White label SEO pricing: what resellers pay and which fees the quote skips

What do agencies pay a provider each month?

Most providers sell a monthly retainer, and the price depends on scope. A single-location local business costs $500 to $1,500 a month, a mid-tier package with content and link building costs $1,500 to $3,500, and a package with competitive research and heavy content production starts at $5,000^market.

Locations change the arithmetic. Three to five locations run $1,200 to $2,500 in total, and ten or more run $3,000 to $6,000^market. The tenth location is cheaper to manage than the first, so a price that simply multiplies by the number of addresses is a sign the provider did not scope the work.

National campaigns start around $2,500 and reach $10,000 and beyond in competitive niches^market. Link building sold on its own is priced per link, from $100 for a directory placement to $500 and more for an editorial one^market.

Fees that live outside the quote

The retainer line is the part providers print in large type. The rest arrives later.

• Setup and onboarding run $500 to $2,500 once, and some providers waive them for a six or twelve month commitment^market.
• A package that says "content optimization" may include no new writing. Posts then cost $200 to $400 each^market.
• A white-labeled reporting dashboard adds $100 to $300 per client each month^market.
• Minimum terms of three or six months lock you in before you have seen the output.

Content is the line that surprises people most. If your client needs four posts a month and the package includes none, a $1,500 retainer becomes about $2,300 once the posts are added^market.

A margin check on the full invoice

Take a $1,500 retainer^estimate. Adding half again sells it for $2,250, and doubling it sells it for $3,000^estimate. Those prices look healthy until the extras go in.

Sold at half again on the quote, $2,250 leaves you $375 under water every month^estimate. The markup rule was applied to the wrong base. Add half to the total cost and the price becomes about $3,940^estimate, which is a different conversation with your client.

Your own hours go on top. Ten clients at five hours each take fifty hours a month, and a $750 margin per client brings $7,500^estimate. If those hours are half your working time, you bill yourself at $150 an hour^estimate. Whether that holds depends on your overhead, and the sum is worth writing down before the first sale.

Which billing model suits which job

Retainers fit ongoing work because the provider can plan a team around a stable fee. Project pricing fits bounded jobs such as an audit, a migration or an initial setup, which run $2,000 to $10,000 depending on site complexity^market. Many resellers combine them: a project for the first month, then a retainer.

Hourly billing suits a one-off technical sprint. For a monthly package you resell at a fixed price, it leaves you holding the risk of overruns.

Questions that put the extras on paper

A provider who answers these in writing has probably priced the work properly.

1. What exactly is in the base retainer, and what is billed separately?
2. How many content pieces are included, and what does an extra piece cost?
3. Can I see a sample invoice for a typical client?
4. How many optimized pages and links will you deliver in the first month?
5. Who is my contact, and what is the reply time?
6. Can I speak to another agency that resells your work?

A quote of $300 a month for "comprehensive SEO" is the opposite problem^market. Either corners are cut or add-ons follow, and the cheap price returns as churn. Winning a client costs more than keeping one, so a $1,200 provider who keeps clients usually beats a $400 one who loses them^market.