Understanding your fee
What should a monthly SEO service deliver?
Your monthly fee should map to agreed work you can inspect: the page or issue, what changed, why it changed, who approved it and where it is live. Keep that delivery record separate from traffic, enquiries and other outcomes.
Start with the unit of work
“Six content pieces” can mean six original articles, six small edits or a mixture. Those are different commitments. Before paying, define whether each item includes research, drafting, expert input, design, implementation, revision and verification.
Google's content guidance emphasises useful, original value and asks publishers to consider who created the content and how. It also cautions against changing dates merely to appear fresh. That supports an editorial review process, not a fixed monthly article quota. Google's people-first content guidance.
Refresh existing pages before commissioning new ones
Start with the buyer's unanswered question and inspect the page that already covers it. If the purpose is the same, add the missing evidence, example or explanation there. Create a separate page when the question needs a different purpose or enough distinct material to stand on its own. Our recommendation is to review existing pages first, then commission the work the gap actually requires.
| Work | When it fits | What the receipt should show |
|---|---|---|
| Refresh an existing page | The same buyer question needs a corrected price, current source or useful example | The existing URL, before/after change, checked sources and dated revision note |
| Create a new page | A distinct buyer need is missing and cannot be answered clearly within an existing guide | The distinct purpose, original contribution and internal links connecting it to relevant pages |
| Fix a technical issue | A useful page is difficult to reach, crawl, read or act on | The reproducible problem, implemented fix and verification |
HubSpot reported an average 106% increase in monthly organic search views for posts it updated and republished. Its article describes a before-and-after result on its own established blog. It does not show that refreshes outperform equivalent new posts by 106%, and it is not a forecast for a newly launched site. Read HubSpot's historical optimisation account.
Google's current AI optimisation guide also cautions against creating separate pages for every query variation and says there is no ideal page length. These sources support testing useful improvements; they do not establish a winning number of articles for every business. Google's content and page-length guidance.
Make maintenance visible by keeping the original publication date, recording substantive revisions and showing when sources were checked. Change the last-updated date when the content changes meaningfully. A routine check that finds nothing to change belongs in the internal review log. Google explicitly cautions against changing dates simply to appear fresh. Google's content guidance.
After publication, review the affected queries, page traffic and relevant enquiries over comparable periods. Record other site changes and insufficient data. A short observation window or very small audience may support “too early to tell”, even when the revised answer is more useful.
A receipt you can actually inspect
The following is a proposed receipt format, with an illustrative example. It is not a claim about work delivered for a real client.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Agreed item | Update the service page's pricing answer |
| Buyer question | Does the monthly fee include implementation? |
| Evidence | The approved service scope and current billing terms |
| Change | Explain included work, exclusions and approval requirements |
| Approval | Named client reviewer, exact version and date |
| Delivery proof | Published URL, before/after record and live verification |
| Evaluation | Relevant enquiries and pricing questions over an agreed period |
What belongs in the monthly report?
Use two sections. First, account for the work: included items, completed items, pending approvals, deferred work and any agreed carry-forward. Then review measured outcomes and the next decision.
For example, a corrected page can be delivered even if there is not yet enough traffic to judge its commercial effect. The honest result is “delivered; outcome still inconclusive.” A green checkmark should not imply that the page caused new revenue.
Five questions before you subscribe
- Is onboarding included, and when does billing begin if access is delayed?
- Which changes can the agency publish, and which require my approval?
- Who verifies factual claims and sensitive statements?
- What happens when a provider connection fails or data is unavailable?
- Can I export the content, sources, work history and reports if I leave?
How much content is enough?
Choose the amount your customers need and your review process can support. One well-supported pricing answer may be more useful to a buyer than another generic overview. Decide using the actual customer question, the existing page and the quality of the proposed contribution.
Our recommendation is to agree on scope before using output counts to compare agencies. Ask to see a completed receipt, then open the evidence behind one line item.
Sources and review
- Google people-first content guidance. Original value, authorship and meaningful freshness.
- HubSpot historical optimisation account. Self-reported before-and-after results on updated posts, not a comparison with equivalent new posts.
- Google AI optimisation guide. Useful content, query variations and no ideal page length.
References checked on . Provider guidance can change. Our checklists and illustrative examples are recommendations, not observed client results. Send a correction.
Revision notes
- 9 September 2026: added the refresh, new-page and technical-fix framework, qualified the HubSpot result and explained meaningful update dates.
- 6 September 2026: initial researched version. No claim of historical client results.