What You Should Pay for SEO
SEO pricing in Australia varies enormously, and most of that variation is genuine — the right number depends on your competition, your market, and what’s actually included. This page gives you real ranges to check a quote against, not a single number.
Why there’s no single “right price”
A local trade business competing in a quiet suburb and a national eCommerce brand competing against five well-funded competitors need completely different levels of investment to win. Both are “SEO”, and both can be quoted honestly at very different prices. The question isn’t “is this expensive” — it’s “does this match how competitive my category actually is.”
Rough benchmark ranges
| Business size | Typical monthly range | What it should include |
|---|---|---|
| Local / single-location | $1,000–$2,500 | Google Business Profile, a handful of local pages, basic technical fixes |
| Growing / multi-location or national | $2,500–$6,000 | Multiple content pages per month, technical SEO, link-building, reporting tied to leads |
| Competitive national / eCommerce | $6,000–$15,000+ | Dedicated content and technical resourcing, ongoing digital PR, conversion optimisation |
These are Australian market ranges as a starting point for comparison, not a quote — your actual number should reflect your specific competition and goals.
What should always be included, regardless of price
- A clear scope of what’s being worked on each month, not just “ongoing optimisation”
- Reporting tied to leads or revenue, not just rankings and traffic
- Direct access to whoever is actually doing the work, or at minimum a clear point of contact who understands it
- No lock-in contract that outlasts the time it takes to reasonably judge results
Red flags in a quote
- A price with no explanation of what determines it (why this number, not a higher or lower one)
- Guaranteed rankings for specific keywords — nobody can guarantee this, and firms that do are usually planning to blame the algorithm later
- A 12-month lock-in with no ability to leave if it isn’t working
- Reporting that only shows traffic and rankings, never enquiries or revenue
How we price it
We quote after a discovery call and a look at your current rankings and competition — the number reflects the actual scope of what needs to happen to win in your specific category, not a fixed package tier.
See our SEO ROI Calculator to model what a given monthly spend needs to return to be worth it.
