What does search engine optimization cost?

What does search engine optimization cost?SEO typically costs between $500 and $5,000 per month in Canada, depending on scope and competitiveness. One-time audits or project work can range from $1,500 to $15,000, while enterprise contracts often exceed $10,000 monthly.AnswerSEO pricing follows three main models: monthly retainers, project-based fees, and hourly consulting. Monthly retainers are most common and range from $500 for basic local SEO to $2,500–$5,000 for competitive markets like Toronto or Vancouver real estate, legal, or finance. Enterprise clients with national reach often pay $10,000–$25,000 monthly for comprehensive campaigns.Project-based work includes technical audits ($1,500–$5,000), site migrations ($3,000–$15,000), and content overhauls ($2,000–$10,000). Hourly rates for fractional SEO consulting typically sit between $100 and $250 in major Canadian cities, though specialists in technical SEO or penalties can charge $300+.What drives the cost? Primarily three factors: keyword difficulty and search volume you're targeting, the technical state of your site, and how much content needs creation or optimization. A local Ottawa plumber competing for 15 service pages needs far less investment than a national SaaS company fighting for hundreds of high-intent B2B keywords.The work itself breaks into technical optimization (site speed, crawlability, schema), content strategy and production, link acquisition, and ongoing monitoring. Agencies bundle these differently. Some charge $1,200 monthly but exclude content writing. Others include 4–8 articles per month in a $3,500 package. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we run fixed-scope retainers because open-ended SEO without defined deliverables usually disappoints both sides.Beware of $299 monthly SEO packages. They either automate low-value tasks or spread one strategist across 40 clients. Real ranking movement in competitive spaces requires 20–40 hours of strategic work monthly. Also watch for agencies that won't show you exactly what hours go where. If they can't explain whether they're building links, writing content, or fixing technical debt, you're paying for reporting theatre.Most businesses see ROI when monthly SEO spend sits between 5% and 12% of the revenue they expect to generate from organic traffic. If you'd be happy with $15,000 in monthly organic revenue, a $1,500–$2,000 retainer makes sense as a starting point.