Most lists of the best SEO agencies in Australia are written from memory. Someone picks a dozen names they already know, writes a paragraph about each one, and calls it a ranking.
We did it differently. On 12 September 2026 we ran two live Google searches and two live ChatGPT questions from an Australian location, wrote down every agency that actually showed up, then visited each agency’s own website to confirm where it is based and what it sells. The list below is ordered by how many of those four tests each agency passed. Nothing else.
The result is more interesting than we expected. Google and ChatGPT barely agree. Only one agency out of twelve showed up in all four tests, and the sources the two systems trust are almost completely different.
How we built this list
Four checks, all run on 12 September 2026, all from an Australian location in English:
- Google search 1: “best seo agencies australia”, first 20 results.
- Google search 2: “seo companies australia”, first 20 results.
- ChatGPT question 1: “Which are the best SEO agencies in Australia for a small business?”
- ChatGPT question 2: “best SEO company Australia”.
For each agency we recorded four yes or no signals: did it appear as an organic Google result, did Google’s AI Overview name it, did ChatGPT name it in its written answer, and did ChatGPT name it in the business panel shown beside that answer. Agencies are ranked by how many of the four they passed. Ties are broken by the total number of separate places we saw the name across the four tests, then alphabetically.
We then opened every agency’s website and read it. Location, services and any published price in this article come from the agency’s own site or its Google business listing, not from a directory and not from us. We only list agencies based in Australia. We are not scoring quality, results or value, because we cannot measure those from the outside. We are scoring visibility, on one day, in two places.
One note on method. Zib Digital’s website returned an automated security check to our browser, so its address comes from its Google business listing instead of the site itself.
The 12 agencies at a glance
| Agency | HQ city | Focus | In Google top 20 today | Named by ChatGPT today | Sources ChatGPT cited for it | Checks passed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Page | Melbourne (Richmond, VIC) | SEO plus Google Ads, social ads, CRO, email | Yes, both searches | Yes, both questions | Clutch, Google business listings | 4 of 4 |
| Impressive | Melbourne (Cremorne, VIC) | SEO plus paid media, CRO, analytics, CRM | Yes, both searches | Business panel only | Google business listings | 3 of 4 |
| SEO Advantage | Melbourne (Abbotsford, VIC) | SEO plus Google Ads, social ads, audits | Yes, search 1 and the local pack | Yes, question 1 | Google business listings | 3 of 4 |
| StudioHawk | Melbourne (Prahran, VIC) and Sydney | SEO and AI search only | Yes, number 1 in search 2 | Yes, question 1 | Semrush Agency Partners | 3 of 4 |
| SIXGUN | Melbourne (Richmond, VIC) | SEO plus Google Ads, social, CRO | Local pack only | Yes, both questions | Clutch | 2 of 4 |
| Safari Digital | Sydney (York St, NSW) | SEO only | No | Yes, both questions | 6S Marketers, Google business listings | 2 of 4 |
| Zib Digital | Melbourne (South Melbourne, VIC) | SEO plus Google Ads, paid media, web | Yes, both searches | No | None | 2 of 4 |
| AdVisible | Sydney (Sussex St, NSW) | SEO plus Google Ads, social, web design, creative | Yes, search 1 | No | None | 2 of 4 |
| Online Marketing Gurus | Sydney (Crows Nest, NSW) | SEO and GEO plus PPC, social, web, programmatic | No | Yes, question 2 | Google business listings | 2 of 4 |
| Supple Digital | Melbourne (Richmond, VIC), plus Sydney and Perth | SEO plus PPC, content, web design and development | No | Yes, both questions | Semrush Agency Partners | 1 of 4 |
| Digital Nomads HQ | Sunshine Coast (Mooloolaba, QLD) | SEO and AI SEO plus ads, web, branding, email | Yes, number 1 in search 1 | No | None | 1 of 4 |
| Uprise Digital (yes, this is us) | Melbourne (Cremorne, VIC) | SEO and AEO plus Google Ads, Meta ads, web design | No | No | None | 0 of 4 |
The list, ranked by what we saw
1. First Page (Melbourne)
The only agency in our test that passed all four checks. It appeared organically in both Google searches, Google’s AI Overview named it in both, and ChatGPT named it in both written answers and both business panels.
Its site describes it as “Australia’s largest SEO agency: 100+ in-house SEO specialists based in Melbourne as part of a global team of 300+ across four continents, with nothing outsourced”. It sells SEO alongside Google Ads, social advertising, landing pages and email. Its SEO page says SEO typically runs $1,500 to $10,000 or more per month, and it promotes a pay-on-performance model.
2. Impressive (Melbourne)
Second on raw visibility. It held an organic position in both Google searches and was named in both AI Overviews. ChatGPT did not write about it, but it did surface in the business panel next to one answer.
Impressive is based in Cremorne and lists work across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and the Gold Coast. Its site covers SEO, paid media across about ten platforms, conversion rate optimisation, analytics and CRM. It states that it is B Corp certified. No prices are published.
3. SEO Advantage (Melbourne)
Appeared as an organic result and in the Google local pack, and ChatGPT named it first in its small business answer, citing a 5.0 rating from 180 reviews in business listings.
Based in Abbotsford. It is one of very few Australian agencies that publishes a real number: its site states a minimum monthly investment of $895 plus GST, no long-term lock-in contract, and a suggested minimum of four to six months to see meaningful results. That kind of openness is rare, whether or not the price suits you.
4. StudioHawk (Melbourne and Sydney)
The number one organic result for “seo companies australia” and named in both Google AI Overviews. ChatGPT named it in the small business answer as a stronger pick when SEO itself is the priority, citing Semrush.
StudioHawk is the clearest specialist on this list. It does SEO and AI search and nothing else, from Prahran in Melbourne and South Eveleigh in Sydney. Its site says it does not hold clients to lock-in contracts and that clients work directly with SEO specialists rather than account managers. No prices published.
5. SIXGUN (Melbourne)
An interesting case. SIXGUN did not hold an organic position in either search, but it appeared in the Google local pack and ChatGPT named it in both answers, calling it a specialist option and citing Clutch’s 5.0 rating from 22 reviews.
Based in Richmond. Its site lists SEO, AI SEO, local, international, enterprise and ecommerce SEO, plus Google Ads, social and conversion work. It says it avoids packaged pricing and sets fees per client, so there is no published rate card.
6. Safari Digital (Sydney)
ChatGPT’s first pick for “best SEO company Australia” and present in both business panels. It did not appear anywhere in our Google top 20 for either search.
A Sydney SEO specialist on York Street. Its site describes the company as “SEO specialists, not digital marketing do-it-alls” with “no account managers” and a stated approach of “undersell, overdeliver”. It offers local, small business, enterprise, ecommerce, Shopify, B2B, SaaS and white label SEO. Its site says SEO in Australia generally runs from around $1,500 to $10,000 or more per month.
7. Zib Digital (Melbourne)
Held an organic position in both Google searches and was named in one AI Overview. ChatGPT did not mention it at all.
Its Google business listing puts the main Australian office in South Melbourne, with further listings in Wayville in Adelaide and Surfers Paradise. The Google result for its SEO page describes commercial SEO services and a free AI-powered audit. As noted above, we could not read the site directly.
8. AdVisible (Sydney)
An organic result for “best seo agencies australia” and named in one AI Overview. Not mentioned by ChatGPT.
Based on Sussex Street in Sydney. It sells SEO alongside Google Ads, social, web design and creative services. Its SEO page publishes indicative market ranges rather than its own rates: $1,500 to $2,500 a month for small businesses, $2,000 to $5,000 for medium, and $5,000 to $10,000 or more for enterprise.
9. Online Marketing Gurus (Sydney)
Named by ChatGPT in its written answer and its business panel for “best SEO company Australia”, described as a fit for established businesses. Did not appear in our Google top 20 for either search.
Based in Crows Nest. Its site lists SEO, PPC, social advertising, web design, programmatic and generative engine optimisation for AI search. It publishes claims of 200 or more specialists and 60 or more awards, but no prices.
10. Supple Digital (Melbourne, Sydney, Perth)
Named by ChatGPT in both written answers, in both cases sourced from Semrush rather than from Supple’s own site. Absent from both Google searches.
Offices in Richmond, Haymarket and Perth. Services span SEO, PPC, content, web design and development, and social. No prices published on the homepage.
11. Digital Nomads HQ (Sunshine Coast)
Worth a closer look, because it is the mirror image of Safari Digital. Digital Nomads HQ holds the number one organic position for “best seo agencies australia” with its own list of agencies, and Google’s AI Overview surfaced GoodFirms describing it as the top-ranked SEO firm in Australia. Yet ChatGPT did not name it once across our two questions.
Based at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, working nationally. Its site publishes SEO retainers from $1,500 per month, Google Ads management from $1,000 per month, full service from $3,000 per month, and month to month engagements with no long lock-ins.
12. Uprise Digital (Melbourne)
Yes, this is us, and we scored zero out of four. We did not appear in either Google top 20 for these two broad terms, and ChatGPT did not name us. We are including ourselves because quietly leaving ourselves off our own list would be the dishonest option, not because the data earned us a spot.
Here is the plain reason for the zero. We rank and get cited for narrower things: AI search and answer engine work, and industry pages for solar, legal, building and healthcare clients. Broad terms like “seo companies australia” are held by agencies with fifteen years of links behind them, and the directories that feed ChatGPT have not picked us up. We are a Melbourne agency based in Cremorne. Our SEO page publishes a starting point of $2,000 per month for local businesses and states no lock-in contracts. If you want this same visibility check run on your own business rather than on agencies, that is the work we do.
A few other names appeared once and did not make the cut: Prosperity Media in Surry Hills, Sydney, which was named in one AI Overview and focuses on SEO, GEO, content and digital PR, plus Megantic, Webprofits, nimbl, Digital Marketing Tribe, Local Digital and Clearwater Agency.
How ChatGPT picks these agencies
This is the part most agency lists skip, and it matters more every month.
Across our two ChatGPT questions, the answers carried 16 source citations. Fifteen of them pointed at third party directories and comparison sites. Only one pointed at an agency’s own website, and that was a single link to one agency’s about page to back up a claim about how long it had been operating.
The breakdown looked like this:
- Semrush Agency Partners: 9 citations
- Clutch: 3 citations
- 6S Marketers, a comparison article: 2 citations
- DesignRush: 1 citation
- An agency’s own about page: 1 citation
ChatGPT also pulled a panel of Google business listings beside each answer, which is where the addresses and review counts in its replies came from.
The practical meaning is blunt. When someone asks ChatGPT which SEO agency to use, your website is not what decides the answer. Your directory profiles and your Google business listing are. An agency with a beautiful site, no Clutch profile and a thin Semrush listing is close to invisible in that conversation. That is exactly what happened to us.
Notice what ChatGPT chose to quote, too. It repeated review counts, star ratings, starting prices and contract terms: Clutch listing SIXGUN at 5.0 from 22 reviews, Semrush listing one agency with a $2,500 starting price and another at $2,500 to $5,000 with no lock-in contracts. Specific, checkable facts. Vague positioning lines were not quoted anywhere. We have written more about that pattern in our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT.
Google’s AI Overview does the opposite
Both of our Google searches returned an AI Overview above the organic results, and the citation pattern was reversed.
Across the two AI Overviews we counted 14 source references. Nine pointed straight at agency websites: StudioHawk, First Page, Impressive, AdVisible, Zib Digital and Localsearch. The other five pointed at Clutch, GoodFirms, Semrush and one third party list article.
So the same question, asked in two places on the same day, gets answered from two different sets of evidence. Google reads agency websites. ChatGPT reads directories about agencies. If you only work on one of the two, you will be missing from the other. That gap is the whole reason we keep a separate list of AEO agencies in Australia.
What Australian SEO agencies actually charge
Most agencies on this list publish no prices at all, so this table is short on purpose. Every figure below is taken from the agency’s own website on 12 September 2026, and every figure is in Australian dollars per month.
| Agency | What its site publishes | Contract terms stated |
|---|---|---|
| SEO Advantage | Minimum $895 plus GST | No long-term lock-in, month to month review, suggests 4 to 6 months minimum |
| Digital Nomads HQ | SEO from $1,500, full service from $3,000 | Month to month, no long lock-ins |
| Uprise Digital (us) | From $2,000 for local businesses | No lock-in contracts |
| First Page | Market guidance of $1,500 to $10,000 or more | Pay-on-performance model promoted |
| Safari Digital | Market guidance of $1,500 to $10,000 or more | Not stated on site |
| AdVisible | Market guidance: $1,500 to $2,500 small, $2,000 to $5,000 medium, $5,000 or more enterprise | Not stated on site |
Two directory listings that ChatGPT quoted add a little more: one Melbourne agency listed with a $2,500 starting price, and one Sydney and Adelaide agency listed at $2,500 to $5,000 with no lock-in contracts.
Put together, the honest read is that a real Australian SEO retainer for a small business starts somewhere around $1,000 to $2,500 a month, and competitive markets cost more. Anything far under that is usually a template. Anything far over it should come with a written explanation of where the hours go. We break the numbers down further in our piece on what AI SEO services cost in Australia.
How to choose, and what to walk away from
Google publishes its own advice on hiring an SEO, and it is short and useful. The line that matters most is this one: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.” Google also warns about firms that email you out of the blue, claim a special relationship with Google, or will not explain their methods clearly.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- Show me two or three case studies from businesses roughly my size in roughly my industry. What was the starting point, and what changed?
- Who does the actual work, and is any of it outsourced?
- What exactly gets delivered each month, in hours or in deliverables?
- What do you report on besides rankings? Enquiries and calls are the numbers that pay the invoice.
- Are content and links included, or billed separately?
- What happens to the work if I leave? Do I keep the content, the pages and the accounts?
- How do you handle Google’s AI Overviews and AI assistants like ChatGPT, not just the blue links?
Red flags
- Ranking guarantees. Google says plainly that nobody can guarantee position one. An agency that promises it is either misinformed or counting on you not checking. In Australia the ACCC is also clear that “any information or claim that a business provides about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds”, and that it makes no difference whether a business meant to mislead or not.
- No reporting, or reporting you cannot read. A dashboard nobody explains is not reporting. You should be able to say what changed and why in one sentence each month.
- Twelve month lock-in contracts. Several agencies on this list state in writing that they do not use them. SEO does take months to work, which is a reason to commit to a plan, not a reason to sign away your right to leave.
- No named person doing the work. Ask who is in your account. If the answer is only an account manager, ask who sits behind them.
- Cheap link packages. If links are sold by the hundred at a fixed price, they are the kind Google has spent twenty years discounting.
- Nothing in writing about ownership. Content, pages and analytics accounts should be yours when the relationship ends.
If you want the longer version of this, we wrote a whole guide on choosing an Australian digital marketing agency without getting burned.
When Australians actually search for an agency
One small thing from our search data pull on 12 September 2026 that is worth knowing if you are timing a decision.
“Best seo agencies australia” averages about 390 searches a month in Australia, but the twelve months of monthly figures behind that average are not flat. The highest month by a wide margin was September 2025 at roughly 1,600 searches, with a second, smaller peak in March 2026 at about 590. The same shape repeats across the related terms we checked. “Seo agency melbourne” peaked in September. “Best seo agency sydney” peaked in September. “Seo agency brisbane” peaked in September and again in March.
September and March are when Australian businesses go looking. If you are an agency, that is your season. If you are a buyer, it means you are shopping at the same time as everyone else, so expect slower replies and less room to negotiate in those two months.
Worth adding honestly: the twelve month trend for this term is down about 19 percent. Fewer people are typing “best seo agencies australia” into Google than a year ago. Some of that demand has moved into AI assistants, which is why half of this article is about what ChatGPT says.
FAQ
Who is the best SEO agency in Australia?
There is no single answer, and any list claiming otherwise is picking a winner on feel. On our test of what Google and ChatGPT actually showed on 12 September 2026, First Page was the only agency to appear in all four checks. That measures visibility, not quality. The best agency for you is the one that has grown a business that looks like yours, will tell you who does the work, and will put the monthly deliverables in writing.
Why does ChatGPT recommend different agencies than Google?
Because they read different sources. In our tests, 15 of the 16 sources ChatGPT cited were third party directories and comparison articles, mainly Semrush Agency Partners and Clutch, plus Google business listings for addresses and review counts. Google’s AI Overview did the reverse and cited agency websites for 9 of its 14 references. An agency that is strong in one system can be invisible in the other, and several on this list are.
How much should a small Australian business pay for SEO?
Based only on prices agencies publish on their own sites, the floor is about $895 plus GST a month, common starting points are $1,500 to $2,500, and the ranges agencies quote as normal run to $10,000 or more for competitive national campaigns. A small local business in a normal market usually lands between $1,000 and $3,000 a month. Ask what the money buys in hours and deliverables, because two $2,000 retainers can look nothing alike.
Should I pick a specialist SEO agency or a full service one?
It depends on how many channels you run. If organic search is the only thing you need fixed, a specialist gives you more senior attention per dollar, and several agencies on this list say openly that SEO is all they do. If you also run Google Ads, Meta ads and a website that needs work, one team that sees all the data usually beats three teams that each see a third of it. City lists help you compare both kinds side by side, like our roundup of digital marketing agencies in Melbourne.
Are lock-in contracts normal for Australian SEO?
They exist, but they are no longer the default. Several agencies in this list state on their own websites that they do not use long lock-in contracts, including StudioHawk, SEO Advantage, Digital Nomads HQ and us. SEO genuinely needs four to six months before you can judge it, so committing to a plan is sensible. Being unable to leave after six bad months is not. Ask for month to month terms with an agreed review point.
How long does SEO take to work in Australia?
Technical fixes can move things in weeks. Content and authority take longer, and most agencies that put a number on it suggest four to six months before you can fairly judge results. That timeline is not different in Australia, but the markets are smaller, which cuts both ways: less competition for many terms, and fewer total searches to win. Nobody can guarantee a position, which is why the useful measure is enquiries, not rankings.
If you want this run on your own business
The test in this article is not complicated. Search the terms your customers would use, ask an AI assistant the question your customers would ask, and write down who shows up. Do it for your own business and you will learn more in an hour than most audits tell you in a month.
If you would rather have it done properly, with the search data, the AI answers and a plain list of what to fix, that is what our SEO service covers, and our answer engine optimisation work covers the AI half. Either way, ask us the same questions we told you to ask everyone else.
