How much does SEO cost for a small business?
SEO pricing is opaque on purpose. Here's what the numbers mean, what a small business actually needs, and how AI search is changing what you should pay for.
Updated October 2026 · by the Good Work team, Bentonville, AR
The short answer.
SEO for a small business costs $1,500–$3,500 for a one-time technical audit and fixes, is included as local SEO setup in a properly built website, and runs $1,500–$5,000 a month for an ongoing program covering technical work, content, local signals, and now GEO and AEO (optimizing to be cited by AI answers). Agencies charging under $500 a month are usually running reports, not doing work. The right spend depends on competition: a local service business often needs a one-time fix plus Google Business Profile discipline; a regional or ecommerce business usually needs a monthly program.
Get a free quote- One-time audit + fixes
- $1,500–$3,500
- Local SEO setup
- Included in builds
- Monthly program
- $1,500–$5,000
- Good Work program
- From $1,500 / mo
- Includes
- Technical, content, local, GEO/AEO
- Contract
- Month to month
What SEO actually includes now
Technical (speed, structure, indexing, schema). Content (pages that answer the searches your customers type). Local (Google Business Profile, citations, reviews, service-area pages). And since 2024, answer-engine and generative-engine optimization — structuring content so Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity can quote and cite you. A program that doesn't mention the last one is out of date.
Price ranges
| Option | Typical cost | Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Cheap monthly SEO | $200–$500 / mo | Automated reports, directory submissions, little real work |
| One-time audit and fixes | $1,500–$3,500 | Technical cleanup, schema, titles, GBP — big wins for most local businesses |
| Local SEO program | $1,500–$2,500 / mo | Ongoing content, GBP management, reviews, service-area pages, reporting |
| Regional / ecommerce program | $2,500–$5,000 / mo | Content at scale, technical, links, product/collection SEO, GEO/AEO |
| Enterprise | $5,000+ / mo | Multi-location, international, large catalogs |
What a small business should buy
If your site is slow, badly structured, or missing schema, buy the one-time fix first — it's the biggest return. If you're a local service business, add Google Business Profile discipline and reviews; that's often enough. If you compete regionally or sell online, a monthly program is the only thing that moves the needle, and it takes three to six months to show.
How Good Work prices it
Local SEO setup is included in every site we build. Standalone audits are fixed-price. Programs start at $1,500 a month, month to month, and include GEO and AEO. The free site audit tells you which one you need.
Questions people ask.
Short answers, no hedging.
How long until SEO works?
Technical fixes show in weeks. Content and local programs take three to six months to compound. Anyone promising page one in 30 days is selling something else.
Is AI search killing SEO?
It's changing it. Traffic from AI answers is growing, and the pages that get cited are the ones with clear answers, structured data, and real expertise. That's GEO and AEO, and it's part of every program we run.
Do I need a contract?
No. Our programs are month to month. You own the content and the accounts.
What's the first step?
The free site audit. Within two business days you'll know what's broken and what to do first.
Two free ways to start.
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