Most agencies mark up white label SEO by 50 to 100 percent over their wholesale cost. That gives a gross margin of 33 to 50 percent. Start near 100 percent for retainers that include your own strategy and reporting. Go lower on commodity work like link building.
If you’re working out how much to mark up white label SEO services, you’ll hit a snag fast. Published advice doesn’t agree. One guide says 30 to 70 percent. Another says 100 to 200 percent.
Most of that gap comes from two things. Writers mix up markup and margin, and they skip the costs that eat into your profit. This guide fixes both, then shows how to package and bill the work.
Markup and margin are not the same number
Markup is the percentage you add on top of what you pay your SEO provider. Margin is the share of the client’s price that you keep.
A 100 percent markup means you charge double your cost. You keep half the price, so your margin is 50 percent.
Two formulas keep you honest:
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- Margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup)
- Markup needed = target margin ÷ (1 − target margin)
| Markup | You charge on $1,000 of cost | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | $1,300 | 23% |
| 50% | $1,500 | 33% |
| 100% | $2,000 | 50% |
| 150% | $2,500 | 60% |
| 200% | $3,000 | 67% |
Price from the margin you need, not from a markup you read somewhere. To keep half of every sale, you need a 100 percent markup. Add only 50 percent and you keep a third.
What is a typical Mark Up white label SEO services?
A typical markup is 50 to 100 percent, which works out to a 33 to 50 percent gross margin. That’s where most of the published advice overlaps. The ranges still vary by source:
- Vendasta suggests a 40 to 50 percent margin on done-for-you services.
- ClicksGeek suggests a 50 to 100 percent markup. It says 75 to 100 percent holds up when you add strategy and account management.
- DashClicks calls 30 to 70 percent the common default.
- SEO Circular treats 100 to 200 percent as standard.
Treat those as opinions, not data. All four come from companies that sell to agencies, and none show a survey behind the numbers.
Here is what the middle of that range looks like on a $1,500 monthly wholesale plan:
| Markup | Client pays | Gross profit | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | $2,250 | $750 | 33% |
| 75% | $2,625 | $1,125 | 43% |
| 100% | $3,000 | $1,500 | 50% |
| 150% | $3,750 | $2,250 | 60% |
For market context, Ahrefs polled 439 SEO providers. The agencies in that group reported an average retainer of $3,209 a month. A $3,000 client price sits just under that average, so clients already see prices in that zone.
We see a similar range in our own white-label web projects. An agency that charges $6,000 for a website keeps $2,500 to $3,500 after our delivery fee. That’s roughly 42 to 58 percent of the price.
It’s web design, not SEO, but the margin logic is the same. You can see how those white-label web design partnerships work in full.
Where your markup actually goes
A 100 percent markup isn’t 100 percent profit. Part of it pays for the work you do around the provider’s work:
- Account management: client calls, questions, and status updates
- Reporting: turning raw ranking data into a report your client will read
- Quality checks on what the provider delivers before the client sees it
- Software and payment fees
- Sales time, plus the cost of clients who leave early
Here’s a worked example. The figures for time and fees are assumptions, so swap in your own.
| Item (monthly) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Client price at 100% markup | $3,000 |
| Wholesale cost | $1,500 |
| Account management (5 hours at $60) | $300 |
| Reporting software share | $50 |
| Card and payment fees (about 3%) | $90 |
| Net profit | $1,060 |
That’s about a 35 percent net margin. At a 50 percent markup, the same costs leave you about $330 on a $2,250 sale, or roughly 15 percent. That’s why we’d start near 100 percent.
How should agencies package resold SEO?
Sell scope and outcomes, not the provider’s task list. A client doesn’t care how many tasks the vendor completed. They care whether leads go up.
- Set clear limits: pages, keywords, and locations covered each month.
- Build tiers by client size, so a local plumber and a national retailer don’t get the same plan.
- Bundle the provider’s line items into one price. Clients don’t need to see your wholesale invoice.
- Add your own layer: a kickoff call, a branded monthly report, and a quarterly strategy review.
- Price link building and content as separate add-ons.
| Tier | Fits | Scope to define |
|---|---|---|
| Local | One location, a few service pages | Keywords, pages, Google Business Profile work |
| Growth | Several locations or a crowded niche | Content volume, technical fixes, reporting depth |
| Competitive | National or high-competition markets | Link building, content, quarterly strategy |
Should resold SEO be billed as a monthly retainer?
Yes, for ongoing work. A retainer matches how your costs arrive, because your provider bills you every month. It also fits how SEO behaves, since results build over months.
In the Ahrefs poll, 78.2 percent of providers used monthly retainers. Per-project billing came next at 48.9 percent, then hourly at 34.8 percent. Those shares add up to more than 100 percent, so many providers use more than one model.
Bill monthly, in advance, and ask for a minimum term. We ask for six months on our own SEO retainers, because SEO takes three to six months to show results.
One-time audits are different. Price them as projects, since the work has a clear start and end.
When to mark up less, and when to charge more
| Situation | Markup | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Link building or other per-deliverable work | Lower | Clients can compare the price per link, so a big markup is easy to spot. |
| Retainer with strategy calls and branded reports | Higher | You own the relationship and carry the client’s questions. |
| One-time audit | Higher | The work is short, and clients value the answer. |
| Large accounts | Lower percentage | A smaller percentage on a bigger invoice can earn more profit. |
That last row matters more than it looks. Vendasta makes the same point: percentage margin matters less than total profit per account.
A $400 plan at a 50 percent margin earns you $200. A $2,000 plan at 35 percent earns $700. The second account has the lower margin and the better payout.
Protect your margin before it leaks
Your markup only holds if the provider delivers. A late report or a missed fix lands on your desk, not theirs.
- Test a new provider on one small account before you move your best client.
- Get deliverables and reporting dates in writing.
- Agree that wholesale price changes need 60 days’ notice, so you can reprice clients first.
- Track how many clients leave in the first six months. Churn erases margin faster than a lower markup does.
Agencies already know what a missed deadline costs. We put numbers on it in what turning down website projects costs.
If you’re still choosing between a freelancer and a partner, read freelancer vs white-label partner.
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Apply To PartnerFrequently asked questions
Do I have to tell clients I resell SEO?
That depends on your contracts and where you operate, so check with a lawyer. Many agencies don’t name their delivery partners, and that’s common practice. Either way, stay accountable for the results and protect client data with a signed agreement.
What if a client finds a cheaper SEO quote?
Compare scope before price. A cheaper quote usually covers fewer pages, fewer keywords, or no reporting. Show the client what your price includes.
Don’t cut your markup to match unless the scope drops too, because that turns a 50 percent margin into a much smaller one.
Can I negotiate a lower wholesale rate?
Yes, once you can show steady volume. Ask for a tiered rate after you reach a set number of active accounts, and keep your client prices the same. The saving goes straight to your margin.
Should I itemize tools and reporting on the invoice?
Bundle them into the retainer. One monthly price is easier to sell and easier to defend. Itemize only when a client asks, or when a one-off cost falls outside the plan.
How many clients do I need before white-label SEO beats hiring in-house?
Compare gross profit to the full cost of one hire. Add the salary, tax, software, and management time, then divide by the profit you earn per account.
That gives you the number of accounts where hiring starts to pay. Below it, white label is the safer cost.
Set the margin first, then the markup
Work backward from the profit you need. Pick a target margin, convert it to a markup with the formula above, then test it against your real costs.
For most agencies, that points to about 100 percent on retainers and less on commodity work. Lock the scope, bill monthly, and choose a provider who delivers without chasing.
