Choosing an SEO package in Australia

"SEO package" is a loose retail label for a bundle of search engine optimisation services sold at a set price or on a monthly retainer. This page sets out the stages a small business typically works through when choosing one: understanding what the work usually covers, setting goals and measuring results with Google's own tools, spotting the red flags Google itself warns about, reading the contract with Australia's unfair contract terms and consumer guarantee rules in mind, keeping reviews and claims lawful, protecting customer data and website access, considering accessibility, and recognising scams that target businesses, with links to official Australian sources and Google's own documentation.

This is a free, non-commercial reference page. It is general information only, not legal, privacy, cyber security or marketing advice, and it does not take into account your business's circumstances. It does not review, rank or recommend any SEO agency, consultant, package, tool or platform, and it makes no claims about rankings, traffic or results. For advice on your own obligations, speak to a qualified professional and check the official guidance linked below. This page is not affiliated with any business or government body, and listing is not an endorsement.

The guide

The stages most small businesses work through, in roughly this order, when choosing an SEO package or provider.

What "SEO package" means

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is, in Google's words, "about helping search engines understand your content" and helping people decide whether to visit a site. An "SEO package" is a commercial bundle, not a defined service, so two packages with the same name can contain very different work. Google's own guide to hiring an SEO lists the kinds of things SEOs may offer: reviews of site content or structure, technical advice on hosting, redirects, error pages and JavaScript, content development, management of online marketing campaigns, keyword research, SEO training, and expertise in particular markets or regions. Google also notes that paid Google Ads do not affect organic search results and that it never accepts money to include or rank sites. Google says small local businesses can often do much of the work themselves, recommends starting with its SEO Starter Guide, and suggests that a good time to hire is before a site redesign or new site launch. Its Starter Guide also lists things not to spend effort on, including the meta keywords tag, which Google Search does not use, and keyword stuffing, which is against its spam policies.

What the work usually covers

Most SEO work falls into a few broad areas. Technical work deals with whether search engines can find, crawl and index the site: site structure, redirects, duplicate pages and canonical URLs, page performance and errors. On-page work covers page titles, descriptions, headings, descriptive URLs, image alt text and internal links. Content work means creating or improving pages that are useful and accurate for the people the business serves. Local work covers business listings, such as a Google Business Profile, for businesses that serve a local area. Link work concerns how other sites refer to yours. Before signing, ask which of these areas the package actually includes, how much of each, and who does the work.

Set goals before talking to providers

Write down what you want from the work before you talk to anyone: for example, more enquiries from a particular area, more visits to particular product pages, or a cleaner site before a redesign. The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) advises small businesses to "identify the support you need and what you want them to do" before approaching a digital marketing provider, so you can judge fit, cost, payment timing and duration. Google suggests asking any prospective SEO what results they expect, over what timeframe, and how success will be measured.

Measure results with Google's own tools

Google Search Console is Google's tool to help "anyone with a website to understand how they are performing on Google Search". Its Performance report shows traffic from Google Search broken down by queries, pages and countries, with trends in impressions and clicks; other reports cover indexing, manual actions and security issues. Set it up yourself, under your own account, so the data stays with the business if the provider changes. Google's Starter Guide notes that some changes take effect in hours and others take several months, so agree in advance how often results will be reported and what counts as progress.

Local listings

For businesses serving a local area, Google's Business Profile help explains that local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that complete, accurate business information, verification, photos and responding to reviews can help. Google states: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." Make sure the business profile is owned and verified by the business itself, with the provider given access as a manager rather than as owner.

Red flags Google warns about

Google's guide to hiring an SEO lists warning signs: unsolicited emails from SEO firms; promises of guaranteed rankings ("No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google"); claims of a "special relationship" with Google or "priority submit"; secrecy or vague explanations of what will be done; and offers to submit a site to thousands of search engines or to join link schemes. Google says aggressive tactics that breach its spam policies can lead to lower visibility or removal from its index, and that "you are responsible for the actions of any companies you hire". When a provider offers an audit, Google suggests giving read-only Search Console access at that stage, not write access.

Links and Google's spam policies

Google's spam policies list link spam among practices that can lead to a site ranking lower or not appearing in results. Examples given include "Buying or selling links for ranking purposes", excessive link exchanges, and requiring a link as part of a contract or terms of service. Google says paid links are acceptable only if marked with a rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored" attribute. The same policies cover cloaking, doorway pages, expired domain abuse, hidden text, keyword stuffing, scaled content abuse and scraping. Ask any provider in writing how they obtain links and whether any are paid for.

Contracts and lock-in

Many SEO packages are sold on standard form contracts that the customer cannot change. The ACCC says that from 9 November 2023, proposing, using or relying on unfair contract terms in standard form contracts is banned and penalties apply, and that small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, or less than $10 million in annual turnover, are covered for new or varied contracts. Terms that may be unfair include those letting only one party avoid its responsibilities, end the contract or change its terms, or penalising only one party for ending it. ASBFEO recommends a clear statement of what you will receive and when, all costs, "simple and clear exit processes, including early termination and any penalties", regular reporting, and dispute resolution that includes mediation.

Who owns the accounts, content and data

Agree in writing who owns everything created or used for the work: the website and its content, the domain name, the Search Console property, the Google Business Profile, analytics and advertising accounts, and any passwords. business.gov.au notes that if you want your business to own intellectual property a contractor creates, the contract must say so clearly; otherwise the contractor keeps it. ASBFEO recommends that the contract cover handover of "assets, access, permissions, passwords, and systems" and the return of all social media channels and advertising accounts when the arrangement ends.

Consumer guarantees and misleading claims

The ACCC says services must be provided with due care and skill, fit for any stated purpose, and within a reasonable time if no timeframe was agreed. It says a business buying for business use is covered by the consumer guarantees if the cost is less than $100,000 including GST, or if one of the other listed conditions applies. The ACCC also says a business must be able to prove any claim it advertises and must have reasonable grounds for claims about future results at the time they are made. Ask any provider to put promised results, and the basis for them, in writing.

Reviews, testimonials and privacy

Some packages include "reputation" or review services. The ACCC says it is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews or to arrange for others to do so, and warns against suppressing genuine negative reviews, offering incentives only for positive reviews, and failing to disclose commercial relationships. If a provider will handle customer data, such as enquiry forms or email lists, the OAIC says businesses covered by the Privacy Act that outsource handling of personal information remain subject to APP 11 and should use contract terms covering how it is handled and destroyed. The OAIC's small business page explains the annual turnover test ($3 million or less) and the exceptions that bring some small businesses under the Act regardless of turnover.

Accessibility, security and scams

The Australian Human Rights Commission's Guidelines on equal access to digital goods and services (April 2025) say that it is important to meet the latest published version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG); site changes made for SEO, such as images and link text, are a good moment to check accessibility too. The Australian Cyber Security Centre's small business guidance recommends multi-factor authentication, software updates and backups, and protecting website logins and plugins, so give any provider its own login rather than sharing yours and remove access when the work ends. Scamwatch warns of unsolicited charges for directory listings, advertising and domain renewals, and of business email compromise using invoices with changed payee details. auDA has warned of phishing emails sent by someone posing as an auDA employee and asking .au registrants to confirm details to keep their domain.

Directory

Official Australian sources on contracts, consumer law, reviews, privacy, accessibility, cyber security and scams, and Google's own Search documentation, instead of a list of SEO agencies, consultants or tools. Each entry was checked against its own official website.

What is listed. Only Australian government bodies, the .au domain administrator and Google's own official Search and Business Profile documentation are included, and only where the page could be fetched and checked. Each link goes to that body's own page. The list is not complete and is in no particular order. No SEO agencies, consultants, packages, tools or platforms are listed.

Not an endorsement. Listing is not a recommendation. This page is not affiliated with any organisation below, including Google, and does not review, rank or recommend any product, service or provider.

Inclusion in this directory is not an endorsement. Links are to official websites as published at the time of checking.

Questions to ask before signing

Plain questions worth answering internally, and putting to any SEO provider, before committing to a package.

What exactly is in the package, and who does the work?

"SEO package" has no fixed meaning. A written list of technical, on-page, content, local and link work, with quantities, makes packages comparable and disputes easier to resolve.

What results do you expect, over what timeframe, and how will we measure them?

Google suggests asking this directly. Agreed measures, ideally from Search Console under your own account, make it possible to judge whether the work is worth continuing.

Do you guarantee rankings or claim a special relationship with Google?

Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking and lists claims of a special relationship or priority submission as red flags.

How do you get links, and are any of them paid for?

Buying links for ranking purposes, and excessive link exchanges, are link spam under Google's policies. Google says you are responsible for what a provider you hire does.

What is the minimum term, and how do we exit early?

ASBFEO recommends simple and clear exit processes, including early termination and any penalties. Unfair terms in standard form small business contracts are banned under the Australian Consumer Law.

Who will own the website content, domain name, Search Console, Business Profile and analytics accounts?

If ownership is not written into the contract, a contractor may keep intellectual property it creates, and accounts set up in the provider's name can be hard to recover.

What happens to our access and data when the arrangement ends?

ASBFEO recommends a contract that covers handover of assets, access, permissions, passwords and systems. Remove the provider's logins at the end.

Will you write, solicit, filter or remove reviews on our behalf?

The ACCC says creating or arranging fake reviews, and suppressing genuine negative ones, can breach the law. The business remains responsible for its own conduct.

Will you handle our customers' personal information, and how will it be protected?

Businesses covered by the Privacy Act remain responsible for personal information they outsource, and the OAIC suggests contract terms on handling and destruction.

Will you have your own login, with multi-factor authentication?

The ACSC recommends avoiding shared accounts and using multi-factor authentication. A separate login can be removed without changing your own passwords.

Did this offer, invoice or renewal notice come from someone we already deal with?

Scamwatch warns of unsolicited charges for listings, advertising and domain renewals, and of invoices with changed payee details. Check using contact details from an independent source.

About this page

seopackage.com.au is a free, non-commercial reference page published by Radiant Life Distributors Pty Ltd, Adelaide. It is general information only, not legal, privacy, cyber security or marketing advice. It sells nothing, does not review, rank or recommend any SEO agency, consultant, package, tool or platform, and makes no claims about rankings, traffic or results. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any organisation listed, including Google; listing is not an endorsement. Information was checked against official websites in October 2026; law and guidance change, so confirm current details with the organisations linked above.