If you have asked three agencies what local SEO costs, you probably got three numbers and no way to compare them. One quote includes a website. One includes “ongoing optimization.” One lists twenty things in tiny print. The price is hard to judge because the package is hard to see.
This post is the fix for that. It covers what a local SEO package for a small business should include each month, in things you can count, how the three RevRocket Flight Plan tiers (Launch, Boost and Orbit) differ, and the red flags to watch for. Our current prices are here too: Launch is $1,000 a month, Boost is $2,000 a month and Orbit is $4,000 a month. The list of work behind each price is the part that matters when you compare quotes.
What decides what local SEO costs?
Short answer: Four things: how many locations you have, how competitive your market is, how much new content you need each month, and how much review and profile work your volume of customers creates.
- Locations. Each location has its own Google Business Profile, its own reviews and its own Map Pack. Two locations are close to two jobs.
- Competition. A plumber in a large metro is up against companies that already spend every month. A yoga studio in a small town may not be.
- Content. One new page a month and five new pages a month are very different workloads.
- Reviews. A business that gets a few reviews a month needs a light reply routine. A busy contractor with hundreds of reviews needs a hard reply deadline.
Notice what is not on that list: the agency’s favorite buzzword. If a quote leans on “AI-driven optimization” or “full-funnel strategy” and can’t tell you how many pages or posts you get, you have no way to judge it.
What should a local SEO package include each month?
Short answer: Google Business Profile posts, a reply to every new review, help getting more reviews, consistent business details, new pages that answer buyer questions, a few hours of technical fixes, and a plain-English monthly report.
Here is the core we think every local package should have, whoever you hire:
- Google Business Profile management. Categories, services, hours, photos and links kept current, plus regular posts. Google says complete, accurate profiles help your local ranking (Google’s tips to improve local ranking).
- Review replies. Every new review answered, in your voice, within a set number of hours.
- Review asks. A direct review link on your site and a short message you can text after a job. Google recommends asking customers directly (tips to get more reviews).
- Consistent NAP. Your name, address and phone the same on your site, your profile and the directories that list you.
- New pages. Service and town pages, or answers to the questions buyers ask, each with FAQ markup.
- Technical fixes. Titles, redirects, broken links, schema, speed.
- A report you can read. What shipped, how you look in the Map Pack, review count and rating, and what is next.
That core is the same work we describe on our Local SEO and Google Business Profile management page. If you want to see how the Map Pack decides who shows up, start with how the Google 3-Pack works.
How do the RevRocket Flight Plan tiers differ?
Short answer: Same core, different counts. Launch is $1,000 a month, Boost is $2,000 a month and Orbit is $4,000 a month. Each tier lists the number of Google posts, new pages, tracked AI questions, page fixes and technical hours you get each month.
Every RevRocket Flight Plan tier starts with the same one-time setup: a technical launch checklist on your current site, your Brand Vault and a buyer profile with your top 20 buyer questions, a Google Business Profile audit and cleanup, a baseline Map Pack heatmap for your top three service and town searches, a baseline check of how AI tools describe you, and a first 90-day plan. You approve it before anything goes live.
Launch ($1,000/month): local SEO and Google Business Profile basics
- 4 Google Business Profile posts a month
- A reply to every new review within 48 hours, drafted in your voice for your OK
- A review link on your site and a short review-ask message
- 1 new page or article a month, with FAQ and schema
- 10 buyer questions tracked in AI answers
- Up to 2 page tweaks a month for searches where you sit just off page one
- Up to 2 hours of technical fixes a month
- One end-of-month report
Launch fits one location in a market you can win: a single-location restaurant, a studio, a shop.
Boost ($2,000/month): Google Maps and reviews growth
- 8 Google posts a month
- Review replies within 24 hours
- 3 new pages or articles a month
- 25 tracked AI questions
- Up to 5 page tweaks and 5 technical hours a month
- 1 conversion fix a month (a clearer call button, a shorter form, a better offer block)
- A quarterly Map Pack heatmap across your service area and a quarterly 30-minute strategy call
Boost fits a business in a competitive market where rivals are already spending. Most contractors land here.
Orbit ($4,000/month): local SEO plus AI search visibility
- 12 Google posts a month
- Review replies within 24 hours, plus a monthly review-ask push by email, text or QR code
- 5 new pages or articles a month
- 50 tracked AI questions, compared against competitors
- Up to 8 page tweaks and 10 technical hours a month
- 2 conversion fixes a month
- 1 press release or placement a month, a monthly heatmap, a weekly mention sweep, and a monthly strategy call
Orbit is for a business that will use the output. If you only want a cleaner Google listing, it is too much. The prices match our pricing page.
What is usually not included?
Short answer: Website builds, ad management, email campaigns, podcast or video production, and extra locations. Those are quoted separately in our plans.
We pulled these out of the monthly fee on purpose. When a site rebuild sits inside a monthly SEO fee, it eats months of work and nobody can tell what the fee bought. A clear add-on is easier to plan for. The same rule applies to paid ads: if you are weighing ads against SEO, read SEO vs. Google Ads for local businesses.
Contract or month to month?
Short answer: Month to month after setup is fair for most small businesses. The RevRocket Flight Plan uses 30 days’ notice.
Local SEO takes time, and an honest agency will tell you so. Early profile and review work can show up in weeks; steadier Map Pack movement usually takes a few months. That is a reason to stay, not a reason to be locked in. If the work is listed and delivered every month, you will see it in the report.
What are the red flags when you buy SEO?
Short answer: Guaranteed rankings, no written monthly list, buying reviews or links, and an agency that owns your Google profile instead of you.
- Guarantees. Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO warns that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking (Google Search Central).
- Fake or paid reviews. Google’s policy bans incentivized and fake reviews (Google contribution policy), and the FTC’s 2024 rule allows penalties for buying fake reviews (Federal Register).
- Who owns the profile. You should own your Google Business Profile and your domain. The agency should be a manager, not the owner.
- No list. If you can’t count what you get each month, you can’t tell if you got it.
How to compare two local SEO quotes
Ask each agency the same five questions and put the answers side by side:
- How many Google posts, new pages and technical hours do I get each month?
- How fast do you reply to reviews, and do I approve the replies?
- What is setup, and what does it include?
- Is a website build inside the fee or quoted separately?
- What does the monthly report show, and can I read it without a call?
If you want to see how ours compares, ask us for a quote or take the 60-second Am I a Fit? check. We will show you the counted list before we talk about price.
Frequently asked questions
How much does local SEO cost for a small business?
It depends on how many locations you have, how crowded your market is, and how much new content and review work you need each month. Instead of a single number, ask any agency for a written monthly list: how many Google posts, review replies, new pages, and technical hours you get. RevRocket’s current plans are Launch at $1,000 a month, Boost at $2,000 a month and Orbit at $4,000 a month, month to month. Ask any agency, including us, for the counted list behind the price.
What should a local SEO package include?
At minimum: Google Business Profile management with regular posts, replies to every review, a way to ask for more reviews, consistent business details across the web, one or more new pages a month that answer real buyer questions, technical fixes, and a monthly report that shows Map Pack movement and calls.
Should I sign a long contract for SEO?
You should not have to. The RevRocket Flight Plan runs month to month after setup with 30 days’ notice. If an agency wants a long lock-in, ask what you get each month in writing and what happens if they miss it.
What are red flags when buying SEO?
Guaranteed #1 rankings, secret methods, no written list of monthly work, reports you can’t read, buying reviews or links, and owning your Google Business Profile instead of you. Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO lists similar warnings.
Is a website included in a local SEO package?
In the RevRocket Flight Plan, no. The monthly fee maintains and improves the pages you have. New builds and rebuilds are quoted separately so the monthly work doesn’t get eaten by a project.
Want the counted list for your business?
Tell us about your market and we will show you what Launch, Boost or Orbit would include for you, before we talk price.