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The Ultimate Guide to Local SEO Pricing in 2024

Last updated: Mar 1, 2024

local seo pricing

How Much Does Local SEO Cost in 2024?

Local SEO costs between $300 and $10,000 monthly for agency services. The pricing depends on your business’s specific needs, the quality of the services, and the competition level. 

 

While freelancers may charge less, some agencies may charge more for specific projects or plans.

 

I will guide you through the local SEO pricing concepts in this article. 

What Influences Local SEO Pricing?

Different variables impacting the end cost must be considered when pricing local SEO services. Every business has different needs, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all pricing model.

 

I’ll show you these factors in more detail below to help you better understand what goes into determining the cost of local SEO services.

1. Scope of the project

The project’s scope refers to its size and complexity; the more significant the project, the more time and resources are required to execute it effectively.

 

The following factors impact the price of the project:

 

  • Does the business operate in a large city or local geographic area?
  • Does the company have many competitors located in its region or city?
  • Does the business owner want to promote multiple products or services through local SEO?

2. Local SEO Services Pricing

Local SEO services typically include strategies and tactics, such as keyword research, on-page optimization, link-building services, content creation, reputation management, and more. Generally, the more services included in the package, the higher the cost.

 

Here is a quick breakdown of specific local SEO services and pricing examples:

Local SEO Audits

In-depth local SEO audits include website analysis, online listing checkups, and competitor research to identify areas for improvement.

 

These comprehensive analyses typically cost between $500 and $5,000 or more, depending on the chosen agency and the complexity of your website.

 

Note: Audits are necessary to assess the current state of your online presence, in order to predict possible results and related costs.

Google Business Profile Optimization

Google Business Profile optimization can cost anything from $100 to $700 for a single location. The pricing for this specific service is often a quality indicator. Usually, the more you pay, the better the results. Check out our service pricing for GBP optimization. 

Google Business Profile Management

The GBP management costs vary between $50 and $400 per location, depending on the scope of the project. For example, reputation management can cause more work if a constant and high stream of incoming reviews must be handled.

Content creation

The prices for content creation for a local business website range from $100 for a single piece of content to $10.000 for creating local landing pages and articles. The cost varies depending on the project’s scope and the work’s quality.

For example, an excellent content writer can charge up to $0,40 per word. For an article of 2000 words, that’s $800 only for the writing. Adding up the expenses of local keyword research, optimization, and editing can total up to $1500 for just one article.

Citation building

Citation building can cost from $5 for a cheap service on Fiverr to $499 per year for a Yext Standard package. From my personal experience, cheap doesn’t necessarily mean low in quality. Investigating different service providers to find affordable citation builders can be worth it.

On-Page SEO

On-page SEO services range from $50 to $300 per hour, depending on the individual’s skill set, the project’s scope, and the keywords’ competitiveness.

 

Those services can also be tied to a retainer contract where freelancers or agencies charge the client on a monthly basis for specific projects.

 

Monthly retainer contracts can amount from $500 to $5,000 per month. Single, one-time projects can cost up to $20,000, depending on the scope.

Local SEO Consulting Services

Consulting services are usually at the upper end of the pricing range. Consultants can charge anywhere from $50 per hour up to $2000 per hour. Businesses can receive various consulting services such as one-on-one consulting, help with finding the perfect physical location, and reputation and brand building.

3. Competition

For example, suppose you are working with a company in a highly competitive business niche, such as law, health care, or real estate. In that case, you may need to invest more time and resources into their SEO strategy to help them rank in the map pack. 

 

For less competitive industries or small towns, the cost of SEO services may be lower since the competition is less intense, and businesses can use less aggressive strategies to achieve results.

competition 3 pack

4. Location

Location is a price-determining factor not only because of an area’s cost of living but also because it determines the rank potential for a local business on local search and Google Maps. This potential determines the price for a result-based local SEO campaign. Generally speaking, the more difficult it is to rank, the higher the price.

5. The number of products and services

The number of products and services a business offers will impact the total price of local SEO services. This type of business will require a much more comprehensive strategy to rank well in search results, requiring more time and resources from a local SEO consultant, leading to higher pricing.

6. Service Provider expertise

Less experienced freelancers might charge less than very routined agencies. However, some freelancers might charge more because they can offer a more personalized service than agencies who service to many clients.

 

It’s essential to review case studies and customer reviews to be sure a provider delivers results despite their experience level.

7. Chosen tactics

“All roads lead to Rome.” There are many ways to achieve a specific result. The tactics chosen to accomplish a particular goal influence the budget for a local SEO campaign significantly. Some campaigns might focus on backlinks, while others lay their focus on content creation. Both tactics might lead to the same result: More business for your or your client’s company.

8. Current online presence

The cost of local SEO services depends on the level of optimization and marketing required to meet specific business objectives. A company with a well-maintained online presence may require fewer services, resulting in a smaller budget.

9. Business size and goals

Many SEO agencies tailor their pricing to business sizes and client goals. The idea behind that is that the more money a potential client can make, the higher the campaign costs. At the end of the day, achieving a win-win situation is essential. Services should be profitable, not exploitable. 

10. Industry & target audience

The cost for local SEO varies depending on the industry. For example, a one-man gardening business’s marketing and SEO budgets are quite limited. The budgets of a big company with multiple locations exceed those by a lot. 

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How to price Local SEO Services

Now that we have gone over the factors that can affect the pricing of local SEO services let’s discuss how to determine the actual price for your services using:

Evaluate the competition and market

The first step is to evaluate your competition and market demand. Look at what other local SEO service providers are charging and try to find out how the prices are determined. If a service provider has more experience, better qualifications or offers additional services, their prices may reflect this.

Determine Your services

You can determine what services to offer your potential managed local SEO clients by identifying their pain points. From there, you can decide which services can alleviate these issues. 

For example, if your perfect client target audience struggles with creating local website landing pages, you can provide a service for creating and optimizing those pages.

Use my ChatGPT or Gemini prompt to get an idea of your target group’s pain points: 

“What specific struggles do particularly plumbing businesses typically face when managing their local marketing? Only typical issues for plumbing businesses, not any other businesses.”

Estimate Time

It’s essential to consider the time cost and effort you will put into each service. Services requiring more time and expertise should be priced higher than those less demanding.

For example, conducting in-depth SEO website audits would require more time and expertise than performing a local citation campaign.

Generally, it would be best if you aimed to charge enough to make a profit while remaining competitive with other local SEO service providers in your area.

Choose a Local SEO Pricing Model

When approaching local search engine optimization prices, digital marketing agencies and professionals use no “one size fits all” approach.

 

Each model has advantages and disadvantages, and it’s essential to understand them to choose the best one for your business needs and budget. 

 

This section will outline some of the most common pricing models for local SEO services and their features and benefits.

local seo pricing table
Local SEO Services Pricing Table

Local SEO Package pricing

Local SEO package pricing is chosen when services are charged at a fixed price.

 

For example, a package may include keyword research, on-page optimization, Google Business Profile optimization, local directory submissions, and monthly reporting. 

 

All of these services are combined into a single package and offered at a single price.

 

Advantages:

  • Local SEOs can make more money with more packages. 
  • Easier to evaluate the scope as services.
  • Bundling can help decrease marketing efforts for each single service.
  • There might be a lower price for clients compared to buying individual services.

 

Disadvantages:

  • Clients needing only one service are forced to pay for the whole bundle.
  • Pricing a specific package can be challenging without similar offers from competitors. 

Project-based pricing

This model charges a fixed fee for a specific project, such as creating a new website or optimizing an existing one.

 

Advantages:

  • Clients know precisely what they’re paying for right from the beginning. 
  • Local SEOs can accurately predict profits and expenses for the project. 
  • Less time needs to be spent on tracking hourly rates.  

 

Disadvantages:

  • Underestimating the effort can lead to losses if the project takes longer than anticipated.
  • Following up on additional client requests that fall outside the initial project scope can be challenging without impacting your profitability. Plus, saying “no” to every request may damage the client relationship.

Hourly pricing

With this model, the agency bills the client based on a time charge for their local SEO services. This pricing model is best for one-off tasks or consulting work.

 

Advantages:

  • Compensation for every hour worked is quite fair. Unforeseen project changes don’t affect payments. 
  • Every additional request will be paid for. 
  • Provider can adjust their rates based on expertise and demand.

 

Disadvantages:

  • It takes effort to track every hour.
  • Unexpected costs for clients if the project takes longer than expected. 
  • Providers trade time for money. No hours billed, no money. 

Value-based pricing

This model considers the value the SEO services will bring to the client’s business. For example, an SEO provider might charge a percentage of the increased revenue that their services generate.

 

Advantages:

  • There is a potential for higher profits than with other pricing models.
  • It is possible that there could be an increase in motivation, as the provider will receive a higher payment when the client earns more money.
  • Clients only pay when they make money.

 

Disadvantages:

  • Determining customer perceived value can be challenging.
  • Clients will pay more when the business is going well. 

Market Positioning

Before you start to provide services, you want to have a look at how you want to position yourself on the market. The pricing strategy matrix can help you understand this critical concept. 

pricing strategy factors

The pricing strategy matrix is a tool that helps businesses pick the best price for their services by considering both quality and price point. 

 

Here are the 4 corners of the pricing matrix:

 

  • Premium: High price, high perceived value
  • Penetration: Low price, low perceived value
  • Skimming: High price, low perceived value 
  • Economy: Low price, high perceived value 

 

You should the red boxes, where the quality is not worth the money. Quality can also be replaced with perceived value. 

Local SEO Pricing Examples

Now that we’ve reviewed how to determine the price for local SEO services let’s look at some examples of what you could charge for different services.

 

To better understand local SEO services pricing, below are some examples of different basic pricing models for various services. Remember that these are just examples and that pricing can differ depending on the specific factors mentioned.

Creating a Google My Business listing: $200-$500

Creating a Google Business Profile listing is a relatively simple process, but it’s essential for local SEO.

You can charge between $200 and $500 for this service, depending on the level of optimization you provide:

  • Basic Google My Business listing creation: $200
  • Google My Business listing optimization (including photos, posts and updates): $300
  • Complete Google My Business management (including responding to reviews and Q&A): $500
GBP example

Ongoing monthly optimization: $500-$2,500

Ongoing monthly optimization involves continually monitoring a website’s SEO performance and making adjustments as necessary.

 

You can charge between $500 and $2,500 for this service, depending on the level of optimization required and the website’s size.

 

  • A small local business with a simple website: $500/month
  • A mid-sized business with a more complex website and a need for more in-depth optimization: $1,500/month
  • A large e-commerce business with multiple locations and a highly competitive niche: $2,500/month

Introductory Local SEO Package Pricing: $300-$800 monthly

A basic local SEO package may include Google Business Profile setup and management, on-page optimization, local keyword research, and local citation building.

This package is best suited for small businesses with low competition in their local area, and this package can range from $300 to $500 per month.

  • Google Business profile setup and management: $400 per month
  • GBP + Local keyword research: $600 per month
  • GBP + Keyword research + Local citation building and management: $800 per month
keyword research

Local SEO Audit $500-$2,000

A local SEO audit is a one-time service that provides businesses with a detailed report on their current local SEO performance and recommendations for improvement. 

 

The cost of a local SEO audit can range from $500 to $10,000.

 

  • Basic Local SEO Audit: $500
  • Deep Level Local SEO Audit: $1,500
  • Local SEO Audit + Action Plan: $2,000

keyword research and on-page optimization: $500-$1,500

Depending on the size and complexity of the websites, you can charge between $500 and $1,500 for keyword research and on-page optimization.

 

  • Small business website (less than 10 pages): $550
  • Medium-sized business website (10-50 pages): $1,000
  • Large business website (50+ pages): $1,500

comprehensive audits: $1,500-$5,000

A comprehensive site audit is a more in-depth process that involves analyzing a website’s technical SEO, content, and backlinks.

 

This service can take several days to complete and requires high expertise.

 

You can charge between $1,500 and $5,000 for this service, depending on the size and complexity of the website.

 

  • Comprehensive site audit for a small business website: $1,500
  • Comprehensive site audit for a medium-sized business website: $3,000
  • Comprehensive site audit for a large business website with complex technical SEO and backlinks: $5,000

Local SEO Package: $1,000-$3,000 monthly

A comprehensive local business SEO package may include the following:

 

  • Google Business Profile management
  • On-page optimization
  • Off-page optimization
  • Local citation building
  • Local keyword research for content creation 
  • Monthly reporting
 

This package is best suited for businesses in highly competitive industries and locations. This package can range from $1,000 to $3,000 per month.

 

  • A home services business such as a plumbing or HVAC company that operates in a single location requires a package that includes local citation building, local keyword research for content creation, and monthly reporting: $1,500/month
  • A law firm in a highly competitive area that wants to rank for specific local keywords requires a package that includes ongoing optimization, citation building, and keyword research: $2,500/month
  • A multi-location retail chain that wants to improve its visibility in local search results requires a package that includes Google My Business management, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, and monthly reporting: $3,000/month
keyword research

Local SEO Services: $50-$2000 per hour

Local SEO consulting is a service where a local SEO expert provides guidance and advice on improving a business’s local SEO performance. The cost of local SEO consulting can range from $50 to $2000 per hour.

 

  • Content Creation: $100/hour
  • ​​Link Building/outreach: $250/hour
  • Technical SEO Audit: $750/hour

What Factors Into Budgeting?

As a business owner looking to invest in local SEO services, how do you evaluate which package or service option is right for you and your growing business? 

Your goals

What do you want to achieve with your local SEO efforts? The ultimate goal of SEO is to rank higher in local organic search results.

 

Pricing typically starts off at $500 a month, but can be priced as high as $10,000 a month based on the many factors mentioned, or any additional business goals like:

 

  • Ranking higher in local organic search results
  • Generating more leads
  • Driving foot traffic to your business
  • Building brand awareness and reputation
  • Improving your local online presence
  • Gaining a competitive edge over other local businesses
  • Boosting your sales and revenue
  • Increasing inbound phone calls
  • Increasing lead generation form submits
 

Goals, like the ones listed, can vary by company and are a major player in determining the local SEO strategy produced by an agency or professional which will ultimately influence the pricing model you choose and the budget you put toward the project.

Number Of Locations

Do you have to manage multiple locations? If yes, you’ll likely need to build several local listings, optimize several Google My Business profiles, and create additional contents to rank, like:

 

  • Google Business Profile Set Up: ~$500 one time fee; and management: $100-$500/month, including updates to the profile, posts section, replying to reviews, flagging fake competitors, and uploading photos
  • Landing Page Creation: $250-$1500/page
  • Location Page Creation: $250-$750/ page
  • Local Blog Articles: $100-$300/article
  • Technical SEO & Maintenance: $500-$1500/month
  • Backlink Building: $250-$1000/link
  • Citation Building: $0.5-$5/citation
  • Reporting & Monitoring: $250-$1000/month

It takes time to optimize for each location, so expect your regional SEO provider to charge accordingly.

On average, businesses can expect to pay an additional $500-$2,000 per location for local SEO services. However, some agencies may offer discounts for multiple locations or charge a flat fee for a specific number of locations.

multiple locations

Size Of Your Website

How many pages do you have on your website? If you have many pages, that means more time optimizing each page.

The more your local SEO provider has to optimize; the more local SEO costs you will incur. You can view some estimates based on website size here:

  • Small website (1-10 pages): $500-$1,500
  • Medium website (11-50 pages): $1,500-$3,500
  • Large website (51-100 pages): $3,500-$7,000
  • Extra large website (100+ pages): $7,000-$15,000+

 

Considering these factors, you can evaluate local SEO services pricing and choose a quote from a provider that works for your business model and helps you achieve your goals.

 

Still, how do I know that budgeting for local SEO will positively impact my business? See the difference local SEO made for this law office in this case study by Hennessey Digital >>>

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does local SEO cost for a small website?

Local SEO costs for a small website can range from a few hundred dollars per month for a basic package, to several thousand dollars per month for a more comprehensive package.

 

Costs can vary depending on several factors, including the scope of the project and the competition in the geographic region. 

 

It’s essential to remember that investing in local SEO is a long-term strategy and should be considered an investment in the future success of your business.

What is affordable vs. cheap local SEO?

Affordable local SEO is a service that provides quality work for a reasonable price.

 

In contrast, cheap local SEO refers to a low-quality service that offers a low cost but may provide different expertise and results than a more expensive provider.

 

Understanding the difference between the two is essential when considering SEO services.

How do you calculate local SEO cost efficiency?

Local SEO cost efficiency is calculated by measuring your local SEO efforts’ return on investment (ROI). One way to do this is to calculate the revenue generated from new local customers acquired through local SEO compared to the cost of the SEO services. 

 

Say you hired a local SEO agency for $2,000 a month to improve your search engine ranking. Over the course of six months, you see an increase in organic traffic and the total revenue generated is $50,000. This means the local SEO cost efficiency is calculated as follows:

 

(Revenue – Campaign Cost) / Campaign Cost = Cost Efficiency

($50,000 – $12,000) / $12,000 = 316%

 

This example indicates that for every $1 spent on local SEO, the business generated $3.16 in revenue, demonstrating that the campaign was cost-efficient and provided a positive return on investment (ROI).

Summary

Determining local SEO pricing for services can be challenging. I hope I could shed some light on how to develop an efficient local SEO pricing strategy, the factors that influence pricing, and what information clients need to consider when hiring a local SEO company. 

 

I’d appreciate it very much if you would leave a comment below. Thank you!  

More Resources

The Complete 260+ Points
Local SEO Checklist

I’ve found 260+ points you need to consider to succeed in local search…. And turned them into a Giant Local SEO Checklist! 🤩

Click the button below!

About the author

Tim Kahlert

Tim Kahlert

Tim Kahlert is the founder & CEO of Hypetrix.com. He is a passionate SEO professional who has been helping agencies and small business owners succeed on local search and Google Maps for the past 5 years. He's regularly sharing high-quality local SEO & Google Business Profile strategies on his channels. Tim is also a contributor to the Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factor Study. Click on the author name or the social icons below to learn more and connect with Tim.

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Anna Blair
3 months ago

Thank you for producing this wonderful stuff. I thought your thorough explanation of every marketing-related topic was excellent. It is really beneficial. Here are the monthly SEO programs that you may locate.

Felipe
Felipe
1 month ago

You post some of the best local seo content man, Highly appreciate your content.

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