SEO costs $500–$5,000 CAD per month for most Canadian businesses, though enterprise campaigns can reach $15,000+ monthly. The wide range reflects differences in market competition, business size, and scope of work. Local businesses targeting Ottawa or a single city typically pay $750–$1,500/month for foundational SEO: technical cleanup, local citations, Google Business Profile optimization, and basic content. Regional businesses competing across Ontario or multiple provinces usually invest $2,000–$4,000/month for deeper keyword research, ongoing content production, link acquisition, and conversion optimization. National brands or e-commerce sites fighting for competitive commercial keywords often spend $5,000–$15,000/month or more for dedicated teams, programmatic SEO, and sustained link building. What drives the cost: - Competitiveness: Ranking for "Ottawa plumber" requires far less work than "business software" nationally. - Site size: A 20-page service site needs less technical maintenance than a 5,000-product e-commerce catalog. - Content volume: One optimized article per month costs less than weekly publishing with custom visuals. - Link building: Earning links in competitive niches demands more outreach, creative assets, and time. - Agency overhead: Established agencies with proven systems charge more than solo freelancers, but deliver more consistent results and accountability. At Ottawa SEO Inc., our monthly retainers start around $1,200 for straightforward local campaigns and scale based on actual hours required to move rankings. We bill for execution, not arbitrary packages. Most of our clients invest $2,000–$3,500/month because that budget supports the minimum viable effort: technical monitoring, one solid content piece, ongoing link outreach, and monthly reporting. Cheaper options exist—offshore agencies at $300/month or automated tools—but they rarely deliver ranking improvements worth the cost. SEO is labor-intensive expert work. If a quote seems too good to be true, it probably is.