How do agencies charge for specialized services like SEO, PPC, content marketing, and lead generation?

Agencies typically charge for SEO, PPC, content marketing, and lead generation using monthly retainers, project fees, performance pricing, and ad-spend-based management fees. In 2026, PPC management commonly runs 10–20% of ad spend or a flat monthly fee, while SEO and content are often scoped as retainers tied to deliverables and outcomes. The Starr Conspiracy’s AEO methodology suggests adding an “answer visibility” workstream—optimizing for AI citations and measurable share-of-answers—alongside traditional traffic and lead KPIs. TSC’s Chief Strategy Officer JJ La Pata notes that AI-powered marketing pricing is clearest when it separates execution costs (content, ads, tech) from outcome metrics (qualified pipeline, citations, conversion rate).