How much does SEO cost in Australia? Our prices, and what moves any quote
Boltly's SEO plans are $500, $900 and $1,500 a month, with no setup fee and no lock-in contract. That's the only price list we can vouch for.
- $500Starter, a month
- $900Growth, a month
- $1,500Performance, a month
- $0Setup fee
- NoneLock-in term
Why this guide doesn't print an "Australian average"
We couldn't find an Australian price range that comes from a published, checkable data set, and a number we can't verify isn't worth printing.
Averages also hide the work. Two agencies can charge the same fee for very different amounts of it, and a plumber in a regional town isn't buying the same thing as an online store selling nationally, even if both call it "SEO".
Google's page on hiring an SEO, last updated 5 June 2026, says that if you run a small local business you can probably do much of the work yourself, starting with its free SEO starter guide. It also says no one can guarantee first place on Google.
Our three SEO plans, line by line
A free audit comes first and tells us both which plan fits, or whether SEO is worth the spend yet.
From Boltly's pricing page, 4 October 2026.
Six things that move the price of SEO
Whoever you hire, these six set how much work a month needs, and the work is what you pay for. Each comes with a question that makes quotes comparable.
How crowded your search results are
A regional trade and a capital-city law firm face very different page ones. More capable competitors mean more content and more earned links before anything moves.
AskWhich searches did you look at to set this price?
The state of your website
Broken redirects, slow templates or pages Google can't index have to be fixed before growth work pays off. That's often a one-off cost at the start.
AskWhat did the audit find, and is fixing it inside the monthly fee?
How much content you need
Writing useful pages is usually the largest part of the monthly work. Ten thin articles cost less than three good ones and do less.
AskHow many pages a month, how long, and who writes them?
How many locations you serve
Each real location needs its own profile, its own page with local substance and its own reviews. Suburb pages that only swap a name aren't worth paying for.
AskWhat will make each location page different from the others?
Links and mentions
Earning coverage from real local and industry sites takes outreach time. Buying links is cheaper and breaks Google's spam policy.
AskWhere do your links come from? Can I see examples?
Who does the work
A senior specialist's hour costs more than a junior's or an automated tool's. What matters is who decides the plan and who checks the output.
AskWho will I speak to, and who does the work each month?
The four ways SEO is priced, and when each makes sense
Agencies sell the same work as a retainer, a project, by the hour or on results, and each suits a different situation.
Monthly retainer
A set fee for an agreed monthly scope, suited to most SEO because results build over time. It's how our plans work.
WatchLong minimum terms. A retainer should earn its renewal each month.
Fixed project
One price for a defined job: an audit, a site migration, a content plan. Good when someone in-house carries on afterwards.
WatchA clear list of deliverables, so "done" means the same thing to both sides.
Hourly consulting
Advice billed by time. Useful for a second opinion, training your team or steering a developer.
WatchAn estimate up front, and a written summary of what was advised.
Pay on results
Fees tied to rankings or leads. It sounds safe, but Google says no one can guarantee first place, and a deal tied to rankings can reward easy phrases nobody searches.
WatchWhich keywords count, who chooses them, and what tactics are used to hit them.
What a very cheap SEO offer usually leaves out
Usually the work itself: the cheapest offers promise a lot and list little, and most of the warning signs on Google's page about hiring an SEO show up there.
- Guaranteed rankingsGoogle: no one can guarantee first place.
- A "special relationship" with Google or "priority submit"Google tells you to beware of both claims.
- Secrecy about methodsGoogle says to be wary of a company that won't explain what it intends to do.
- Bulk links or directory submissionsNamed as link spam in Google's spam policies.
- Hundreds of near-identical pagesThe pattern Google's scaled content abuse and doorway policies target.
Google's hiring page also warns that if an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content for you, your site could be removed from Google's index entirely. Undoing spammy links or pages takes paid hours too.
Is the fee worth it? Test it against your own numbers
It's worth it when the extra customers it brings cover the fee, and you can check that in two minutes.
Break-even check: an illustration, not a forecast
How to read it
Swap in your own gross profit per customer, not the sale price. If customers come back, use what a customer is worth over a year or two. If the break-even number looks easy, the fee is probably sound; if it needs a miracle, try a smaller plan or another channel for now.
Compare it with paid search too: ads deliver clicks quickly but stop when the budget does, while SEO builds slowly. Our article on SEO vs Google Ads and our guide to whether SEO is worth it go further.
Figures above are an illustration using a made-up job value. Google's SEO starter guide notes some changes take effect in hours and others take several months, so judge the maths over a year, not a month (see how long SEO takes).
Seven things to check in any SEO agreement
Beyond the price, these seven terms decide whether a deal is fair.
The minimum term and notice period
How long you're committed, and how much notice ends it.
Who owns the accounts
Search Console, Analytics and your Business Profile should be in your name, with the agency added as a user.
Who owns the content
Pages and articles written for your site should stay yours if you leave.
What's in scope each month
Named deliverables, not "ongoing optimisation".
What's extra
Setup fees, content beyond a quota, development hours, tools.
How results are reported
Which numbers, from which accounts, how often.
What happens to links and pages if you leave
Nothing built for you should vanish or be redirected when the contract ends.
The ACCC says Australian law protects consumers and small businesses from unfair terms in standard form contracts, and that changes to the unfair contract terms law took effect on 9 November 2023. If a clause looks one-sided, ask for a change before you sign. This is general information, not legal advice.
Our guide to choosing an SEO agency covers the rest of the interview, and the why Boltly page answers Google's hiring questions about us.
Locked in, billed for extras, or unsure what the fee bought
Most cost complaints arrive months after signing, on SEO forums and in "is my SEO company working" searches, once the bills have come and the results haven't.
You signed for 12 months, little has happened, and leaving means paying out the rest
Ask in writing for an itemised list of each month's work, with the pages and links involved, and read the termination clause closely. If it was a standard form contract you couldn't negotiate, the unfair terms law above may cover one-sided clauses, so get advice before paying out the balance. Next time, look for month-to-month terms, or a short first term with 30 days' notice.
Charges you didn't expect when you signed
The usual ones: content "beyond the quota", a separate link budget, development hours, tool subscriptions, and a setup fee for an audit you never saw. Watch for rented assets too. Paid link placements can disappear when payments stop, a call-tracking number can die with the contract, and a site the agency hosts on its own account may not leave with you.
One quote says $300 a month and another says $3,000
A fee buys hours, so work out how many specialist hours the cheaper price could cover. Then ask who does the work, where they are, how many other accounts they look after and whether you can speak to them.
ONE MONTHwhat the fee should leave behind
- Pages changed, with each addresslist
- New pages publishedlist
- Technical fixes, and what was brokenlist
- Links earned, with the linking addresslist
- Figures from your own Search Console and Analyticslink
- Who did the work, and next month's planname
A checklist for any agency's monthly bill, including ours.
What a month of SEO should include
"Ongoing optimisation" isn't a deliverable. Every month you pay for should leave evidence you can open and check: pages you can visit, fixes you can test, links you can click, and numbers pulled from accounts you own rather than screenshots. A quiet month of research or fixes is fine if the list says so.
If three months go by and the list stays vague, that's the moment to ask for a review meeting, not month eleven.
SEO cost questions, answered
How much does SEO cost in Australia?
Boltly's SEO plans cost $500, $900 or $1,500 a month, with no setup fee and no lock-in; other agencies' prices depend on how competitive your market is and how much work your site needs. Compare quotes by the work listed, not the headline figure.
How much does SEO cost for a small business per month?
With us, the Starter plan at $500 a month is built for a single-location business, and Growth at $900 for businesses competing across a city or region. The free audit confirms which fits.
How much should a small business spend on SEO?
Work back from your numbers. Divide a year of fees by the gross profit on an average customer to see how many extra customers the spend needs to bring in. If that number is comfortably achievable, the budget is reasonable. If it isn't, spend less or wait.
Why is SEO so expensive?
Because most of what you pay for is skilled time: research, writing useful pages, technical fixes, outreach and reporting, every month.
Is cheap SEO worth it?
It can be if the scope is honest and small. It isn't if it promises guaranteed rankings, bulk links or hundreds of pages, which Google's hiring advice and spam policies warn against. Cleaning up after spam usually costs more than doing it properly.
Do SEO agencies charge setup fees?
Some do. Boltly doesn't. If a quote includes one, ask what work it pays for and whether that work appears in the deliverables.
Can I do SEO myself to save money?
Often, yes. Google's hiring page suggests a small local business start with its free SEO starter guide. Our DIY SEO vs agency article helps you decide.
Questions drawn from Google autocomplete suggestions for "how much does seo cost", "seo cost" and "how much should a small business spend on seo", checked from Australia on 4 October 2026.
Find out which plan fits, for free
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