A monthly SEO fee should pay for a clear plan, agreed work on your website and search presence, and reporting that explains what changed and why. It should also spell out who writes the content, who makes technical changes, what costs extra, who owns the accounts, and how you can leave.
Two SEO quotes land in your inbox. One is cheaper. Both say keyword research, content, technical SEO and monthly reporting.
So which one is better value?
You can’t tell yet. Those are headings, not a description of what anyone is actually going to do for your business.
Before you compare the price, compare the work. And before you compare the work, be clear about the kind of enquiries you want it to produce.
You are paying for someone to decide what needs attention, do the agreed work, check what happened and decide what comes next.
Not just send you a list of problems. Not publish an article because the calendar says another article is due.
A useful proposal should connect the work to your business. Which services do you want to sell more of? Which areas do you cover? What does a good enquiry look like? Is your website clear enough to turn that interest into a conversation?
Google’s own advice on hiring an SEO says the provider should be interested in your business, explain proposed changes and tell you how success will be measured. That is a sensible starting point for comparing proposals. 1
The right work will not be identical every month. One month an important service page might need rewriting. Another month a technical problem might need fixing before more content would help.
That is fine. What isn’t fine is paying the same fee without knowing what has been prioritised, what was completed or what is waiting on you.
Ask for a clear first-month plan and a review point. After that, expect the priorities to change for a reason, not because nobody can explain the original plan.
Use this checklist when comparing quotes. It is not a promise that every package must include every item. It is a way to find out what you are buying and where the gaps are.
| Area | What to ask | What a clear answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Strategy and research | Which customers, services and searches are we targeting? | Keyword research and a content strategy tied to your business, not a keyword list on its own. |
| Technical SEO | Do you identify problems, fix them, or both? | Named responsibilities for implementation, testing and any separate development costs. |
| On-page SEO | Which existing pages will you improve? | On-page optimisation of page copy, titles, meta descriptions, headings and internal links. |
| Content | Are you writing and publishing it, or only supplying briefs? | Content creation and publishing responsibilities, agreed output, your input, approval rounds and images. |
| Local SEO | Is Google Business Profile work relevant and included? | The locations and profile tasks covered, with access kept under your control. |
| Authority and links | How will relevant mentions and links be earned? | Link building, digital PR or other authority building explained, not hundreds of unexplained links. |
| Reporting and advice | What will we review together? | Work completed, useful performance measures, blockers and the next priorities. |
If the answer to several rows is “that costs extra”, it doesn’t automatically make the quote bad. It means you need the full cost before you compare it with another one.
An initial technical audit or wider site audit, access checks, measurement setup and the first round of research can take a different amount of work from an ordinary month.
Ask whether that work is included in the monthly fee or charged separately. If there is a setup fee, ask what it delivers and whether you get to keep the findings.
Then ask what happens once the initial fixes are done. A retainer should not become a monthly charge for repeatedly telling you about the same problems.
Equally, an audit is not the same thing as implementation. A document saying your site needs changes does not mean those changes have been made.
This is where a proposal needs to be specific.
“Content included” could mean researching subjects, supplying a brief, writing the copy, editing something you wrote or putting the finished page on the website. Those are different jobs.
Ask which ones you are paying for. Check whether new service pages, supporting articles, FAQs, images and updates to older pages are included. Agree how you review the copy, especially if it is going out under your name.
The same applies to technical work. Does the agency make the changes itself, give instructions to your developer, or quote separately for implementation?
A small text amendment is not the same job as rebuilding a booking system. There needs to be an agreed line between them. Otherwise you only find out where the line is when the extra bill arrives.
To be honest, we send reports with graphs as well. But that is not the measure of our success.
You should be able to understand what was done, what changed, what did not change and what the agency recommends next.
Google Search Console and your analytics should help explain search visibility, relevant visits and enquiries, which answer different questions. A ranking improvement is useful information; it is not automatically a new customer. Where calls, forms or sales can be measured properly, agree how those results will be tracked and how unknown sources will be treated.
You also need to know whether the enquiries are the right ones. More work is not much help if it is all the work you were trying to stop doing.
If you are already paying and the enquiries are not coming, the first Knowledge Centre answer covers the checks to make before changing agency. 2
Do not assume that hosting, a website rebuild, Google Ads management, advertising spend, specialist software or a major development project is included because the quote says “full service”.
Ask for the exclusions in writing. Check whether quoted prices include VAT, whether advertising spend is separate from management fees and what happens if the agreed work needs more time.
A good answer is not necessarily “everything is included”. It is an answer you can budget around.
At Bamsh, the current SEO pricing page sets out the published packages and their inclusions. Compare the scope that fits your business rather than assuming the biggest package is the right one. Your written proposal should make any additional work clear. 3
Agree this before you start, not when you want to leave.
Your business should retain control of its website, domain, Google Business Profile and measurement accounts. Give the agency the access it needs rather than making it the only person who can get in.
Ask what happens to the copy, research, reports and any software-dependent dashboards when the agreement ends. Ownership and continued software access are not necessarily the same thing, so get both explained.
Check the minimum contract term, notice period, final payment and handover arrangements. A rolling agreement still has terms.
If the proposal includes AI search work, ask what that means in practice. Which pages will be improved? What will be measured? What evidence will you see?
Google says there are no special additional optimisations or special schema required for Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode. The existing SEO fundamentals still apply, and meeting them does not guarantee inclusion. 4
Clear answers, accurate information, useful content and accessible pages are sensible work. A promise to make your business appear in every AI answer is not something an agency can guarantee.
Treat a software score as a check on the work, not proof that customers have seen it or that enquiries have increased.
Not automatically. Your content strategy should decide whether an existing page needs improving or a new page is missing. Ask how content production is scoped: what kinds of content pieces are included, how many, who reviews them and who publishes them. Content volume is not a result on its own. One useful service page can be a better priority than several articles nobody needs.
Ask what the agency can change itself. Technical fixes might cover broken links, indexing problems, website structure or site speed, depending on the site. A technical audit should explain the priorities. It should also say who handles schema implementation, website navigation changes or work on a WordPress website. Major custom features or a website build need an agreed scope, not an assumption that the retainer covers everything.
If local customers matter, ask whether Google Business Profile work, local citations and relevant local landing pages sit inside the fee. Check what the provider does and what you must supply. Reviews still need real customers: an agency cannot create genuine Google reviews for you. Ask how local search progress will be assessed, rather than treating a position in the map pack as a promise of enquiries.
Ask SEO agencies to explain their link acquisition approach. Does it involve relevant link outreach, digital PR, partnerships or useful resources people choose to refer to? What will you be able to see afterwards? Ask about the quality and relevance of the links, not just the number. Google lists buying links for ranking purposes and automated link creation among its link-spam examples. A backlink profile full of unexplained links is a reason to ask questions, not automatically a reason to celebrate. 5
They buy different things. Project-based pricing can suit a defined audit or a specific set of changes. A monthly retainer is for ongoing priorities, implementation and review. Ask SEO consultants what each arrangement delivers and who does the next stage. A one-off plan you cannot implement may be less useful than a smaller piece of work that actually gets finished.
If you are offered performance-based SEO, get the definition of success in writing. Does performance-based pricing depend on Google rankings, visits, a qualified enquiry or a sale? Who checks the figures? How are branded searches, existing customers, duplicate forms and enquiries from outside your service area handled? The label is less important than knowing what you would pay for and what would not count.
Agree the reporting cadence before you start. A monthly report should connect the SEO services delivered with relevant evidence and the next decision. Rank tracking and competitor tracking may help, but ask what the data means for your business. A higher Google ranking is not the same thing as a good enquiry. You need someone to explain the difference, not simply send another chart.
Ask the provider to put these answers in one place:
If you cannot get a straight answer before the agreement starts, don’t assume it will become clearer after you pay.
The monthly fee matters. But the useful comparison is what that fee allows someone to do for your business, and whether you can see the work and judge the result.
If you would like to compare that checklist with our approach, start with the Bamsh SEO packages and inclusions. No need to buy more than you need. 3
[1] Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO? https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo
[2] Bamsh Knowledge Centre: Paying for SEO but not getting enquiries. https://bamsh.co.uk/paying-for-seo-but-not-getting-enquiries-what-should-you-check/
[3] Bamsh: SEO costs and package inclusions. https://bamsh.co.uk/seo-costs/
[4] Google Search Central: AI features and your website. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
[5] Google Search Central: Spam policies, link spam. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam
