Package pages are a wall of bronze, silver and gold tiers that say little about what you are buying. This article sets out what an SEO service should include at each budget, what the monthly report must show, and how to tell a real programme from a monthly PDF. The budgets below are what most Wollongong and Illawarra businesses end up investing, and what they should get for it.
How much does SEO cost in Wollongong?
Most local businesses invest between $1,000 and $2,500 a month. Entry-level programmes start around $750 a month and suit a single-location business in a quiet niche. Regional or national work, ecommerce catalogues and multi-location groups cost more than $2,500 because they need more content, more links and more technical attention every month. Price alone tells you nothing; the question is what the money buys.
What should every SEO package include?
Six things, whatever the tier.
- Audit and strategy. A technical crawl, a review of your Google Business Profile, your competitors and the searches that matter, turned into a plan with priorities.
- Keyword research. The services and suburbs people actually search for, in their words ("plumber Dapto", not "plumbing solutions").
- On-page work. Titles, headings, copy, internal links and images on every page that matters, to a checklist that matches Google's own SEO starter guide.
- Technical SEO. Speed, mobile layout, indexing, structured data, redirects and the errors Search Console reports.
- Google Business Profile and citations. The profile completed and kept active under Google's business representation guidelines, with your details consistent across directories.
- Reporting. Rankings, traffic, calls and enquiries every month, with what was done and what is next.
From about $750 a month: the foundations
At the entry level you are paying for the audit, the fixes, the Google Business Profile and a small amount of content each month. It suits a business serving one suburb or a niche with little competition. Expect first movement in local results within two to three months; competing for city-wide terms usually needs the next level.
$1,000 to $2,500 a month: where most local businesses sit
This buys a programme rather than a checklist: new service and suburb pages, one or two useful articles a month, link building and digital PR, a review strategy and ongoing technical work. It suits businesses competing across Wollongong or the whole Illawarra, or in a trade where every competitor is doing SEO. A radiology group expanding to five practices saw organic traffic rise 218% across its clinics on a programme at this level.
Above $2,500 a month: regional or national
Multiple locations, large catalogues or competing in Sydney as well as the Illawarra need more of everything. At this level SEO usually runs alongside Google Ads and AI search work, and reporting shifts from rankings to revenue.
What should an SEO report show?
Rankings for the agreed terms with the suburb, organic traffic to the pages that matter, calls and form enquiries from organic search, what was done this month and what is planned next. Calls and enquiries only appear if call and form tracking were set up at the start, so ask about that before you sign. A report that is only charts is a report of activity, not results.
How can you tell an SEO package is just a PDF?
Guaranteed first-page rankings (nobody controls Google), a fixed number of "keywords" instead of a plan for your services and suburbs, links from directories you have never heard of, no access to your own Google Business Profile or Search Console, a twelve-month lock-in, and the same report every month with the dates changed. If reviews are part of the plan, the ACCC's guidance on managing online reviews sets the boundaries; removing negative reviews is misleading conduct.
Should you buy SEO or Google Ads first?
If you need enquiries this month, Google Ads first with SEO alongside, because ads work in days and SEO takes months. If you can wait and want the cost per enquiry to fall over time, SEO is the better long-term investment. Most businesses we work with run both and move budget as the organic results arrive; see Google Ads management for how the two are reported together.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SEO cost per month in Wollongong?
Most local businesses invest between $1,000 and $2,500 a month. Entry-level programmes start around $750 a month and cover the foundations: audit, fixes, Google Business Profile and a little content. Regional, national and ecommerce work costs more than $2,500 because the volume of content, links and technical work rises with the size of the market.
What is included in a local SEO package?
Google Business Profile optimisation, local citations with consistent business details, suburb and service pages, a review strategy, on-page and technical work, and monthly reporting on map pack and organic positions. The aim is to appear in the map and organic results for your service plus suburb.
How long does an SEO package take to work?
Local results usually move within two to three months. Competitive city-wide terms take six to twelve months, depending on your starting point and how much competitors are doing. Our guide to how long SEO takes goes through the stages. Anyone promising faster is either in an empty market or not telling the truth.
Can I do SEO myself instead of buying a package?
Yes, for the foundations. Completing your Google Business Profile, writing clear service pages and asking for reviews are things an owner can do with a few hours a month. Technical work, link building, content at volume and reporting are where an agency earns its fee.
SEO scoped to your market, not a tier
Adcraft is a Wollongong SEO agency at Level 1, 17 Flinders Street, rated 5.0 on Google from 55 reviews. Every engagement starts with a free audit, is scoped to your market rather than a tier, runs month to month and is reported on the calls and enquiries it produces. Start with the SEO service page or ask for the audit.
