You ask three agencies about local SEO in Marbella and get three prices that have nothing to do with each other: €300, €500, €900 a month. They all call it the same thing, and none of them tells you what the fee actually pays for. The Google Maps listing? Articles? A new website? Paid ads dressed up as SEO? Let's put a price on each piece, say what isn't included, and give you a way to compare quotes.
Why the quotes never match
It's not that one agency is expensive and another is cheap. It's that each one puts different things under the same label. One charges you for two Google posts a month. Another throws in an article and a website. Another just answers reviews. And another is quietly selling you paid advertising.
Don't compare prices: compare deliverables. A €500/month plan with a website, photos and content is not the same service as a €150/month plan that only touches Google Maps. It helps to know what local SEO actually is before you sit down to negotiate.
What local SEO is — and what it isn't
It's the work of making your business visible when someone searches for a service "near me" or with the name of your town. Its centrepiece is your Google Business Profile: the Maps card with your name, address, hours, photos and reviews. Google ranks that local pack by relevance, distance and prominence, and all three are built steadily, not with shortcuts.
- Google Maps listing. Category, services, description, attributes, hours and photos. This is the foundation.
- Posts. News and offers that keep the profile active.
- Reviews. How to ask for them and how to reply, including the bad ones.
- Local website. A page that matches the listing.
- Citations and NAP. Consistent data across your site and directories.
- Content. Articles that answer what people search in your area.
And what it isn't: paid advertising, "tricks" to game the algorithm, or a switch that brings clients in by Tuesday.
Local Pack, Content Pack, or doing it yourself
With fixed prices on the table, here's the real difference between the options:
| What we compare | Local Pack | Content Pack | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €150/month + VAT | €250/month + VAT | €0, but your hours |
| Google Business Profile | Monthly review and fixes | Same as Local Pack | If you find the time and know what to change |
| Posts and photos | Monthly calendar | Yes | Usually fizzles out |
| Reviews | Guidance and replies | Yes | Needs fast replies |
| SEO articles | No | Monthly content | Only if you write them |
| Who does the work | A named person | Named person + writer | You, or a generalist |
| Owner's time | Monthly call and photo sign-off | Plus reviewing copy | Several hours a month |
| Lock-in | None | None | Whatever you sign |
The two plans, at a fixed price
No "from", no lock-in. The only difference between them is content.
Local Pack
€150 /month + VAT
The Maps listing only.
- Optimised Google Business Profile
- Monthly posts and photos
- Review guidance and replies
- Monthly report: calls, routes, searches
Content Pack
€250 /month + VAT
The Local Pack plus articles on your site.
- Everything in the Local Pack
- Monthly SEO articles
- Listing, website and content aligned
- Report including what was published
No lock-in. If a month brings nothing, you leave. A plan that only works because of a twelve-month contract isn't a plan, it's a trap. Run your own numbers: if your average sale is around €250, one new client a month covers the Local Pack.
What it does NOT include
- Paid advertising. Not Google Ads, not Meta. A separate budget with its own logic: you pay per click and it stops the day you stop paying.
- A website redesign. If you need one, it's a separate project: Basic at €180 + VAT or Professional at €350 + VAT, one-off.
- Promised positions. No one can promise you first place on the map. Google doesn't sell slots, and anyone promising it is worth walking away from.
- The same results for everyone. They depend on your local competition and your starting point. A physio in San Pedro centre with no reviews is a different job from a restaurant in Puerto Banús with 300 ratings.
Our Google Business Profile guide explains what can be changed and what can't.
Costs that sit outside the monthly fee
The fee pays for the work on your map presence and its content. These items are sometimes needed and should be budgeted separately:
A website, if you need one
Basic €180 + VAT, Professional €350 + VAT or online store €450 + VAT. One-off, not monthly.
Photos worth showing
A professional shoot is quoted separately; it isn't part of the local SEO fee.
Extra content
More articles than the Content Pack includes, or new pages, are quoted as a project.
Ads, if you want them
Google Ads or Meta is an independent budget, measured separately.
If someone says the monthly fee "covers everything", ask what everything means. The cost of a website in Marbella is worked out separately and paid once.
How to tell whether the fee is fair
There's no universal right number, but there are signs that separate a professional from someone collecting a monthly direct debit:
1. Access to your listing
You stay the owner, not the agency's guest. If they lock you out, you have a problem the day you leave.
2. A monthly report
Calls, routes and searches from real listing data, not a handful of screenshots.
3. A named person
You know who runs your account and who to email. "The team" doesn't answer awkward questions.
4. A content plan
Before you start you know what gets published and how often, not at the end of the month.
5. No impossible promises
They explain the method and what depends on you, without call volumes or fixed positions.
And the coffee test
Ask them to explain in five minutes what they'll do in month one.