The The [Price of Local Dominance](/guide/local-seo)

I've spent a decade inside the machine most clients never see. I've reviewed hundreds of agency proposals — the real ones, with the fulfillment costs visible. I've built a network of 4,000+ writers and journalists. I've watched agencies charge $3,000 for $400 worth of outsourced checkbox tasks.

Here's what that taught me: local SEO pricing isn't based on value delivered. It's based on what your credit card limit can absorb.

That $500/month 'package'? You're not buying strategy. You're subsidizing someone's BrightLocal subscription while they run the same automated playbook they run for 47 other clients. That $10,000/month retainer from the big agency? I've seen those accounts. Half the time it's a junior coordinator forwarding templated reports while the partner who sold you plays golf.

My philosophy at AuthoritySpecialist.com is simple: Content Is Proof. You can't fake authority. You can't automate trust. You build it page by page, mention by mention, until Google has no choice but to rank you.

This guide isn't a menu of prices. It's a decoder ring for the economics of SEO. I'm going to show you exactly where your money actually goes, the difference between paying for activity versus paying for assets, and how to use what I call 'The Competitive Intel Gift' to call any agency's bluff. We'll cover why I believe cold outreach is a dying strategy and why authority-based inbound is the only pricing model that makes mathematical sense.