Short answer: most small and local businesses in the U.S. pay $1,000 to $2,500 a month for professional SEO, and local SEO averages about $1,557 a month in Ahrefs’ survey of 439 providers. Agency retainers average closer to $3,200 a month, and competitive industries often run $5,000 or more. The better question is not what SEO costs. It is what a new customer from search is worth to you, and that number tells you how much SEO you can afford before you sign anything.
For how MPH Marketing prices SEO and our other services, see our pricing page.
SEO pricing at a glance
Here is what the largest recent industry surveys found. These are what SEO providers actually charge, not what any one agency quotes.
| What you are paying for | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average monthly SEO retainer (all providers) | $2,917 per month | Ahrefs, 439 providers |
| Average agency retainer | $3,209 per month | Ahrefs |
| Average local SEO retainer | $1,557 per month | Ahrefs |
| Most common monthly range | $1,000 to $2,500 per month | Backlinko, 300+ SEO pros |
| Average hourly rate | $111 per hour | Ahrefs |
| AI search optimization (GEO/AEO) add-on | About $937 per month | SE Ranking agency survey |
One more number worth knowing: in the U.S. and Canada, 79.1% of SEO providers charge at least $1,001 a month. If someone is offering to “do your SEO” for $199, you are not buying the same service.
Why SEO prices vary so much
SEO is not a product with a sticker price. It is ongoing work, and the amount of work depends on how hard it is to win the searches that matter to you. Five things drive most of the difference between a $750 quote and a $5,000 quote:
- Competition. A plumber in Berkley competing for “water heater repair near me” faces a different fight than a personal injury firm competing for “Detroit car accident lawyer.” More competitors with strong websites means more content, more links and more time.
- Geography. One city and one Google Business Profile costs less than ten service areas or a national footprint.
- Where your site starts. A slow site with technical problems, thin pages or a messy history of old redirects needs cleanup before growth work pays off.
- Content volume. Service pages, location pages and articles are the bulk of the work. How many you need each month is usually the biggest line item.
- Who does the work. In Ahrefs’ data, agencies charge about 138% more than freelancers, and consultants charge the most. You are paying for a team, tools and accountability, or for one person’s time.
The three ways SEO is priced
Monthly retainer
This is how 78.2% of SEO providers bill, and it is the model that fits how search actually works. Rankings move on Google’s schedule, not yours, so you pay a set amount each month for an agreed set of work: technical fixes, content, Google Business Profile management, link building and reporting. Expect month-to-month or a short initial term.
Project pricing
A fixed price for a defined job, such as a technical audit, a site migration or building out a set of location pages. Good for a clear one-time need. Not a substitute for ongoing work, because competitors keep publishing after your project ends.
Hourly consulting
Typically $75 to $150 an hour, with an average of $111. This works when you have an in-house person doing the execution and you want an expert to set direction or review the work.
What you should expect at each budget
These tiers reflect what the market typically delivers at each level. Use them to sanity-check any proposal you receive.
- Under $500 a month: listing and citation management, basic reporting and light Google Business Profile updates. Fine for maintenance in a low-competition market. Rarely enough to move rankings on its own.
- $1,000 to $2,500 a month: the sweet spot for most local service businesses. A real strategy, technical fixes, a steady flow of new or improved pages, Google Business Profile optimization, review strategy and monthly reporting tied to leads.
- $2,500 to $5,000 a month: multiple locations or competitive industries like legal, medical, home services in large metros and e-commerce. More content, active link building and conversion work on the site itself.
- $5,000 and up: regional or national campaigns, large sites and markets where every top competitor is investing heavily. In Backlinko’s survey, 19% of providers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia charge more than $5,000 a month.
How much does local SEO cost?
Local SEO is usually less expensive than broad national SEO because the playing field is smaller. Ahrefs found local SEO averages $1,557 a month, with agencies around $1,819 and freelancers around $1,150. For a single-location business in Metro Detroit, the work centers on your Google Business Profile, reviews, consistent business listings, and city or service pages that match how people actually search. Our local SEO services page breaks down what that work includes, and our guide to ranking in Google Maps shows the tactics.
The new line item: AI search visibility
Search no longer ends at the ten blue links. Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity now answer questions directly, and they pull from websites that are clear, well structured and trusted. Optimizing for that is often called generative engine optimization (GEO) or answer engine optimization (AEO). In SE Ranking’s agency survey, agencies that have priced it charge about $937 a month on average.
In practice, good GEO overlaps heavily with good SEO: accurate structured data, a consistent business identity across the web, pages that answer real questions plainly, and content AI tools can quote. Before you pay for it separately, ask whether your SEO provider already includes it. If you want the full breakdown, read GEO vs. AEO vs. SEO or see our GEO services.
How to work out what you can afford
Skip the price shopping for a minute and run this math. It takes five minutes and gives you a real budget ceiling.
- Average job value. What a typical new customer spends with you. Use lifetime value if customers come back.
- Close rate. Out of every 10 leads, how many become customers?
- Value of one lead. Multiply the two. A $1,200 average job with a 30% close rate means each lead is worth about $360.
- Break-even. Divide the monthly SEO fee by the value of a lead. At $1,500 a month and $360 a lead, you need about 4 to 5 extra leads a month from organic search to break even. Everything after that is profit, and organic leads keep coming without a per-click charge.
Be patient with the timeline. Google’s own guidance says that in most cases, SEOs need four months to a year to implement improvements and start seeing results. If you need leads this month, pair SEO with paid search while it builds. Our breakdown of what Google Ads actually costs a Metro Detroit business walks through that math.
Red flags in a cheap SEO quote
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. No one controls Google’s results, and Google says so directly.
- Hundreds of backlinks for a flat fee. Bulk links are usually low quality and can hurt your site.
- No access to your own accounts. You should own your website, Google Business Profile, Search Console and analytics.
- Reports full of rankings but no leads. Rankings are a means. Calls, form fills and sales are the point.
- Long contracts with no defined work. You should know what gets done each month.
We wrote a longer checklist on how to spot a bad online marketing company if you are comparing proposals right now.
How MPH Marketing prices SEO
We build every SEO plan around the lead math above, not a one-size package. That means a short audit of your site and your local competitors, a clear list of the work we will do each month, and reporting tied to calls and form submissions. Our plans cover traditional SEO, local SEO and AI search visibility together, because for most Metro Detroit businesses they are the same job. Learn more about our SEO services, or book a free consultation and we will tell you honestly what budget your market needs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SEO cost per month for a small business?
Most small businesses pay between $1,000 and $2,500 a month for professional SEO. Local SEO averages about $1,557 a month according to Ahrefs’ survey of 439 providers. Very small businesses in low-competition markets can start lower, while competitive industries often need $2,500 to $5,000 or more.
Is SEO worth the cost?
SEO is worth it when the value of the extra leads it brings in exceeds the monthly fee. Multiply your average job value by your close rate to get the value of one lead, then divide your SEO budget by that number to see how many extra leads you need to break even.
How long does SEO take to work?
Google says that in most cases SEOs need four months to a year to implement improvements and start seeing results. Quick technical fixes can help sooner, but meaningful ranking and lead growth usually builds over several months.
Is local SEO cheaper than regular SEO?
Usually, yes. Local SEO targets a smaller geographic area and focuses on your Google Business Profile, reviews, listings and local pages. Ahrefs found local SEO averages about $1,557 a month, compared with $2,917 a month for SEO overall.
Do I need to pay extra for AI search optimization?
Not always. Much of what helps you appear in Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, such as structured data, a consistent business identity and clear answers to common questions, is part of good SEO. Agencies that price it separately charge about $937 a month on average, so ask whether it is already included in your plan.
