Help getting found on Google, ChatGPT, and AI answers is often sold as search engine optimization, or SEO. Ahrefs reported average SEO costs of $2,917 per month in its pricing research updated August 15, 2024. Ahrefs surveyed providers internationally, so this average is a reference point for comparing quotes.
If you run a service business, compare the work each monthly fee covers. Ask about your Google Business Profile and appearing in answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews. Google Search Central’s guidance, updated June 5, 2026, lists site review, content development, and keyword research as possible services. Ask which tasks your proposal includes and who completes them.
What should you budget for SEO each month?
In brief: Build your monthly SEO budget around the pages and locations you want help with, then compare written proposals using the published figures below as starting points and check which tasks, website changes, and extra charges each provider includes in its fee.
| Owner situation | Published monthly figure | Evidence and limits | What to ask | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local service business | $1,557 average | Providers serving local markets | Which locations and pages are covered? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Established small business | $501-$1,000 | Published guide tier; not a US average | Who implements the proposed changes? | Backlinko, 2025 |
| Small business with several locations | Ask for a quote based on the work needed | No verified price range for this business category | Which locations need separate work? | Buyer question; no verified range. |
| Mid-sized business | $1,001-$2,500 | Published guide tier; not a verified midsize business subgroup | Which pages and extra costs are included? | Backlinko, 2025 |
| Competitive industry | $2,501-$5,000 | Competition category, not company size | What work does the proposed fee cover? | Backlinko, 2025 |
Source: Ahrefs, updated August 15, 2024; Backlinko, updated December 29, 2025. Questions are RankVisibly’s editorial guidance.
Backlinko presents those tiers in its guide for 2026. Its December 29, 2025 update does not identify the research dates or establish prices for US service businesses. Keep Ahrefs’ local average separate from Backlinko’s business categories.
Start your comparison by writing down the services you want customers to find. Then list the website pages you want a provider to assess.
If the quote exceeds your budget, request a smaller written scope.
When considering help improving your visibility on Google, ask for the proposed tasks beside the fee.
The number: $2,917 a month in Ahrefs’ 2024 pricing research
In brief: Ahrefs reported an average monthly SEO cost of $2,917 in research updated in 2024, giving you a starting point for comparing proposals when you understand that it surveyed providers internationally and estimated averages using the highest amount in each reported price range.
Ahrefs reported average SEO costs of $2,917 per month in its pricing research updated August 15, 2024.
Its opening takeaway states: “SEO costs $2,917 per month on average.” The research covers an international sample of 439 providers. Ahrefs estimated average prices using the highest amount in each price range.
The update date does not tell you when Ahrefs surveyed providers or what a US business would pay today.
We recommend asking providers to explain which tasks account for their fees. Compare those answers with the pages your business needs help with.
How much does local SEO cost?
In brief: Local SEO costs averaged $1,557 per month in Ahrefs’ research updated in 2024, so use that figure to start your budget discussion and ask what each proposal covers for your website, Google Business Profile, customer reviews, and the places your business serves.
Ahrefs’ 2024 research states: “Local SEO costs $1,557 per month on average.” Its local comparison puts agencies at $1,819 and freelancers at about $1,150 monthly. These figures describe providers serving local markets; they do not come from a survey of US small businesses.
List the places you serve and the existing local pages you want reviewed. Ask whether proposed new pages require a separate writing agreement.
| Provider category | Monthly average | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| All local market providers | $1,557 | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Local agencies | $1,819 | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Local freelancers | About $1,150 | Ahrefs, 2024 |
Source: Ahrefs’ local cost subsection, updated August 15, 2024.
For Google Business Profile optimization, ask who checks business details and approves changes. Ask who manages the review process and who answers customers. Ask the provider to report Google Business Profile changes separately from website changes.
Use our Dallas Google Maps guide when preparing your questions about local visibility. Check that the proposal covers the places your business serves. Our local SEO guide for small businesses explains what that work involves.
Should you pay monthly, hourly, or by project?
In brief: Choose how to pay for SEO by describing the work you need, then ask whether the provider recommends a monthly agreement, hourly advice, or a fixed project fee and how it will record finished work, approve extra costs, and handle your requests.
In Ahrefs’ 2024 research, providers could offer several payment models, so the percentages overlap. The most common price range is the range providers reported most often. A monthly retainer means paying for an ongoing monthly agreement.
For a monthly agreement, ask what the provider will continue reviewing. Specify how you will agree on work as priorities change. For hourly advice, describe the question you need answered. Ask whether the hourly agreement also covers making the recommended changes.
| Model | Share of providers offering it | Price and billing period | What to clarify | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | 78.2% | $501 to $1,000 monthly; most common range, reported by 20.4% of respondents | Which tasks and reviews does the monthly fee cover? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Hourly | 34.8% | $111 per hour; reported average | How is time approved and recorded? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Project | 48.9% | $2,501 to $5,000 per project; most common range, reported by 21.2% of respondents | What counts as finished work, and what costs extra? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
Source: Ahrefs, updated August 15, 2024. The monthly retainer row uses the figure in Ahrefs’ detailed pricing section; Ahrefs’ own summary gives a different figure.
For a project, ask the provider to define what finished work you will receive. Clarify what happens if you request changes during delivery. Ask whether the final handover includes instructions for whoever maintains your website. Ask whether the project fee also includes ongoing support.
How do agency and freelancer prices compare?
In brief: Compare an agency and a freelancer by asking who will write your pages, make website changes, answer your questions, and arrange any specialist help, then use Ahrefs’ local pricing averages to discuss the fee alongside the tasks each candidate has agreed to handle.
Ahrefs’ 2024 figures below compare agencies and freelancers serving local markets.
Ask each candidate to name the person responsible for your work. Then ask who will make changes inside your website. Request an explanation of any specialist work priced separately. Ask agencies, freelancers, and consultants the same questions about responsibilities.
| Provider | Monthly average | Providers included in the average | Responsibility questions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agency | $1,819 | Local market providers | Who completes and implements the work? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
| Freelancer | About $1,150 | Local market providers | Who handles approvals and specialist tasks? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
Source: Ahrefs’ local provider comparison, updated August 15, 2024.
Ahrefs’ 2024 update reports consultants averaging $3,250 monthly across its broader sample. That broader average cannot tell you how local consultant prices compare with the local agency and freelancer figures.
| Provider | Monthly average | Providers included in the average | Responsibility questions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultant, separate comparison | $3,250 | Broader consultant sample, not local providers only | Does the agreement cover advice, implementation, or both? | Ahrefs, 2024 |
Source: Ahrefs’ broader consultant sample, updated August 15, 2024.
What should your monthly SEO payment cover?
In brief: Your monthly SEO agreement should tell you which pages the provider will review, what it will write or change, who needs access to your accounts, and how you will approve the work, with Google’s service examples helping you decide what questions to ask.
Google Search Central’s June 5, 2026 guidance lists possible services, including reviewing website content or structure. It also lists developing content and researching search terms. Ask your provider which of Google’s service examples your monthly fee covers.
Use RankVisibly’s checklist to ask who handles each task. The quoted work areas use Google’s exact wording from its guidance. RankVisibly added questions about who makes changes, approves them, needs account access, and reports completed work.
| Work area | Completed work to request | Provider responsibility | Your responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Review of your site content or structure” | Findings tied to specific pages | Who explains and implements recommendations? | Who confirms business priorities? |
| “Content development” | Drafts and agreed revisions | Who writes, edits, and publishes? | Who checks service details? |
| “Keyword research” | Search terms matched to the pages they could help customers find | Who explains the selection? | Who confirms relevant services? |
| Implementation and access | Record of agreed changes | Who needs which account permissions? | Who authorizes access? |
| Approvals and reporting | Completed actions and outstanding decisions | Who presents the work? | Who reviews and approves it? |
Source: Google Search Central, updated June 5, 2026, for quoted service examples. Remaining checklist: RankVisibly’s editorial recommendations.
For ChatGPT and AI answers, ask what work the proposal actually includes. Request an explanation of what the provider will measure. Ask who reviews any proposed content before it reaches your website.
You can check what ChatGPT says about your business when preparing that conversation.
What can change your SEO price or cost extra?
In brief: Check your SEO quote for the ongoing fee, separate writing or website charges, optional software, and work needed for each location, then ask the provider to explain which tasks you must handle and how it will get your approval before charging for extras.
Keep company size separate from the competition your business faces. Ask the provider to explain its recommendations for your actual website.
Use the worksheet to check what each quote includes. Ask which listed items carry an extra charge. Get written answers before comparing the total costs and your responsibilities in each proposal.
| Recurring fee | Separate charges to ask about | Optional work | Owner work | Approval duties | Cancellation terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What work does the fee cover? | Any separate review, writing, or development charges? | Which tasks require another agreement? | What details and access must you supply? | Who approves content and site changes? | What notice and handover terms apply? |
| Which locations and pages are included? | Any work needed on the existing site? | Any separately priced software? | Who checks location and service information? | How are additional costs approved? | What happens to unfinished work and account access when you cancel? |
Source: RankVisibly’s proposed quote worksheet, provided as editorial buying guidance.
Ask how the provider will handle a newly requested service page. Specify who decides whether that request changes the agreed scope. Require the provider to get your approval before starting work that costs extra.
Identify who can supply business details and check proposed changes. Ask the provider to clarify any unassigned tasks before you sign.
How can you judge an affordable SEO quote?
In brief: An affordable SEO quote should fit your budget and explain what you will receive, so check the tasks, completed work, account access, and extra charges before signing, and treat any promise of first place on Google as a reason to question the provider.
Google Search Central, updated June 5, 2026, states: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” That warning applies when evaluating a proposal at any price.
Judge a low fee by the work and terms in the proposal. Use RankVisibly’s questions below to clarify what you will receive.
| Warning sign | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed first place on Google | How does this promise square with Google’s warning? |
| Unexplained work | Which specific actions does this fee cover? |
| Unclear ownership | What access and work remain available when the agreement ends? |
| Reports that do not show completed work | Which changes did the provider complete? |
| Unexplained extras | Which charges require separate approval? |
Source: Google Search Central, updated June 5, 2026, for the ranking warning. Other questions: RankVisibly’s editorial checklist.
Before accepting, check your responsibilities and how you will inspect completed work. For a website review, ask how you will receive its findings. For proposed writing, ask who checks accuracy and approves publication.
How do SEO costs compare with Google ads?
In brief: Compare SEO costs with Google ads by recording the service fees, advertising spending, customer inquiries, and booked jobs for each over the same period, then review what those jobs earned alongside the costs you paid to attract and complete the work.
For Google and Microsoft search ads, LocaliQ reports cost per lead, abbreviated CPL. Its benchmark report, updated June 1, 2026, states: “The average CPL for search advertising in 2026 is $66.69.” This advertising benchmark is neither an organic search lead cost nor a required advertising budget.
Compare inquiries and booked jobs over the same period. Separate relevant customer inquiries from contacts unrelated to your services. Record which inquiries become booked jobs before judging the spending.
| Measure | What you pay for | What it cannot tell you | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly service fee | The work specified in an agreement | Cost per inquiry or booked job | Ahrefs, 2024, monthly billing option |
| Search advertising cost per lead: $66.69 average | Advertising spending divided by the number of leads | Your organic search lead cost or future bookings | LocaliQ, 2026 |
Source: Ahrefs, updated August 15, 2024; LocaliQ, updated June 1, 2026.
Keep service fees and advertising spend visible in your comparison. Include any related costs you identify for each activity. Use your recorded inquiries and booked jobs to compare the spending.
How can you tell whether SEO is worth the cost?
In brief: Decide whether SEO is worth the cost by tracking the additional inquiries and booked jobs you can trace to the work over your chosen review period, then subtracting relevant marketing costs from the money those jobs leave after the costs of doing them.
Fill in the worksheet with your own job records and costs. Contribution means money left from a job after the costs of doing it. Ask whoever manages your accounts which costs to include, and use those categories in each review.
Review delivery and business outcomes as separate parts of your decision. Check whether the provider finished the agreed tasks before reviewing inquiries and booked jobs. Discuss unanswered questions when you next review the work plan with your provider.
| Inquiries you can trace to your marketing | Booked jobs | Contribution per job | Provider fees and your own costs | Review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which additional inquiries can you trace to your marketing? | Which inquiries became booked jobs? | What remains after doing the job? | Which provider fees, tools, and owner work belong in the comparison? | What period will you measure, and when will you review the results? |
Source: RankVisibly’s editorial worksheet; all business inputs must come from the owner.
Subtract marketing costs from the contribution of the additional jobs you can trace to that marketing.
Keep the job records beside the costs when reviewing that calculation. Agree how you will handle inquiries with an unclear source. You may not know which marketing activity brought in a customer who found you in several places. Record how you know where each inquiry came from. Keep uncertain inquiries in a separate group for discussion with your provider. Use the same counting approach when comparing results across review periods.
How does RankVisibly set the scope and fee?
In brief: RankVisibly sets out the SEO work and fee in writing after the free growth plan, so review which tasks the proposal includes, what you need to supply, who will approve website changes, and how you will check finished work before accepting the agreement.
RankVisibly sets out the scope and fee in writing after the free growth plan. Use that written proposal when reviewing our SEO services for your business.
Frequently asked questions about SEO costs
Is paid SEO worth it?
Judge paid SEO by the work completed, the jobs you can trace to it, and its costs. Google’s 2026 guidance lists site review, content development, and keyword research as possible services. Ask which of those tasks your agreement covers. Use your records to compare the money left from additional jobs after job costs with your marketing costs. Agree on the measurement period before reviewing the results. Fill in the worksheet above with those records and costs.
Can I do SEO on my own?
Choose which SEO tasks to do yourself based on your time, skills, and access to your website. Google’s 2026 service examples include reviewing your site, developing content, and researching search terms. Ask which tasks you can complete and check confidently. Identify where you need help making a proposed website change. Account for your time when comparing that approach with hiring someone. Choose responsibilities you can sustain alongside serving your customers.
Can ChatGPT do SEO?
Before using ChatGPT for SEO, decide who will check its output and make website changes. Ask what the provider plans to use ChatGPT for. Use Google’s 2026 service examples to discuss who reviews pages, writes content, and researches search terms. Google’s guidance also says no one can guarantee first place on Google. Request a written explanation of human review before accepting the proposal. Name the person who checks business details and approves publication.
How much does SEO usually cost?
Ahrefs reported average SEO costs of $2,917 per month in its pricing research updated August 15, 2024. That update also reports an overall average hourly rate of $111. Its most common project range was $2,501 to $5,000 per project. Keep the payment units separate when comparing those reference points. The research covers providers internationally, so the average is a reference point for comparing US quotes. Ask for the work and responsibilities behind your proposed price.
Is SEO still worth it in 2026?
Judge whether SEO is worth paying for in 2026 by comparing customer demand, costs, inquiries, and booked jobs. Start by asking whether customers search for the services you sell. Ask what website work the provider proposes for those services. Include questions about Google, ChatGPT, and AI answers in that discussion. Compare the proposed work with the budget you can maintain. Then agree how you will review additional inquiries and booked jobs. Use your own costs and job records to decide whether SEO is paying off.
Does the monthly fee include Google ads?
Ask for a written list showing whether your monthly SEO fee includes Google ads. Ahrefs’ 2024 update reports that 78.2% of surveyed providers offered monthly retainers, meaning ongoing monthly agreements. LocaliQ’s 2026 benchmark reports an average cost per lead of $66.69 for Google and Microsoft search ads. This is neither a monthly service fee nor a required advertising budget. Request separate lines for website work, advertising management, and advertising spend. Ask which charges require your approval before work begins.
What happens to the work and accounts if I cancel?
Before signing an SEO agreement, get written terms covering cancellation, ownership, and account access. Ask which accounts you can access during the agreement. Specify what happens to drafts, completed pages, and unfinished work afterward. Request an explanation of any notice requirements or remaining charges. Ask who will send you the completed work and account details when the agreement ends. Get the provider’s answers in writing before you sign.
Sources
- Ahrefs, SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost? 439 People Polled, updated August 15, 2024.
- Backlinko, SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost in 2026?, updated December 29, 2025.
- Google Search Central, Do you need an SEO?, updated June 5, 2026.
- LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry, updated June 1, 2026.
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