SEO Companies Pricing: What to Expect in 2025

Organizations that look for budget SEO services often find that the financial savings aren’t worth the long-term costs.

Every time you make it easier for a new customer to find you through improved search rankings, you make it easier to increase your overall revenue. By investing strategically in SEO services, your business can see revenue growth many times over from higher brand reputation and increased sales.

At the same time, your company must stay within budget. Because SEO agencies often use different pricing structures and packages, it’s challenging to compare and understand exactly what services you’re getting for your dollars.

As Google’s search algorithms and the importance of SEO has evolved over the years, SEO pricing has also changed, resulting in higher prices and more services that are both needed and offered.

The evolution of SEO pricing and services

In the early days of the internet, companies could hire an SEO agency for quick-turn services at a very low cost, even as low as $250.

At that time, the focus was on keyword stuffing — which soon became irrelevant with Google updates, especially the Panda update in 2011.

Once search engines began focusing on quality and penalizing websites for both keyword and link stuffing, agencies began offering higher quality and higher cost SEO services, resulting in higher ranking and more leads.

In recent years, it’s become crucial for companies to incorporate E-E-A-T principles into their SEO, use more ROI-driven strategies, and focus on trends such as voice text and AI. These advances result in higher pricing.

With SEO services currently ranging from $500 to $5,000, companies often wonder what makes pricing fall toward each end of that scale.

By understanding the different pricing models and factors that influence SEO costs, businesses can more easily make the best decision on selecting the right agency and agreeing to the payment model that makes the most business sense for their needs.

Understanding SEO pricing models

When comparing costs of different agencies, businesses must understand the various pricing models, how they work, and what each includes. Here are the most common SEO pricing models:

Hourly SEO consulting fees

With this model, the company pays an hourly consulting fee for a specific set and scope of services. For example, an SEO expert spends 15 hours on keyword research for a company looking to increase traffic from higher education institutions, and is paid for the time worked at an agreed upon hourly rate.

This model is often used with freelancers or individual consultants, but some SEO agencies also offer hourly services. According to Ahrefs, the average hourly rate is $100 to $150 for SEO services, depending on experience and services.

Hourly rates work best for projects with a defined scope, such as an SEO audit, or specific tasks on a weekly basis, such as analytics and reporting.

When using this model, companies have transparency into the work and pricing by only paying for the hours worked. Organizations should clearly communicate a maximum number of billable hours to prevent a surprise high invoice at the end of a project.

Often, companies hire an SEO expert on an hourly basis to test out their skills and see if they are a fit to hire for more long-term needs.

Monthly retainers for ongoing SEO services

A monthly retainer means that you hire an agency for a designated amount of money each month to complete a specific set of tasks and work each month. Ahrefs found that the majority (78.2%) of SEO agencies use a retainer model. The study also discovered that the average monthly fee is $1,500 to $5,000 with an initial contract.

The exact price depends on the specific services, such as on-page SEO, content marketing, technical SEO, or keyword research. Typically, a monthly retainer also includes analytics and reports that show the results of the SEO services. Additionally, some SEO agencies include an initial SEO audit in the retainer with a specific-length contract, while others change extra.  This model works best for companies wanting to outsource the majority of their SEO services to an agency.

The benefits are that you have consistency month to month, since the agency is working on the longer-term aspects of SEO. Additionally, your company knows how much to budget for each month, which allows easier budgeting.

Before getting into a retainer, it’s important to know that the agency will charge the entire monthly fee every month — even if you don’t use or need all of the agreed-upon services in a particular month.

Project-based SEO pricing

With the project-based pricing model, a company hires an SEO agency or consultant for a specific project and pays a flat rate for completion, regardless of the number of hours the agency spends on the project.

Common projects that work well for this model include audits and website migrations. Because a flat rate is used, project-based pricing requires both parties to carefully scope the project and expectations before the project rate is agreed on.

Project-based pricing works better for a clearly defined project rather than a more open-ended SEO service, such as keyword research or link building. The benefit of this model is that both parties know exactly what to expect in terms of workload and budget.

Challenges occur when changes happen to the scope or timeline that could impact the amount of work required.

Because the amount of work for an SEO project varies significantly based on the complexity and size of the website, the price varies significantly between a small business project and an enterprise-level SEO project.

Performance-based SEO pricing

This model means that both the business and agency set KPIs to achieve at the start of the project, and then payment is based on the results. For example, the agency gets paid only if the company achieves a top 10 ranking on Google.

This model requires clearly defining the KPIs and the payment terms. Some agencies also charge a set-up fee.

While this model may seem appealing because there is little risk to the business, it’s not always the best choice for long-term growth and brand awareness.

Many agencies that operate under this model use black hat methods, such as keyword and link stuffing, to quickly achieve the KPIs. While this may achieve quick results, it typically does not create the long-term results needed to consistently drive traffic and leads to the website.

Additionally, the fees are often set exceptionally high for achieving the results.

Most reputable agencies opt for another payment model — such as per-hour, project, or monthly retainer — to provide the long-term strategy and growth required for sustainable SEO.

However, there are industries where this strategy works better than others, such as e-commerce sites, where the business needs quick conversions more than long-term growth.

Organizations that typically see better results with this model are those that use it to achieve quick results and then partner with an agency on a long-term basis for sustainable and strategic strategies.

Revenue-sharing SEO model

A less common option is revenue sharing, where the company pays the agency a percentage of the profits it makes as a result of the SEO services provided for a set time period.

This differs significantly from traditional SEO pricing, where the company pays for services performed instead of based on revenue. For example, a revenue-sharing agreement may state that the company pays the agency 10% of profits from customers converted through search.

Because this model is high risk for the agency, many prefer traditional pricing except for unique situations. For example, a high-profile start-up with limited cash but a popular product may be an ideal situation for this model.

Because revenue sharing requires transparency in reporting to accurately determine the related revenue and the division of profits, this typically works best for agencies businesses already have a relationship with or valued referrals.

Key factors influencing SEO costs in 2025

Even within each pricing model, costs vary significantly between agencies and contracts.

Here are key factors affecting SEO costs:

• Scope and complexity of the SEO campaign: An SEO campaign for a regional hardware store is much more straightforward in terms of time required and expertise than for an international tech company. Because of the complexity involved in national and global SEO campaigns, they require expertise in optimizing for multiple target audiences, which results in a significantly higher price point. The complexity of a website also greatly impacts the price, with a local hair salon’s site that consists of six pages with online booking and no online shop being much simpler than a mid-size digital retailer with thousands of products.
• Industry and niche-specific pricing trends: Some industries, such as real estate, legal, and fintech, depend largely on SEO to drive their business. This makes it harder to rank high for popular keywords, due to the fact that most companies in that industry are trying to optimize for the same ones. Because these industries require more time and expertise to see results and the value of SEO is higher, the price for SEO services in higher competition industries is often greater.
• Technical SEO and website structure: The technical aspects and site structure of your website significantly affect your SEO, meaning that if these are already in place, the amount of work is typically less to achieve results. For example, if a company’s site is not mobile friendly, has a slow page speed, and doesn’t have an organized site structure, no amount of keywork optimization and linking building will make dramatic improvements in ranking. The SEO agency must first address these issues, which requires more time and expertise, before moving to on-page and off-page SEO strategies.
• Content development and optimization costs: While adding content creation increases the price of SEO services, the scope and type of content also play a big role in pricing. Higher level content, such as white papers, e-books, videos, and landing pages, require more time and skills to create. Costs for human-created content range from $300 for a short blog post to $5,000 for an in-depth white paper. While some companies are saving money by using AI-generated content, there is growing concern that search engines may penalize this type of content. Additionally, AI-generated content still requires human editing for fact checking and adding company-specific expertise.
• Link building and off-page SEO pricing: Adding link building services to your SEO package increases your overall costs, typically by $1,000 to $5,000, according to Backlink Manager. Cost estimates range from $100 to $500 per link and an average of $500 per guest post. While some SEO companies may offer lower prices, research their strategies carefully to make sure they’re not using black hat SEO strategies, which typically have limited success over the long term. By using black hat instead of white hat methods, you may save money — but your entire investment is wasted if the search engines penalize your site for unethical SEO practices.
• Tools, technology, and AI in SEO pricing: Most agencies use a range of tools, including SEO software for optimization and reporting, which increases costs. However, many agencies work more efficiently with more success using these tools, which include automating processes such as keyword research. When researching agencies ask if the software costs are included in the estimate or if there are separate charges.

SEO pricing for different business sizes

SEO pricing often varies considerably based on the size of a business, because size really does matter when it comes to SEO.

Business size typically affects the complexity of the company’s digital presence and SEO needs. Larger companies also often have more complex processes for signoffs and require more stakeholders to be involved in the SEO.

Because most smaller businesses operate on a tight budget, these companies are typically looking for a budget-friendly option to help customers easily find their company. The challenges faced by these companies often revolve around optimizing their Google profile and ensuring that they are correctly registered with local websites, such as the Chamber of Commerce.

Because many smaller businesses, such as small stores or health and beauty services, finding interesting and relevant content to publish to increase website traffic is often a challenge. With an SEO agency that’s knowledgeable about your regional area or your industry, smaller businesses can successfully rank high with the right strategies.

Mid-size businesses typically have a larger budget, as well as a more complex website structure. Often, these businesses compete against much larger companies — sometimes even enterprise businesses — for SEO, especially in specific niches. By investing in SEO on high-value projects, especially technical SEO and off-page SEO, mid-size companies can improve their ranking and their reach.

However, many mid-size businesses struggle with the decision to employ an in-house SEO team versus hiring an agency. Because a single SEO expert does not typically possess all the required skills and expertise, not to mention time, some mid-size companies hire an agency to support their in-house SEO for specialized projects or areas that need certain skill sets, such as mobile-friendly design and page load speed.

Others hire an SEO agency or full-service agency to completely manage all of their SEO needs. While most enterprise companies have an in-house SEO team, many turn to agencies for specific projects or support. For example, a global tech company may hire an SEO firm to handle the SEO during a website migration.

While enterprises typically have a bigger budget, they also must manage evolving business priorities, diverse groups of target customers, and numerous stakeholders. Because their content creation needs often fluctuate and require specific areas of topic expertise, many enterprises turn to agencies to fill these needs. With enterprises, one of the biggest reasons for the higher costs they face is the need for multinational SEO strategies and fluency in several languages to reach their customers.

Choosing the right SEO pricing model for your business

With a solid understanding of the different pricing models, the next step is to determine which works best for your business. Here are 3 steps to select the best SEO pricing model:

1.       Set an SEO budget.

While many companies have a single marketing budget, especially smaller businesses, it’s important to break it down further into an SEO specific budget. Search Engine Land recommends allocating whichever is greater to SEO – $8K or 5 to 10% of your overall revenue, with highly competitive industries closer to 10%. If stakeholders are concerned about these percentages, explain that SEO directly impacts revenue and meeting business goals.

2.       Evaluate SEO proposals and compare costs.

When reviewing SEO proposals from agencies, look carefully at the cost section to understand the model of the payment – per hour, monthly retainer or project based. Be sure to also understand all services that are included in the costs, including SEO audit and reporting/analytics. While it’s tempting to go with the lower priced proposal, SEO is an area where you typically get what you pay for. Often cheap SEO services use black hat tactics that result in penalties and do not provide long-lasting results.

3.       Understand ROI and cost-effectiveness of SEO services.

Many organizations want to see quick results with SEO. However, SEO is a long, but effective game. Businesses expect to wait at least three to six months to begin seeing results from SEO, especially longer-term strategies like on-page and off-page SEO. In some cases, results from technical SEO and site structure changes can be quicker.

One of the most challenging parts of selecting an SEO agency is often finding an SEO with a package and model that fits your business needs and budget. By taking the time to research and carefully selecting the right fit, your organization can create a long-term partnership to help meet and exceed your business goals.