How much does it cost to hire someone for SEO?

Short answer

Most SEO providers charge a monthly retainer, and the most common band is $500 to $1,000 a month. Hourly rates usually run $75 to $200. For an HVAC or trades business, the fee should buy specific things: Business Profile work, fault and financing pages, a review process and seasonal timing. Mine starts at $500 a month, month to month.

This question shows up in searches for HVAC and roofing SEO because home services owners get quoted very different prices for what sounds like the same thing. The spread is real, and the price only makes sense once you know what each quote actually includes.

What the market charges

The broadest public data comes from Ahrefs, which surveyed 439 SEO providers in 2023, updated in 2024:

Monthly retainers. Charged by 78.2% of providers. The most common band was $501 to $1,000, and 68.8% charged $2,000 a month or less.
Hourly. The most common band was $75 to $100, and 47% charged between $75 and $200. Consultants averaged $171.18, agencies $98.90 and freelancers $71.59.
Projects. The most common band was $2,501 to $5,000.

Ahrefs sells SEO tools to the people it surveyed, which is worth knowing. The ranges match what I see.

What the fee should cover for a home services business

For an HVAC company, the work that moves calls is fairly specific, and you should be able to see it in any proposal:

Business Profile work. Primary category checked against the companies ranking in your area, every service listed, service area set up correctly. Most emergency calls start in the map pack.
A site that serves both buyers. A short path for the emergency caller and a longer one for the replacement shopper.
Fault pages and financing pages. No heat, no cooling, leaks; then financing, replacement costs, efficiency and rebates.
A review process that runs all year, not just in the peaks.
Seasonal timing. Each side ready before its season, since the work takes about six weeks to start showing.

What cheap SEO usually means

Very low monthly fees usually buy automated work: directory submissions, scheduled profile posts, a monthly report. None of that is harmful, and little of it decides whether the phone rings. Be wary of packages priced by number of keywords, guarantees of top-three rankings, and links bought in bulk.

Google’s own advice on hiring help is clear that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, and that if someone does, you should find someone else.

What I charge

Local SEO with me starts from $500 a month, month to month. Most engagements begin with a fixed $500 audit, because the right work depends on what is actually wrong, and on many trade sites the site is fine and the leak is at the phone or in the pricing conversation. If that is the case, I will tell you rather than sell you a retainer.

How to judge whether it is worth it

Work out what a booked job is worth on average, separately for repairs and replacements. Then ask how many extra jobs a month the SEO would need to bring in to cover its cost. For most HVAC companies that number is small, often one replacement a month. Then make sure you can serve the extra work: technicians available, and someone answering the phone at night.

Freelancer, agency or consultant

A freelancer is usually the cheapest per hour and can be excellent, but capacity is limited and quality varies widely. An agency offers a team and continuity, and usually charges more per month because the work is spread across several people. A consultant charges more per hour and spends fewer hours, focusing on diagnosis and priorities, with your own team or another provider doing the execution.

For most small and mid-sized HVAC companies, the right choice is whoever can show they understand the two-buyer problem and the seasons, and can name the pages they would build first. That matters more than the label.

What should be one-off, and what ongoing

Much of the useful work for a trades business is finite. Getting the Business Profile right, building the fault, replacement and financing pages, and fixing the site structure are largely done once. After that, the ongoing work is lighter: reviews, seasonal updates, new pages as you add services or areas, and watching for competitors. A fair arrangement front-loads the effort and the cost, then drops to a smaller maintenance fee. If a quote charges the same high fee every month forever, ask what is being done in month ten that was not done in month two.

Questions to ask before you sign

Which pages will exist after three months that do not exist today? How will you report emergency calls and replacement quotes separately? What would you not do? Who will actually do the work, and can I speak to them? Clear answers to those four questions tell you more than any price comparison.

Red flags

Long lock-in contracts before any work is seen, guarantees of the top three, and proposals that never mention your phones, your seasons or your capacity.

If you want to know what the work would cost for your business and whether it would pay, my SEO for HVAC companies starts with a look at your profile and site, and a straight answer.