SEO Johannesburg
An SEO company in Johannesburg that starts with a fixed-price audit, not a monthly contract. You see what is holding your site back, and what to fix first, before you commit to monthly work.
- Since 2001
25 years - 20+ years
with the same clients - 2025
most recent rebuilds for some of them
Start with an audit, not a retainer
Our SEO services in Johannesburg begin with an audit at a fixed price: R6,500 incl. VAT. We check how search engines see your site, how clearly each page says what you offer, how you appear in local results and who you are up against. You get a prioritised list of what to fix, and then you decide what happens next. The audit takes about a week, and it is scheduled into our calendar when it is booked.
A monthly retainer agreed before anyone has looked at your site is a guess. The audit replaces the guess with evidence. Google’s own advice on hiring an SEO points the same way. It says an audit should give you realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved, and that if anyone guarantees you first place in the results, you should find someone else.
If you go on to a monthly retainer within 30 days, half the audit fee is credited against your first month. If you don’t, you keep a clear picture of where your site stands, with no monthly commitment.
What the audit covers
Four questions about your site, and one list at the end.
| Part | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Technical | Can search engines reach, read and index the pages that matter, and is anything on the site holding them back? |
| On-page | Does each page make clear what it offers, in the words your customers search with? |
| Local | Is your Google Business Profile verified and complete, and where do you appear on the map for each area you target? |
| Competitors | Who appears where you want to be, and what do their pages have that yours don’t? |
We read your Search Console data through read-only access, review your backlinks and Manual actions report, map each search you want to be found for to a page, and check that AI search tools can reach your site and how your business appears in AI answers. We advise against paid links. Everything goes into one prioritised fix list, most important first, and every fix comes with an estimate of the work involved.
Making the fixes is not part of the audit. Content, on-page, local and link work is part of the monthly retainer, and so are small technical fixes. Bigger fixes, and anything else outside it, are quoted per task before we start.
What a proper SEO audit covers, and what free SEO checkers miss
What a monthly SEO engagement looks like
The retainer is the ongoing work: from R7,500 a month incl. VAT, with a short report every month, for a minimum of six months. After the six months it runs month to month, with one calendar month’s notice. Each report shows what went live since the last one, real numbers against your baseline, the same searches repeated by area and device, and what to do next. Results take time. Google’s SEO starter guide says some changes might take effect in a few hours and others could take several months.
Content and on-page work
New pages, and better existing ones, that answer the questions your customers search for, with the titles, headings, descriptions and internal links that make each page’s subject clear.
Local SEO
Each month we check your Google Business Profile and track where you appear in map results for your main searches, area by area. If you want, we also post updates and reply to reviews for you. Google’s guide to local ranking says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity.
Link acquisition
Links to your site from other relevant websites, starting with the free routes: reclaiming lost links, supplier, industry-body and local listings, and directories. We use paid placements only when free work can’t close the gap, never link sellers or private blog networks. Reports count referring domains, not raw backlinks. Google’s SEO starter guide says Google finds pages mainly through links, and its guide to local ranking says links count towards how well known a business is locally.
Why SEO and hosting from the same supplier is faster
Many fixes SEO turns up are technical, and a company that builds and hosts your site can make them itself. Google’s own list of what SEOs do includes technical advice on hosting, redirects and error pages, and its spam policies say sites with hacked content may rank lower or not appear at all.
Our managed hosting runs on LiteSpeed, with daily off-site backups (restore included). Our care plans, from R975 a month incl. VAT with hosting included, add Wordfence monitoring, and your site is backed up before every update.
Every Business and Professional website we build is set up with Rank Math, Google Analytics 4, Search Console and a Google Business Profile, so there is a record to measure against from the first day.
Some of the businesses whose sites we look after, and a rescue that shows why security belongs in the same place:
Client since 2009
Financial Crime Risk Management Consultants
Their 2025 rebuild added a learning platform and a custom plugin that matches their clients and suppliers using AI. We built the site, and we host and maintain it.
Client since 2025
Thrive Raw Food For Dogs
We built the store in 2025 and still look after it: hosting, maintenance and support, analytics, SEO and Google Ads.
Client since 2026
Xscape4u
Referred to us after a compromise: the site was being injected with links to offshore casino sites. We rebuilt the platform clean, with encryption and Wordfence.
What the audit and the retainer cost
One fixed price for the audit, and a published starting price for the retainer. All prices in South African rand (ZAR), incl. VAT.
SEO audit
R6,500 incl. VAT
Technical, on-page, local and competitor checks, with a prioritised fix list.
Not included: making the fixes.
See a sample audit report (a fictional example)
Half credited against the first month if the retainer starts within 30 days.
SEO retainer
from R7,500 /mo incl. VAT
Content, on-page, small technical fixes (bigger ones quoted per task), local SEO with Google Business Profile care, link acquisition and monthly reporting.
Not included: Google Ads, paid social or ad spend.
Six-month minimum, then month to month with one calendar month’s notice.
Small technical fixes are part of the retainer. Bigger ones, and other work the retainer doesn’t cover, are quoted per task before we start. Our full care plan, R2,450 a month incl. VAT, includes two hours of changes every month.
Relationships measured in decades
Some of the clients who have been with us for twenty years or more.
No public access.
Client since before 2005
Network Dynamics
When they became a client they traded as Flower Dynamics.
Logistics management system, now a custom WordPress plugin.
First built in the 2000s, upgraded in 2014, and replaced in 2026 by the plugin, which runs the business today.
Client since 2005
Tin Soldier
Most recently rebuilt in April 2025.
Client since 2005
Something Fab
Formerly ABFAB Online. Most recently rebuilt in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How much does SEO cost in South Africa?
With us, an SEO audit costs R6,500 and a monthly SEO retainer starts from R7,500 a month, both incl. VAT. The retainer has a six-month minimum, and if it starts within 30 days of the audit, half the audit fee is credited against the first month. Whoever you get quotes from, compare what the monthly fee pays for, not only the figure. More in what SEO costs in South Africa, and what you should get for it.
What does an SEO company do?
It makes your website easier for search engines to understand, and easier for the right customers to find. Google’s own list of what SEOs do includes reviewing a site’s content and structure, technical advice on hosting, redirects and error pages, content development and keyword research. Our retainer covers content, on-page work, local SEO, link acquisition and monthly reporting, after an audit that shows what matters first. Our plain-English guide to SEO goes further.
What is the best SEO company in South Africa?
The one that can show you its work before you pay for it. Google’s advice on hiring an SEO is to ask for examples of previous work, how long the company has been in business and its experience in your country or city, and to be wary of anyone who guarantees rankings: no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. Our answers: in business since 2001, clients named on our work page with links to their live sites, and prices published on this page.
Which company is best for SEO?
Usually one that can look after the whole website, not only its keywords. Much of SEO is technical, and fixes to hosting, redirects and error pages sit with whoever builds and hosts the site. That is how we work: one studio in Midrand, Johannesburg, that builds WordPress websites, hosts them and does the SEO.
Is SEO replaced by AI?
No. Google’s guidance for site owners says SEO best practices remain relevant for its AI features, AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that there are no additional requirements to appear in them. A page still has to be indexed and eligible to show in Google Search with a snippet before it can appear there as a supporting link, and those appearances are counted in Search Console with the rest of your search traffic. More in how to get your business cited by ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews.
Do I have to sign a retainer after the audit?
No. The audit stands on its own, at a fixed R6,500 incl. VAT for the checks and a prioritised fix list. If you start a monthly retainer within 30 days, half the fee is credited against your first month. If you don’t, there is nothing more to pay.
Will Google Ads help my SEO?
No. Google’s advice on hiring an SEO says that advertising with Google won’t have any effect on your site’s presence in its search results, and that it never accepts money to include or rank sites there. Our SEO retainer doesn’t include Google Ads, paid social or ad spend.
Related services
What our clients say
I have been working with Claude for over 20 years, and last night he properly pulled a rabbit out of a hat for me! Stunning wordpress site designed and built within two hours. Thank you!!
Google review
Claud from Fyre Interactive recently developed a website for me and did a truly outstanding job. When faced with a challenge he will persist and solve to full customer expectation and satisfaction. It was the best decision to select him as a partner for this project.
Google review
I have worked closed with Claude and the Fyre team and its one of the easiest web developers to work with. He is attentive and responsive to requests at all times whether its email or Whatsapp.
He also does not pad his costs and so the service is value for money. I highly recommend Claude for hosting, web development and other services.
Google review
Read our reviews on Google Review us on Google All our reviews
Start with the audit
Send us your website’s address to book an SEO audit: a fixed R6,500 incl. VAT, half credited against your first month if a retainer starts within 30 days.
Great service deliverables – Supportive, patient, reachable at all times and responsive
Samantha M. · Xscape4u · Google review