# How SEO is priced, and what you are paying for > How SEO pricing works, discipline by discipline. What technical, on-page, off-page and AI search each cost, and how to tell what you are paying for. Canonical: https://www.searchmaxxed.com/resources/seo-pricing Last updated: 2026-08-19 HOW SEO IS PRICED SEO is not one service, so a single monthly figure hides four different bodies of work. This explains what each part is, what moves its cost, and how to check you are getting it. [Get your free growth plan](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/contact) [SEE PACKAGES](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/pricing) WHERE WE MAKE YOU VISIBLE DIRECT ANSWER ## What decides an SEO price An SEO price is the sum of four disciplines and the rate they ship at. Technical work makes the site readable. On-page work builds and fixes the pages that earn rankings. Off-page work builds the external record. AI search work makes your facts quotable by answer engines. The monthly number tracks how much of each ships and how contested your market is. We'll recommend the right scope and quote for your business. ## The four disciplines inside an SEO price Any quote worth comparing states how much of each of these ships in a month. ### Technical SEO Crawling, indexing, rendering, redirects, speed and structured data. It is priced by how much debt the site carries, and it comes first because content published into a broken foundation earns nothing. ### On-page and content The pages themselves: one per buying search, written to answer it completely. Priced per page, and page count is the honest unit of a retainer. ### Off-page and sources Directories, reviews, citations, editorial mentions and digital PR. Priced in hours and relationships rather than software, which is why it is the first thing a cheap retainer drops. ### Local search Profiles, categories, service areas and the review flow, plus a page per area you serve. Priced by the number of locations and areas. ### AI search and answers Entity facts, retrievable page structure, crawler access and weekly answer readings. Priced by the number of buying questions tracked and the surfaces measured. ### Measurement Query-level reporting, surface readings and enquiry tracking. Small as a line item, and it is what makes every other line checkable. CLIENT RESULTS ## What our work has done for clients Searchmaxxed's work has generated more than $15 million in revenue through search for its clients. CLIENT REVENUE $15M+ Searchmaxxed's work has generated more than $15 million in revenue through search for its clients. ONE CLIENT Page one in three months One client came to us with a website that wasn't working. Three months later he was on page one for one of the most competitive searches in his industry. Now he has more high-intent leads than he can handle, and we're building the systems to handle them. Results come from client records. A record of what happened, never a projection of your result. [See case studies →](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/case-studies) WHERE IT GOES WRONG ## Why two quotes at the same price differ by five times Most proposals price a bundle of hours and describe deliverables in language that fits any amount of work. Ten pages and two pages both read as content production. The gap shows up in month two, when one provider ships pages and the other ships a report about pages. ### No stated unit of work If the quote never says how many pages, fixes or source actions ship in a month, there is nothing to compare and nothing to enforce. ### Technical work assumed, not scoped A site with indexation faults needs that work first. A quote that skips it is quoting for content that will not rank. ### Off-page silently dropped Source work is the most labour-heavy line, so it is the first to disappear from a cheap retainer while the invoice stays the same. ### Reporting without enquiries Positions and sessions are inputs. A price is only justifiable against calls, forms and revenue. HOW THE WORK RUNS ## How a monthly price gets built Four inputs decide the number, in this order. ### Site condition How much technical debt has to clear before new pages can rank. An old site with template debt costs more in month one and less by month four. INPUT Crawl, index coverage, template history, migration history OUTPUT A fix list with the work sized before anything is quoted ### Market difficulty How much evidence a contested search demands. A metro legal term needs more pages, more proof and more sources than a regional trade term. INPUT Competitor page counts, source profiles, search demand OUTPUT A page and source target per search worth winning ### Production rate How many pages, fixes and source actions ship each month. This is the line that separates a retainer from a report. INPUT Approved plan, your approval capacity OUTPUT A monthly production commitment you can hold us to ### Measurement scope How many searches, surfaces and locations get read every week, and how the enquiries are tracked back to them. INPUT Search set, surfaces, locations, CRM access OUTPUT A reporting scope attached to the price MEASUREMENT ## How to check you are paying for work Four questions, every month, of any provider including us. ### WHAT SHIPPED The change log: pages published, fixes deployed, sources built. Named, dated and checkable against the commitment. ### WHAT MOVED Query-level movement for the pages that shipped, rather than a sitewide average that hides them. ### ENQUIRIES Calls and forms attributed to those pages and searches, with job or deal value where you can share it. ### WHAT IS NEXT Next month's plan, drawn from those readings rather than from a content calendar written in month one. ## What each discipline looks like as a service The service pages state the scope in full. ### Technical SEO Crawling, indexing, rendering and [structured data](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/services/technical-seo), fixed before we build anything on top. [See how it works →](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/services/technical-seo) ### Search engine optimisation The pages, internal links and topical coverage that earn the ranking. [See how it works →](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/services/seo) ### Link building and digital PR The external record: links, reviews, [citations](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/source-layer), mentions and editorial sources. [See how it works →](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/source-layer) ## Start with a free growth plan Compare the packages and their monthly page-release commitments, then talk to us about the right scope and quote for your business. PACKAGES ## Three plans. One goal: pipeline from search. Both packages run the same three components. The difference is production capacity per month. Compare the inclusions and entry conditions, then talk to us about your market. ### What every package includes Every package includes all of this. Content pace is the same in all three; what grows is the authority behind the work. - ✓ Pages built from your agreed topical map, with the whole map completed within six months. - ✓ Location-page work for every area you serve. - ✓ Google Business Profile management: posts, photos, services and Q&A. - ✓ Directory listings and citation clean-up. - ✓ Technical improvements, structured data, internal links and on-page optimisation. - ✓ AI answer tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. - ✓ Every week we read the evidence, prioritise, build, test, publish and measure. - ✓ You own everything: site, repository, content and data. Month to month: no lock-in, 30 days' notice. RECOGNISED The full search program with steady authority behind it, for companies building their name in one market. Starts with the Agentic Website Migration or the Agentic Website Design & Build Your package starts the day your new website goes live. What Recognised adds each month - ✓ 4 high-quality backlinks a month - ✓ A monthly strategy call - ✓ A monthly progress report - ✓ 1 free website tool during the engagement [Get your free growth plan](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/contact) RECOMMENDED More authority behind the same work, for companies competing for the main buying searches in their market. Starts with the Agentic Website Migration or the Agentic Website Design & Build Your package starts the day your new website goes live. What Recommended adds each month - ✓ 10 high-quality backlinks a month - ✓ 2 best-of list placements a month - ✓ A fortnightly strategy call - ✓ A weekly progress report - ✓ One press release each quarter - ✓ 2 free website tools during the engagement [Get your free growth plan](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/contact) RENOWNED The most authority behind the work, for companies going after their whole category. Starts with the Agentic Website Migration or the Agentic Website Design & Build Your package starts the day your new website goes live. What Renowned adds each month - ✓ 20 high-quality backlinks a month - ✓ 6 best-of list placements a month - ✓ A weekly strategy call - ✓ A weekly progress report - ✓ One press release each month - ✓ 3 free website tools during the engagement [Get your free growth plan](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/contact) ### What every package includes Every package includes all of this. Content pace is the same in all three; what grows is the authority behind the work. - ✓ Pages built from your agreed topical map, with the whole map completed within six months. - ✓ Location-page work for every area you serve. - ✓ Google Business Profile management: posts, photos, services and Q&A. - ✓ Directory listings and citation clean-up. - ✓ Technical improvements, structured data, internal links and on-page optimisation. - ✓ AI answer tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. - ✓ Every week we read the evidence, prioritise, build, test, publish and measure. - ✓ You own everything: site, repository, content and data. Month to month: no lock-in, 30 days' notice. FAQ ## Questions about SEO pricing ### How much does SEO cost in total? + − It depends on how many pages we build or fix and how contested your searches are. The audit sizes both against your market, then the price follows the production rate you need. ### Why do agencies avoid publishing prices? + − The right scope depends on the website, market and delivery requirements. Searchmaxxed publishes package inclusions, then agrees the scope and quote with each business before work starts. ### Is cheap SEO ever worth it? + − At a low monthly fee the production is small, so the work is usually reporting with a little content attached. It can suit a narrow market and it will not move a contested one. ### Should technical work be a separate project? + − Sometimes. Where a site carries heavy debt, a fixed-scope technical project first is cheaper than paying for content that cannot rank. ### How is off-page work priced? + − In time and relationships. Ask any provider how many source actions they commit to per month and how they select them. ### Does AI search cost extra? + − We scope it by the number of buying questions and surfaces we track. The same facts serve rankings and answers, so it runs inside the retainer. ### When does SEO pay for itself? + − That depends on your margin per job or deal and the demand we can reach. The forecast tool models it with your numbers, and the audit checks the assumptions. ### What are your prices? + − Start with a free growth plan. We'll recommend the right scope and quote for your business. Each package keeps a clear monthly page-release commitment. SOURCES - Google Search Central, [Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content) - Google Search Central, [Search Console performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553) - Google, [Guidelines for representing your business on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177) Written and reviewed by Brenden at Searchmaxxed. Last reviewed 19 August 2026. ## See the price and the plan before you commit We make your company the answer in Google and AI search, and turn it into a steady flow of high-intent leads and pipeline. ## Related - [Searchmaxxed](https://www.searchmaxxed.com/)