There’s a $49/month service. There’s a $10,000/month retainer. Here’s what you actually get for your money at each level.
The Spectrum
$49–149/mo: Software tools with dashboards. That’s not SEO. That’s SEO data, and you still have to do the work.
$300–500/mo: A freelancer working a narrow scope. Reasonable for low-competition local businesses.
$800–1,500/mo: An actual SEO program. Keyword research, content, technical fixes, the citations to back it. This is the sweet spot for most SMBs.
$2,000–5,000/mo: Full content marketing. Built for multi-location operators and competitive verticals.
$10,000+/mo: Enterprise. Right for a few. Overkill for most.
How to Decide
Start with one question. What’s a new customer actually worth to you? Then figure out how many you need each month and how crowded your market is. Multiply customer LTV by your close rate and back into a budget that pays for itself in 90-120 days.
Not sure where you land on that scale? Reach out anytime. I’ll walk you through it.