A bottom retainer in SEO runs $500–$1,500/month in the Canadian market, sometimes called a maintenance or monitoring retainer. At this price point you're getting 5–15 hours of monthly work, which translates to basic hygiene tasks: monthly performance reports, minor on-page tweaks, monitoring for technical issues like broken links or indexing problems, and perhaps one or two blog posts per month if content is included. This tier works for established local businesses that already rank well for their core terms and just need someone watching the store. A dentist in Ottawa who ranks #1 for "downtown Ottawa dentist" might use a bottom retainer to keep that position stable while their agency handles competitors who start targeting the same keywords. It's defensive, not offensive. What you're not getting at this price: link building campaigns, competitive keyword expansion, site migrations, or any strategic overhaul work. Most agencies can't profitably deliver outreach-based link acquisition or in-depth technical audits for under $2,000/month because those tasks are labour-intensive. If an agency quotes $800/month and promises 20 new backlinks, they're either using low-quality tactics or losing money on your account. At Ottawa SEO, we're transparent that bottom retainers suit specific situations: you've already invested in a solid foundation and need monitoring, or you're a micro-business testing SEO before committing to a growth budget. The risk is stagnation—if competitors outspend you 3:1 on content and links, your rankings will erode over 12–18 months even with perfect maintenance. Bottom line: $500–$1,500/month keeps the lights on. It won't move needles in competitive markets, but it prevents backsliding if you've already done the heavy lifting. Expect reporting and small fixes, not transformation. If your goal is to double organic traffic, you need mid-tier ($2,500–$5,000/month) or higher.