What you’re actually paying for
Local SEO isn’t one thing. A monthly price usually bundles some mix of:
- An audit and plan. Where you stand, and what to fix first.
- Google Business Profile management. Posts, photos, services, Q&A, and hours.
- Reviews. A system for asking customers, and replies to what they write.
- Citations. Fixing your name, address, and phone on directories, and adding missing listings.
- Website work. Service pages, a pricing page, FAQs, and schema markup.
- Reporting. Rankings, calls, and, increasingly, whether AI assistants mention you.
Two quotes at the same price can include very different amounts of this. Always ask for the list.
What drives the price up or down
Competition. A plumber in a large metro faces more competitors with more reviews than a plumber in a small town. More competition means more content and more outreach to stand out.
Locations. Each location needs its own Google profile, citations, and reviews. Expect a per-location add-on.
Done-for-you vs. do-it-yourself. A plan that hands you a to-do list costs less than one where the agency writes the posts, fixes the listings, and replies to reviews.
AI search. Tracking whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews recommend you takes extra work each month. It’s worth asking whether a plan includes it, because those assistants increasingly answer “who should I call?” questions.
Red flags in a local SEO quote
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. No one controls Google’s results or what an AI assistant says.
- Long contracts with no exit. A short minimum is reasonable. A year-long lock-in protects the agency, not you.
- Reports with no work behind them. If the monthly report is the main deliverable, you’re paying for monitoring, not improvement.
- No published pricing. You shouldn’t need three sales calls to learn the price range.
Our pricing
We publish our prices: a free snapshot, a one-time audit, and three monthly programs. See the full breakdown and comparison on our pricing page, or start with a free Local Growth Snapshot to see which plan, if any, you need.
Frequently asked questions
Is a one-time local SEO audit worth it?
Yes, if it gives you a prioritized plan rather than a list of warnings. A good audit tells you which fixes matter most and in what order, so you or your team can act on it. Ours is $750 and is credited to your first month if you join a program within 30 days.
Why do some agencies charge $300 a month and others $5,000?
Cheap plans are usually reporting only, with little done for you. Expensive ones bundle national SEO, paid ads, or large content teams. Compare what's actually delivered each month: posts, pages, listings fixed, reviews handled, and reports.
How long should I commit to local SEO?
Give it at least three months. Google profile, review, and citation changes take 30 to 90 days to show up in rankings, so judging results sooner isn't fair to you or the agency.