Local SEO pricing depends on your market's competitiveness, how many locations you're optimizing, and whether you're hiring an agency, consultant, or doing it yourself. For a single-location business in a mid-sized Canadian city, expect $800 to $1,500 monthly from a reputable agency. Multi-location businesses typically pay $1,200 to $3,000 per location initially, then consolidated management fees. The core cost drivers are Google Business Profile optimization, citation building across 40-80 directories, review management, localized content creation, and local link acquisition. A one-time audit and setup often runs $1,500 to $4,000, then ongoing management handles review responses, content updates, and rank monitoring. Competitive sectors like personal injury law, dental, or HVAC in Toronto or Montreal push costs higher because you're competing against practices spending $5,000+ monthly. DIY is possible but time-intensive. You'll spend 10-15 hours monthly managing your GBP, requesting reviews, fixing citations, and creating location-specific content. Tools like BrightLocal or Whitespark cost $50 to $300 monthly depending on features. The tradeoff is you save agency fees but need to learn best practices and stay current with Google's local algorithm changes. At Ottawa SEO, we typically structure local campaigns with a $2,000 to $3,500 setup covering GBP optimization, citation cleanup, schema implementation, and landing page optimization, followed by $900 to $1,800 monthly for active management. This includes review monitoring, monthly content, local link outreach, and rank tracking for 15-25 keywords. Beware of $299/month packages promising first-page rankings. They usually deploy spammy citations, keyword-stuffed GBP descriptions, or fake reviews that trigger penalties. Quality local SEO takes 3-6 months to show measurable movement in the local pack, and 6-12 months for sustained top-three rankings in competitive niches. If you're evaluating proposals, ask specifically what citation sources they use, how they acquire reviews, and whether they create unique content or spin existing pages.