SEO pricing is all over the map, which makes it hard to know if you are being charged fairly. For a local business in 2026, real options range from doing it yourself for free to monthly retainers of a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars. Here is an honest breakdown.
Good SEO is not one task. A fair price usually covers a real audit, on-page fixes (titles, schema, structure), content, Google Business Profile optimization, citations, and honest reporting. If someone quotes a price without explaining what is included, that is a red flag - ask for the list.
Run a free audit before you pay anyone - know exactly what is wrong and what it should cost to fix.
Run My Free AuditThe $25/month "SEO" plans and template-mill websites usually skip the things that matter - schema, real content, a proper Google Business Profile - and leave you invisible while still charging you. We have audited sites on these plans with identical titles on every page and no review schema. Cheap that does nothing is more expensive than free.
If you have time and want to learn, you can get a long way yourself - start with a free audit to see exactly what to fix. If you would rather spend your time running your business, paying a specialist to handle it is reasonable - just make sure you understand what you are getting. You can also work with me directly without a long contract.
Watch for: guarantees of "#1 on Google" (nobody can promise that), long lock-in contracts, no clear deliverables, and reports full of vanity metrics instead of leads. Good SEO is transparent about what it does and patient about results.
Run a free audit before you pay anyone - know exactly what is wrong and what it should cost to fix.
Run My Free Audit