What Is Included in an SEO Package? A Line-by-Line Breakdown

Two proposals land in your inbox. One costs ₹18,000 a month and lists twelve services. The other costs ₹35,000 and lists eight. Which one is the better deal?

You cannot tell from the price or the length of the list. To compare them fairly, you need to know what is included in an SEO package, what each item actually means, and what often goes missing.

This guide breaks a typical package down line by line. You will learn the nine core components, how inclusions change between basic, growth and advanced plans, what is usually left out, and a simple method for comparing two proposals side by side.

Key Takeaways

• A complete package covers nine areas. Audit, keyword research, on-page, technical, content, links, local SEO, reporting and AI visibility.
• Quantities matter more than service names. "Content writing" could mean one article or twelve.
• Cheaper plans usually cut content and links first. Those are the most labour-intensive parts of SEO.
• Some things are almost never included. Web development, paid ads and large site rebuilds are usually separate.
• Ask for numbers in writing. Every deliverable should state how many, how often and to what standard.
• Check who owns the output. Content and accounts created for you should belong to you.

What Is Included in an SEO Package?

Quick answer: A complete SEO package usually includes an initial audit, keyword research, on-page optimisation, technical fixes, content creation, link building, local SEO where relevant, monthly reporting and, increasingly, AI search visibility. Basic plans cover a few of these in small quantities, while advanced plans cover all of them at scale. Web development, paid ads and site rebuilds are normally billed separately.

Monthly retainers are by far the most common way to buy these services. Ahrefs found that 78.2% of SEOs charge a monthly retainer, so the breakdown below assumes that model.

The 9 Core Components of an SEO Package

1. SEO audit

The starting point. An audit reviews your technical health, content, links and competitors, then produces a prioritised plan. Google advises that an audit should give you realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved. Good packages include one at the start and a lighter review every few months.

2. Keyword and competitor research

This identifies the searches your customers actually make, and which ones you can realistically win. Look for research built around commercial intent, not just search volume.

3. On-page optimisation

Improving individual pages: titles, meta descriptions, headings, body content, internal links and images. Packages should state how many pages they optimise each month.

4. Technical SEO

Fixing the things that stop Google crawling and indexing your site properly: crawl errors, redirects, site speed, mobile usability, structured data and indexing issues. On larger sites this becomes a major workstream, covered in depth by technical SEO services.

5. Content creation

New pages and articles that target the keywords you want to rank for. This is often the most expensive component, so check the monthly quantity, the length and who writes it. Google's guidance on AI search rewards unique, non-commodity content over recycled articles, which is why quality matters more than volume. See our SEO content writing for what good content work involves.

6. Link building

Earning links from other reputable websites. Quality varies enormously, from genuine digital PR to bought links that break Google's spam policies. Ask how links are earned, not just how many. Our link building services describe the editorial approach.

7. Local SEO

For businesses serving customers in specific cities, this covers Google Business Profile optimisation, reviews, local citations and location pages. It is essential for clinics, restaurants, retailers and service firms, and often unnecessary for pure online businesses. Our local SEO services cover it in detail.

8. Reporting

A monthly report showing rankings, traffic, conversions and the work completed, with commentary explaining what changed and why. A report without commentary is a data export, not a deliverable.

9. AI search visibility

The newest component. It covers how your brand appears in Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity. Search Console now includes a Generative AI performance report, so good packages report on it. Be cautious of anyone selling AI "hacks", since Google's own guide says you do not need llms.txt files or special markup for its AI features.

How Inclusions Change by Package Level

Here is how the nine components typically scale across the three common levels in India.

These ranges are typical, not fixed rules. For the monthly prices that usually go with each level, see our guide to SEO cost in India.

Notice where basic plans save money. Content and link building shrink first, because they take the most skilled hours. That is why very cheap packages often struggle to move rankings in competitive markets.

What Is Usually Not Included

Clarify these before you sign, because they cause many disputes.

• Website design or development. Building new templates or features is normally a separate project.
• Large technical rebuilds. Migrations and replatforming are usually quoted separately.
• Paid advertising. Google Ads and social ads are a different service.
• Social media management. Some agencies bundle it, yet it is not SEO.
• Unlimited content. Every package has a quantity, even if the proposal does not say so.
• Conversion rate optimisation. Improving how visitors convert is related but distinct.

How to Compare Two SEO Packages

Put both proposals into a single table and fill in the numbers for each line.

Empty cells are your questions for the agency. Once every cell is filled, the better value usually becomes obvious, and it is often not the one with the longest list.

Warning Signs in a Package

A few things in a proposal deserve a closer look:

• Pricing per keyword, which encourages easy, low-value targets
• Hundreds of backlinks a month, which usually means low-quality links
• "Guaranteed page one", which Google says no one can promise
• Services with no quantities, which cannot be verified later

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

An SEO package is only as good as its specifics. Service names on a proposal tell you very little. The quantities, standards and methods behind them tell you everything.

So ask for numbers, put competing proposals side by side, and choose the one whose deliverables match your goals. Once you understand what is included in an SEO package, comparing quotes becomes simple, and far harder to get wrong.

About the author

Ganesh Shanmugam

Ganesh Shanmugam is an SEO and AEO consultant based in Chennai, India, and the founder of Billion Game — a boutique agency serving clients across the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. He previously held SEO roles at 7 Eagles and Digital Scholar before going independent, and brings 4+ years of hands-on experience

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