Kern Media® keeps pricing simple and transparent. Most clients work with us on a month-to-month SEO, AEO and GEO retainer, and every engagement is custom, so exact pricing comes in a written proposal after a free 30-minute consultation. Here’s what’s typical.
Monthly SEO & GEO Retainers
Every retainer is month-to-month, with no long-term contract. You can adjust the scope as your needs change.
Every proposal is custom. On a free 30-minute call, we’ll learn your goals and send a proposal with clear deliverables and a monthly fee.
Audits and Projects
Audits and projects are billed at the same month-to-month rates as retainers, scoped on a free call.
What Affects Your Price
- The size of your website and number of page types
- The number of topics, products, services and markets we cover
- How much content you’re producing each month
- The number of buyer prompts, personas and AI engines tracked
- How much hands-on support your team needs, from guidance only to full implementation support
- Whether paid search or CRO/analytics support is part of the scope
What Every Retainer Includes
Is Kern Media a Good Fit?
- You have an established website and leads or sales from search that matter to the business.
- You have marketing, content or development resources (in-house or outsourced) who can implement changes.
- You want senior strategy from an experienced consultant rather than a large agency account team.
We focus on strategy and senior consulting, so we don’t offer link buying or high-volume content writing. See company facts for more on how we work.
For comparison, a senior in-house SEO and GEO lead often costs more than $120,000 a year in salary alone.
See what our clients have achieved in our case studies, and how our approach is built on our AI search citation study.
Pricing FAQs
How much do GEO and AEO cost?
At Kern Media, GEO and AEO are part of our monthly retainers, which typically range from $1,500 to $5,000 per month, with enterprise programs from $5,000 to $10,000 per month. An AI visibility audit is a common starting point.
How much does SEO consulting cost?
Our SEO and GEO retainers typically range from $1,500 to $5,000 per month, depending on the size of your website, the number of topics and markets we cover and how much hands-on support your team needs. Enterprise programs typically range from $5,000 to $10,000 per month.
Do you require a long-term contract?
No. Retainers are month-to-month, and you can adjust the scope as your needs change.
Do you charge by the hour?
We price by monthly scope and deliverables rather than billing hour by hour, so you know what you’ll pay each month.
Should we hire an in-house SEO, an agency or a consultant?
It depends on how much hands-on work you need. An in-house SEO makes sense when you have enough ongoing work for a full-time role. An agency fits when you want one team to run many channels. A senior consultant fits when you want experienced strategy and direct access to the person doing the work, with your team or developers handling implementation. Many of our clients pair us with in-house marketers or an agency.
Can we start with an audit?
Yes. Many clients start with an AI visibility audit, technical SEO audit, content audit or traffic recovery plan, billed at our month-to-month rates, then decide whether to continue.
Is paid search or CRO included?
Paid search and CRO/analytics support from our specialists can be added to a retainer when your goals call for it, and is included in your custom proposal.
How do I get exact pricing?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We’ll talk through your goals and send a written proposal with your recommended scope, deliverables and price.
Get a Custom Proposal
Book a free 30-minute call and we’ll send a written proposal with your scope and price.
You’ll talk directly with founder Dan Kern, not a salesperson, and get a custom proposal after the call.
