The honest answer upfront: $399-$20,000+ per month depending on business type, competition, and scope. Here's exactly what determines where you fall in that range.
| Business Type | Monthly Range (AUD) | What's Included |
|---|---|---|
| Local service (single suburb/city) | $1,400 – $3,500 | GBP optimisation, local citations, on-page, basic content |
| Local with GBP focus | $880 – $1,710 (GBP component only) | Profile management, review strategy, local posting |
| SMB national | $2,500 – $7,500 | Multi-city targeting, content strategy, link building |
| National with multiple locations | $3,960 – $11,000 | Full technical, content, links across multiple city pages |
| eCommerce | $2,500 – $12,000 | Category/product optimisation, technical, content hub |
| Enterprise | $10,000 – $20,000+ | Complex technical, international, large content operations |
| One-off SEO audit | $1,500 – $5,000 | Technical audit, keyword research, competitor analysis |
| Hourly consulting | $100 – $250 | Strategy, review, training |
Sources: Searchscope (2024), Websites That Sell (2025), Marketix Digital (2025)
Month-to-month agreements. Cancel anytime. We're confident you'll stay based on results, not contracts.
For local service businesses
For multi-city businesses
For online stores
The range isn't a cop-out—SEO costs are genuinely determined by competitive intensity, domain age, business size, and geographic scope. A brand new plumbing business in regional Queensland targeting "plumber Toowoomba" faces completely different competitive dynamics than an established Sydney law firm targeting "commercial lawyer Sydney CBD".
Competition matters most. Ranking for "accountant Melbourne" requires competing against hundreds of established firms with years of content and thousands of backlinks. That requires more hours of work, more content, and more link building than ranking for "accountant Bendigo". The budget needs to match the competitive reality.
Domain age is the second factor. A brand new Australian website typically needs 12-24 months of consistent investment to crack top 3 positions. New domains start with zero authority—every backlink, every piece of content, every technical improvement builds from scratch. An established domain with existing authority can move faster, requiring less monthly investment to maintain and improve rankings.
What's already been done also matters. A site that's never had SEO work needs foundational technical fixes, comprehensive keyword research, and content strategy development. A site that's had previous SEO work might only need ongoing content and link building. The starting point determines the scope.
A $2,000/month SEO retainer buys approximately 15-20 hours of work at typical agency rates ($100-$140/hour). Here's how those hours typically break down for a local service business:
Technical SEO (4-5 hours): Site speed optimisation, mobile responsiveness, schema markup, fixing crawl errors, managing redirects. This is ongoing maintenance plus addressing new issues as Google's algorithm evolves.
Content creation (8-10 hours): Writing and publishing 2-3 blog posts or service pages per month, optimising existing content, updating outdated pages. Quality content takes time—a well-researched 1,500-word blog post requires 3-4 hours including research, writing, editing, and optimisation.
Link building (3-4 hours): Outreach to relevant Australian websites, digital PR, broken link building, managing local citations. Quality link building is manual work—each earned backlink from a reputable site requires research, personalised outreach, and relationship building.
Reporting and strategy (2-3 hours): Monthly performance reports, strategy adjustments based on results, client communication. This is where agencies analyse what's working and pivot strategy accordingly.
At $3,500/month, you're buying 25-30 hours, which allows for more content (4-5 pieces per month), more aggressive link building, and deeper technical work. At $7,500/month, you're buying 50-60 hours—enough for comprehensive national campaigns with multiple content pieces per week and sustained link building across multiple target cities.
There is a floor below which SEO simply doesn't work. Not because quality agencies are gatekeeping, but because Google's algorithm rewards sustained, substantive effort—and there's a minimum threshold of hours, content, and links required to move the needle in competitive Australian markets.
For local businesses: $1,500-$2,000/month is the minimum. Below this, you can't buy enough hours to execute technical fixes, create quality content, and build links simultaneously. Most credible agencies won't take on work below this threshold because they know it won't deliver results.
For national campaigns: $2,500-$3,000/month is the minimum. The minimum investment to see results at a reputable agency is now $3,000+/month according to industry data from 2025. Competing nationally requires more content, more links, and more technical complexity than local campaigns.
The budget needs to sustain the 12-24 month runway required for new Australian websites to crack top 3 positions. A business that can only afford $1,000/month for 6 months ($6,000 total) would be better off saving that budget and investing $2,000/month for 12 months ($24,000 total) when they can afford it. The sustained investment is what compounds.
What does a dodgy SEO proposal look like in Australia? Cold email from a Gmail address promising page 1 in 30 days. Packages priced at $299/month with "500 backlinks included". No mention of strategy, just a list of deliverables. No case studies from Australian businesses. Reporting that's just a PDF of keyword positions with no analysis or insights.
Guaranteed rankings are another red flag. No legitimate agency guarantees specific rankings because Google's algorithm is outside anyone's control. What credible agencies guarantee is the work—we'll publish X pieces of content, build Y quality backlinks, fix Z technical issues. Rankings are the outcome of that work, not a promise.
Packages that include "unlimited" anything should raise suspicion. Unlimited backlinks means low-quality spam links. Unlimited content means AI-generated filler. Quality SEO work has natural limits based on what can be produced to a high standard within the available hours.
Lock-in contracts longer than 6 months are questionable. Quality agencies don't need to lock you in because their results speak for themselves. At SEO Growth, we offer month-to-month agreements because we're confident you'll stay based on performance, not contractual obligation.
A decent agency shows you case studies from Australian businesses in similar industries or markets. They explain the strategy before taking a dollar—what keywords they'll target, what content they'll create, how they'll build links. They set realistic timelines (6-12 months for initial traction, 12-24 months for target positions) rather than promising immediate results.
The proposal should break down where your budget goes. How many hours per month? How many pieces of content? What technical work is included? What does link building look like? Transparency in scope means you can assess whether the investment matches the work required.
Ask about their team. Are they using local Australian writers or offshore content mills? Are they doing manual link outreach or automated spam? Are they a Sydney-based team or a reseller for an overseas operation? The answers matter because they determine quality.
Finally, ask what happens if you're not seeing results at 6 months. A confident agency will have a clear answer—we analyse what's not working, adjust strategy, and keep pushing. An agency that deflects or blames external factors is a red flag.
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Calculate ROISEO costs in Australia range from $1,400-$3,500/month for local service businesses, $2,500-$7,500/month for SMB national campaigns, $3,960-$11,000/month for multi-location national businesses, and $2,500-$12,000/month for eCommerce. Enterprise SEO typically starts at $10,000-$20,000+/month. These ranges reflect the actual work required to compete in Australian markets.
The minimum effective budget is $1,500-$2,000/month for local businesses and $2,500-$3,000/month for national campaigns. Below these thresholds, there isn't enough budget to execute the technical work, content creation, and link building required to move rankings in competitive Australian markets. New Australian websites typically need 12-24 months of consistent investment to reach top 3 positions, so the budget must sustain that runway.
One-off SEO audits in Australia cost $1,500-$5,000 depending on site complexity and audit depth. A basic technical audit for a small business site might be $1,500-$2,500, while a comprehensive audit for an eCommerce site with thousands of pages can reach $4,000-$5,000. The audit typically includes technical analysis, keyword research, competitor analysis, and a prioritised action plan.
SEO consultants in Sydney charge $100-$250/hour depending on experience and specialisation. Independent consultants typically charge $100-$150/hour, while established agencies charge $140-$250/hour. Hourly rates are most common for strategy consulting, training, or ad-hoc work. Most ongoing SEO work is sold as monthly retainers rather than hourly billing.
Yes, eCommerce SEO is typically more expensive because it involves optimising hundreds or thousands of product and category pages, managing technical complexity (faceted navigation, duplicate content, site speed), and competing in national or international markets. eCommerce SEO starts at $2,500-$3,500/month and can reach $12,000+/month for large catalogues. Local SEO for a single-location business costs $1,400-$3,500/month.
SEO prices vary based on competitive intensity (ranking in Sydney CBD costs more than regional markets), domain age (new sites need more work), business size (enterprise sites are more complex), geographic scope (local vs national vs international), and what's included (some agencies include content writing, others charge separately). The range also reflects agency overhead, experience, and whether they're using offshore resources or local teams.
Most Australian businesses see initial traction at 6-12 months and reach target positions at 12-24 months. The payoff timeline depends on competition, domain age, and investment level. A local business in a low-competition market might see ROI at 6 months, while a national business in a saturated market might need 18 months. The key is that SEO compounds—month 18 delivers significantly more value than month 6.
Our SEO packages start at $1,995/month for local businesses and $3,495/month for national campaigns. Month-to-month agreements because we're confident you'll stay based on results.
No lock-in contracts • Transparent pricing • Sydney-based team