# How much does SEO cost for a small business? (2026)

> Small business SEO costs A$250 to A$12,500 a month on Australian packages, most from A$500 to A$1,500 ex GST. 17 price lists compared, with what each buys.

Canonical: https://www.searchmaxxed.com/research/how-much-does-seo-cost-for-a-small-business
Last updated: 2026-10-26

BUYER'S GUIDE

Small business SEO costs A$250 to A$12,500 a month on Australian packages, most from A$500 to A$1,500 ex GST. 17 price lists compared, with what each buys.

BH

Brenden House

Founder of Searchmaxxed. We build agentic SEO and GEO workflows that help businesses rank on Google and get named in ChatGPT, then turn that search into more customers and revenue.

PUBLISHED 26 OCTOBER 2026 UPDATED 26 OCTOBER 2026 15 MIN READ

SEO for a small business in Australia costs A$250 to A$12,500 a month on the packages providers publish on their own websites. Most small business SEO packages start between A$500 and A$1,500 a month, ex GST. Plans with monthly content and links run to about A$3,500. Four things move your number. They're your services, your suburbs, your competitors and the shape your website is in.

I read the package and pricing pages of 22 Australian SEO providers on 26 October 2026, and 17 publish a price for their own work. I converted every price to ex GST per calendar month, so you can hold any quote against it.

## In summary

Expect A$500 to A$1,500 a month, ex GST, for a small business SEO package that covers one or two services near home. Add regular content, links and technical work and the published plans run to about A$3,500.

| Your business | Published packages, per month ex GST |
| --- | --- |
| One service near home, light plan | A$250 to A$595 |
| A few services or suburbs, managed work | A$695 to A$1,400 |
| Monthly content, links and technical work | A$1,500 to A$3,500 |
| Crowded trade, many locations or an online store | A$3,500 to A$12,500 |
| Google Maps work only | A$750 one-off, or A$800 a month |

- Ten of the 17 providers add GST to their price, two include it and five don't say. Convert before you compare.
- Count what goes live each month: pages built, posts written, links placed and hours. A keyword count is a tracking number.
- Seven providers bill month to month. Five set a first term of three or six months.
- Price SEO against the profit on one extra job, then decide which level you need.

## How much do Australian SEO providers charge small businesses?

Australian providers that publish small business SEO packages charge from A$250 to A$12,500 a month. Fourteen of the 17 entry plans start under A$1,500, and the middle entry plan sits at about A$800 ex GST.

### Providers that publish their small business SEO packages

| Provider | Published plans, per month | Terms they state | GST |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Blue Horizon Digital](https://bluehorizondigital.com.au/seo-pricing-melbourne-3/) | A$250; A$399; A$549; A$999; from A$1,799 | No minimum term, 30 days' notice; A$299 setup on the two smallest plans | Not stated |
| [Localsearch](https://business.localsearch.com.au/seo) | From A$499 | Six-month minimum; one-off setup fee set by scope | Plus GST |
| [The Tradie Marketing Agency](https://thetradiemarketingagency.com.au/seo-pricing) | A$500 for local SEO with a website included | No lock-in | Plus GST |
| [21 Webs](https://21webs.com.au/seo/seo-packages/) | A$549; A$999; A$1,899; A$2,799 | Three-month term on the first two, six on the top two; no setup fee | Not stated |
| [Michael Sherry](https://www.michaelsherry.com.au/affordable-seo-for-small-business/) | A$550; A$990; A$1,540 | Month to month | Includes GST |
| [Websites That Sell](https://www.websitesthatsell.com.au/seo/seo-costs/) | Local campaigns from A$595 | Not stated | Plus GST |
| [Marketing SME](https://marketingsme.com/seo-packages-sydney-australia/) | Nine plans, A$695 to A$12,500 | No lock-in beyond six months | Plus GST |
| [Velocity Host](https://velocityhost.com.au/digital-business-solutions/seo-packages-australia/) | From A$799 | Not stated | Not stated |
| [One Studio](https://onestudio.com.au/what-seo-costs-australia/) | A$880 to A$4,400, plus an onboarding fee | Three-month minimum, then month to month | Includes GST |
| [3am Ideas](https://3amideas.com.au/cost-of-seo-packages-in-australia/) | Local SEO from A$950 | Three-month minimum, then no lock-in | Not stated |
| [Wakeford Digital](https://www.wakeforddigital.com.au/blog/how-much-does-seo-cost-small-business-australia) | A$1,000 to A$2,000 | Not stated | Ex GST |
| [SEO Copilot](https://www.seocopilot.com.au/) | A$1,199; A$1,799; A$2,399 | No contracts, no setup fee | Not stated |
| [Digital Marketing Tribe](https://digitalmarketingtribe.com.au/pricing/) | A$1,200; A$2,000; A$3,500 | Billed monthly, cancel anytime | Plus GST |
| [Bekonstructive Marketing](https://bekonstructivemarketing.com.au/seo-ai-visibility/how-much-should-a-small-business-actually-spend-on-seo/) | A$1,400 (10 hours); A$2,240 (16 hours); from A$4,200 (30+ hours) | Not stated | Plus GST |
| [Loudachris](https://www.loudachris.com.au/seo/cost) | Website SEO from A$1,500; Maps work A$800 a month | Month to month | Plus GST |
| [Australian Internet Advertising](https://aiad.com.au/seo/prices/) | A$2,000; A$4,000; A$6,000; A$8,000 | No lock-in | Plus GST |
| [Spicy Web](https://spicyweb.com.au/services/search-engine-optimisation/seo-packages) | From A$2,200, A$4,400 and A$6,600 | Not stated | Plus GST |

Every row comes from the provider's own page, read on 26 October 2026. These are advertised prices from named providers, so treat them as a market map rather than an Australian average or a quote for your site.

### Providers that quote instead of publishing a price

| Provider | Price on its site | What it publishes instead |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Bambrick Media](https://bambrick.com.au/seo-brisbane/small-businesses/) | Not published | Cost "depends entirely on how many keywords you want to target, and how many areas you want to rank in" |
| [Northbase](https://northbase.au/seo-packages/) | Not published | A fixed monthly quote after a review of your visibility and competitors; no lock-in contracts |
| [A.P. Web Solutions](https://www.apwebsolutions.com.au/seo-services/small-business-seo/) | Not published | Its guide puts small business SEO at A$1,500 to A$3,500 a month |
| [Titan Blue](https://titanblue.com.au/small-business-seo-packages/) | Not published | A guide to choosing between local, growth and national packages |
| [tSMN Digital](https://tsmn.com.au/services/affordable-seo-services-for-small-businesses/) | Not published | Calls its small business SEO budget-friendly, with no figure |

Not published means the page names no fee for that provider's own work, so ask each one for a written quote against the same brief.

## How do you compare SEO packages that price things differently?

Turn every price into one number. Use ex GST per calendar month: GST is 10%, so divide a GST-inclusive price by 1.1 to get the ex GST figure. Here's what that does to six entry plans from the table.

| Provider | Entry price as published | Ex GST, per month |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Localsearch | A$499 + GST | A$499 |
| Michael Sherry | A$550 including GST | A$500 |
| 21 Webs | A$549, GST not stated | A$549 if ex GST; about A$499 if GST is inside |
| One Studio | A$880 including GST | A$800 |
| SEO Copilot | A$1,199, GST not stated | A$1,199 if ex GST; about A$1,090 if GST is inside |
| Digital Marketing Tribe | A$1,200 + GST | A$1,200 |

A$499 + GST and A$550 including GST look A$51 apart. Converted, they sit one dollar apart. GST-inclusive prices look dearer than they are. With five providers silent on GST, that alone can flip the order of two quotes on your desk.

Setup fees go on their own line, and so does any website bundled into the plan, since part of that fee keeps a site online.

## What do you get at each price level?

Packages under about A$600 buy a small, fixed output: a handful of keywords, a few pages worked on and a basic report. As the price rises, plans add pages, posts, links, technical work and hours.

| Level | Published price, ex GST | What the packages list |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Light | A$250 to A$595 | Blue Horizon's A$250 plan: 5 keywords, 3 pages optimised and 2 backlinks a month. 21 Webs' A$549 plan: up to 2 SEO pages, 1 suburb, no blog posts |
| Managed local | A$695 to A$1,400 | Marketing SME's A$695 plan: up to 2 target pages and 2 backlinks a month. Digital Marketing Tribe's A$1,200 plan: Business Profile work, on-page work on up to 5 pages, local citations |
| Growth | A$1,500 to A$3,500 | Digital Marketing Tribe's A$2,000 plan adds technical SEO, Core Web Vitals, schema, link outreach and 1 post a month. Bekonstructive's A$2,240 buys 16 hours |
| Competitive | A$3,500 to A$12,500 | Three posts a month and multi-location work at A$3,500; 30+ hours from A$4,200; up to 30 target pages a month at A$12,500 |

The units don't line up. Blue Horizon's A$999 plan lists 60 keywords and 15 backlinks a month, while Digital Marketing Tribe's A$1,200 plan lists 10 keywords. That doesn't make the first plan six times the work. A keyword count measures what gets tracked, not what goes live.

Hours are the clearest unit, and Bekonstructive is the only provider in the table that prices its plans by hours of work. It lists 10 hours at A$1,400 + GST, 16 at A$2,240 + GST and 30 or more from A$4,200 + GST. The [SEO for Small Business](https://www.seoforsmallbusiness.com.au/blog/how-much-does-seo-cost-in-australia-what-small-businesses-should-actually-expect-in-2026/) price guide puts A$1,500 to A$3,000 a month at 10 to 20 hours.

A long list of tasks can look reassuring, but nobody cares about the tasks. You care about what you get.

Suburb counts need the same care. 21 Webs sells 1, 5, 15 or 30 to 35 suburbs by tier, and that's a clear way to price local reach. But more pages only help when each one wins its own search for a real customer, rather than splitting the clicks with its neighbours.

Ask what kind of links a package counts, too. Some lists count directory submissions and profile pages as links, while others count only links that a person at a real website placed. Marketing SME spells out that its links come from "outreach to real publishers and partners", so ask every provider for the same detail.

## Why do SEO price guides quote more than the price lists?

Price guides describe the campaign a business grows into. Price lists start with the smallest plan a provider will sell. So the guides ranking for this search cluster at A$1,500 to A$3,500 a month, while 14 of 17 published entry plans start below A$1,500.

| Price guide | Small business figure it gives |
| --- | --- |
| [A.P. Web Solutions](https://www.apwebsolutions.com.au/seo-services/small-business-seo/) | A$1,500 to A$3,500 a month |
| [StudioHawk](https://studiohawk.com.au/blog/seo-pricing/) | A$500 to A$1,000 entry level; A$1,500 to A$3,000 growth |
| [SEO for Small Business](https://www.seoforsmallbusiness.com.au/blog/how-much-does-seo-cost-in-australia-what-small-businesses-should-actually-expect-in-2026/) | A$450 to A$1,500 for low competition; A$1,500 to A$3,000 for medium |
| [Spacewolf](https://www.spacewolf.au/blog/seo-packages-for-small-business) | A$800 to A$3,500 for an ongoing engagement |

Both numbers are true for somebody. A florist in a country town and a bathroom renovator chasing three regions are both "small businesses", and they need different amounts of work. In my view the guides show where a growing business ends up, and the price lists show where the cheapest door opens.

Check the currency, too. [Nutshell's guide](https://www.nutshell.com/marketing/resources/cost-of-seo) comes from an overseas CRM company and gives a range with no GST note, so it can't anchor an Australian quote.

## What changes the cost of SEO for a small business?

Your services, your service area, your competitors and your website set the price. Each extra service needs its own page and keywords, and each extra area needs pages, reviews and links that prove you work there.

| Your situation | What the work adds | Where it sits in published prices |
| --- | --- | --- |
| One service, a few nearby suburbs | One strong service page, a complete Business Profile, reviews, clean listings | A$500 to A$1,200 |
| Several services | A page and keyword set for each service, more content each month | A$1,000 to A$2,000 |
| Jobs across a whole city or region | Suburb or area pages, reviews from those areas, Maps checks well beyond your address | A$1,500 to A$3,500 |
| A crowded trade or professional service | Deeper pages, more links, more hours | A$2,000 to A$6,600 |
| Customers Australia-wide or an online store | Content and links for each market, product and category pages | A$3,500 and up |
| A website that needs work first | Fixes or a rebuild before monthly work begins | Setup fees, onboarding fees or a bundled website |

Distance is the part you can't buy, whatever the package. [Google says](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en) local results are mainly based on "relevance, distance, and popularity", and that there's no way to pay for a better local ranking. A business shows up for searches near its address long before searches across town. Jobs further out take more pages, reviews and links. That's what the higher tiers sell.

### A worked example: a plumbing business with two vans

Picture a plumbing business with two vans, and two versions of that business chasing work.

Version one does hot water and blocked drains in the suburbs around its yard. It needs a page for each of those two jobs, a complete Google Business Profile, steady reviews and clean listings. That's managed local work: A$700 to A$1,400.

Version two adds gas fitting and bathroom renovations, and wants jobs in the next region along the highway. Now four services each need a page, the new region needs its own pages, and distance works against the business in every search out there. Reviews and links have to close that gap, suburb by suburb, which is growth work at A$1,500 to A$3,500 a month on the published lists.

Same vans, same plumbers, roughly double the fee. Decide which version you are before you ask for quotes.

## Is SEO worth the cost for a small business?

SEO is worth it when the profit on the extra jobs covers the fee. I price SEO against what one job is worth to you, and the cheapest package on the table can't tell you that.

Say the plumbing business keeps A$300 profit on an average job and pays A$1,200 + GST a month for SEO. That's four extra jobs a month. One A$15,000 bathroom renovation covers months. Those are example figures, so plug in your own margin and close rate.

I learned this on roofs. A mate did the roofs; I did the marketing, sales and operations. Before Searchmaxxed, I built Radiant Roof Repairs from zero to more than A$1 million a year in revenue using SEO as the only marketing channel. Three high-intent Gold Coast roofing searches reached number one within 90 days. I did the pages, research, competitor checks and updates manually.

When we reached the map pack it was phone call after phone call: 1,487 calls came off our Google Business Profile. Most of that came through Google Maps. Finding people to do the work became the hard part.

That's a result from my own business, not a forecast for yours. The [Radiant Roof Repairs case study](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/case-studies/radiant-roof-repairs-seo-case-study) shows the work, and our guide to [whether SEO is worth it](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/research/is-seo-worth-it) runs the numbers in more depth.

## Do small business SEO packages lock you into a contract?

Some do and some don't. Seven of the 17 bill month to month, five set a first term of three or six months and five don't say.

| Term | What providers publish | Ask before you sign |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum term | Seven month to month; 21 Webs three or six months by tier; One Studio and 3am Ideas three months; Localsearch six months; Marketing SME "no lock-in beyond 6 months" | What goes live in that first term? |
| Notice | 30 days where stated | Is the notice month already paid? |
| Setup fees | A$299 on two plans at one provider; an onboarding fee at another; a fee set by scope at a third; none at two | What do I own once it's paid? |
| Bundled website | One plan includes a website in the monthly fee | What happens to my site if I stop? |
| GST | Ten add it, two include it, five don't say | Is every figure ex GST? |

A first term gives the work time to land, and month to month lets you change course sooner. Either can suit a small business. What matters more is what you own at the end: your pages, your content, your Business Profile, your accounts and your data. Get that in writing.

## How do you compare two small business SEO quotes?

Convert both quotes to ex GST per calendar month, then compare what goes live each month rather than what the packages are called. Work through this list with each provider.

1. Write each quote as one monthly figure, ex GST, with setup fees, onboarding fees and website costs on their own line.
2. Ask for the monthly output in numbers: hours, pages built, posts, links and reviews.
3. Ask which services and suburbs the plan covers, by name.
4. Ask how they check your Google Maps position across your whole service area as well as at your address.
5. Ask where each link comes from and who placed it.
6. Ask who writes and builds the pages, and what a site change costs outside the plan.
7. Ask whether the monthly report counts calls and enquiries, and how they test that tracking works.

That last one matters. A client's four enquiry types never counted as conversions. Their event names ran 41 to 50 characters; GA4 cuts at 40. The 40-character "career" event counted every time. Nobody had noticed, because the events still showed up.

One more test for any quote built around a new website. A prettier page is great, but if it doesn't bring you leads, what's the point?

For national figures across every business size, see [how much SEO costs in Australia](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/research/how-much-does-seo-cost-in-australia).

## Where does Searchmaxxed fit?

Searchmaxxed is an SEO and AI SEO agency for small businesses, doing technical SEO, local SEO, content, link building, GEO and AEO. The aim is a place in Google and a mention in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI answers. Our [small business SEO](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/industries/small-business-seo) page shows what that looks like for an owner-run business.

We don't publish fees. We look at your website, market and goals, then quote the scope, and our [packages](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/pricing) set out what each one includes.

| Package | Who it suits | What it includes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Local Search | A small business that sells in its own area | At least 8 service, suburb and service-by-suburb page releases a month; daily Google Business Profile management; reviews; local links; listing cleanup; a monthly geo-grid scan; local AI answer tracking |
| Growth System | A business selling beyond one area | 30 page releases a month; work on up to 4 existing landing pages; citations, profiles and reviews; one qualified link action a month; AI visibility tracking |
| Agentic Search Engineering | A competitive or national market | 50 page releases a month; comparison and industry pages; digital PR and link campaigns; AI answer tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews |
| Custom & Enterprise | Several markets or a large site | Dedicated engineering, custom reporting and original research |

A page release is an approved new page or a substantial rebuild. Every managed package includes ongoing audits, a 90-day plan shipped in weekly releases, the build work itself and a monthly decision memo. You own the site, repository, content and data from day one. Terms are monthly, six-month or 12-month.

Here's how we do it. We build on a website you own, our [Agentic Website](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/agentic-websites). AI agents pull your Search Console and GA4 data, read the Google results and check what AI answers say about you. That feeds the [Managed Search Loop](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/managed-search-loop), which shows which page, fix or link should bring in the most enquiries next. We build it, check the live page and measure the result. Off your site, the Off-Page Source Layer builds the links, reviews, citations and mentions that back you up.

Searchmaxxed's work has generated more than A$10 million in revenue through search for its clients. For the price on your site, let's talk pricing.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much should a small business spend on SEO per month?

Most small businesses on published Australian packages spend A$500 to A$1,500 a month ex GST, and fuller plans run to about A$3,500. Start from the profit on one job.

### What is the cheapest SEO package for a small business?

The cheapest published package here is [Blue Horizon Digital's](https://bluehorizondigital.com.au/seo-pricing-melbourne-3/) A$250 a month plan. It buys 5 keywords, 3 pages optimised and 2 backlinks a month, plus a A$299 setup fee. For one low-competition service near home, a light plan can be enough.

### What is included in a small business SEO package?

Most packages include keyword research, on-page work, Google Business Profile optimisation, local citations, some links and a monthly report. Higher tiers add blog posts, technical SEO, schema, link outreach and more pages or suburbs each month. Ask for the output in numbers.

### Is cheap SEO worth it for a small business?

Sometimes. Affordable SEO for a small business can work for one service in a quiet market, where a tidy profile and two good pages win. In a crowded trade it buys too few hours to build pages and links. Check what it ships each month.

### How long does SEO take to work for a small business?

Expect early movement in three to six months. [Titan Blue](https://titanblue.com.au/small-business-seo-packages/) puts the first positive signs at 3 to 6 months. [One Studio](https://onestudio.com.au/what-seo-costs-australia/) says a neglected Business Profile can move within weeks, while competitive rankings take months.

### Do SEO package prices include GST?

Usually not. Of the 17 Australian providers with published prices here, ten add GST, two include it and five don't say. Ask every provider for its figures ex GST, in writing.

### Does AI search optimisation cost extra?

It depends on the provider. [Digital Marketing Tribe](https://digitalmarketingtribe.com.au/pricing/) sells AI search optimisation as an add-on from A$1,200 + GST a month. [Marketing SME](https://marketingsme.com/seo-packages-sydney-australia/) and [21 Webs](https://21webs.com.au/seo/seo-packages/) list AI search work inside their packages. Ask which AI answers they check.

### Can I do SEO myself instead of buying a package?

Yes. A [Google Business Profile](https://business.google.com/aunz/business-profile/) is free, and Google says no one can pay for a better local ranking. Your costs are time, tools and any help you hire. Start with your profile and one page per service, then read [how to do SEO yourself](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/research/how-to-do-seo-yourself).

## What should you do next?

List the services and suburbs that bring your best jobs, then hold every quote against the tables above, ex GST and per calendar month. If you'd like us to scope it for your business, [let's talk](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/contact).

REFERENCES

1. [Blue Horizon Digital](https://bluehorizondigital.com.au/seo-pricing-melbourne-3/)
2. [Localsearch](https://business.localsearch.com.au/seo)
3. [The Tradie Marketing Agency](https://thetradiemarketingagency.com.au/seo-pricing)
4. [21 Webs](https://21webs.com.au/seo/seo-packages/)
5. [Michael Sherry](https://www.michaelsherry.com.au/affordable-seo-for-small-business/)
6. [Websites That Sell](https://www.websitesthatsell.com.au/seo/seo-costs/)
7. [Marketing SME](https://marketingsme.com/seo-packages-sydney-australia/)
8. [Velocity Host](https://velocityhost.com.au/digital-business-solutions/seo-packages-australia/)
9. [One Studio](https://onestudio.com.au/what-seo-costs-australia/)
10. [3am Ideas](https://3amideas.com.au/cost-of-seo-packages-in-australia/)
11. [Wakeford Digital](https://www.wakeforddigital.com.au/blog/how-much-does-seo-cost-small-business-australia)
12. [SEO Copilot](https://www.seocopilot.com.au/)
13. [Digital Marketing Tribe](https://digitalmarketingtribe.com.au/pricing/)
14. [Bekonstructive Marketing](https://bekonstructivemarketing.com.au/seo-ai-visibility/how-much-should-a-small-business-actually-spend-on-seo/)
15. [Loudachris](https://www.loudachris.com.au/seo/cost)
16. [Australian Internet Advertising](https://aiad.com.au/seo/prices/)
17. [Spicy Web](https://spicyweb.com.au/services/search-engine-optimisation/seo-packages)
18. [Bambrick Media](https://bambrick.com.au/seo-brisbane/small-businesses/)
19. [Northbase](https://northbase.au/seo-packages/)
20. [A.P. Web Solutions](https://www.apwebsolutions.com.au/seo-services/small-business-seo/)
21. [Titan Blue](https://titanblue.com.au/small-business-seo-packages/)
22. [tSMN Digital](https://tsmn.com.au/services/affordable-seo-services-for-small-businesses/)
23. [SEO for Small Business](https://www.seoforsmallbusiness.com.au/blog/how-much-does-seo-cost-in-australia-what-small-businesses-should-actually-expect-in-2026/)
24. [StudioHawk](https://studiohawk.com.au/blog/seo-pricing/)
25. [Spacewolf](https://www.spacewolf.au/blog/seo-packages-for-small-business)
26. [Nutshell's guide](https://www.nutshell.com/marketing/resources/cost-of-seo)
27. [Google says](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en)
28. [Google Business Profile](https://business.google.com/aunz/business-profile/)

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