What is included in a monthly SEO retainer?

A monthly SEO retainer is a fixed fee that can pay for a site check, technical fixes, keyword research, new and rewritten pages, Google Business Profile updates, links from other websites and a monthly report. It is the most common way SEO is sold: Ahrefs polled 439 SEO service providers and found that 78.2% charge a monthly retainer. Ask which lines your fee covers and how many hours sit behind each one.

What should an SEO retainer say about results and timeframes?

An SEO retainer should say how success will be measured and in what timeframe, using numbers from your own Search Console. Google's page "Do you need an SEO?" suggests asking an SEO what results it expects to see and in what timeframe, and how it measures its success. Put those answers in writing before the first payment, so each monthly report can be compared with them.

Does an SEO retainer need a separate line for AI search?

An SEO retainer needs no special line for Google's AI features, according to Google. Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that no new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup are needed. If a proposal charges for AI search work, ask what it contains beyond good basic SEO, and which AI assistant it is meant to help.

Should I pay an SEO agency to add meta keywords?

Paying an SEO agency to add meta keywords brings nothing in Google, because Google says Google Search does not use the keywords meta tag. Meta keywords are a hidden list of words in the page code. If a retainer or a monthly report lists meta keyword work, ask the agency which search engine it is for, and ask to move those hours to pages that customers read.

What access should I give an SEO agency at the start?

At the start, give an SEO agency read access to Google Search Console, which lets it see your data without changing any settings. Google's page "Do you need an SEO?" says to grant only read access to Search Console while the SEO is assessing your site. Once the retainer begins and you trust the work, you can widen the access, and the account stays in your business's name.

What does a small business SEO retainer of $501 to $1,000 a month include?

A small business SEO retainer of $501 to $1,000 a month includes the hours that fee buys at the provider's rate, so ask for the hours and the lines in writing. Backlinko's survey of over 300 SEO professionals calls $501 to $1,000 a month the small business tier. At that level, ask the provider which lines come first and which wait for later months.

Should a local SEO retainer include Google Business Profile work?

A local SEO retainer should say in writing whether Google Business Profile work is included, because the profile is how your business appears on Google Maps. Google lists keeping Business Profile information up to date among the SEO basics that still matter for its AI features, such as AI Overviews. Ask who updates hours, services and photos, and who replies to customer reviews each month.

What your monthly SEO fee pays for

A retainer is a fixed fee paid every month for ongoing work. Here are the lines it can pay for, the question to ask about each line, and the list of changes Google says an SEO should give you.

See if customers can find you

An SEO retainer is a fixed monthly fee for ongoing search work. It can pay for a check of the site's hidden problems, research into what customers search for, new and improved pages, Google Business Profile updates, links from other websites and a monthly report. Ask for each line in writing with the hours behind it, and ask for every change to be shared, as Google advises.

What is an SEO retainer?

A retainer is a fixed fee you pay a provider every month for ongoing work. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the work of making your website easy to find on Google and in AI assistants, and it is sold this way more than any other: Ahrefs polled 439 SEO service providers (page updated August 15, 2024) and found that 78.2% charge a monthly retainer.

The size of the fee tells you little about what you receive. In the Ahrefs survey, $501 to $1,000 a month was the most common retainer, charged by 20.4% of respondents, and 68.8% charged $2,000 a month or less. SE Ranking and Duda gathered prices from 260 agencies (published December 13, 2024), 94% of which focus on small or local businesses, and found that 64% charge under $1,000 a month and 2% charge more than $5,000; SE Ranking itself says its sample may be too small to give firm conclusions. Backlinko's survey of over 300 SEO professionals (page updated December 29, 2025) calls $501 to $1,000 a month the small business tier.

Two agencies charging the same fee can deliver different amounts of work, and different kinds of work. This page lists the lines a retainer can pay for, so you can ask which of them yours includes. Our page on what SEO costs covers the prices in more detail.

The work on your website itself

A retainer can pay for some or all of the following lines. A good provider chooses the ones your site needs and explains the order.

A site check, often called an SEO audit: a review of the whole website that lists its problems and what fixing each one would take. Google says an audit should give you realistic estimates of improvement and an estimate of the work involved.
Technical fixes: work on the parts of a site customers do not see, such as page speed, broken links, and pages Google cannot read or that appear twice under two different addresses.
Keyword research: finding the words and questions customers type when they look for what you sell, and deciding which page should answer each one.
New pages and rewritten pages: a clear page for each service, each place you serve, and the questions customers ask before they buy.
Page titles and descriptions: the blue headline and the short text Google shows for each page in its results, which a searcher reads before choosing whether to click.
Labels hidden in the page code that tell search engines facts such as your address, opening hours and services. People call this structured data.

The work outside your website, and the report

Outside the website itself, a retainer can pay for the lines below. The monthly report is one of them, and its numbers deserve a close look, as the section on Google's advice explains.

Google Business Profile updates: keeping the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps correct, with hours, services, photos and posts. Google lists keeping Business Profile information up to date among the SEO basics that still matter for its AI features.
Links and mentions: getting other websites, such as local directories, suppliers, trade associations and newspapers, to mention your business and link to your site.
AI search work: making pages clear enough that AI assistants can quote them. Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in its AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that no new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup are needed, so ask what this line contains beyond good basic SEO.
A monthly report: what was done, what changed in search, and what comes next.
Calls or meetings: time each month with the person responsible for your work.

Line items and the question to ask about each

Take the proposal, or last month's report, and put it next to this table. For each line, the question in the last column tells you whether the work is real and whether it fits your site.

The lines an SEO retainer can pay for, and one question to ask the provider about each (Licheo's own list, September 2026)
Line item	What it is	Question to ask
Site check (audit)	A review that lists the site's problems	Will I receive the full list, with an estimate of the work each fix needs?
Technical fixes	Speed, broken links, pages Google cannot read	Which fixes will you make this month, and how will I see them?
Keyword research	The words and questions customers search for	Which searches is each page meant to answer?
New and rewritten pages	Service, place and question pages	How many pages each month, and who writes them?
Titles and descriptions	What Google shows for each page in its results	Can I see the old and the new wording side by side?
Structured data	Labels in the page code that state facts	Which facts will you label, and on which pages?
Google Business Profile	Your free listing on Google Maps	Is the profile included, and who replies to reviews?
Links and mentions	Other websites that link to yours	Which websites, and how will you ask them?
AI search work	Pages that AI assistants can quote	What will you do here beyond the normal search work?
Monthly report	What was done and what changed	Are the numbers from my own Search Console?
Hours	The time behind the fee	How many hours a month does my fee buy, and at what rate?

What Google says an SEO should share with you

Google's page "Do you need an SEO?" lists questions it suggests owners ask before hiring. Among them: can you show me examples of your previous work, do you follow the Google Search Essentials (Google's published rules for websites), what results do you expect to see and in what timeframe, and how do you measure your success.

One question speaks directly to what a retainer should include. Google suggests asking: "Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?" A retainer that follows this advice includes a written list of every change, with the reason for it. Google also warns that you are responsible for the actions of any company you hire, so that list protects you as well as informing you.

At the start, while the provider is still assessing your site, Google suggests granting only read access to Search Console, which lets the provider see the data without changing any settings.

The monthly report should follow the same advice. Google encourages every site owner to use Google Search Console, its free tool, because the data comes directly from Google Search. The Performance report inside it shows clicks, impressions (how often your pages appeared in results), click-through rate (the share of those appearances that led to a click) and average position, and by default it covers the past three months. Google also says third-party tools have no access to its internal ranking data, so figures from paid tools are estimates made by those companies. A report built on your own Search Console data is a report you can check yourself.

Lines a proposal can leave out

These items belong in writing before the first payment. When one is missing from a proposal, ask for it, and ask for it again if the answer is vague.

A list of every change made to the site each month, with the reason for each, as Google advises.
The number of hours the fee buys, and who does the work: a named person, a junior member of staff, or a subcontractor.
How success will be measured and in what timeframe, with numbers taken from your own Search Console.
Who holds the accounts: the domain name, Search Console, Google Business Profile and Google Analytics should be in the business's name, with the provider added as a user.
What happens to the pages and text written for you if you stop paying.
The notice period needed to end the retainer. Our page on switching agencies explains how to leave one without losing access.

Lines to question before you pay for them

A proposal can include lines for work that Google says it does not use or does not need. Ask about any of these before you pay for them.

Meta keywords: a hidden list of keywords in the page code. Google says Google Search does not use the keywords meta tag, so hours spent on it bring nothing in Google.
Special AI files or AI markup: Google says you do not need new machine-readable files, AI text files or special structured data to appear in its AI features.
Submitting your site to Google: Google says most sites in its results are found and added automatically, and that an owner usually needs to do nothing except publish the site. It also warns against SEOs that advertise a "priority submit" to Google.
Guaranteed rankings: Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google, and it warns against SEOs that claim a special relationship with Google.

How much work does the fee buy?

A retainer is, in the end, a price for hours. In the Ahrefs survey, $75 to $100 an hour was the most common hourly rate, charged by 24% of respondents, and 47% charged between $75 and $200 an hour. Backlinko reports that hourly SEO services average $50 to $100 an hour. Divide your monthly fee by the rate your provider quotes, and you know how many hours of work to expect each month.

Then compare those hours with the lines promised. Writing a good service page, checking a whole site and keeping a Business Profile current all take time, and a fee that buys few hours cannot pay for every line on a long list. Ask which lines come first, and which wait for later months.

Give the work time before judging it. Google says some changes take effect in a few hours and others could take several months, and it suggests waiting a few weeks before deciding whether the work helped. A monthly report should still show what was done each month, including the months before results appear.

How a retainer compares with the other options

A retainer suits a business that wants a company to carry the work every month and can pay for the hours the site needs. The same work can come from a freelancer, from your own employee, from your own time, or from Licheo's agents: the website, search and AI work that big companies pay whole teams for, done for your small business.

With Licheo, the work continues every month, nothing goes live until you approve it, and there is no long contract. You learn no tools and manage no dashboard. Contact us for pricing. Whichever you choose, the questions in the table above apply, and the list of changes Google advises is a list you should expect from anyone who works on your site.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Who does your marketing. The other parts:

Questions people ask

What is included in a monthly SEO retainer?: A monthly SEO retainer is a fixed fee that can pay for a site check, technical fixes, keyword research, new and rewritten pages, Google Business Profile updates, links from other websites and a monthly report. It is the most common way SEO is sold: Ahrefs polled 439 SEO service providers and found that 78.2% charge a monthly retainer. Ask which lines your fee covers and how many hours sit behind each one.
What should an SEO agency send me every month?: An SEO agency should send you a list of every change it made to your site that month, with the reason for each, plus a report on results. Google suggests asking any SEO: "Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site, and provide detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them?" A retainer that includes this list lets you check the work yourself.
Where should the numbers in my SEO agency's report come from?: The numbers in an SEO agency's report should come from your own Google Search Console, the free tool Google encourages every site owner to use. Google says third-party tools have no access to its internal ranking data, so figures from paid tools are estimates made by those companies. Paid tools help with research, and the results in a monthly report should be ones you can open in your own account.
What should an SEO retainer say about results and timeframes?: An SEO retainer should say how success will be measured and in what timeframe, using numbers from your own Search Console. Google's page "Do you need an SEO?" suggests asking an SEO what results it expects to see and in what timeframe, and how it measures its success. Put those answers in writing before the first payment, so each monthly report can be compared with them.
Does an SEO retainer need a separate line for AI search?: An SEO retainer needs no special line for Google's AI features, according to Google. Google says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and that no new machine-readable files, AI text files or special markup are needed. If a proposal charges for AI search work, ask what it contains beyond good basic SEO, and which AI assistant it is meant to help.
Should I pay an SEO agency to add meta keywords?: Paying an SEO agency to add meta keywords brings nothing in Google, because Google says Google Search does not use the keywords meta tag. Meta keywords are a hidden list of words in the page code. If a retainer or a monthly report lists meta keyword work, ask the agency which search engine it is for, and ask to move those hours to pages that customers read.
What access should I give an SEO agency at the start?: At the start, give an SEO agency read access to Google Search Console, which lets it see your data without changing any settings. Google's page "Do you need an SEO?" says to grant only read access to Search Console while the SEO is assessing your site. Once the retainer begins and you trust the work, you can widen the access, and the account stays in your business's name.
What does a small business SEO retainer of $501 to $1,000 a month include?: A small business SEO retainer of $501 to $1,000 a month includes the hours that fee buys at the provider's rate, so ask for the hours and the lines in writing. Backlinko's survey of over 300 SEO professionals calls $501 to $1,000 a month the small business tier. At that level, ask the provider which lines come first and which wait for later months.
How can I tell how much work my SEO retainer pays for?: To tell how much work an SEO retainer pays for, ask for the hourly rate and divide your monthly fee by it. In Ahrefs' survey of 439 SEO providers, $75 to $100 an hour was the most common hourly rate, charged by 24% of respondents. The result is the number of hours you buy each month, which you can compare with the pages, fixes and reports the retainer promises.
Should a local SEO retainer include Google Business Profile work?: A local SEO retainer should say in writing whether Google Business Profile work is included, because the profile is how your business appears on Google Maps. Google lists keeping Business Profile information up to date among the SEO basics that still matter for its AI features, such as AI Overviews. Ask who updates hours, services and photos, and who replies to customer reviews each month.

Sources

SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost? 439 People Polled, Ahrefs. Published 2024-08-15, accessed 27 September 2026.
SEO pricing survey insights: How much does SEO cost in 2025?, SE Ranking (with Duda). Published 2024-12-13, accessed 27 September 2026.
SEO Pricing: How Much Does SEO Cost? (New Data + Cheat Sheet), Backlinko (Semrush). Published 2025-12-29, accessed 27 September 2026.
Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central. Published 2026-06-05, accessed 27 September 2026.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide, Google Search Central. Published 2025-12-10, accessed 27 September 2026.
AI features and your website, Google Search Central. Published 2025-12-10, accessed 27 September 2026.
Google Search's guidance on using third-party SEO tools, services, and advice, Google Search Central. Published 2026-06-05, accessed 27 September 2026.
About Search Console, Search Console Help, Google. Accessed 27 September 2026.
Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup, Google Search Console Help. Accessed 27 September 2026.

Know what your site needs before you sign a retainer

Run the free Get Found Check to see what your website is missing, then compare the result with the lines in any proposal. Licheo works without long contracts, and you can talk to us about your site.

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