Free SEO Calculator
SEO Cost Calculator: How Much Should SEO Cost for Your Business?
Answer six quick questions about your business, market, and goals. We will recommend the plan that fits, show the starting price, and explain why.
25 years of SEO · 50,000+ first-page rankings · Plans start at $950/month
How much does SEO cost?
For most US small and mid-size businesses, professional SEO costs somewhere between a few hundred and several thousand dollars a month. Where you land depends on how many places you want to rank, how strong your competitors are, how big your site is, and what shape it is in today. At MRB Marketing, plans start at $950 a month. No long-term contracts. Choose month-to-month or a 6-month agreement, with 30 days' notice to cancel.
This calculator turns those factors into a specific recommendation so you can budget with confidence before talking to anyone.
What makes SEO cost more or less?
Number of markets. Ranking in one town is a different job than ranking in 30 cities or nationwide. Each new market needs its own pages, listings, and links.
Competition. If page one is full of small businesses with thin websites, modest monthly work can win. If it is full of national brands, you need more content and more authority every month to catch up.
Website size. A 15-page local site and a 5,000-product store need very different amounts of technical work, page optimization, and monitoring.
Starting point. A site with a broken migration or a penalty needs repair before growth. A site with a solid base can put the whole budget into growth.
Goals and speed. Want to move faster? That takes more content and more links per month. Our plans scale mainly on those two: from 1 new page and 10 backlinks or citations a month on Starter, up to custom content and 150+ links on Aggressive.
What should I do with my recommendation?
- Compare it to your ROI. Take the plan's starting price to our SEO ROI calculator and see how many new customers it takes to break even.
- Check what you are getting, not just the price. Ask any agency how many pages they will publish and how many links or citations they will build each month. If they cannot tell you, that is a warning sign.
- Be wary of very cheap SEO. A $200-a-month plan usually means automated reports and very little real work. You may pay for a year and get nothing that lasts.
- Be wary of guarantees. Anyone who guarantees a #1 ranking is either guessing or using tactics that can get your site penalized.
- Get a real audit. The calculator gives a starting point. An audit of your actual site and competitors tells you what it will really take.
How much does SEO cost per month?
Most professional SEO for small and mid-size businesses costs from about $500 to $10,000 or more per month, depending on markets, competition, and site size. Our plans start at $950 a month for a single-location local business and go up to $9,700 a month for nationwide e-commerce in competitive markets.
Why is local SEO cheaper than e-commerce SEO?
Local SEO usually covers one area, a smaller website, and fewer competitors. E-commerce SEO often covers thousands of product and category pages competing nationwide against large retailers. That takes more technical work, more content, and more links every month, so it costs more.
Is cheap SEO worth it?
Usually not. Very low-priced plans rarely include real content or quality links, which are what move rankings. Some use risky shortcuts that can hurt your site. It is better to start with a smaller plan from a team that does real work than to pay for reports that show no progress.
How long do I need to pay for SEO before I see results?
Most businesses see early movement in 3 to 6 months and stronger results in 6 to 12 months. Competitive markets and big repair jobs take longer. Plan to give it at least six months before judging results. We have no long-term contracts: choose month-to-month or a 6-month agreement, with 30 days' notice to cancel. Either way, you get monthly reports that show what was done and what moved.
Does the price include AI search optimization?
Yes. Every MRB Marketing plan includes AI visibility work, meaning we work on getting your business mentioned by tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. Plans from Traction up also include tracking of how often AI tools mention you, so you can see progress.
Can I start small and upgrade later?
Yes. Many clients start with Starter or Traction, prove the results, and move up as they expand to new markets or services. The calculator's "Also consider" option shows you the next step up or down so you can plan ahead.
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Want an exact plan for your business?
The calculator gets you close. A free audit gets you certain. We will review your site, rankings, and competitors and recommend the plan that fits your goals and budget, with no pressure. Prefer to talk? Call 919-230-0045.
25 years of SEO · 50,000+ first-page rankings · 5-star Google reviews