What SEO actually costs, city by city
The same work gets quoted at wildly different prices depending on where you are. We pull the published rates from agencies in each city, put them side by side, and explain what each price tier genuinely buys. No sales calls required to find out what things cost.
The short answer
Across most developed markets, published SEO prices land between $300 and $8,000 per month. Single-location local businesses typically pay $800 to $2,500. Competitive verticals such as dental, legal, cosmetic healthcare and premium home services usually sit between $1,500 and $4,000.
City matters less than most agencies imply. What genuinely moves your number is how competitive your vertical is, what condition your site is in, and how many locations you serve.
Why the same work costs more in some cities
Agencies price against local competition rather than against the work itself. A technical audit takes the same hours in Phoenix as it does in Manchester. What changes is how hard it is to outrank everyone else, and that is driven by a few things:
- Competition density. Wealthy metros attract more agencies chasing the same businesses, so more effort is needed to win the same position.
- Local income levels. Where customers have more money, businesses can pay more for them, and prices rise to match.
- Paid click prices. Expensive Google Ads terms signal valuable traffic, and organic competition follows the same pattern.
- The local business mix. A city full of law firms, med spas and private healthcare has a higher ceiling than one dominated by light industry.
- What the market will bear. Not every part of the gap is justified. Some of it is simply what local firms have found they can charge.
That last point is worth sitting with. When you see a quote well above these bands, the useful question is not whether the city is expensive. It is what is being delivered each month, and how much of your fee is funding an office and an account manager rather than the actual work.
City guides
Each guide compares the published rates of real agencies serving that city, breaks down what every price tier delivers, and gives you the local market context behind the numbers.
Scottsdale, Arizona
$299 to $8,000+ per monthSeven agencies compared. High household income and a dense med spa, dental and legal market push prices above the Arizona average.
Naples, Florida
$399 to $5,000+ per monthFive providers compared, plus the season timing question. Extreme wealth concentration and demand compressed into October to April change both what you pay and when you should start.
Bellevue, Washington
$500 to $10,000 per monthFive providers compared, plus the click-cost comparison. Bellevue clicks reach $98.80, which changes how you should judge any retainer quote.
Plano, Texas
$500 to $6,000 per monthFive providers compared, plus the split nobody prices for: Legacy corridor B2B and Plano consumer services need completely different work.
Overland Park, Kansas
$500 to $10,000 per monthFour providers compared, plus the Kansas City geography trap: two Kansas Cities in two states, and a suburb ring most outside agencies target wrongly.
Irvine, California
$470 to $10,000 per monthSeven named providers compared with real numbers, plus the Irvine premium: corridor agencies quote $2,000 to $5,000 while a firm twenty minutes away charges $1,499 and says why.
Cary, North Carolina
$750 to $15,000 per monthSix Triangle providers compared, plus the month thirteen test: introductory rates and initial commitments make year one look cheaper than the relationship will be.
Reading, Berkshire (UK)
£99 to £3,000+ a monthOur first UK guide. Six providers compared in pounds, plus the London overflow, the VAT line, and why Google has to work out which Reading you mean.
Cheltenham (UK)
£280 to £5,000 a monthSix providers compared in pounds, plus the free-months trade: two months free on a twelve-month contract saves money only if you were staying anyway.
Oakville, Ontario (Canada)
CA$200 to CA$6,000+ a monthOur first Canadian guide, in Canadian dollars. Plus the currency trap: a US$1,500 quote is about CA$2,115, 41 percent more than a Canadian quote with the same number.
Boca Raton, Florida
$400 to $10,000+ per monthSix providers compared, plus the break-even math: when one client is worth $10,000 to $50,000, a $1,500 retainer needs fewer than two a year to pay for itself.
Gold Coast, Queensland (Australia)
$99 a week to $3,000+ a monthOur first Australian guide, in Australian dollars. What weekly and plus-GST pricing really works out to, and how to tell whether a cost guide is independent.
Canberra, ACT (Australia)
$500 to $10,000+ a monthAustralia’s highest-income city, shaped by government. Why public-sector buyers check you rather than find you, and how free AusTender data doubles as keyword research.
Christchurch, Canterbury (New Zealand)
$500 to $10,000+ a monthOur first New Zealand guide, in NZ dollars. What 15% GST adds to every quote, and why a city growing faster than the rest of the country rewards starting early.
Cork (Ireland)
€280 to €3,500+ a monthOur first Irish guide, in euro. How many hours a package really buys, why a six-month minimum changes the price, and the 23% VAT line.
Dublin (Ireland)
€199 to €3,500+ a monthWhy Dublin is 22 postal-district markets rather than one, why your own district is the cheapest fight to win, and what a package really contains.
Eindhoven (Netherlands)
€500 to €10,000+ a monthDutch SEO prices against the real cost of hiring an SEO specialist, and why English-language search matters in Brainport, where half the high-tech workforce is not Dutch.
The Hague (Netherlands)
€500 to €10,000+ a monthDutch SEO prices, and the English-speaking international market of embassies, courts and 200+ organisations that most local sites ignore.
What every city guide has in common
Wherever you are, the same four price tiers show up. Only the boundaries move.
| Tier | Typical range | What you are actually buying |
|---|---|---|
| Productized | $300 to $800/mo | A fixed checklist run at volume. Little custom strategy, thin or automated content |
| Real local SEO | $800 to $1,500/mo | Proper technical work, Google Business Profile management, content written for your business |
| Competitive vertical | $1,500 to $4,000/mo | Ongoing original content, digital PR and links, conversion work, AI answer optimisation |
| Multi-location | $4,000 to $8,000+/mo | Several locations or large catalogues. Cost scales with footprint |
If a quote sits outside these bands in either direction, ask what changes at that price. A number on its own tells you nothing.
Our prices do not change with your postcode
Here is the thing the city-by-city comparison makes obvious. If the work is the same, why should a business in Scottsdale pay more than one in Sheffield for it?
They should not, and with us they do not. These are our prices everywhere, published, no sales call needed to hear them:
| What | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free site check | $0 | Rough snapshot of where you stand. Still in development, not a full crawl |
| Full SEO audit | $295 / $475 / $850 | One-time, priced by site size. Under 30 pages, 30 to 60, then 60 plus |
| Monthly retainer | $900 / $1,500 / $2,500 | Matched to how competitive your market is. No contract, cancel any month |
| WordPress build | From $1,700 | One-time. You own everything, credentials and hosting included |
Our $1,500 growth retainer sits where agencies in expensive metros list their entry tier. That gap is not us being cheap, it is us not charging you for a sales team, an account manager and an office you will never visit.
And unlike every agency in those city tables, you can buy the diagnosis on its own. Pay $295 once, get the full picture, and walk away if that is all you needed.
Start with what is actually wrong
Run the free checker for a quick read on broken links, missing schema, thin pages and AI visibility gaps. No email needed for the critical findings, no sales call, no obligation.
Common questions
How much should I pay for SEO?
Most single-location businesses land between $800 and $2,500 per month. Competitive verticals sit between $1,500 and $4,000. Before committing to any of it, get a diagnosis so you know what actually needs doing.
Do I need an agency in my own city?
For the technical and content work, no. Where a site is optimised from does not affect how it ranks. Local presence matters if you want in-person meetings, or for Google Business Profile work where physical verification and local reputation come into play.
Why do agencies hide their pricing?
Usually so the number can be set after they have gauged your budget. That is not always sinister, scope genuinely varies, but published pricing tells you a provider is comfortable being compared.
Is there a contract?
Not with us. Retainers run month to month with no minimum term and no auto-renewing lock-in. You stay while the work is working.
Want your city covered?
We research and write each guide individually. Tell us where you are and we will put it next in the queue, or just ask us directly what SEO should cost in your market.