Jonathan Gorham

How Much Does SEO Cost In Australia? SEO Pricing Guide 2024

This guide to SEO pricing has everything you need to know about SEO costs in 2024 and beyond.

If you’re wondering “How much SEO costs?” and…(is it worth it)?

This guide has everything you need.

Let’s dive in.

How Much Does SEO Cost?

The average cost for a monthly SEO service ranges from $1,000-$5,000 per month, but you could pay as little as $100 or more than $50,000 monthly depending on the level of engagement.

The reason SEO costs vary depends on:

How fast you want results.
The level of online competition in your industry.
Your SEO service provider.
The scope of the SEO project.

To give you a better idea of how much you can expect to pay for SEO. I’ve broken down typical SEO costs by common categories, so you have a better idea based on the type of business and website you want to optimize

SEO Costs By Service Type

On average, SEO costs range from $1,500-$5,000 per month but you could pay as little as $100 per month or more than $50,000 each month in some circumstances.

SEO costs vary depending on:

How fast you want results.
The level of online competition.
Your SEO provider.
The scope of the SEO project.

To give you a better idea of how much SEO will cost you, check out the table below with a simple breakdown of typical SEO costs by service type:

Pricing Model (Service Type)	SEO Pricing
Monthly SEO Retainer (Agency)	$1,500 to $5,000 per month
One-time SEO Audit	$2,000 to $10,000 per audit
Hourly SEO Consulting & Coaching	$140 to $350 per hour
SEO Copywriting	$0.15 to $0.40 per word
Monthly Link Building	$1,500 to $10,000+ per month
Full-time SEO Employee	$5,000 to $15,000 per month

SEO Costs By Business Type

SEO prices also change depending on what type of website have. For example and ecommerce store with 1000’s of products will cost more than a local business servicing a small area which might only have 1-2 services.

Here are the biggest factors to SEO costs broken down by business/website type:

Pricing Model (Business Type)	SEO Pricing
Ecommerce Business (< 100 products)	$1,500 to $3,500 per month
Ecommerce Business (>100 products)	$2,500 to $10,000 per month
Local Service Business (1-10 areas)	$1,000 to $2,500 per month
Franchise Business (10+ Locations)	$2,000 to $8,000 per month
Multi-Location Business (10+ Locations)	$2,000 to $8,000 per month
Enterprise Business	$2,500 to $10,000 per month

What is the Hourly Rate for SEO in Australia?

Similar to monthly SEO contracts. Hourly rates for most SEO services in Australia range from $80-$250 per hour.

Most SEO agencies charge between $140-$250 per hour while SEO consultants and freelancers can sometime charge less with their prices starting from as little as $80 per hour.

As with any product or service, it’s important to remember that cheaper doesn’t always equal better.

You need to do your due diligence when hiring an SEO expert to ensure that they deliver quality work and know how to design an SEO strategy that matches your business growth goals.

In-House SEO Or SEO Agency - Which is cheaper?

So should you hire an in-house SEO, an SEO agency or a freelance SEO consultant to help take your business to new heights?

While this might seem confusing or tricky here is a helpful table that summarises the best SEO talent to hire depending on what level your business is at:

Business Stage	What SEO To Hire?
Revenue (< $1M)	Chances are your budgets are tight and hiring a full-time SEO is not the best allocation of funds at this stage. You will get a lot more value hiring an SEO consultant or agency. It doesn't matter if you choose between a consultant or agency - the important factor is that they get you results in terms of more sales during this crucial stage of business growth.
Revenue ($1-$10M)	At this stage you will work with a lot of different agencies & consultants to help you as you scale. I suggest mixing up different talents and you may also consider hiring a marketing specialist who can assist you with managing external SEO agencies & consultants. The key thing to remember is to always hold your employees and external partners to KPIs that are tied to monetary growth.
Revenue ($10M+)	This is where you want to focus on building an elite team with top talent in-house. Yes you will still hire various agencies & consultants to plug gaps but your main focus should be on having in-house SEO guns who know how to push your website and organic performance to new heights.

Is SEO worth the cost?

If there’s one takeaway, it’s to invest in quality SEO rather than pick the cheapest option.

When you work with the right SEO partner you can experience some amazing growth with your business that will last for years. Think of SEO as an investment with long term gains and don’t simply choose a provider who offers the cheapest price. There are so many other factors to consider when hiring a quality SEO partner including:

- Has the person or agency you’re about to hire delivered proven results for other businesses?
- Do you get along with them and are they responsive to your emails and communicate well?
- Have they set expectations with you and you’ve both agreed on what the goals are at time bound intervals?
- Are they focused on increasing your revenue or are they only focused on ‘organic traffic’ and ‘keywords’?
- Have you spoken with the people working on your campaign or only the ‘sales guy’?
- Are they forcing you to sign a long-term contract or are happy to work on a flexible month to month arrangement?

The bottom line…

Do your due diligence as best you can. It won’t guarantee you hire the best SEO but it will increase your chances and if you’re not happy with their work then fire them quickly and give someone else a shot. You’ll soon find the right SEO partner, see some amazing growth and question yourself…”Why didn’t I invest in SEO sooner?”

The Risk of Cheap SEO Services

Be careful of agencies and consultants who charge less than $500 per month for SEO. I would even caution against people charging less than $1,000 because at these prices there is very little an agency or consultant can do that will have any meaningful impact on your business. With these cheap SEO services, you’re likely getting automated “AI content services” and traffic reports generated by tools without creating a strategy or generating any sales for your business. On the surface, it may seem like a bargain and a great deal but long term you’re not moving your business forward. Hear are a few red flags to look out for when working with an SEO partner. If you see any of these with your current partner then fire them immediately and move on to another SEO provider:

Poor Content Quality: Because these agencies can’t afford experienced content writers, they settle for AI content or cheap writers who deliver rubbish content.
Sub-Par Customer Service: You can’t expect much from the customer service of a cheap SEO service (without getting disappointed!)
Lack of Transparency and Accountability: Cheap SEO may come without analytics or performance reports to help you track progress. Also, these experts might ghost you after making a mistake.
Ultimate Loss of Business Revenue: When Google penalises you, it essentially removes you from search rankings, which means you’ll experience a grave loss in business revenue.

Even with a limited SEO budget, you shouldn’t cut corners. If you aren’t paying for an ongoing SEO service, opt for a one-time SEO campaign or an SEO consult to begin with and build up over a longer time period.

The Final Word

That’s my guide to SEO pricing in 2024.

Now I’d like to hear about your experience:

Is your experience similar to the numbers I’ve shared? If not, what do you pay for SEO right now?

Let me know in the comments section below.

Author Bio

Jonathan Gorham is the co-founder of Engine Scout and a passionate online marketer, who specialises in ecommerce growth including SEO, paid ads & conversion rate optimisation. He's based in Melbourne, Australia, and when he's not working, you'll find him relaxing with family or hanging out with friends. Connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.