Ask five agencies what SEO costs and you'll probably get five very different answers. That's confusing when you're trying to budget, but it isn't because everyone is making it up. The price depends on what your business needs, how competitive your market is and how much work is actually included. This guide explains what drives the cost, so you can compare quotes properly and spot the ones to avoid.
Why there's no single price for SEO
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the work that helps your business show up in Google's normal results and map listings when people search for what you sell. Unlike an advert, it isn't one product with a fixed price. A plumber in one suburb and an online shop selling nationwide need very different amounts of work to reach page one.
What affects the cost
- Competition: ranking for "dentist Durban" takes more work than ranking for a niche service in a small town, because more businesses are fighting for the same spots.
- Where you want to rank: local SEO for one city is usually more affordable than trying to rank across all of South Africa.
- The state of your website: a slow, outdated or badly built site needs fixing before content and links can do their job.
- Your Google Business Profile: if it's missing, unverified or incomplete, setting it up properly is part of the work.
- Content needs: new service pages, area pages and blog posts take time to research and write well.
- How much is done for you: a report full of recommendations costs less than someone actually carrying them out.
The common ways SEO is priced
- Monthly retainer: you pay every month for ongoing work. Good for competitive markets where you need continuous effort.
- Once-off package or project: a fixed price for a defined scope, such as an audit plus a set period of work. Easier to budget for, and you know exactly what you're getting.
- Hourly or consulting: you pay for advice and do the work yourself or in-house.
None of these is automatically better. What matters is that the scope is clear and you can see what was done.
What you should get for your money
Whatever the price, a proper SEO service should include:
- An audit of where you stand now, including your competitors
- A clear plan with the keywords and pages that matter for your business
- Google Business Profile optimisation, if you serve local customers
- Fixes to your website's speed, structure, titles and content
- Regular reporting in plain language, showing what was done and what's changing
- Your business keeping ownership of its website, Google profile and Search Console
Red flags to watch out for
- Guaranteed number one rankings. Nobody controls Google, so nobody can honestly guarantee a position.
- Packages of hundreds or thousands of backlinks. Cheap bulk links can do more harm than good.
- No reporting, or reports you can't understand. You should always know what you're paying for.
- Long lock-in contracts with no way out if nothing improves.
- The agency owning your accounts. If you leave, you should keep your website and Google profile.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly will you do in the first month?
- Which searches are you targeting, and why?
- How will you report on progress, and how often?
- Who owns the website, Google profile and analytics accounts?
- What happens if I want to stop?
How we price SEO
We keep it simple. Our 90-Day Google Growth Plan is a once-off R15 000 package for local businesses. It covers a full SEO audit and strategy, local SEO and Google Business Profile optimisation, website optimisation, a content and keyword strategy, and monthly reporting and support. There's no long-term contract, and you own everything we set up.
If your business needs something different, we'll tell you honestly after a free audit. You might also find our guide on SEO vs Google Ads useful when deciding where to start.
Want to know what it would take for your business to reach page one? Request a free growth audit and we'll show you where you stand.