SEO packages and monthly SEO services: what should actually be included
Most SEO packages are a list of vague deliverables — 'optimization,' 'reporting,' 'content' — with no way to tell what you're buying. Here's what monthly SEO services should genuinely include, what they cost in Colorado, and how to spot a package that's mostly invoice.
What a real monthly SEO package includes
Strip away the buzzwords and local SEO is four recurring jobs. A legitimate package does all of them, every month:
- Google Business Profile work. Posts, photos, services, Q&A, and review responses. This is what moves you in the Map Pack, where most local clicks happen.
- Content that targets real searches. Pages and articles built around what your customers actually type — service pages, city pages, and answers to real questions.
- Technical upkeep. Speed, mobile, schema markup, broken links, indexing. Small things that quietly decide whether Google trusts your site.
- Plain-English reporting. What was done, what moved, what's next. If you can't understand the report, that's on purpose.
Honest Colorado pricing
Our published packages are a fair benchmark for the market: $950/month covers local SEO and Google Maps for one service area, $1,650/month adds AI/GEO optimization and social media, and $2,750/month covers multi-city SEO, Maps, AI/GEO, social, PPC management, and reputation management. Ad spend is separate. Compare the full breakdown on our pricing page.
Red flags in an SEO package
- Guaranteed rankings. Nobody controls Google. Guarantees mean the salesperson, not the work, is doing the talking.
- 6–12 month lock-ins. The agency gets paid whether or not anything improves. See our guide on escaping agency contracts.
- “Proprietary” anything. Your website, content, and Google profile should be yours. If leaving means losing everything, you were renting, not buying.
- Reports full of impressions, empty of calls. Rankings and traffic are means. The point is your phone ringing.
How to compare two proposals
Ask both agencies the same three questions: What exactly will you do in month one? What will I own if I cancel? Can I talk to the person doing the work? The answers separate real packages from polished invoices faster than any feature list. Our questions to ask a marketing agency has the full list.
What to do next
Want to know where you stand before spending anything? Request a free digital marketing audit — we'll show you what's working, what's not, and which package (if any) fits. Or see how we handle SEO across Colorado.
Have questions this article didn't answer?
Book a no-pressure 30-minute call with Chris, the owner. If we’re not a fit, he’ll tell you who is.