Short answer (TL;DR)
SEO services run anywhere from $200/mo for a small local contractor to $3,000/mo for an ambitious ecommerce project. A one-time technical audit costs $300 to $1,000. The realistic investment for a business that wants to land in the top 5 for its main keywords within 6-12 months is $600 to $1,800/mo.
One-time vs. monthly SEO
| Service type | Price | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Technical audit (one-time) | $300 – $1,000 | Before a site redesign; when you don't know where to start |
| Local SEO setup (one-time) | $350 – $700 | Local contractor, restaurant, salon |
| Monthly retainer — basic | $300 – $600/mo | 1-3 keywords, holding your positions |
| Monthly retainer — standard | $600 – $1,400/mo | 10-20 keywords, content + link building |
| Monthly retainer — premium | $1,400 – $3,000/mo | E-commerce, national competition |
Rule of thumb: SEO is a 6-12 month investment, not a sprint. If an agency promises "number 1 in a month," they're either lying or using black-hat tactics that will get you penalized by Google.
What you actually get for that price
Technical audit ($300 – $1,000)
A one-time review of your site delivered as a PDF report (15-30 pages):
- Core Web Vitals analysis (LCP, CLS, INP)
- Crawl and indexability check (robots.txt, sitemap, canonical)
- On-page SEO for 20-50 key pages
- Missing meta tags, schema markup, hreflang
- Backlink profile plus toxic link check
- Competitive analysis of 3-5 competitors
- Prioritized action plan with deadlines
The audit by itself won't move your rankings. It's a map. Implementation is a separate cost, either in-house or through the agency.
Local SEO ($350 – $700 one-time)
Ideal for contractors, salons, restaurants, and medical practices:
- Google Business Profile optimization
- 15-30 local directory listings (Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Better Business Bureau, chamber of commerce sites)
- NAP consistency (name, address, phone identical everywhere)
- Local schema markup (LocalBusiness, GeoCoordinates)
- 5-10 local backlinks
- A strategy for earning Google reviews
ROI: for a local business, this is the highest-return SEO move there is. A $600 investment can bring in 5-10 new calls per month.
Monthly SEO retainers
Here the price splits by scope:
Basic ($300 – $600/mo) — 1-2 hours of work per month:
- Monthly report (rankings, traffic, clicks)
- Small on-page fixes
- Occasional content tweaks
- Fits a stable business with no growth ambitions
Standard ($600 – $1,400/mo) — 5-10 hours of work:
- 1-2 new blog posts per month (1,000-1,500 words)
- 3-5 targeted backlinks
- Content optimization of existing pages
- Competitor monitoring
- A/B testing of title tags and meta descriptions
Premium ($1,400 – $3,000/mo) — 15-30 hours of work:
- 4+ blog posts per month
- Outreach campaigns for backlinks (10-20/mo)
- Schema markup across all templates
- CRO (conversion rate optimization)
- International SEO if you target multiple markets
Hidden line items that push SEO costs up
Watch for these, because agencies often leave them out of the headline price:
1. Content writing — an extra $60-$180 per article if you're not writing it yourself 2. Technical implementation — if your site isn't on WordPress or Webflow, fixes need a developer ($50-$100/hr) 3. Premium SEO tools — Ahrefs or Semrush licenses, if the agency passes them through ($60-$250/mo) 4. Link building outreach — quality backlinks from real publications run $60-$350 per link 5. Professional photos — blog imagery, $40-$100 per set 6. Monthly report meetings — some agencies bill these separately at $60-$120
Always ask for the all-in price and get the list of monthly deliverables in writing.
When SEO pays for itself
A realistic timeline:
- Month 1-2: setup, first crawl, on-page fixes
- Month 3-4: first rankings for long-tail keywords (5-10 visits/day)
- Month 6: stable top 10 position for 3-5 main keywords (30-100 visits/day)
- Month 9-12: top 3 for core keywords, ROI exceeds the monthly spend
- Year 2+: organic traffic drives 60-80% of all leads
Sample math for a local contractor spending $900/mo on SEO:
- 50 organic visits/day after 12 months
- 3% conversion = 1.5 new leads/day
- Average lead value $350 = $15,750/mo
- ROI: 17x the monthly investment
How to spot a bad SEO offer
Red flags:
- Guarantees of "number 1 in 30 days" — impossible for competitive keywords
- A monthly price under $250 for standard SEO — that doesn't even cover the tools
- Mass-produced backlinks for $50 (blog comments, forum posts) — Google ignores or penalizes them
- They won't give you access to Google Search Console — you should own it
- AI-written content with no human editing — Google detects it
- No specific KPIs, just "improved rankings"
A good agency tells you realistic expectations, shows concrete ROI examples, and gives you access to every tool (GSC, GA4, dashboards).
Recommendations by situation
Small contractor (plumber, painter, salon): → Local SEO setup $450-$700 plus a basic retainer at $350/mo. Goal: top 3 locally for "your service + your city."
Service business (accounting, IT, marketing): → Standard retainer $800-$1,200/mo. Goal: rank for 8-12 service combinations plus thought leadership content.
E-commerce store (up to 500 products): → Standard $900-$1,800/mo focused on product schema, category pages, and blog. Goal: organic traffic as 40%+ of sales.
National B2B brand: → Premium $1,800-$3,000/mo with active PR for backlinks. Goal: domain authority 40+ and dominance in your niche.
Want a second opinion on your site?
At NovusAgency we run a free SEO snapshot of your existing site. In 30 minutes we'll tell you:
- Exactly where you're losing organic traffic
- Which 3 keywords can bring measurable ROI within 90 days
- A realistic budget for your situation (straight talk, no pitch)
[Book a free 30-minute consult](https://novusagency.co/en/contact) — no obligation, no sales tricks.