SEO pricing breaks down into three common models: monthly retainers, project-based fees, and hourly rates. Monthly retainers dominate because SEO requires ongoing work—content, links, technical fixes, and monitoring don't stop after launch. Expect $500–$1,500/month for basic local SEO (Google Business Profile optimization, citation building, 1–2 blog posts), $2,000–$4,000/month for competitive local markets or regional campaigns with serious content and link acquisition, and $5,000–$10,000+ for national or ecommerce plays where you're fighting established players. Project-based SEO—like a technical audit, site migration, or one-time content overhaul—runs $1,500 to $15,000 depending on site size and complexity. Hourly consulting sits around $100–$250/hour in Canada, useful for strategy sessions or troubleshooting specific issues, but most businesses need sustained effort to see results. What drives cost: - Competition: Ranking for "lawyer Toronto" costs more than "arborist Ottawa" because you're outspending more competitors. - Site state: A broken site with no content needs more upfront work than a solid base needing polish. - Goals: Local pack rankings require different work than ranking 500 product pages. - Link acquisition: Quality backlinks cost time or money—outreach, content creation, or digital PR aren't free. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we run retainers from $1,200/month for straightforward local clients to $4,000+ for competitive service-area campaigns, structured around what actually moves rankings—technical health, content that answers search intent, and links that signal authority. We skip cookie-cutter packages because a 10-location HVAC company and a solo consultant need completely different strategies. Cheap SEO under $500/month usually means offshore labor, automated tools, or corner-cutting that risks penalties. Expensive doesn't guarantee results either—you're paying for expertise and execution, not just hours logged. Most legitimate agencies show you exactly what you're getting: audits, content calendars, link reports, rank tracking. If someone won't explain where your money goes, walk.