Local SEO averages $1,557 a month, and agencies average $1,819 for local SEO, according to an Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO providers. In the US and Canada, 79% of providers charge at least $1,001 a month.1 MOCO™ starts at $500 a month, with a custom website included.
what you’re usually paying for
A typical retainer covers an initial audit, keyword research, some content, technical fixes, and a monthly report. Your website, hosting, and social media are often billed separately.
five questions to ask your agency
- What exactly did you do for us last month? Can I see links?
- Who owns my website, my domain, and my Google Business Profile?
- Is my website included, or billed separately?
- Who do I talk to, and how fast do they answer?
- What would change if I paid less?
what $500 a month gets you with MOCO
- A brand-new, fully custom website, designed for your business. No templates.
- Updates and new pages, at no additional cost.
- Your Google Business Profile and Apple Business Profile, managed.
- Your Facebook and Instagram, managed.
- SEO- and AI-search-rich content published to your site every week.
- Local search: your site and profiles set up for the searches nearby customers make for what you do.
what you’d keep
- $1,057a month vs. the average local SEO retainer ($1,557). $12,684 a year.
- $1,319a month vs. the average local SEO agency ($1,819). $15,828 a year.
- $6,000a year vs. $1,000 a month. vs. $1,500: $12,000 a year.
questions
Is $500 a month enough for real SEO?
MOCO does the work an agency staffs people for, so the price covers your site, weekly content, local search, and your profiles. You see every piece of it before it goes live.
Do you do paid ads?
Ads management on Google and Meta is part of Growth Plus, from $1,000 a month, starting early 2027. Ad budget is separate.
