What is SEO consulting, and what do monthly SEO services include?

What is SEO consulting?

SEO consulting means reviewing how a site performs in search engines, identifying problems and opportunities, and explaining to the business how to address them. The consultant audits the site, works out the target searches, prepares a prioritized roadmap and guides the people who will carry out the plan. The implementation is usually done by the business's own team or developer.

In its "Do you need an SEO?" page, Google lists the services an SEO can offer: a review of the site's content and structure, technical advice on topics such as hosting, redirects, error pages and the use of JavaScript, content development, management of online business development campaigns, keyword research, SEO training, expertise in specific markets and regions, and optimization for generative AI. The same page says a small, local business can probably do much of the work itself.

How is SEO consulting different from monthly SEO work?

The main difference is who does the work. In consulting, the output is a report, a plan and meetings. In monthly SEO work, the provider also carries out technical fixes, page improvements, content and reporting every month, alongside the plan. For a company with its own developers and content team, consulting may be enough. In a business without that team, the plan often stays on paper.

Our SEO and GEO service is monthly work, so it covers implementation as well as the plan. For businesses that want to do the implementation with their own team, we offer consulting on web design, SEO/GEO and the use of AI; consulting is also quoted per project. The table below summarizes the difference between the two models.

What work is done in monthly SEO?

The foundation of monthly work is technical monitoring and fixes. Errors in Search Console, pages that are not indexed, broken links and speed problems are checked regularly. Rankings for the target keywords are tracked as well, priority pages are improved for those searches, and content is written to answer the questions customers ask.

The second layer is the part of visibility that lives outside the site: Google Business Profile management, link building and tracking visibility in AI assistants. How that last task is done is explained in detail in our article on generative engine optimization. Finally, measurement is set up for conversions such as form submissions, WhatsApp messages and phone calls, because without measurement you cannot tell whether the work is turning into business.

The difference between tiers comes from how wide the target area is and how much work is done each month. The Starter tier is designed for businesses serving one province and its surroundings, the Growth tier for businesses serving several provinces or running several branches, and the Pro tier for companies selling or providing services across Türkiye. The fees in the table apply as of November 2026. Our prices are set in Turkish lira; the US dollar amounts in this article are converted at today's Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) rate.

Prices are set in Turkish lira and exclude VAT. USD amounts use the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye rate of November 12, 2026 (1 USD = ₺50.17).

In what order does the work proceed?

The flow of work is the same in every tier. The first month's work can be summed up as setup, technical audit and the target keyword list. This work is done once, so it corresponds to the one-time setup fee. In the following months, content, technical fixes and the monthly report continue on a regular basis. Each quarter adds one more step: competitor and results review, plan update.

The technical audit in the setup month sets the task list for the months that follow. The audit ranks problems such as pages that are not indexed, slow templates, duplicate titles and missing redirects by importance. On a site with many technical problems, the first months go mostly into fixes; on a site with solid foundations, content and page improvements start earlier.

The quarterly review matters, because the keyword list and content plan drawn up in the first month should not stay fixed. As new searches start getting impressions in Search Console, competitors publish new pages and the business changes the services it wants to promote, the plan is updated too.

What should you expect in the first 3 months?

According to Google's SEO Starter Guide, some changes take effect within a few hours and others only after a few months. The guide recommends waiting a few weeks before deciding whether a change has worked. So the first three months are better seen as the period when the groundwork is laid, rather than a period of results.

In the first month, the technical audit is done, measurement tools are set up, and the target keyword list and content plan are drawn up. In the second and third months, the technical fixes are completed, priority pages are improved and the first content is published. In this period, the report mostly shows the work done, the pages indexed and the change in impressions. Changes in clicks and conversions usually become clear in the months after that.

Rankings, traffic or sales cannot be guaranteed. In its "Do you need an SEO?" page, Google states plainly that no one can guarantee a number one ranking on Google and advises against working with anyone who does. This principle is also written into our contracts: We do not guarantee results. We commit to the work we will do and the metrics we will report.

What should a monthly SEO report include?

A good report answers two questions: what was done this month, and how did it affect the metrics? A report made only of charts, without listing the work done, does not show what the fee paid for. A report made only of a task list does not show whether the work is heading in the right direction.

The report's data should come from Search Console and Analytics accounts opened in your name, so you can verify the numbers in the report yourself. The report call takes place once a quarter in the Growth tier and once a month in the Pro tier. For questions to ask when comparing quotes, see our article on SEO agencies vs freelance specialists; for fee details, see our article on SEO pricing.

What to ask when choosing a consultant or firm

The questions suggested in Google's page are a good starting point: examples of previous work and success stories, whether they follow Google Search Essentials, what results they expect and in what timeframe, how success will be measured, experience in your industry and region, and whether all changes will be shared with you along with the reasons for them.

The page recommends giving read-only access in Search Console during the audit stage. Bulk link selling, promises to submit your site to thousands of search engines and claims of a special relationship with Google are listed as warning signs. According to the page, as the site owner you are responsible for the work done by the firm you hire.