If you search “best seo agency melbourne”, Google, ChatGPT and the other AI assistants will each hand you a different shortlist. So on 24 September 2026 we checked eight places at once: three Google searches, the map pack, Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode. StudioHawk and SEO Melbourne each appeared in six of the eight, SIXGUN and Supple Digital in five, and no agency appeared in all eight.
This post ranks 11 Melbourne agencies by that count and lists the facts each one publishes about itself. It is our own blog, so Uprise Digital is included at the bottom with its real score, which was zero.
Key findings
- 23 agency websites made Google’s top 20 across our three Melbourne searches. Only 6 of them were named in any of the seven AI answers we collected.
- The AI answers named 19 Melbourne agencies, and 15 of those were named by just one assistant.
- Impressive ranked number 2 on Google for all three searches and was named in no AI answer. Supple Digital missed Google’s top 20, yet four of the five assistants named it.
- Only 2 of the 11 agencies publish their own SEO packages with prices: SEO Melbourne (from $1,000 a month) and Top Rankings ($1,250 to $3,650 a month).
- A Google Ads click on “best seo agency melbourne” costs about $73, which shows how much agencies want this search.
How we ranked Melbourne SEO agencies
We counted eight signals. An agency scored a point for each place it appeared at least once:
- Google top 20 for “seo agency melbourne”, “best seo agency melbourne” or “seo melbourne”.
- Google map pack, the three listings next to the map, on any of those searches.
- ChatGPT, asked for the best SEO agency in Melbourne for a small business, and separately for a trades business.
- Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode, asked the small business question (Perplexity also got the trades one).
- Bing top 20 for “seo agency melbourne”.
To be ranked, an agency needed a Melbourne office on its own site or Google listing. The ranking measures how easy an agency is to find, which says a lot about its own marketing and little about the work it will do for you. A quiet agency that grows by referral can be excellent and score zero. For how we would scope a campaign ourselves, see our Melbourne SEO service page.
Best SEO agency Melbourne rankings: the signal table
Where an agency ranked on Google, the table shows its best position across the three searches.
| Agency | Google top 20 | Map pack | ChatGPT | Gemini | Perplexity | Claude | AI Mode | Bing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StudioHawk | Yes (#1) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 6 |
| SEO Melbourne | Yes (#10) | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| SIXGUN | Yes (#4) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | 5 |
| Supple Digital | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | 5 |
| First Page | Yes (#13) | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | 3 |
| Impressive | Yes (#2) | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| Zib Digital | Yes (#3) | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| A.P. Web Solutions | Yes (#19) | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | 2 |
| eMarket Experts | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | 2 |
| Top Rankings | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | 2 |
| Xugar | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | 2 |
| Uprise Digital (us) | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
The 11 Melbourne agencies, one by one
Facts below come from each agency’s own website, read on 24 September 2026, or its Google listing where we say so. We have not worked with any of them, so we make no claims about quality.
1. StudioHawk (Prahran)
Number 1 on Google for all three searches, in Bing’s top 20, and named by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude. The site lists APAC Search Awards 2026 wins, including Best Large SEO Agency of the Year, and an Officeworks case study with 60% more organic traffic. It sells AI search optimisation and has a page for tradie and contractor SEO. No prices are published.
2. SEO Melbourne (Cremorne)
Ranked 10th for “seo melbourne”, held the top map pack spot on that search, and was named by ChatGPT (in both answers), Claude and AI Mode. It says it takes one client per industry, so it will not work for your direct competitor. It publishes month to month packages from $1,000 to $2,500 for local SEO up to $5,000 to $10,000 or more for competitive sectors. ChatGPT’s trades answer cited its Gallant Plumbing case study.
3. SIXGUN (Richmond)
Ranked 4th for “best seo agency melbourne”, held a map pack spot on two searches, and was named by ChatGPT (both answers), Gemini and AI Mode. Its Google listing shows 5.0 from 103 reviews. Its AI SEO page says that work starts from $1,000 plus GST a month on top of an SEO campaign; the general SEO price is not published. A Novotel case study reports 84% more organic purchasers.
4. Supple Digital (Richmond)
The clearest case of an agency the AI assistants know better than Google does. It was outside the organic top 20 on all three searches, yet ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity (in both answers) and AI Mode named it, and it held a map pack spot. Its Richmond Google listing shows 4.9 from 362 reviews, the highest count on any Melbourne Google listing we recorded. It lists AI SEO among its services. No prices on the pages we read.
5. First Page (Richmond)
Ranked 13th for “best seo agency melbourne”, in Bing’s top 20, and named by Perplexity. The site claims more than 900 specialists across its group and sells AI SEO, GEO and AEO. It quotes a market range of $1,500 to $10,000 or more a month rather than its own price, and says “We guarantee to beat your results by 40% or we work for free”. Ask for those terms in writing.
6. Impressive (Cremorne)
Number 2 on Google for all three searches and in Bing’s top 20, but named in no AI answer. The site says it runs from Cremorne with 80 specialists and lists the Australian Financial Review Most Innovative Company award for 2024. Its GEO case study reports ChatGPT traffic up 193% for Podium. Its Melbourne performance page says it works best with businesses investing $10,000 or more a month across channels.
7. Zib Digital (South Melbourne)
Ranked 3rd on two searches and in Bing’s top 20. Its website refused our requests on the day with a “too many requests” error, so we could not read it. Its Google listing puts it at Level 7, 34 Eastern Road, South Melbourne, with 4.8 from 87 reviews, and it also has listings in Adelaide, Surfers Paradise and Christchurch. Everything else about Zib is unchecked.
8. A.P. Web Solutions (West Melbourne)
Google AI Mode listed it first, and it ranked 19th for “seo agency melbourne”. The site lists APAC Search Awards Best Small SEO Agency 2023 and a Global Search Awards 2026 win for Best Local SEO Campaign (Small), and says each client gets 3 to 5 dedicated team members. It quotes a Melbourne market range of $1,500 to $5,500 or more a month and says “We guarantee our process, not specific outcomes.”
9. eMarket Experts (St Kilda Road)
The only business in the map pack on all three Google searches, and ChatGPT named it once, but it was not in the organic top 20. Its site and Google listing both show 4.9 from 114 reviews. It sells what it calls LLM SEO for AI search tools, and one case study reports a 1,300% rise in online sales for Safety Xpress. The site calls its services “guaranteed”, so ask exactly what that covers.
10. Top Rankings (Collins Street)
Named in Perplexity’s trades answer and in Bing’s top 20. It publishes four SEO packages at $1,250, $1,750, $2,450 and $3,650 a month, says “No contracts, ever”, and notes it is now part of DUNK Agency. Packages from $1,750 include AI and LLM tracking. It has pages for plumbers, roofers and tradies, and an Approved Electrix case study with 318% more keywords in the top 3.
11. Xugar (Southbank)
Named by Claude and listed twice in Bing’s top 20. The site says it has operated for 9 years, lists APAC Search Awards finalist status in 2025, and offers no lock-in contracts. Its Google listing shows 4.7 from 104 reviews. It describes AI work aimed at Google AI Overviews and citations in ChatGPT and Gemini, and quotes an Australian market range of $1,000 to $10,000 or more a month.
12. Uprise Digital (Cremorne, this is us)
We scored zero: not in Google’s top 20 for any search, not in the map pack or Bing, and not named in any of the seven AI answers. Leaving ourselves off our own list would have been the less honest choice. We are based at 10 to 20 Gwynne Street, Cremorne. Our Melbourne SEO page publishes a starting price of $2,000 a month with no lock-in contract, and we sell SEO, AI search work (AEO and GEO), Google Ads and web design, mostly to builders, trades, solar and legal businesses.
Two Queensland agencies also turned up in Melbourne results: Digital Nomads HQ (3 signals, based in Mooloolaba) and Digital Surfer (2 signals, head office in Burleigh Heads). Neither lists a Melbourne address, so neither is ranked here.
What each agency publishes about itself
A dash means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that it does not exist.
| Agency | Started | Own SEO price published | Reviews shown on site | Named leader | Award with year and body | Sells AI search work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StudioHawk | 2015 | No | 270+ Google | Harry Sanders | APAC Search Awards 2026 | Yes |
| SEO Melbourne | 2006 | Yes, from $1,000/month | 4.9/5 rating | – | – | Yes |
| SIXGUN | 2017 | AI SEO add-on only | – | David Pagotto | – | Yes |
| Supple Digital | 2012 | No | 4.9 from 399 | Hardy Desai | Deloitte Fast 50, 2015 | Yes |
| First Page | – | No, market range only | 4.9 from 500+ | Nick Bell | – | Yes |
| Impressive | 2016 | No, says $10,000+ fits best | 4.8 from 130+ | Robert Tadros | AFR Most Innovative, 2024 | Yes |
| Zib Digital | – | Site blocked us | – | – | – | – |
| A.P. Web Solutions | 2015 | No, market range only | 90+ Google | Abrar Patel | APAC Search Awards 2023 | Yes |
| eMarket Experts | 2013 | No | 4.9 from 114 | Rashesh Shah | – | Yes |
| Top Rankings | 2007 | Yes, $1,250 to $3,650/month | 4.9 average | – | – | AI tracking in packages |
| Xugar | 9 years claimed | No, market range only | – | Sagar Sethi | APAC finalist 2025 | Yes |
| Uprise Digital | – | Yes, from $2,000/month | 5.0 from 45+ | Lakshane Fonseka | – | Yes |
Two things stand out. Nine of the eleven sell an AI search service and one more tracks AI answers in its packages, so “we do AI SEO” no longer separates anyone. And only two publish their own price list, which makes comparing quotes harder than it needs to be. Our guide to what SEO costs in Australia gives national ranges to compare against.
Google and the AI assistants picked different Melbourne agencies
Search Google and you get one shortlist. Ask ChatGPT and you get another. Here is how far apart they were on the same day:
- Google to AI: of 23 agency websites in Google’s top 20 across the three searches, only 6 were named in any AI answer.
- AI to Google: the seven AI answers named 19 agencies, and 10 of them were in neither Google’s top 20 nor the map pack.
- AI to AI: 15 of the 19 were named by only one assistant. Only StudioHawk and Supple Digital were named by four of the five.
- Google to Google: “best seo agency melbourne” and “seo melbourne” shared only 10 of their 19 results.
- Google to Bing: Bing’s top 20 for “seo agency melbourne” shared 5 domains with Google’s, and two of those were directories.
The assistants mostly build their lists from directories and other people’s lists. ChatGPT’s small business answer cited only Clutch and one agency site, and in the trades answer 3 of its 5 citations were the same Clutch page. Perplexity’s trades answer cited 16 sources: 6 directories, 4 “best agencies” lists written by other agencies, and only 4 agency service pages. It named Top Rankings because Impressive’s own list of Melbourne agencies recommended it for local SEO. Agencies writing lists of agencies, this post included, is part of how AI answers get made.
So what does each signal prove? A high Google ranking shows an agency can rank its own site for a hard term. Being named by AI shows its directory profiles and reviews are in good shape. Neither proves it will do the same for you, and one AI answer is weak evidence on its own, because the same question can return different names on another day, as we found when we ran identical prompts twice. Our ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Perplexity test shows how differently each assistant searches.
What changed when a tradie asked
We asked ChatGPT and Perplexity one extra question: “Which SEO company in Melbourne would you recommend for a trades business?”
ChatGPT named SEO Melbourne, SIXGUN, Digital Nomads HQ, Digital Surfer and AI Rank SEO, a trades specialist that appeared nowhere else in our data. Perplexity named Temerity Digital, Supple Digital, Top Rankings and StudioHawk, and put Temerity first because its page is written around SEO for tradies. Only five agencies appeared in both the general and the trades answers: SEO Melbourne, SIXGUN, Supple, StudioHawk and Digital Surfer.
AI assistants match the words in your question to the words on an agency’s pages. A page about plumbers, backed by a named plumbing case study, gets picked for plumbing questions. So ask the assistant your real question, with your trade and suburb in it. Builders can see the same pattern in our study of how AI recommends builders.
Questions to ask before you sign with a Melbourne SEO company
Google’s own guide to hiring an SEO says “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google” and suggests asking for examples of past work. You can read it on Google Search Central, and Google’s short video below covers the same ground clearly.
Our Melbourne data suggests adding these:
- Which case study is a business like mine, in Victoria? Ask whether the number is leads, sales or only traffic.
- Will you work for my competitor? SEO Melbourne publishes a one client per industry rule. Others may do the same without saying so.
- What exactly is guaranteed? First Page and eMarket Experts both use guarantee language. Get the terms, and what happens if a target is missed, in writing.
- What is the price, the minimum term and the notice period? Only two agencies publish packages. Our comparison of hiring an SEO consultant or an agency shows how terms differ.
- How will you get my business named in AI answers? A good answer covers your Google Business Profile, reviews and the directories AI tools cite. For Google’s own AI answers, its AI features documentation says “There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode” beyond normal SEO, and our guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT covers the rest.
- Who owns the work if I leave? Content, Google Business Profile access and analytics should stay with you.
Also read an agency’s newest Google reviews rather than its star average. In our “seo melbourne” search, one map pack spot went to a listing called Melbourne SEO Services with a 5.0 rating from just two reviews, so stars alone tell you little. Google’s rules for business listings are worth knowing too. And the ACCC says a business’s claims “must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds”, which applies to an agency’s pitch as much as your own ads (see its guidance on misleading claims).
How we did this research
On 24 September 2026 we recorded the top 20 organic results and map pack for three Google searches on desktop set to Australia. The ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Mode answers to “What is the best SEO agency in Melbourne for a small business? Give me a shortlist with reasons” come from our shared 24-prompt study, run that day through the API versions of each assistant with web search on, not the consumer apps. We added the trades question in ChatGPT and Perplexity, and read Bing’s top 20 in a browser set to Australia. We then fetched each agency’s homepage and up to nine other pages and recorded only facts stated in plain words.
The limits: each AI prompt ran once, and AI answers change between runs. Search results change daily and by suburb. Zib Digital’s site blocked us. The eight signals are not equal in weight for every buyer, and the count measures visibility, not quality.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best SEO agency in Melbourne?
On visibility, StudioHawk and SEO Melbourne tied on 24 September 2026, each appearing in six of our eight checks across Google, the map pack, Bing and five AI assistants. That measures how easy they are to find, not the quality of their work. The best agency for you is the one with proven results for businesses like yours.
How much does SEO typically cost in Melbourne?
The two Melbourne agencies that publish their own packages start at $1,000 a month (SEO Melbourne) and $1,250 a month (Top Rankings). Market ranges quoted by others run from about $1,000 to $10,000 or more a month. Our own Melbourne SEO work starts at $2,000 a month.
Is SEO replaced by AI?
No, but it now has a second audience. The AI assistants in our check named some agencies that rank on Google and many that do not, drawing heavily on directories and reviews. Good SEO has to cover both your website and the places AI tools read about you.
Why do ChatGPT and Google recommend different SEO agencies?
They read different sources. Google ranks agencies’ own pages, while ChatGPT’s answers in our test cited Clutch far more than any agency site. Only 6 of the 23 agency sites in Google’s top 20 were named by any AI answer.
Do I need a Melbourne based SEO agency?
Not necessarily. Two Queensland agencies showed up in Melbourne results, and many agencies work across states. What matters is proof they understand Melbourne suburb searches. If you are also weighing AI search work, see our list of AEO agencies in Melbourne.
Is SEO still worth it in 2026?
For most service businesses, yes. Agencies pay about $62 a click for “seo agency melbourne” in Google Ads because a ranked page earns that traffic every month without paying again. The same maths applies to the search terms in your own industry.
Where to go from here
Pick two or three agencies from the tables, ask each the same questions, and compare the answers rather than the pitch decks. If you would like us in that comparison, our SEO team in Melbourne will look at your site and search results and tell you plainly what we would do and what we would skip. For the national picture, see the best SEO agencies in Australia.
