Rankings move because somebody keeps working on them
A good build gets you the architecture. The architecture gets you found for the searches you already deserve. Everything above that — the competitive terms, the next town over, the map pack — comes from work that happens every month after launch. That’s what a retainer is.
Most contractors have been sold “SEO” before and got a PDF full of charts they couldn’t read, attached to an invoice they couldn’t question. So it’s worth saying plainly what the monthly work actually is.
What happens every month
Content built from your own data. Not blog posts for the sake of it. I pull your Search Console and find the searches where you’re on page two — already visible, not yet clicked — and build the page that moves them up. Those are the cheapest wins available and almost nobody goes looking for them.
Google Business Profile management. For local trades this is often worth more than the website. Categories, services, service areas, photos, posts, Q&A, and the review flow that decides map pack position.
Reviews and citations. A repeatable way to ask for reviews without nagging, and consistent business listings across the directories Google actually cross-references.
Technical upkeep and schema. Broken links, page speed, structured data as your services change — so search engines and AI assistants keep reading you correctly.
A monthly report in plain English. What I did, where you rank versus last month, what traffic and enquiries the site produced, what’s next. If a report needs a translator, it’s hiding something.
What it costs
SEO/GEO retainers run $200–450/month depending on how aggressively you want to grow and how competitive your trade and area are. Annual prepay earns roughly two months free. No lock-in — you can stop or change level any time.
Below that, the care plans at $29–125/month keep a site healthy and current but don’t include active ranking work. If you just want the site maintained, start there instead. I’d rather you paid less than paid for something you don’t need.
The honest timeline
Three to six months before movement is obvious, longer in competitive trades and bigger cities. Anyone promising page one in thirty days is either lying or aiming at searches nobody makes. What I will guarantee is the part I control: every build is indexed and appearing in Google within 30 days of launch, or the care plan is free until it is.
Common questions
How long before a retainer shows results?
Three to six months before movement is obvious, longer in competitive trades. The work compounds — month eight is worth more than month two, which is why stopping early wastes what you’ve already paid for.
Do I need a retainer if you built my site?
No. Every build includes at least the Essential care plan so it doesn’t rot. A retainer is for businesses that want to actively climb rather than hold position. Plenty of clients never take one.
Can I stop any time?
Yes. No lock-in contracts, no cancellation fees. You can move between levels as your ambitions change.
Find out what’s worth working on
The free visibility audit shows which searches you’re already close on — the page-two terms worth chasing first. That tells us whether a retainer makes sense for you at all.
Get my free visibility audit →Already have a site? The audit works on it whether or not I built it.