Quick answer: for a small local business, most SEO providers charge somewhere between $500 and $2,000 a month on a retainer, $75 to $150 an hour for hourly work, and $500 to $5,000 for a one-time project. Local SEO tends to cost less than national SEO. In Ahrefs’ survey of 439 SEO providers, those serving local markets averaged $1,557 a month. Cheaper plans exist and can work for a contractor in a few towns. Expensive plans exist too, and many small businesses do not need them.
So how much does SEO cost for you specifically? It depends on how many towns you want to show up in, how crowded your trade is locally, and whether your website needs to be rebuilt first. Below are the real survey numbers, what pushes the price up or down, and the red flags that should end a sales call early.
What the surveys say SEO costs
There is no official price list for SEO, so the best data comes from surveys of the people selling it. Two of the more useful ones:
- Ahrefs polled 439 SEO service providers (article first published December 2023, updated since) and checked each one’s website by hand to confirm they really sold SEO.
- SE Ranking published a 2025 agency pricing survey (December 2024) built from 260 agencies. 94% of them serve small or local businesses.
Here is how the numbers line up.
| Pricing model | Ahrefs (439 providers) | SE Ranking (260 agencies) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer, most common | $501–$1,000/month (20.4% of respondents) | $500–$1,000/month |
| Monthly retainer, spread | 68.8% charge $2,000/month or less | 64% charge under $1,000; 30% under $500 |
| Local SEO, monthly average | $1,557/month (agencies ~$1,819, freelancers ~$1,150) | Not reported separately |
| Hourly, most common | $75–$100/hour (24% of respondents) | $50–$100/hour |
| One-time project, most common | $2,501–$5,000 (21.2% of respondents) | $500–$2,000 |
Where the sources disagree
The surveys roughly agree on the most common monthly band ($500 to $1,000). They split on almost everything else, and there are good reasons:
- Who they asked. SE Ranking’s sample skewed toward small agencies (78% had under 10 people) and included many European shops, which charge less. Ahrefs’ pool included consultants and big agencies, and 79.1% of its U.S. and Canada providers charge at least $1,001 a month.
- How averages were figured. Ahrefs calculated its averages by assuming every respondent charges the top of their price bracket, so the averages lean high.
- Sample size. SE Ranking says outright that its sample “may not be large enough to reach statistical significance.”
- Ahrefs disagrees with itself in spots. Its summary says 23% charge $500 to $1,000 a month, while the detailed section says 20.4% charge $501 to $1,000. Small difference, but it shows these numbers are estimates, not gospel.
The fair takeaway: a U.S. local business will most often be quoted somewhere between $500 and $2,000 a month, and anything outside that range deserves a clear explanation of why.
How SEO is billed
BrightLocal’s industry survey found that a monthly fee based on deliverables is the most popular way to bill for local SEO: 63% of agencies and 51% of freelancers use it. Per-project billing came next (36% of agencies, 44% of freelancers), then hourly (28% of agencies, 43% of freelancers). Plenty of shops mix models, like a setup project followed by a monthly plan.
What drives the price of local SEO
Two HVAC companies can get quotes that are $1,500 a month apart, and both quotes can be fair. Here is what moves the number.
How crowded your market is. A pool service in one quiet town has a different fight than a roofer trying to rank in a big metro after a storm season. More competitors with strong profiles and hundreds of reviews means more work to catch up.
How many towns and services you want to rank for. Showing up for “plumber Wellington” is one job. Showing up for drain cleaning, water heaters, and repiping across eight towns is a much bigger one. Each town and service usually needs its own well-built page.
Content. Writing real service pages and city pages (not the same page with the town name swapped) takes time. Plans that include regular new content cost more.
Links and citations. Getting your business listed accurately across directories is fairly cheap. Earning real links from local organizations, suppliers, and news sites takes more effort and costs more.
Whether a website is included. If your current site is five thin pages on a builder you do not control, part of what you are paying for is a rebuild. Some agencies fold that into the monthly fee. Others charge it up front. Either way, ask.
Who does the work. In Ahrefs’ data, agencies charged 138% more than freelancers on average. You pay for more people and more process. Sometimes that is worth it and sometimes it is overhead.
What a small contractor actually needs (and what gets upsold)
Most local service businesses win or lose on the Google Maps results and a handful of searches in their own area. Google says local results are “mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity”, and that there is “no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.” So the work that matters is the work that makes you more relevant and more trusted in your area.
What most contractors need:
- A fast, clear website with a real page for each main service and the towns you serve
- A complete Google Business Profile: correct categories, services, service area, description, and real job photos
- A steady flow of honest reviews, with every review answered
- Accurate listings on the main directories so your name, address, and phone match everywhere
- Someone checking in each month on what changed and what to do next
What often gets upsold:
- National keyword campaigns when you only work in one county
- Blog posts every week on topics nobody in your area searches
- Social media “SEO” packages that have little to do with Google rankings
- Big link-building bundles from sites that have nothing to do with your trade or town
- Reports stuffed with vanity numbers instead of calls and form fills
A real example: one of our clients, a pavers and hardscape company in Lake Worth Beach, did not need a giant content program. It needed an SEO website rebuild and Google Business Profile optimization, and it now ranks #2 to #3 on Google for multiple Lake Worth keywords. The basics, done well, carry a lot of weight for local trades.
Red flags before you sign an SEO contract
Google has a page on hiring an SEO that every owner should skim. Its bluntest line: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” Watch for these:
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. Google says to be wary of anyone who claims to guarantee rankings or have a “special relationship” with Google.
- Long lock-in contracts. A 12-month contract with a big cancellation fee protects the agency, not you. Good work keeps clients without a trap.
- The agency owns your website or profile. If the domain is registered in their name, or they are the only owner on your Google Business Profile, you can lose both when you leave. On a Business Profile, only owners can add or remove users. Managers cannot. You should be an owner.
- Vague reports. If you cannot tell what was done last month and why, you are paying for a mystery. Google’s own guide says your SEO should share every change they make to your site and explain the reasoning.
- Secret methods. Google warns against SEOs who are secretive or will not clearly explain what they plan to do. If they create deceptive content on your behalf, you are the one who pays for it.
- Cold emails promising page one. Google says to treat unsolicited SEO emails with the same skepticism as “burn fat at night” diet pills.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
Several of these come straight from Google’s list. The rest come from what we see go wrong for contractors.
- Can you show me examples of your past work, ideally in a trade like mine?
- What results do you expect, in what timeframe, and how will you measure them?
- What exactly is included each month? Can I see it in writing?
- Will I be the owner of my domain, website, and Google Business Profile?
- Is there a contract? What does it cost to cancel?
- Will you tell me every change you make and why?
- What will my monthly report show? Rankings alone, or calls and leads too?
- What is not included, and what does it cost if I need it later?
A good provider should also ask you questions: what makes your business different, who your competitors are, and how customers find you today. Google calls this out too. If they pitch before they ask, move on.
How we price it
Since you are reading this on our site, here is how our pricing works. You do not have to hire us to use this guide.
We have one plan, and every quote has the same two parts:
- A one-time website build, paid once
- One flat monthly price after that, month-to-month, no contract
- You own everything: the site, the domain, the profile
We do not post a number because the right scope depends on your trade, how many towns you want to show up in, and where your Google profile and website start. A roofer covering three towns with a solid profile needs less than one covering ten towns with no reviews. So we look first, then send a fixed quote in writing before any work starts. Nothing gets added to the bill later without your OK.
The monthly plan includes review automation, Google Business Profile management, lead follow-up (including missed-call text-back), a monthly check-in, backlink and citation building, and competitor analysis. Custom AI work, like CRM setup or an AI answering service, is quoted separately. We promise your site is live within 14 days of getting your content and access, or month one is free.
What we do not promise: rankings, leads, or revenue. No one can honestly promise those, and Google says so.
Whoever you talk to, us included, hold the quote up against the survey numbers above and ask the questions in the last section. Our plan is built for local service businesses in Palm Beach, Martin, and Broward counties, focused on the basics that move Google Maps rankings for contractors. If you are chasing a huge metro, running many locations, or want a heavy weekly content program, you may need a bigger plan than ours, and that is fine.
Not sure what you need yet?
Before you spend anything, it helps to know where you stand. Our free Google Visibility Check looks at where your business shows up on Google Maps and search in your town, compares your profile and website to the top 3, and shows what to fix first. Some owners fix it all themselves after that. If you would rather just talk it through, you can book a call with Gene.