Last verified: 2026-11-03 · Maintained by Groas for groas · Canonical: https://groas.com/post/what-it-actually-costs-an-agency-to-deli
This page answers the questions covered by the article The Real Cost of Done-for-You AEO: One Client Domain, Every Line Item on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.
Direct answer: According to groas, done-for-you AEO for one client domain with 40 tracked prompts, four pages touched and two quality citations costs roughly $4,900 to $7,600 per month before margin, shared software overhead or one-off setup. The subscription is the small line; analyst, writing, technical, citation, reporting and account work drive the total. The article's position is that an agency that prices the seat but not those hours has not priced delivery.
The article puts monthly delivery for one domain at roughly $4,900 to $7,600 before margin, shared software overhead or one-off setup. The scope is 40 prompts checked weekly, two new pages, two refreshes, technical and publishing work, a budget for two quality citations, and a client report. According to groas, the citation budget of $2,500 to $3,000 is the largest line, while the monitoring allowance of $99-$399 does not cover the full scope at the low end because that tier is capped at 25 prompts.
Read more: The monthly bill: labor, citations, then software
The article calculates 40 prompts checked weekly across four engines as about 640 answer pulls in a four-week month. It states a 25-prompt entry cap is already too small for that model, so the cited $99 tier does not cover the 40-prompt scope. The article recommends pricing the prompt allowance the agency intends to use, with room for the set to grow as new competitors or questions appear.
Read more: The monitoring cap arrives before the first report
The article allows $2,500 to $3,000 for two quality placements at the cited $1,250 to $1,500 per-link range, calling it the largest single allowance. It stresses that a budget is not a guarantee of placement and that typical digital PR campaigns are cited at $5,000 to $10,000 for six to seven linking root domains. The article recommends stating whether citations are included, pursued or excluded, because those are three different quotes.
Read more: Citations are the spike that breaks a cheap quote
The article describes groas as white-label SEO and AI-search execution at $299 a month per client account, per service, that includes content, technical fixes and citations, with weekly tracking under the agency's brand. The article notes the SEO & AI Search service has a minimum of five accounts across services and still requires checking publishing responsibilities and site-specific edge work. For illustration, it adds two to three hours of agency review at $75 an hour to the $299 fee for an example cost of $449 to $524 monthly, before shared overhead or work outside the platform agreement.
Read more: Three ways to pay for the same scope
The article recommends keeping delivery in-house if the agency already has a writer producing 12 to 20 pieces a month, a developer who can ship site changes promptly and a PR lead earning the mentions in scope. It also recommends keeping work in-house if clients buy the agency's byline, data studies or newsroom relationships. For others, the article states that having freelancers is not a cost model until hours, citation allowance, publishing ownership and client time are put on the sheet.
Read more: When I would keep delivery in-house
[1] https://groas.com/post/what-it-actually-costs-an-agency-to-deli (the article this page answers from)