What SEO costs, written down
Most agencies make you book a call to find out. Here are the real ranges, what moves the number, and what should be included at each level, so you can judge any quote including ours.
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Real numbers Published guidance and what we actually charge, not a form that says contact us.
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What changes the price Competition, the state of the site, content volume and pace.
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How to spot a bad quote The things that should be included and usually are not.
Get your exact quote
Send your site. We reply in writing within 48 hours with a scope and a number.
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Why SEO pricing feels impossible to compare
Three quotes for the same site can differ by ten times. These are the usual reasons.
What should be included at any price
If a quote is missing these, the number is not really lower, it is just smaller in scope.
A real audit at the start
Technical, content and competitor analysis before anyone writes a page.
Technical fixes, not just recommendations
Someone actually changing the site, or a clear statement that your team will.
Content that targets buying intent
Pages mapped to keywords, not a fixed quota of blog posts.
Authority building
Relevant links earned, with a list of what was placed and where.
Reporting tied to revenue
Enquiries and sales, not just rankings and impressions.
Ownership
The site, the content and every account in your name, and no long lock in.
Want a number for your site specifically?
Send the URL. You get a scope and a price in writing within 48 hours, with no call required.
How we arrive at your number
Scoped from your site, not picked from a tier.
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1
Audit the site
What is broken, what is missing, and how much repair is needed before growth work starts.
Step 1 -
2
Look at the competition
Who ranks now, how strong they are, and what it would take to displace them.
Step 2 -
3
Decide the scope
How many pages, how much content, how much technical work, at what pace.
Step 3 -
4
Quote it in writing
One number, a defined scope and a timeline, before you commit to anything.
Step 4
Roughly what different budgets buy you
Indicative, not a price list. Your own number comes from the scope, and every engagement is month to month.
Foundations
- A full audit and the technical fixes
- Keyword map and site architecture
- A small number of priority pages
- Suits a small local business with one service area
Growth
- Everything above, plus ongoing content
- Link building
- Local or ecommerce work
- Suits a business with several services or locations
Compounding
- Larger content programmes
- Multiple silos in parallel
- Digital PR
- Suits competitive national terms or a large catalogue
More case studies
WooCommerce Online Store
Ecommerce SEO, indexing control and content funnels
Health & Wellness Brand
Topical authority, E-E-A-T and AEO in a YMYL nicheWho writes your quote
Anees Akram
Anees scopes every engagement at HAxel Digital. That means the person deciding the price is the one who has to deliver the work, which keeps quotes honest in both directions. If a project will not pay back, he will say so before it starts.
Judge SEO on payback, not on the invoice
The only number that matters is what came back.
How we price differently
What moves the price
Published guidance puts retained SEO around $2,000 to $6,000 a month for local campaigns and $5,000 to $15,000 for national ones, with many agencies quoting about $2,500 as a mid point. We are a small senior team, so our pricing sits below that range for comparable work. Four things decide where you land.
What you can count on
You get a fixed scope and price in writing before anything starts. No long contract, no automatic increases, everything in your name, and if we do not believe SEO will pay back for your business we will tell you rather than take the work.
Want the exact number for your site?
Free written scope and quote within 48 hours. No obligation.
Why one site costs more than another
Two businesses can ask for the same thing and get very different quotes for honest reasons. A local service business with one area, a clean site and three competitors is a fraction of the work of a national store with 5,000 products, a bloated index and established competitors with a decade of links. The price follows the work, and the work follows the competition and the condition of the site.
The published ranges, for context
Industry guidance for 2026 puts retained SEO at roughly $2,000 to $6,000 a month for local campaigns and $5,000 to $15,000 for national ones, with many US agencies quoting around $2,500 a month as a typical mid point. Those numbers describe agencies carrying account managers, sales teams and offices. We are four specialists, so comparable work costs less here. That is a structural difference, not a discount.
What a quote should include
- An audit at the start, not after you sign
- Named technical work, with someone specified to do it
- Content mapped to keywords rather than a monthly quota of posts
- Link building with a list of what was placed and where
- Reporting that connects to enquiries or sales
- Ownership of everything, and no long lock in
Warning signs in a cheap quote
A very low monthly fee buys a very small number of hours. Once you subtract reporting and account admin, there is rarely enough left to change anything on the site. Watch for fixed link counts, guaranteed rankings, twelve month lock ins, and a scope written so loosely that nothing is actually promised.
SEO against paid ads
The comparison people really want is which one to fund first. Paid search buys visibility immediately and stops the moment the budget does. SEO takes months and then keeps earning. Most businesses we work with run ads while SEO builds, then pull ad spend back to the highest intent terms once organic rankings arrive. If you need enquiries this month, start with ads and be honest with yourself about the timeline.
Published industry guidance puts most retained SEO between $2,000 and $6,000 a month for local work and $5,000 to $15,000 for national campaigns. Our pricing sits below that range because we are a small senior team without agency overhead. Your exact number comes from the scope.
Because the honest answer depends on the site, and because a call is easier to sell in. The ranges above are real, which is why we are comfortable printing them.
Usually not, and it is often worse than doing nothing. A low retainer buys a few hours a month, which is enough to produce a report and not enough to change anything. In the worst cases it buys links that damage the domain.
Monthly for ongoing work, fixed price for defined projects like audits and migrations. Either way the scope is written down first.
No long contract. Everything runs month to month, and the site, content and accounts stay in your name so leaving costs you nothing but the notice.
We will say so. If there is no search demand for what you sell, or the margin cannot support a few months of compounding, <a href="/seo/consulting/">consulting</a> or paid ads may be the better first move.
Get your number in writing
Send your site and what you are trying to grow. A written scope and price within 48 hours, no call required.
- An exact monthly figure for your site, not a tier
- The scope it covers, written down before you commit
- An honest note if we think it will not pay back
What happens next
- 1You send the form. It takes about 30 seconds.
- 2We audit the site and look at your competition.
- 3Your scope and price arrives by email.
Get your quote
Scoped by hand, delivered within 48 hours.
Request received!
Thanks! We have your request. Check your inbox within 48 hours for your written proposal. Nothing else needed from you.
