SEO costs vary widely based on three factors: what you're buying, who's delivering it, and how competitive your market is. In Canada, most small to mid-sized businesses pay between $1,500 and $4,000 per month for ongoing SEO services from an established agency. Hourly consulting ranges from $100 to $300 depending on expertise. One-time projects like technical audits or site migrations run $2,500 to $15,000, while comprehensive overhauls for larger sites can exceed $25,000. Monthly retainers typically include technical optimization, content strategy, link building, and reporting. A $1,500/month package might cover basic technical fixes and light content work for a local business with low competition. A $5,000/month engagement usually supports a multi-location business or competitive niche requiring substantial content production, advanced technical work, and aggressive link acquisition. Enterprise SEO for national brands often starts at $10,000/month. Project-based pricing makes sense for defined deliverables: migrating a 500-page site to a new platform, conducting a comprehensive technical audit, or building out cornerstone content. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we run both models depending on client needs. Some businesses need ongoing momentum, others want a one-time foundation they can build on internally. Beware of packages under $500/month from agencies claiming full-service SEO. Real SEO requires skilled labour: technical audits take hours, quality content requires research and writing expertise, and legitimate link building is relationship-intensive. Cheap SEO usually means outsourced template content, automated outreach that damages your reputation, or neglecting technical issues that compound over time. Also consider opportunity cost. If ranking for a keyword drives $10,000/month in margin and takes six months at $3,000/month, that's an $18,000 investment for ongoing returns. Compare that against paid search where you'd spend $8,000/month indefinitely for the same traffic. The math changes entirely based on your margins, conversion rates, and how long you plan to operate. SEO is a capital investment in a revenue-generating asset, not a recurring expense like advertising.