How Much Should Your SEO Cost in 2025?

Cash In On Your Organic Search With Google (And The Expanding AI Landscape)

What if I told you there is an easier way to reach the top of the search bar on Google – and increasingly, other AI-powered answers? And, better yet, what if I told you that this would bring visitors to your website who are actively looking for your product or services, or help AI direct them directly to you?

Now I know what you’re thinking, it’s just too good to be true. However, it’s not when we’re discussing SEO and the ever-evolving digital ecosystem. Let me explain this process to you and, if I’ve convinced you by the end, I can make it work for you, too.

The SEO Process in the Age of AI: More Nuance, Greater Reach

Between my role at Centrus Digital and volunteering as a SCORE mentor, I’m constantly asked: “how can we be more visible in Google and other AI platforms?” I typically reply with two things: either invest strategically in SEO (now encompassing Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO) or pay more to leverage ads and place yourself instantly at the top. Both search marketing techniques come with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Many companies, as I imagine a great majority of us would as well, lean towards the long-term, compounding benefits of organic visibility. However, even with this widespread acceptance, there’s quite a controversy over how much this service should cost, especially with the game-changing influence of Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models (LLMs).It’s not hard to be “self-taught” in the basics of SEO. There are many great website sources, from Google’s own outlines to YouTube “how-to” videos, that provide a solid foundation for simpler websites. But if you aren’t an expert in keeping up with the ins and outs of search marketing (an ever-evolving system, now accelerating with AI updates) or your competitors have outstanding, AI-optimized websites, you might have to look somewhere for expert guidance.

When asked about the cost of SEO services, the answers will drastically range from a small monthly fee to a medium one-time fee, to a $3,000 or above charge every month. Does the range seem absurd? Yes, but let’s also consider why agencies are doing this, especially in 2025.

It’s not hard to be “self-taught” in SEO. There are many great website sources, from Google’s own outlines to YouTube “how-to” videos, that provide a solid foundation for simple websites of 50 pages or less. But if you aren’t an expert in keeping up with the ins and outs of search marketing (an ever-evolving system) or your competitors have outstanding websites, you might have to look somewhere for guidance.

When ask about the cost of SEO services, the answers will drastically range from a small monthly to a medium one-time fee to a $3,000 or above charge every month. Does the range seem absurd? Yes, but let’s also consider why agencies are doing this.

Here are a few key reasons why this pricing model varies so much:

• You’re paying for experience and expertise, especially in AI integration. A qualified agency is justified in charging you more if they have the proof to back it up, particularly if they demonstrate proficiency in leveraging AI tools for efficiency while applying human intelligence for strategy, quality control, and ethical considerations. Look for case studies that span years and show adaptability to Google’s algorithm changes and the rise of AI in search.
• Smart shopper tip when you’ve been quoted a high monthly fee: Ask for references of a similar level of difficulty as yours and how they’re maintaining SEO and adapting to AI search. If they can demonstrate repeatability in their methods, show an understanding of structured data, and discuss content strategies for LLMs, they are most likely using the best practices.
• Sometimes, there are simple technical roadblocks to SEO success, many now magnified by AI. Any honest agency would point them out to you. This includes ensuring your website is technically sound, fast, and structured for optimal crawling and understanding by both traditional algorithms and AI models.
• When competing against websites that have invested heavily in traditional SEO and are strategically adapting to AI, or are well-established entities, it will cost more to become as successful. The bar for visibility is rising, as AI prioritizes comprehensive, authoritative, and structured information.

Determining Your Visibility in a Hybrid Search Landscape

Before you hope to cash in on any free organic traffic from Google’s search engine or be featured in AI-generated answers, here are three steps on how Google (and other LLMs) determine your visibility. These are summaries because the process is very complex, but they do provide a general understanding.

1.) What Reach Potential Makes Sense? (The Rise of Generative Results)

First, let’s pretend you’re Google or an AI searching for information for a user. You’re trying to decide if a business should be ranked at the top of organic results or be included in an AI Overview/summary. You can perform this simple test on yourself! Open an incognito window and search your business category. If you aren’t sure of yours, look under your Google Business Profile near your reviews: for example, we are listed as a Marketing Agency so we would search “digital marketing agency near me”.

In the milliseconds between clicking search and your results popping up, a very specific and complex algorithm is being run. Google and other LLMs are evaluating the reason behind your search, using signals like old search behavior or location, to match you to relevant websites or directly provide you with a synthesized answer. If your search brings up relevant business listings or AI summaries, but your website isn’t on the first page of organic results or mentioned in AI Overviews, then yes, you may need help.

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is more critical than ever. This listing is available for small to large organizations and benefits everyone in the SEO/GEO process. Google takes this business listing very seriously, as it’s a primary source of structured data for its own AI and often feeds into other LLMs. If you are a brand new business or have paid little attention to your listing, it will take time to improve your ranking and AI visibility. However, once you have a strong, optimized GBP—and it was done through the best practices—it’s a powerful asset that’s hard to fall out of favor with.

2.) Is the Focus Keyword Relevant to Intent, and Structured for AI?

Selecting what is the most profitable search term can be challenging. It’s hard to determine one phrase that encompasses all of the content you want for a page. And if you do, it may not be the term that is going to benefit you the most in an AI-driven world. So how do you even start this process?

Our keyword and intent research is based on our experience from assessing thousands of websites and is heavily influenced by hundreds of paid search projects we have done. The logic behind this approach is quite simple: if other companies are willing to pay $5 or more for a single visit when using paid search, then these will represent a profitable target that also signals strong commercial intent to AI. And since Google is protecting privacy in organic searches, only by investing in paid search will you be able to identify the actual search term that converts for your business.

Discovering what terms to target requires doing comprehensive search term research. Our method highlights the many ways people search for your services or products and identifies the journey in choosing the right solution. For many of our clients, during a review of the research, it can be a bit overwhelming but remember for smaller websites, Google and LLMs will prioritize a handful of top, relevant terms and concepts.

But here is one very critical factor about SEO in the AI age: it is NOT just about finding the right keyword, or even just writing good content. Google has done many developments over the years in analyzing signals for ranking websites, and LLMs require even deeper understanding. This has evolved from meta keywords, then to page ranking, and now to engaged visitors AND structured data signaling deep understanding.

For many years, Google was using human evaluators behind the scenes to perform an E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) test on websites. I was one of those people over a decade ago in the early stages of the algorithm. Now, Google and other LLMs only provide the highest level of access to search ranking and AI summaries when a website’s relevancy—based on user location and/or intent—is matched to a business with the best E-E-A-T score, reinforced by clear, machine-readable structured data (Schema.org markup). This structured data is absolutely critical for AI and LLMs to accurately parse your information, understand your business’s attributes, and present them reliably in generative responses or knowledge graphs.

3.) Learn How Analytics Will Help You See What Google Sees (and What AI Responds To).

Google provides a range of free and important tools that will help you see what’s going on in your website, Search Console is my fav. They perform a very unique balancing act of trying to respect user privacy while also using very advanced learning to find the searcher’s intent. A good SEO agency should have expertise in using these tools and, ideally, a strong working knowledge of conversion techniques and developing engaging, AI-friendly content (content that is clear, well-structured, and directly answers user questions) and implementing structured data. Without these tools, it’s very difficult to find insights on opportunities and report success. Website analytics and ranking tools provide important benchmarking in measuring progress in your SEO and GEO efforts.

Key Take-Away for 2025:

Reliance on website analytics data, coupled with insights into how your brand is perceived by AI (e.g., if you’re cited in AI Overviews/Mode), is critical in establishing a common language for defining success. It’s important to verify both the accuracy in reporting and actual conversion numbers. While traditional SEO results can take time, the impact of well-implemented structured data and AI-optimized content can sometimes be seen quicker in generative search results. Any changes in the analytics setup or structured data implementation can be disruptive if not handled by experts. Regular check-ins and open communication are great ways to ensure that you get the most you can from an SEO partnership, one that now fully embraces the transformative power of AI and LLMs.

Interested in testing my SEO knowledge? Just book some time with me and let’s chat! Or check out my “What’s Up Google” newsletter to find out the best tips and ideas to stay informed.