SEO Pricing in the Philippines: Costs, Factors & What to Expect

by Venchito Tampon Jr | Last Updated on March 19, 2025

How Much Does SEO Cost in the Philippines in 2025?

On average, quality SEO in the Philippines costs ₱50,000 to ₱500,000+ per month, with an hourly rate ranging from ₱3,000 to ₱10,000. The exact cost depends on the SEO provider’s expertise, competition level, and scope of services.

• Small businesses: ₱15,000–₱100,000/month
• Mid-sized businesses: ₱100,000–₱150,000/month
• Enterprise SEO: ₱150,000–₱500,000+/month
• Local SEO: ₱50,000–₱150,000/month

For one-time project-based SEO, pricing varies based on specific needs like technical audits, content strategy, or link building, usually ranging from ₱50,000 to ₱200,000 per project.

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SEO pricing in the Philippines is totally different from how international SEO agencies charge for their services.  

Businesses like yours looking to improve their online visibility must understand what drives SEO costs and the current average SEO package from a reliable SEO agency in the Philippines. 

This guide breaks down SEO pricing models, cost factors, and what businesses should expect when investing in SEO in the Philippines. 

Whether you’re a small business, a marketing agency trying to outsource white-label SEO, or a large enterprise with an existing in-house SEO team, knowing what you’re paying for helps you maximize your SEO investment. 

 

SEO Pricing Models in the Philippines

SEO services in the Philippines come in different pricing structures, allowing clients to choose a model that fits their budget, goals, and required level of service.

There are generally four common SEO pricing models: monthly retainers, project-based SEO, hourly consulting, and performance-based SEO. Each has its upsides and is suited to different business needs. 

Let’s go to each of one of them. 

1. Monthly Retainers – Ongoing SEO Services

Monthly retainer SEO is the most popular SEO pricing model. 

Optimizing a website requires continuous work, either to reach the top spot in Google’s SERPs (#1 for target keywords) or to maintain that position, so getting a monthly retainer is the way to go when hiring a Philippine SEO company as it involves consistent work. 

With a monthly retainer, clients pay a fixed monthly fee for ongoing SEO work. This helps the website stay optimized to further adapt to Google’s algorithm changes and changing search landscape and features for every target keyword, making the website remain competitive in Google’s search results. 

 

Why Choose a Monthly Retainer For SEO? 

SEO takes time—ranking improvements don’t happen overnight. The average time it takes to rank a website is 3 to 6 months, and that’s for fairly good websites with low to medium competition. 

Competitors are also investing in SEO—so you’re not the only one interested in ranking for your target keyword. Even if your website ranks well today, there’s no guarantee you can maintain it tomorrow. Competitors may outrank you if they implement better SEO strategies. Having regular updates to your content and link building, and doing it consistently helps maintain ranking positions.

Google’s algorithm updates affect rankings—and they will always do so, given they constantly want to improve search results to satisfy users’ intent and needs. Without ongoing SEO adjustments to adjust to what they want to appear on SERPs, your website rankings can drop unexpectedly.

Topping it off, SEO is more than just rankings—the website traffic you get from search must convert into actual customers. So, if SEO is giving you a constant number of leads every month, it’s wiser to invest more in it to maximize its returns.

What’s Included in a Monthly SEO Retainer?

A monthly SEO retainer supposedly must cover all essential aspects needed to improve and maintain your website’s rankings. So, if you’re researching reputable SEO agencies, see the inclusions of SEO packages. 

Here’s what is typically included in a monthly SEO retainer: 

• Technical SEO—optimizing the website’s infrastructure, sending signals, and allowing Google and other search engines to crawl, index, and rank pages effectively. It covers site speed optimization for faster website loading times, mobile-friendliness, implementing structured data and schema markup, cleaning codes for better crawlability, and properly managing indexed pages (canonicalization, robots.txt, XML sitemaps).
• On-page SEO improves a page’s content and code to increase topical relevance and searchability. The process involves meta optimization (title, description for CTR improvements, H1, H2s, etc.), image optimization, and internal linking to improve search engine crawling and send rich signals to Google about your page’s content.
• Content Development—creating helpful content that addresses the search needs of your target audience, which heavily involves writing engaging blog posts that satisfy what the searchers’ want while optimizing it to increase the likelihood it’d rank for its target keyword, updating and refreshing content for continued relevance, and seeing through analytics to improve underperforming content to build up their rankings further. 
• Link building—building relevant, quality backlinks from publications and websites to pass more link juice to your destination pages, increasing their ranking power for their target keywords. It also helps improve the website’s crawlability and build its topical authority within the niche.
• Analytics and Ongoing Improvements—continuous monitoring analysis to refine SEO efforts by finding pages to improve their satisfaction with user intent and needs, running regular SEO audits to close technical and content gaps (against competitors), and enhancing conversions by optimizing pages for lead generation. 

Who Should Choose a Monthly SEO Retainer?

The short answer is every type of business. As mentioned earlier, SEO work is an ongoing process, and as long as your target audience is constantly searching for possible solutions for their problems and needs, you should continue optimizing your website to capture these customers. 

What is the Monthly Cost for SEO in the Philippines? 

The monthly cost for SEO ranges from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000+ in the Philippines. The exact pricing depends on the scope of work, competition, and the SEO provider’s expertise.

2. Project-Based SEO – One-Time Optimization

Project-based SEO is a one-time payment model where businesses pay for a specific SEO service. This applies to companies who have already started their SEO and may need to fix an SEO issue or get consulting advice to remove hurdles with their current SEO activities without actually committing to a long-term contract.

Generally, you’ll find more in-house SEOs working for companies to opt for project-based SEO, as they already have existing SEO systems in place and would need an external eye to see through further optimization of websites they’re currently working on. 

Here are examples of project-based SEO:

• One-time SEO audits (technical SEO, on-page SEO, and content optimization)
• Local SEO setup (setting up Google Business Profile and schema implementation)
• Content strategy development (creating topical maps, content briefs for top keywords to target, and/or developing an editorial calendar).
• Link building (a couple of links built to the most important landing pages, usually commercial pages, to rank for transactional keywords). 

3. Hourly SEO Consulting – Pay Per Hour for Expert Advice

Hourly SEO consulting is ideal for clients who need expert insights and strategic direction but don’t require a full-service SEO campaign. A consulting type of SEO work is a more flexible and cost-effective option for those who currently handle SEO in-house but need professional guidance on certain matters of optimization. 

So, what can be covered in an hourly consultation? Here are what you might need in the future:

• SEO strategy development
• Competitor and keyword analysis
• Website performance audits
• Technical SEO troubleshooting
• Content strategy recommendations
• Link building strategies

For example, SharpRocket’s CEO, Venchito Tampon, is a top SEO consultant who specializes in link building and content development and helps SEO agencies and in-house SEO teams streamline their link building operations.

Other Filipino SEO consultants could help with the overall SEO campaign, from technical SEO to content strategy, which is another advantage if you want a full spectrum of consulting advice. 

With hourly SEO consulting as the SEO pricing model in the Philippines, you only pay for the time (mainly hourly) in exchange for specific advice you need. You can ask as many questions as you can related to the scope of expertise of the SEO consultant. 

What is the Cost of SEO Consulting in the Philippines? 

The cost for SEO consulting in the Philippines ranges from ₱3,000 to ₱100,000, depending on the consultant’s expertise, consultation scope, and service duration.

4. Performance-Based SEO – Pay Only For Results

Performance-based SEO pricing allows in-house SEO teams and business owners to pay only when specific results (or KPIs) are achieved. 

While it may seem like a cost-effective option, it is a less common SEO pricing model, given the many factors that come into play.

However, you’ll find that performance-based SEO works well for venture capitalists hiring SEO experts to join their companies, giving them a share of profit in exchange for results. That’s where performance-based SEO comes in.

Performance-based SEO has more dynamic pricing structures compared to monthly retainers, hourly rates, and project-based SEO. The price is determined based on the agreement between the person asking for SEO work and the person servicing it.

What is the Cost of Performance-Based SEO in the Philippines?

The cost for performance-based SEO in the Philippines starts at ₱50,000+, but the final price depends on factors like competition, target keywords, and agreed-upon results. Unlike fixed-fee SEO models, performance-based SEO charges only when specific goals are met, such as ranking improvements or traffic increases.

Cheap SEO vs. Quality SEO: What to Choose?

Budget is a big consideration when choosing the right SEO provider in the Philippines. As a client, choosing between cheap SEO and quality SEO is a critical decision. While it’s tempting to choose low-cost SEO, as it appears attractive within your current budget, it often leads to short-term gains, poor execution, and, worst of all, long-term damage to your brand.

Conversely, high-quality SEO services prioritize long-term rankings (sustainable if possible), organic traffic growth, organic revenue, and stronger brand authority. 

The Risks of Cheap SEO

Cheap SEO services often cut corners to lower costs. You usually find these even in small Filipino SEO agencies and freelancers. Here’s why opting for low-cost SEO can hurt your business: 

1. Black-Hat SEO Techniques That Can Get You Penalized

Many cheap SEO providers use shady, aggressive tactics such as keyword stuffing and link farming (with Private Blog Networks) that result in manual penalties or low to no effect on website rankings.

It’s a complete waste of time if you understand the strategy itself, where most of their time and resources are spent trying to manipulate search rankings.

2. Poor Content That Fails to Engage Users

Google prioritizes helpful content that satisfies user intent. With cheap SEO services, you resort to seeing low-value, sometimes AI-generated or duplicated content that neither ranks well nor engages visitors. 

In the age of AI, you’ll see scrupulous SEO freelancers spinning content without human edits that only struggle to rank for their individual target keywords and fail to convert visitors (if there are any) into customers due to a lack of original gain, credibility, and actual value to users.

3. Spammy Link Building That Hurts Rankings

Relevant, quality backlinks from reputable websites are a strong ranking factor. Cheap SEO providers may purchase bulk backlinks from generic, PBN-like websites that don’t contribute much to building brand value and strengthening your link profile to compete well with your competitors.

If you see link building services ranging from $10 to $50 per backlink, be curious as to why they sell at such absurdly low prices. Either the links come from submission-based directories or from ad-heavy and low-performing PBN blogs.

4. Lack of Strategic Planning & Personalization

SEO is not one-size-fits-all, as each business needs a unique approach to targeting different audiences with engaging content and determining the right keywords to capture traffic that makes sense to the business.

It’s easy to dive into any keyword research tool and see a high-volume industry keyword, but if it doesn’t align with business goals—meaning it is not relevant to the business and is unlikely to convert visitors into customers—it’s a waste of time to hire cheap SEO services that do this.

5. No Transparency & Poor Reporting

A reputable SEO provider in the Philippines should offer clear reports on rankings, traffic, and organic revenue growth. An SEO client only cares about these numbers. 

Cheap SEO services often lack transparency and only report on mere deliverables, such as five on-page optimization tasks for the month or 10 directory links, that leave SEO clients uncertain about what’s actually being done in line with the business revenue goals. 

Why Quality SEO is a Better Investment

If you’re not yet convinced, here’s why quality SEO really works. It may require a higher upfront investment, but it could deliver long-term sustainable results with 15 to 30X returns on investment, at most.

1. Fundamental SEO for Sustainable Growth

By following the best practices for optimizing your website, you can expect a solid foundation for gaining search traffic over time, not just rankings.

A professional SEO company’s strategies compound month over month. That includes securing links from reputable sources, researching topics (not only keywords) to rank for multiple variations of keywords within topic clusters, and optimizing websites for better user engagement and satisfaction.

You don’t usually see these types of SEO strategies with cheap SEO providers, as they only resort to shortcuts in gaming the system.

2. Strategic, Data-Driven Approach

SEO is both an art and a science. The science involves analyzing industry trends, benchmarking competitors, and refining your current strategy based on data. 

With analytics and improvements, high-quality Filipino SEO services can leverage their existing work (content, links, and website) to gain more search traffic with optimal efforts and resources.

3. Helpful Content To Rank and That Builds Topical Authority

Content creation and promotion require investment, and so, with quality SEO agencies working with you, you would expect helpful, well-written content that not only satisfies user intent but also aligns with your brand’s voice and style. 

From ideation to promotion, it takes legwork and constant pruning to increase the website’s organic growth, not only with the volume of content churning out by your team but with the quality ones you’re publishing on your website.

4. Safe & Effective Link Building

Professional SEO providers in the Philippines understand the true essence of link building. Through the quality of backlinks, they aim to increase a website’s trust, relevance, and authority. 

With that, taking the toil for every phase of link building is what every SEO needs (and what the client expects from a reputable SEO agency). Links should be done in hard work, either by creating linkable content assets to attract links naturally or by doing consistent manual outreach to get link placements on relevant, trusted websites. 

Effective link building is becoming the main differentiator between the best SEO providers in the Philippines and the cheap SEO services provided by freelancers. 

How to Choose the Right SEO Provider in the Philippines? (Beyond the Basics)

Finding the right SEO provider in the Philippines can mean the difference between sustained online growth and wasted investment. Many clients get frustrated with SEO agencies as they jump from one to another, seeking a reliable service provider who can demonstrate real work and results.

Many businesses still rely on common criteria like past results, transparency, and avoiding false promises, but these are just the basics. To make you hire an SEO agency that rarely delivers business value, go beyond the standard vetting, and look for strategic, forward-thinking qualities. 

Here’s how to actively assess and choose the best Filipino SEO provider: 

1. Look for an SEO Framework, Not Just a List of Tactics

Many SEO providers will offer you a list of services (e.g., keyword research, link building prospecting lists, technical SEO checklist, etc..), but what you really need is a strategic framework (a simple one) that ties everything together. 

So, when searching for a reliable SEO provider in the Philippines, find one that can give you a simplified SEO roadmap. A good SEO agency should provide you with a clear, step-by-step strategy that explains how SEO would align with your business growth goals over time.

Of course, you won’t see a 100% perfect framework, but a deep expert in their craft knows how to communicate it with their clients early on in their discovery calls.

You can also check if they prioritize SEO fundamentals before advanced tactics. As someone says, ” You can only go advanced if you master the basics.” That’s very true for SEO, as you need to first fix your site’s foundation (technical SEO, site architecture, content quality, etc.) before scaling link building or other off-page SEO tactics. 

Look for their case studies and how well they want to try to understand your industry and competitive landscape. Do they ask questions about your list of competitors, target keywords, and historical data to simply your site’s current benchmark in SEO? All these are necessary for a good SEO company to craft a customized SEO roadmap that is more likely to succeed than one that offers a cookie-cutter package. 

2. Focus on SEO ROI, Not Just Rankings

SEO isn’t just about getting to the first page of Google. It should drive measurable business outcomes like organic revenue growth. 

Even if you have tens of thousands of traffic, but if they don’t convert them into actual customers, as this traffic is generic enough and not relevant to your business, it won’t matter from a business revenue perspective.

The best SEO providers in the Philippines don’t just track traffic and keyword rankings; they also track organic revenue growth, return on investment (ROI) from organic search, and brand search volume (is there an increasing number of people searching for the brand?). 

You can also check if these SEO agencies integrate SEO with conversation rate optimization (CRO). Someone whose concern is to generate more business will help optimize landing pages and call-to-actions and add phone numbers and inquiry forms to ensure any relevant SEO traffic converts into business leads. 

3. Evaluate Their Ability to Compete in Competitive Niches

If you operate in a competitive industry like YMYL (Your Money Your Life) industries, where Google is highly operative on the quality of content being published for related topics that would either improve or damage someone’s life or maybe in other industries such as legal, the agency’s SEO strategy needs more than just basic optimizations. 

Given that your competitors are also doing fundamental SEO, finding SEO gaps that they don’t overlook can help you outrank them for your target keywords. 

You may also ask for some advanced SEO tactics such as topical authority-building (creating clusters of content around core topics to dominate search results), creating researched-backed content that earns natural backlinks from A-tier publications, or doing more digital PR and link building partnerships to secure links from credible media outlets.

During your discovery call with them, you can discern if the person you’re talking to knows what their agency is saying (and walking as proof of their results). The better they can communicate with you how they would attack their SEO strategy for your specific website, the more you should consider them your preferred SEO agency. 

4. Choose an SEO Provider That Goes Beyond Blogging

Many SEO agencies overfocus on blogging, and some do it only to include mere deliverables in SEO reports.

But the true essence of building is to impact your site’s topical authority so that Google sees you as a go-to solution or expert in your industry via publishing resources that really serve the intent of their searching on Google in the first place. 

The blogger strategy of professional SEO agencies, particularly in the local scene, includes optimizing content for search intent, conversions (for commercial intent), and user engagement. A balance of all these three determines whether a page is highly valuable and could really impact the overall SEO strategy. 

5. Work with an SEO Provider That Educates & Empowers Your Team

SEO isn’t just about hiring an agency and letting them work in isolation. In many cases, SEO agencies partner with your company’s in-house SEO teams to brainstorm strategies and develop better decisions in the long term.

The best founders of SEO agencies act like consultants. They provide recommendations for the improvements of the website from an SEO and conversion perspective while giving you the freedom to decide what works best for you.

You don’t treat them as employees where you need updates every hour of the week, but you ensure you’re satisfied through the quality of their SEO work and constant communication when the need arises. 

One red flag to look at SEO agencies is when they keep their process secretive and don’t explain their work for your website, as more often than not, they may be using methods that could harm your rankings instead of improving them. 

Factors That Influence SEO Costs in the Philippines

SEO pricing in the Philippines considers multiple factors, from service scope and market competition level to website complexity and SEO provider expertise. Like any other B2B service, you should understand what drives costs to make better decisions and allocate your marketing budgets wisely.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the factors that influence SEO pricing and hidden insights many companies overlook. 

1. Scope of SEO Services

The pricing must reflect the scope of SEO initiatives required to fulfill the need. 

For instance, basic SEO that costs around ₱50,000 to ₱100,000/month would typically entail:

• Technical audit and basic site optimization
• Metadata and on-page keyword optimization
• Google Business Profile setup (for local SEO)
• Simple backlink strategy (guest posts, niche blog outreach)

While a more advanced SEO package has more comprehensive approaches that range from ₱100,000 to ₱500,000+/month. It normally includes: 

• Comprehensive keyword research and competitive analysis
• Full-scale content marketing and long-form content production
• Enterprise-level technical SEO (site structure, schema markup, speed optimization)
• Consistent and effective link building, acquiring editorial and high-authority backlinks (with digital PR)

Some SEO agencies bundle PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising (another sub-discipline of digital marketing) into their SEO packages, which would increase their SEO pricing but would provide you a much better guarantee of lead generation, both of which are intent-based marketing disciplines. 

2. Website Size and Complexity

The size and complexity of a website directly impact SEO costs because large websites (with 100,000< pages, for instance) or established brands of conglomerates in the Philippines may require more strategic content, technical optimizations, and a structured way of doing link-building. 

For instance, you would see higher-cost packages for eCommerce brands with, let’s say, 500+ product pages, ranging from ₱150,000 to ₱500,000+/month. The larger the website and more popular the company is, the higher SEO agencies charge for their services. 

3. Keyword Competition 

Not all keywords cost the same to rank for. Competitive, high-value keywords (like “credit cards Philippines”) would require fundamental and strategic SEO efforts, making the SEO pricing for websites ranking for those keywords more expensive.

The lower the competition level for keyword, the more likely you can negotiate for affordable SEO prices. However, that’s not guaranteed, as most premium SEO agencies base their cost model on value-based pricing. This means that if they can generate leads consistently for your business, and with given price offers of your products or services, they can charge more reasonably for their SEO services based on that.

Conversely, if you’re contesting with highly competitive keywords, be prepared for a higher-cost package from SEO agencies. As the keyword gives you the business breakthrough in direct high-ticket leads, the cost of SEO services would be much higher. 

The fundamental reason is that the more competitive the keyword, the more work is involved in optimizing the website. This means more helpful content must be published regularly, and the higher number of high-quality backlinks must be consistent every month to ensure the client’s website’s ranking potential is built up. 

4. Local vs. International SEO – Expanding Beyond the Philippines

Most local businesses in the Philippines prioritize local search, especially if they only serve customers within a specific geographical area. As such, they could expect a lower SEO package, as the local or city-based search landscape here in the Philippines isn’t quite competitive compared to national SEO searches (“keyword” + Philippines).

So if you want to optimize your website for local SEO, the cost of SEO services ranges from ₱50,000 to ₱150,000/month), while if you’re going to take to international level, which means you want to target multi-country searches, the cost for international SEO ranges from ₱200,000 to ₱500,000/month. 

If you’re looking for white-label SEO services, you may be expecting an affordable option from Philippine-based SEO agencies. The cost for white-label SEO services ranges from ₱50,000 to ₱200,000+/month. This is one-third of what you’ll be paying for counterpart agencies in Western countries. 

5. Agency vs. Freelancer Pricing – The Cost of Expertise and Resources

Hiring an SEO agency costs more than working with a freelancer, given that SEO agencies entail more costs in operations to ensure quality output. Office overhead, hiring, and staffing costs would add up to the cost of SEO services, increasing SEO pricing.

Agencies provide more full-scale services that freelancers may not offer or have limited capacity to do so. 

That’s why an experienced SEO agency in the Philippines will likely charge 2x-5x more than a freelancer, but you would expect to have higher-quality, scalable SEO campaigns. 

6. Link Building Strategy – Cheap Links vs. High-Authority Links

If you’re looking to hire a Philippine SEO agency, the package should include link building services. 

Backlink quality directly influences SEO costs. The better quality of backlinks you want, the higher the cost for agencies. They usually do more than legwork in prospecting, content creation, and manual outreach to secure link placements to beat the competition, helping your website rank higher with a stronger backlink profile.

That’s why you can’t resort to cheap SEO services, as most of the time, they use cheap link building work that doesn’t impact SEO results. 

With professional SEO agencies, you’re likely to see premium-quality work for link development, which fundamentally affects your website’s ability to grow faster in search. 

 

FAQs

How much does an SEO freelancer make in the Philippines?

SEO freelancers in the Philippines can charge anywhere from ₱3,000 to ₱100,000 per consultation session, depending on their expertise, project complexity, and client requirements.

How to calculate SEO cost?

SEO costs are calculated based on several factors, including:

1. Scope of Services (technical SEO, content, link building)
2. Website Size & Complexity (small business vs. enterprise SEO)
3. Keyword Competition (high-value keywords require more work)
4. SEO Pricing Model (monthly retainer, hourly consulting, project-based, or performance-based SEO)

Why is SEO so expensive?

SEO is expensive because it requires continuous optimization, high-quality content creation, strategic link building, and adapting to Google’s algorithm changes. It is a long-term investment that delivers sustainable organic traffic and conversions.

How to charge for SEO services?

SEO services can be charged using different models:

• Monthly Retainer (₱50,000–₱500,000+)
• Project-Based (one-time fee for audits or setup)
• Hourly Consulting (₱3,000–₱100,000 per session)
• Performance-Based (payment based on results)

Is SEO worth it for small businesses?

Yes, SEO is worth it for small businesses as it helps them rank higher on Google, attract organic traffic, and generate leads without relying on paid ads.

Is SEO marketing free?

SEO itself is free, but effective SEO requires investment in content creation, technical optimizations, and link building, which makes it a paid service.

Do you need a budget for SEO?

Yes, SEO requires a budget for technical improvements, content creation, and link building. Quality SEO services range from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000+ per month.

How much does an SEO lead make in the Philippines?

An SEO Lead in the Philippines typically earns an average annual salary of approximately ₱744,000. This figure can vary based on factors such as experience, location, and the specific responsibilities of the role.

How much do freelancers charge in the Philippines?

SEO freelancers in the Philippines charge between ₱3,000 to ₱100,000 per session, depending on their experience and the project scope.

Is SEO freelancing profitable?

Yes, SEO freelancing is profitable in the Philippines, especially for skilled professionals who offer high-quality services in content creation, technical SEO, and link building.

Is SEO a monthly fee?

Yes, most SEO agencies charge a monthly retainer fee ranging from ₱50,000 to ₱500,000+ per month, depending on the scope of work.

Is SEO a one-time cost?

SEO is not a one-time cost. While businesses can pay for one-time SEO audits or project-based services, ongoing optimization is needed for long-term ranking success.

Is SEO worth it?

Yes, SEO is worth it because it drives organic traffic, builds brand authority, and increases conversions. High-quality SEO can provide long-term growth and return on investment.