Short answer
- Small businesses commonly pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month for agency marketing. One-off projects like websites range from a few hundred dollars (freelancers) to $10,000+ (agencies).
- The price depends far more on who does the work and how much of it than on the service name.
- Ad management fees are separate from the ad budget you pay Google or Meta. Always ask for both numbers.
- Pay once for things that keep working (website, Google profile), and monthly only for things you can measure.
Typical price ranges by service
These are ranges you'll commonly see quoted to small US businesses by freelancers and small-to-mid agencies. They aren't from a formal survey, and big-city agencies or large companies pay more. Use them to sanity-check quotes, not as fixed prices.
| Service | Common range | Paid as |
|---|---|---|
| Small business website | $500–$3,000 freelancer; $3,000–$10,000+ agency | One-time, plus hosting/care |
| Google Business Profile setup | $100–$500 | One-time |
| Local SEO / SEO retainer | $300–$2,500+ per month | Monthly, often 3–12 month minimum |
| Google Ads management | $250–$2,000+ per month, or 10–20% of ad spend | Monthly, plus ad budget |
| Facebook & Instagram ads management | $250–$1,500+ per month | Monthly, plus ad budget |
| Social media management (posting) | $300–$2,000+ per month | Monthly, by number of posts and platforms |
| Email or SMS campaigns | $100–$1,000+ per campaign or month | Per campaign or monthly |
| Hourly consulting | $50–$200+ per hour | Hourly |
How agencies charge
Monthly retainer
A fixed monthly fee for an agreed set of work. Predictable, which is good. The risk is paying the same each month whether much happens or not, so ask exactly what you get each month.
Percentage of ad spend
Common for ads management, often 10–20% of what you spend on ads, usually with a minimum fee. Simple, but it rewards the agency for raising your budget, so watch for that.
Project fee
One price for a defined job, like a website or a profile setup. Easy to compare. Make sure the quote lists what's included and how many rounds of changes you get.
Hourly
Fair for small, unpredictable jobs and consulting. Hard to budget for bigger projects.
Performance-based
Paying per lead or a share of sales. Appealing, but rare for small businesses and easy to argue about what counts as a lead. Read the definition carefully.
What makes it cost more
- Team size. An agency with account managers, strategists and designers has more overhead per client than one specialist.
- Location. Agencies in big US cities charge more than freelancers working remotely, for similar hands-on work.
- Competition in your industry. Ranking a law firm in a big city is a far bigger job than ranking a cafe in a small town.
- Number of channels. Every extra platform adds content, monitoring and reporting.
- Contracts. Long minimum terms sometimes come with lower monthly prices, and less freedom to leave.
Agency vs freelancer vs DIY
| DIY | Freelancer | Agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Lowest cash cost, highest time cost | Low to mid | Mid to high |
| Who you talk to | Yourself | The person doing the work | Usually an account manager |
| Range of skills | Whatever you learn | Focused; check it matches your needs | Broad team |
| Risk | Mistakes cost time | Depends on one person | You may be a small client to them |
| Best for | Very early or very tight budgets | Small local businesses with clear needs | Larger budgets, many channels |
Red flags in a marketing quote
- Guaranteed #1 rankings. Google itself warns that no one can guarantee a top ranking.
- No mention of the ad budget in an ads quote, or ads run from the agency's account instead of yours.
- You don't own your website, domain or ad accounts. They should be in your name.
- Reports with only "impressions" and "reach" and nothing about calls, forms or bookings.
- Long lock-in contracts before you've seen any work.
- Fake reviews or follower packages. These break Google and Meta rules and can get your profile penalized.
How to set a budget you can afford
- Work out what a customer is worth. Average sale × how many times a customer usually comes back. A $40 haircut every 6 weeks is worth far more than $40.
- Decide what you'd pay to get one. If a new customer is worth $300 over a year, paying $30–$60 to get one may be a good deal.
- Pay once for the foundations. Website, Google profile and a review system: these keep working without a monthly fee.
- Add one monthly channel at a time. Give it 2–3 months, measure cost per call or booking, then keep, change or stop it.
My prices
To be transparent about where I sit in those ranges:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Website (Launch), including Google profile setup, review kit, ads account setup and 30 days of edits | $397 one-time |
| Growth: website care, 4 Google posts a month, reviews, report | $149/month, optional |
| Facebook & Instagram ads management | $250/month + ad budget, optional |
| Local SEO: Google profile, listings, reviews, local pages | $199/month |
| SEO: keywords, page and technical fixes, 2 new pages a month | $349/month |
| Google Ads management | $250/month + ad budget |
| Social media management: 12 posts a month on Facebook and Instagram | $199/month |
| Email & SMS marketing: automations + monthly campaigns | $149/month |
| Ecommerce, content writing, branding | Custom quote after a free audit |
| Extra page / landing page / video reel | $49 / $149 / $39 |
You see a working preview of your website before paying anything. Full details are on the pricing page.