

Let’s examine cybersecurity SEO, why it’s important, and how cybersecurity professionals can use search engine optimization to attract more business.

What is SEO for cybersecurity?

SEO for cybersecurity is the process of optimizing a cybersecurity website to rank organically for relevant queries on search engines like Google and Bing.

By understanding how the Google search algorithm works, cybersecurity firms can improve their chances of ranking at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) to increase traffic, leads, and revenue.

6 SEO strategies for cybersecurity

Here are the top cybersecurity SEO strategies to improve your search engine rankings:

1. Targeted keyword research
2. Unique, expert-led content
3. Secure, responsive website
4. Local SEO best practices
5. Technical SEO best practices
6. Link-building from authoritative sites

1. Targeted keyword research

Keyword research is at the heart of cybersecurity SEO strategy. To get started, think about topics your audience may search to find services like yours.

Let’s say you come up with the following topics:

• Phishing
• Malware
• Ransomware
• Network security
• Firewall security

From there, brainstorm keywords for each of these topic categories. Think of what someone may search for to learn more about the topic.

Some keywords related to “phishing” might include “phishing types,” “phishing attacks,” “phishing attack prevention,” “how do I know if I clicked a phishing link,” or “what happens if you click on a phishing link.”

Google search is an excellent tool for brainstorming additional keywords. You can use Google autocomplete to identify phrases people search for with your keyword:

Then look at the People Also Ask section to see what other questions people ask related to the keyword:

And you can also use the related searches section to find other keyword options:

After brainstorming a list of potential keywords, use a tool like Semrush to identify the keywords you have the best chance to rank for. Find keywords with a higher search volume and lower competition difficulty.

2. Unique, expert-led content

Content marketing is another important part of SEO. The more high-quality SEO content you create, the more opportunities you have to rank for relevant keywords.

Once you have a list of keywords, type them into Google to see what types of content currently rank for those keywords. This will give you an idea of any content gaps you can fill or different approaches you can take to improve your ranking and drive organic traffic to your site.

For example, if your business offers audits as part of your cybersecurity services, you may have keywords on your list like “what is a cybersecurity audit.”

This would make a great blog post topic because it’s something prospective clients may search for to get more information before buying.

The top organic search result for “what is a cybersecurity audit” is a blog post from Indusface:

The blog post offers relevant information about cybersecurity audits, including scope, internal vs. external, how often they should be performed, and best practices.

The author uses the keyword in the title, the first heading, and in the body of the blog post. They also include internal links throughout the post to link to other relevant pages and blog posts on the site.

If you were writing a blog post on this same topic, you may add additional information like expert tips for cybersecurity audits or how to find a cybersecurity team to perform an audit. Adding additional information makes your blog post more comprehensive, giving it a better chance of ranking.

3. Secure, responsive website

As a cybersecurity expert, you already know how important it is to have a secure website to prevent potential cyberattacks. A secure website is also an important part of effective SEO.

Not only is website security a part of Google’s Helpful Content Ranking System, but things like SSL certificates are a trust signal for potential customers. When you protect your website from vulnerabilities, you’re making it more attractive to search engines and the humans who use them.

In addition to focusing on website security measures, cybersecurity firms should ensure their websites are optimized for mobile devices. Mobile devices make up almost 55% of website traffic, so it’s important that mobile visitors have a positive user experience.

Google PageSpeed Insights is a great tool for understanding the website user experience and identifying areas that need improvement.

All you have to do is put your website into the tool, and it’ll run a Core Web Vitals Assessment, giving you a set of metrics that measure what real-world users are experiencing on your site, such as loading time, interactivity, and visual stability.

Below this initial assessment, you’ll find more metrics to help you understand your site’s mobile performance. The tool diagnoses website performance issues on mobile and desktop to show you what areas need improvement.

The tool will give you a score (out of 100) for performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO. After giving you some metrics like Total Blocking Time and Speed Index, you can scroll further down to see specific diagnostics and how to improve mobile-responsiveness.

4. Local SEO best practices

If your cybersecurity firm has a physical location or operates in specific geographic areas, your business will need to optimize for local SEO. Local SEO helps your business become more visible in local searches.

An important first step for optimizing for local SEO is claiming and keeping your Google Business Profile up-to-date and any other local SEO citations. These citations can be with local organizations like your city’s chamber of commerce or national organizations like Yellow Pages or Yelp.

Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone number) is accurate and any other information provided is up-to-date on every directory.

Your Google Business Profile is especially important because these profiles appear at the top of the Google results page for local queries. You can optimize this profile to improve your chances of appearing in the top local results.

To optimize your profile, fill it out completely. This goes beyond just updating your NAP — add services, service areas, a description of the business, and other details.

You should also include photos that show it’s a legitimate business. Photos of your office and team help build trust with search engine users.

Some additional SEO techniques include:

• Getting reviews on Google. Ask your best customers to leave your cybersecurity firm a review on Google. This helps your Google Business Profile SEO and builds trust with new leads.
• Add location pages to your website. If you operate in multiple locations, add location pages to your website that are optimized for location-based keywords like “cybersecurity services in Houston, TX.”
• Create local content. In addition to adding location pages to your site, you can create locally-focused content on your blog. Consider any unique cybersecurity issues businesses face in your area.

These are just a few ways to get started with local SEO. Check out our Local SEO Guide for more expert tips.

5. Technical SEO best practices

These SEO best practices ensure the website meets the technical requirements of search engines while providing a positive user experience for people visiting the site.

You can use Google PageSpeed Insights to do a Core Web Vitals assessment. This shows how pages perform based on real-world usage. It’ll tell you which performance areas pass the test and which need improvement.

Here are several technical SEO best practices to follow for your cybersecurity website:

• Use HTTPS. You already know how important website security is. By using the secure version of HTTP, you’re protecting sensitive user data and signaling to users that you take security seriously.
• Fix any duplicate content issues. While Google no longer penalizes for duplicate content, it can cause other issues. Use a tool like Semrush to find duplicate content and fix it.
• Make sure the site loads quickly. Site speed impacts SEO but if your site loads too slowly, users may leave. Compressing images, using a CDN, and minifying HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files can improve web page speed.

For more of a deep dive into technical SEO with expert tips for getting it right, check out our Technical SEO guide.

6. Link-building from authoritative sites

Link building plays an important role in your search engine optimization. Backlinks are an SEO ranking factor, and the more backlinks you have from relevant, reputable sources with high-quality content, the more trusting and authoritative your site appears to Google.

Not just any links will do. You need backlinks from pages and websites with a high domain authority. Semrush is a great tool that shows a site’s authority using the Page Authority Score and Authority Score (for websites).

What can impact a backlink’s quality:

• Relevance: The site and/or page that’s linking to your page should be relevant to the topic you’re covering.
• Link position: Links featured in a piece of content are more valuable (vs. buried in the footer or sidebar of the page).
• Link anchor text: The anchor text used to link to your page should be relevant to the content on the page it’s linking to.

Getting backlinks is one of the more challenging SEO tasks. While some Black hat SEO folks will buy backlinks, Google is pretty good at determining if a link is legitimate or not.

The best way to get backlinks is to create content worth linking to. That means writing well-researched, compelling blog posts about topics your audience cares about. And  creating visual assets people want to share like images and infographics.

Conducting original research and sharing your data is another way to attract backlinks. Statistics and data are valuable and easy to link to. When someone sites your research, they’ll link to your page, helping you get more links quickly.

For example, Brian Dean from Backlinko published one of the largest Google ranking factor studies in April 2020. As of November 2023, the article had around 18.9k backlinks. Most of these links came from people citing a statistic from the study.

Source: backlinko.com

Another way to build backlinks is to share your content on social media channels like LinkedIn or Twitter (X). Sharing your content with your network and beyond allows you to get it in front of more people who may share it with others or link back to it within their content.

How much does it cost?

The cost of SEO for cybersecurity depends on the project terms and length. For instance, for monthly contracts, you can expect to spend $3,000 to $10,000.

For local SEO, you may pay between $500 and $1,000 per month. One-off projects are also possible, with the rates ranging between $5,000 and $30,000.

How does SEO benefit cybersecurity companies?

Search engine optimization is a must for any cybersecurity company that wants to grow its business online. Cybersecurity SEO offers many benefits to your business beyond just enhanced visibility on search engines.

Return on investment

Since SEO brings in free traffic to your website, it often has a higher return on investment (ROI) than other types of marketing. And because it’s a long-term marketing strategy, SEO also offers a return over a longer period of time than a strategy like advertising.

Audience targeting

Search engine optimization allows you to target a more precise audience. Rather than casting a wide net and hoping to capture leads, you can use SEO to connect with an audience actively looking for a cybersecurity company. This results in more qualified leads and higher conversion rates.

Authority and trust-building

SEO can also enhance your online presence by establishing your cybersecurity company as an industry authority. When you consistently publish high-quality content around relevant cybersecurity topics, you can showcase your expertise and build trust and credibility with your audience.

Measurability

You can easily measure your SEO efforts to see what’s working and what isn’t. At HawkSEM, we use our proprietary software, ConversionIQ (CIQ), to track every step of the buyer’s journey and better understand what’s working and what needs adjusting to optimize for a higher return on investment.

SEO services for cybersecurity: What to look for

As you get started with SEO marketing, you may find that you don’t have the time or expertise to do it on your own. That’s where an SEO agency can come in handy. Hiring experts to create and implement an SEO strategy can generate results faster.

When hiring an SEO agency for your cybersecurity business, consider the following:

Experience and reputation

Some digital marketing agencies offer SEO services, but they don’t necessarily specialize in SEO. If you’re looking for SEO support for your cybersecurity firm, find an agency with a core competency in search engine optimization.

HawkSEM has been supporting businesses with SEO since 2006. Since then, we’ve managed 3 million keywords and gotten our clients an average of 4.5x return on investment. It’s no wonder our client retention rate is 98%.

History of results

Look for an SEO agency with a history of getting results for its clients. The easiest way to find this information is to look at the agency’s case studies.

Case studies show the types of clients the agency has worked with, the SEO projects it has done, and the results it has generated. This will give you a better idea of the possible results when working with this agency.

For example, HawkSEM helped Moneta Group increase the number of keywords in the top 3 by 164% and their keyword portfolio by 326%. That’s just one example of the results we’ve driven for our clients.

Approach to SEO

When looking for an SEO agency, consider how they approach the process of search engine optimization. If their approach doesn’t align with your SEO goals, they likely won’t be a great fit.

For example, the team at HawkSEM takes a performance-driven approach to SEO. We aim to maximize your return on investment and get you the best results possible.

“When it comes to SEO for cybersecurity companies, we take time to learn about the business, target audience, and buyer personas,” says Sam Yadegar, HawkSEM’s CEO.

“From there, we create a custom SEO program and track performance closely with our proprietary software ConversionIQ.”

The takeaway

Cybersecurity businesses must include SEO as part of their digital marketing strategy to attract more customers online. Although search engine optimization has many moving parts, the return on investment is undeniable.

SEO takes time to work its magic. But when you hire an expert SEO agency to handle your strategy and campaigns, you can save time and money while getting results faster.

HawkSEM would love to be your partner in cybersecurity SEO. Book a call to see if we’re a good fit.