Pricing
Most consultants answer "it depends". True, but not an answer. Here are the numbers, what moves them, and the cases where I'll tell you not to hire me.
From CA$2,000
From CA$1,500 / month
A French page that is a translation of an English one rarely ranks. I build each language against its own keyword set, with hreflang wired correctly. That's included, not billed as an add-on.
A report nobody reads is worthless. The live walkthrough is part of the audit.
If your team executes the plan alone, I stay reachable to settle the questions that come up along the way.
A 15-page brochure site and a 5,000-page platform need neither the same crawl time nor the same method.
A niche Quebec market moves faster than a saturated national sector.
An audit that leads to 12 pages to write doesn't carry the same downstream cost as a purely technical one.
Two languages don't cost twice as much, but they don't cost the same as one either.
A technically clean site starts further ahead than one that needs rebuilding.
A consultant isn't always the right answer. The ranges below are Canadian market reference points, not quotes.
| Option | Ballpark | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring in-house | CA$80,000–120,000 / year | Makes sense with steady workload and a site big enough to occupy someone full-time. Slow to recruit, and one profile rarely covers technical, content and analytics. |
| An agency | CA$3,000–10,000 / month | Makes sense when you need execution at volume: content production, link building, several markets. You also pay for structure, and the senior who sells isn't always the one who delivers. |
| An independent consultant | CA$1,500–4,000 / month | Makes sense when you want direction and expertise rather than hands. You talk to the person doing the work. Limited capacity: I can't absorb large-scale content production. |
When I'll tell you not to hire me
An audit that mechanically leads to a contract isn't an audit. Sometimes organic search isn't your priority — because the product isn't clear yet, because your sales cycle runs through your network, or because paid media will get there faster. In that case I say so, and the audit will still have been worth it for telling you.
No, they're separate engagements. The audit stands on its own: it's built so your team can execute it without me.
No. A fixed fee protects you from watching the clock and lets me look for the right answer rather than the fast one. Coaching is billed per session.
Below CA$1,500 a month, ongoing support doesn't make sense. Coaching or team training are better entry points.
No, amounts are before tax. GST and QST apply for Quebec clients.
One call is enough to scope the work and give you a real number, with no obligation.
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