SMALL BUSINESS SEO · PUBLISHED PRICING
An SEO company for small business owners who want the receipts.
ROI.LIVE helps small business owners decide whether an SEO engagement fits their demand, margin and delivery capacity. See the pricing, the evidence behind the cases and the work to do first when a retainer would be premature.
TWO STARTING POINTS
DOOR 1 · READY
You are ready to hire an SEO company.
These are starting conditions for a useful conversation, not a promise that SEO will be the cheapest way to acquire a customer.
Buyers in your market search for what you sell.
You could take the extra work the week it arrives.
You know your margin well enough to hold a monthly budget.
Start with Jason
Thirty minutes. Keep a brief summary and next steps.
DOOR 2 · NOT READY YET
You are not ready, and that is a useful answer.
A narrower repair or another channel may be the right first step. We assess the economics and immediate constraint before proposing a retainer.
Pre-revenue, or under the floor where the math works.
Delivery is the constraint and more demand would bury you.
You need page one in 90 days, which nobody honest sells.
Book the same call, get the list
I hand you a do-this-first list instead of an invoice. You keep it.
Both doors lead to the same calendar. The call examines fit and the next useful action. Current availability is confirmed before an engagement.
01
THE READINESS CHECK
Seven checks before you spend a dollar on SEO
Use the checks to find gaps. Budget, margin, demand and delivery capacity are critical; a high count cannot compensate for a failure in one of them.
This is the same list I run through on a first call, in the same order. It is here so you can do it before you talk to anyone, including me.
Resolve the critical conditions first: relevant demand, sufficient margin and budget, and capacity to respond and fulfil the work. Treat the other answers as preparation tasks. This checklist is not a validated score or an automatic recommendation to hire.
No email required. Save or print the page and use the gaps as the agenda for a first conversation.
02
THE RECEIPTS
Dated, named, and checkable
The cases have different sizes, periods and measures. Use them to inspect the evidence, then ask whether the scope fits your business.
COASTAL · REPORTED COMPANY GROWTH
+65%
Reported annual revenue grew from $1.32M at the 2023 engagement start to $2,184,036 in 2025, about 65%. This is company growth, not an isolated SEO result. Read the Coastal case.
2023 START TO 2025 · REPORTED
BLUE TREE · MARKETING-SOURCE PROJECTS
180 projects
August 2025-August 2026: 180 marketing-source signed projects with $4,156,970.01 in booked contract value. Signed projects are not unique customers, collected cash or profit. Read the case and definitions.
AUG 2025-AUG 2026 · MARKETING SOURCES
BLUE TREE · WHOLE MARKETING PROGRAM
25.5×
August 2025-August 2026: $4,156,970.01 in marketing-source booked contracts divided by $163,061.62 in recorded ad, agency and website investment = 25.5 times. This whole-program ratio is not Google Ads-only, SEO-only or profit.
BOOKED VALUE / RECORDED INVESTMENT
WINDOWS SOURCE OF HOUSTON · WINDOWS & EXTERIORS
25.7×
September 18, 2024 to April 30, 2025: $578,646.82 in recorded SEO/GBP sales divided by $22,500 in tracked link investment. Agency fees are excluded. This is a revenue-to-tracked-investment ratio, not net profit.
LIMITED COST BASIS
BLUE TREE · POOL & OUTDOOR LIVING
$906
August 2025–August 2026: $163,062 in advertising, agency and website investment for 180 signed projects worth $4.16M—$906 in recorded marketing cost per project. Internal sales payroll and job delivery costs are separate. Read the case and definitions.
PER MARKETING-SOURCE PROJECT
COASTAL CAROLINA COMFORT · HVAC
$1.32M → $2.18M
Reported annual revenue grew from $1.32M at the 2023 engagement start to $2,184,036 in 2025, about 65%. This is company growth, not an isolated SEO result. Read the Coastal case. The documented 2026 acquisition is a later event; we do not claim marketing caused it.
COMPANY REVENUE · 2025
03
PRICING · PUBLISHED AUGUST 2026
What it costs
Published, not “depends on your goals.”
THE RETAINER · ROI.LIVE
$5K to $15K
ROI.LIVE engagements start at $5,000 a month, with most ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. The written scope defines the work, deliverable volume, review rounds, term and separate costs. Media, approved software and agreed third-party production are separate, billed at cost.
PRODUCED
EXAMPLE MONTHLY BUDGET
$10K + $8K
Illustration: $10,000 management plus $8,000 media is $18,000 before other agreed costs. Compare the full cost with contribution and cash timing.
The retainer floor is $5,000 a month. A smaller business may need a focused repair, an internal owner or a lower-cost specialist first. We compare likely value and ongoing costs before recommending the programme.
Under $1M in revenue? Book the free call anyway. I will hand you a do-this-first list instead of an invoice if that is what the numbers say.
04
THE THREE ROOMS
Where a business your size gets found
Start with the search surfaces your customers use and the work your budget can support.
ROOM 01
The Google map listing
Local map results can be an important route for service enquiries. The exact layout and businesses shown depend on the query and location.
What to check
Google describes local ranking in terms of relevance, distance and prominence. Accurate business details, suitable categories and useful evidence support the profile; no profile edit guarantees a map position.
ROOM 02
Google search
A buyer compares search results for a question. The layout and sources vary; your page needs a useful answer and evidence the buyer can check.
What to check
Build a strong page for each distinct buying need. Group related questions and create local pages only when the actual service and local evidence justify them.
Before commissioning more pages, audit the existing content for useful information and gaps.
ROOM 03
ChatGPT and Gemini
A customer may ask an assistant who to call. The answer can vary by product, mode, question and date, so record the actual response and sources.
What to check
Useful answers, accurate business facts, verifiable proof and reliable access. Then observe whether the tested product mentions or cites the business.
The underlying work can overlap across search surfaces. Separate research or measurement may add real work; ask for the scope so shared tasks are counted once.
05
THE FIRST 90 DAYS
What happens after you sign
An example implementation schedule. Access, approvals and the agreed scope determine the actual dates.
01
DAYS 1 TO 14
The diagnosis
Capture the pre-change baseline, account access, current page performance and sales attribution gaps. Compare important buyer questions and local evidence before choosing what to repair.
You get: the map of the gap
02
DAYS 15 TO 30
The plan
Which pages get built, in what order, and what the map listing needs. Written down with dates.
You get: a written plan
03
DAYS 31 TO 60
Changes ship
Publish the approved repairs, verify live pages and the enquiry journey, and record the change dates. Review any unresolved access or source dependencies.
You get: live pages
04
DAYS 61 TO 90
Measurement
Compare the new evidence with the baseline recorded before changes. Include search diagnostics, qualified demand, cost and won revenue where the sales cycle permits.
You get: a comparison and the next decision
Keep the definitions and dates consistent. Review impressions and clicks as search diagnostics, alongside qualified demand and business outcomes. Ninety days is a review point, not a promised rank or revenue deadline.
06
THE MAP LISTING
For a local service business, the map is the shelf
When a homeowner’s AC dies, the call goes to the map.
Google describes local ranking through relevance, distance and prominence. Keep the profile accurate and eligible, use appropriate categories, and provide useful evidence on the linked website. Google explains local results.
August 2025–August 2026: $163,062 in advertising, agency and website investment for 180 signed projects worth $4.16M—$906 in recorded marketing cost per project. Internal sales payroll and job delivery costs are separate. Read the case and definitions.
ILLUSTRATIVE MAP · FICTIONAL LISTINGS
★ 4.9 · 212 reviews
Example A · fictional business
Illustrative details · not an actual listing
★ 4.2 · 38 reviews
Example B · fictional business
Illustrative details · not a rank prediction
★ 5.0 · 6 reviews
Example C · fictional business
Illustrative details · not an actual listing
07
GOOGLE AND CHATGPT
Your customers ask ChatGPT who to call
Record the answer and its sources before drawing a conclusion.
Useful pages can serve both organic search and AI answer discovery. A page that ranks in Google is not guaranteed to be quoted by an assistant. We observe each relevant surface separately.
A CUSTOMER ASKS
My AC stopped cooling and it is 96 degrees out. Who should I call in Concord?
ILLUSTRATIVE ANSWER · NOT A RECORDED RESPONSE
Compare providers that serve Concord and can confirm repair availability. Check the linked sources, service details and recent work before booking.
THE OWNER ASKS ME
How does a machine decide that?
MY ANSWER
We can check the source pages, profile facts and any citations shown. We cannot infer an engine’s complete decision process or guarantee a recommendation from those checks.
A citation sample covers the engines, questions, dates and modes tested. I report those limits with the findings so one result does not stand in for the whole market.
08
THE PERSON ON YOUR ACCOUNT
He has been the small business
Start with the question a customer needs answered and the evidence your business can show.
JASON SPENCER · FOUNDER, ROI.LIVE · ASHEVILLE, NC
WHY THAT MATTERS TO YOU
He carried a payroll before he sold a marketing retainer. He started in corporate IT in Philadelphia, left in 2004 to build an IT services company to a team of twelve, and sold it in 2008 to build ROI.LIVE.
No bench, no account manager layer, no junior handoff after the sale. Named writers and a named technical specialist, and you can email them from week one.
Ask for relevant references and the continuity plan for your account. A reported agency-wide retention average does not predict the length of your engagement.
30 years building businesses · 18 in digital marketing · 55+ industries
09
FIT
When a small business needs an SEO company, and when it does not
I will tell you on the first call, not after the first invoice.
Hire me if
- You are between $1M and $10M with proven demand.
- Buyers in your market search for what you sell.
- You are already spending and cannot tell what it produced.
- You can take the extra work when it arrives.
- You want the receipts to be checkable, by client name and date.
- You will act on what the data says, even when it contradicts you.
Do not hire me yet
- You are pre-revenue. You need customers, not an SEO program.
- You are under $1M without the margin for the floor. Take the free list instead.
- Delivery is the constraint and more demand would bury you.
- You want a listings service for a small monthly fee.
- You need page one in 90 days. That promise is a sales tactic.
- You want to own the strategy and have someone type the pages.
The full machine lives on the SEO agency page, and the seat that owns the whole mix, search included, lives on the fractional CMO page.
10
THE SCORECARD
Five questions to ask any SEO company, including me
This is a discussion aid, not a validated hiring test. For each question use 0 = no answer, 1 = an unsupported claim, 2 = specific evidence with a gap, 3 = evidence you can verify. Do not add the numbers into an automatic hire/reject rule. Unresolved ownership, budget or accountability terms need fixing before signing.
0 or 1
Missing answer or unsupported claim
2
Specific evidence with a gap to resolve
3
Evidence you can verify
01
Show me a small business you grew, with numbers.
Our answer
Use the dated cases above to examine the measure and its cost basis. Ask for a comparable business and scope before treating a result as relevant to your plan.
02
What will it cost, in writing?
Our answer
Engagements start at $5,000 a month, with most between $5,000 and $15,000. The scope states the work, capacity and separate costs. Compare the full budget with margin and fulfilment needs before choosing a retainer.
03
What number is the monthly report built on?
Our answer
Search discovery, useful page visits and qualified enquiries, then cost and won work where the data permits. Keep source gaps visible.
04
Who does the work, by name?
My answerNamed writers, a named technical specialist, and me on the strategy and the number. You get the names in week one and you can email them.
05
Will you tell me when I do not need you?
My answerThat is the premise of the first call. If search is not your constraint, or you are under the floor where the math works, I will hand you a do-this-first list and you keep it either way.
Checks to resolve before signing
- Read the scope, fee, term and ownership clauses.
- Ask what a case measures and which costs it excludes.
- Get the names, workload and contact details of the people doing the work.
- Inspect a sample report that connects search diagnostics to qualified demand.
- Clarify competitor conflicts and the handover process.
- Reject guarantees of a search position that the provider cannot control.
11
QUESTIONS
Questions small business owners ask first
Is an SEO retainer right for my small business?
Check relevant search demand, margin, sustainable budget and the ability to respond and fulfil the work. A narrower repair or lower-cost specialist can be the better first step. A checklist total cannot compensate for a failed critical condition.
How much does ROI.LIVE cost?
ROI.LIVE engagements start at $5,000 a month, with most ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. The written scope defines the work, deliverable volume, review rounds, term and separate costs. Media, approved software and agreed third-party production are separate, billed at cost.
What influences local map results?
Google describes local ranking in terms of relevance, distance and prominence. Accurate eligible business information and useful evidence matter, but no edit guarantees a particular position. Results vary by query and location.
Should we do SEO or Google Ads first?
Choose using demand, urgency, margin, budget and measurement. Paid search may support a bounded test while page work develops, but running both is not an automatic recommendation. Compare the full cost and business capacity.
What happens in the first ninety days?
An agreed schedule starts with access, diagnosis and a pre-change baseline. Then the team builds and verifies approved repairs and reviews the new evidence. Scope, approvals and sales lag determine how much can be concluded at the review.
Can you work with our existing web or marketing person?
Yes, where the responsibilities are agreed. The scope identifies who plans, edits, approves and publishes each part, and what the existing team continues to own.
THE NEXT STEP
Tell me your numbers.
I will tell you whether search is your constraint or something else is. And if you are not ready for us, I will tell you that too.
Current capacity is confirmed before an engagement.
