What drives the price of SEO
In France, “référencement Google prix” (Google SEO price) is searched 320 times a month, “tarif SEO” (SEO rates) 210 times and “prix audit SEO” (SEO audit price) 170 times. Two SEO quotes almost never cover the same work. Before comparing prices, compare what they include:
- The scope: a ten-page brochure site does not need the same work as a shop with a thousand products or a network of branches.
- The competition: being visible on a search where directories, platforms and national chains invest takes more pages, more content and more time than a local niche.
- Content production: rewriting pages and creating new ones, sourced, useful and specific to your trade, is the heaviest item in serious SEO work.
- Technical work: indexing, speed, structured data, redirects, duplicates. Occasional on a small site, ongoing on a large one.
- Measurement and reporting: setting up Google Search Console, tracking the searches won, visits and enquiries, and explaining it every month.
- Local presence, where relevant: Google Business Profile, reviews, citations.
Paid clicks or organic search: compare like with like
The cost of an ad click gives an idea of what a visitor is worth in your trade. On Google Ads in France, a click on “serrurier paris” (locksmith Paris) costs €59 on average, on “plombier paris” (plumber Paris) €14, on “expert comptable paris” (accountant Paris) €16, against €0.71 on “coiffeur paris” (hairdresser Paris). A hundred clicks on “serrurier paris” therefore cost €5,905 of advertising on average.
Advertising stops the day the budget stops. Organic search takes regular work, but pages that win a search keep receiving visits without paying for each click. It is not one or the other: advertising is for testing an offer or a season quickly, organic search builds an asset.
Positions matter: a reference study by Craswell and co-authors (2008) shows that users click more on the top results, and that this bias is explained by a cascade model: people read the list from top to bottom and stop at the first result that fits. SEO is therefore judged on the searches where you reach the top of the list, not on how many searches you appear in somewhere.
- “serrurier paris”
- €59
- “serrurier paris”
- 22,200 searches a month
- “plombier paris”
- €14
- “plombier paris”
- 9,900 searches a month
- “expert comptable paris”
- €16
- “expert comptable paris”
- 2,900 searches a month
- “avocat paris”
- €3.06
- “avocat paris”
- 8,100 searches a month
- “coiffeur paris”
- €0.71
- “coiffeur paris”
- 22,200 searches a month
How to judge an SEO quote
Google itself publishes a page of advice on choosing an SEO provider. It recommends asking the provider about their references, whether they follow Google’s guidelines, what results to expect and when, and how they measure success. Above all, it reminds you that nobody can guarantee a number one ranking on Google.
- Are the deliverables written down in black and white? Number of pages rewritten or created per month, technical fixes, Google Business Profile, report.
- How is the result measured? Searches won, visits from Google, calls and enquiries, in tools you have access to.
- Who owns the website, the domain name, Google Search Console and the Google Business Profile? They must be in your name; the provider is invited in, they do not own them.
- How long is the commitment, and what happens when you leave? What has been produced must stay yours.
- Does the provider promise a specific ranking or timeframe? Google advises you to walk away if someone guarantees you the top spot.
- For a first audit, give only read access to your Search Console, as Google recommends.
Our price, published
Our website analysis is free and instant: it is on this page. Our service, SEO Max, costs €990 excl. VAT setup, then €499 excl. VAT a month, with a 3-month commitment. Over the minimum term, that comes to €2,487 excl. VAT in total.
What the offer includes:
- Full audit and clean-up plan (keep, merge, remove)
- Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster set up
- Instant indexing of every new page
- Pages ready for ChatGPT: answer in the first sentence, key facts, FAQ
- Your site improved every working day, every change checked
- New pages that sell every month, real sources only
- A clear monthly report: searches won, visitors, enquiries
The timeline: week 1, audit, search map, quick fixes; month 1, selling pages rewritten, site ready for AI assistants; every month, new pages, measurement, report.
We promise neither a ranking nor a timeframe for it: nobody can honestly do so. We commit to the work delivered and to measurement you can check.
What you can do yourself, for free
Much of the groundwork costs nothing but time. Before paying anyone, run these checks:
- Set up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and submit your sitemap to both.
- Complete your Google Business Profile and ask every customer for a review.
- Rewrite the title and H1 of your home page with your trade and your city.
- Make your phone number a tappable link and add a short form.
- Run your site through the free audit and fix the critical points first.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an SEO audit cost?
Our automatic audit of your home page is free and takes 30 seconds. A full audit, which also analyses your Search Console data and your competitors, is part of the setup of our SEO Max offer.
Is SEO cheaper than Google Ads?
It does not compare click for click. Advertising charges for every visit for as long as you pay; SEO takes regular work whose pages keep bringing visits. The right choice depends on the cost of a click in your trade and on your time horizon.
Why a minimum commitment?
Because the effects of SEO are measured over several weeks: Google says a change can take from a few hours to several months to be taken into account. Our minimum commitment is 3 months.
Are prices excluding VAT?
Yes. €499 excl. VAT a month and €990 excl. VAT setup are both excluding VAT.