TL;DR
SEO isn't one product — it's two different engagements with two different goals. A one-time Audit & On-Page Optimization package fixes what's broken and gives you a prioritized action plan. Ongoing Monthly SEO is a long-term growth partnership for sites that need continuous work: content, technical monitoring, and competitive tracking. Most businesses start with the audit and graduate to ongoing once the foundation is solid.
TL;DR for the skim-readers: Starting out or need a health check → Audit. Already ranking, competitive market, or an active store → Ongoing.
Why SEO pricing questions rarely get a straight answer
Most SEO pricing pages either hide the number entirely or quote a flat monthly retainer that doesn't map to what your site actually needs. Neither helps you decide anything. What actually matters is what's included at each stage of the relationship — because a brand-new site, a growing e-commerce store, and an already-ranking business need genuinely different amounts of work.
Here's the two-tier model, laid out plainly.
flowchart LR
A[New site, or first time doing SEO] --> B[SEO Audit &<br/>On-Page Optimization]
B --> C{Foundation solid?<br/>Ongoing growth needed?}
C -->|Yes| D[Ongoing Monthly SEO]
C -->|Not yet| E[Re-audit after fixes<br/>ship and settle]
D --> F[Continuous content,<br/>technical monitoring,<br/>competitive tracking]
Tier 1: SEO Audit & On-Page Optimization (one-time)
Built for businesses starting SEO, sites that need a health check, or brands that want their core pages properly optimized before investing further.
What's included:
- Complete SEO audit
- Keyword research
- Competitor analysis
- Search intent analysis
- Website & site structure review
- On-page SEO optimization
- Meta title & meta description optimization
- H1–H6 optimization
- URL optimization
- Image alt text optimization
- Internal linking recommendations
- Basic technical SEO recommendations
- A prioritized SEO action plan
This tier answers one question well: "What's wrong, and what should we fix first?" It's the right starting point if you've never had a proper audit, if you inherited a site you didn't build, or if you just want to know where you stand before committing to anything ongoing.
Tier 2: Ongoing Monthly SEO
Ideal for e-commerce stores, established websites, competitive markets, and businesses looking for a long-term SEO growth partner.
Everything in the audit tier, plus:
- Technical SEO optimization
- Monthly keyword research
- Competitor monitoring
- Product & category SEO
- Content strategy
- Semantic SEO & topical authority
- Schema & structured data
- Indexing & crawl optimization
- Core Web Vitals monitoring
- Local SEO (when applicable)
- AI search optimization
- Keyword rank tracking
- Google Search Console monitoring
- Google Analytics 4 analysis
- Monthly SEO reporting
- Ongoing strategy & recommendations
SEO compounds — a site that's optimized once and left alone slowly loses ground to competitors who keep publishing, keep fixing technical issues, and keep adapting to how search actually changes. This tier exists for sites where that ongoing effort is worth more than a one-time fix.
How to decide which one you need
- Never done SEO, or inherited a site? Start with the audit. It tells you exactly what's broken before you spend anything ongoing.
- Running an active e-commerce store? Product and category pages need continuous attention as inventory changes — ongoing is usually the better fit from day one.
- In a competitive local market? Local SEO specifically benefits from ongoing citation and profile management, not a one-time push.
- Just want a second opinion on an existing SEO vendor's work? The audit alone is a clean way to get an independent read.
Where this applies across services
This two-tier model applies across our SEO disciplines: Shopify SEO, WordPress SEO, E-commerce SEO, Local SEO, Semantic SEO, and AI Search Optimization. See the full breakdown on the SEO & Marketing Services hub.
Common questions we get
"Can you guarantee first-page rankings?" No ethical SEO provider can guarantee a specific Google ranking. The focus is on proven strategies, improved search visibility, and sustainable organic growth based on measurable data — not promises no one can actually keep.
"How long until I see results?" It varies with competition, site authority, technical health, and target keywords. Some improvements show within weeks; competitive terms take longer. This is true of any honest SEO engagement, not just ours.
"Can I start with the audit and decide later?" Yes — that's the most common path. The audit's action plan stands on its own even if you don't move to ongoing work afterward.
"Do you work with custom-coded sites, not just Shopify or WordPress?" Yes — the strategy adapts to whatever platform your site runs on.
Not sure which one is right for you?
Get a free SEO audit → and we'll tell you honestly whether ongoing work makes sense for your site, or whether the one-time fixes are enough for now.
You can also reach us by email at [email protected].
About OffLift — We're a digital product studio that designs and ships AI-powered automation, mobile apps, web platforms, and SEO/marketing programs for businesses that want to move faster than their competitors.