A package is a bundle of activities sold at a monthly price, with tiers usually named after budget rather than scope. That makes two packages at the same price incomparable and leaves room for filler to pad a proposal. The way through is to convert every package into the same four quantities before looking at the price again, and to insist on seeing what has been left out.
The four quantities that make internet marketing quotes comparable
Monthly hours included, whose hours those are by role, the named deliverables per month, and what is explicitly excluded. Two identical monthly figures routinely resolve into twenty junior hours in one case and eight senior hours in the other. Once every proposal is expressed this way the comparison is straightforward and the conversation moves from price to value without either side arguing.
The exclusions are where the real cost lives
Content production, technical development, advertising spend, design and anything after launch are the usual omissions, and any of them can exceed the package price. Ask for the exclusion list in writing and ask what a typical client in your position spends on those items over a year. A supplier who has done this before answers quickly; one who has not says it depends.
Setup fees and minimum terms change the effective price
A monthly figure with a one-off onboarding fee and a twelve month minimum is a different proposition from the same figure month to month. Some agencies publish both numbers on the same page, which is the honest presentation. Work out the total over the minimum term before comparing, and read the exit provisions, because a low monthly with a punitive term is not low.
Filler is recognisable once you look for it
Directory submissions billed monthly, social posts nobody reads, a blog post a month with no plan behind it, and monthly reports counting activity rather than outcomes. Each appears as a line item and creates the impression of volume. Ask what each line is supposed to achieve and how you would know if it did. The items with no answer are the filler.
What a package should include and frequently does not
Somebody accountable by name, a stated response time, a quarterly review of what is working rather than a monthly activity report, and a clear statement of ownership over the site, the profile, the ad accounts and the content at the end. None of these costs the supplier anything and their absence tells you how the relationship is designed to run.
Questions people ask about internet marketing packages
Are packages worse than custom proposals?
Not necessarily. Packages work well where the work genuinely is standardized, which is true for small local businesses. They break down when the business is complicated, because the tier describes a budget rather than a scope. The problem is not the package, it is a package sold as though it were a scoped program.
What should an internet marketing package cost?
Published floors across the agencies in this index start in the hundreds a month and rise well into five figures for full programs. The figure matters less than what it buys, which is why the hours, roles, deliverables and exclusions comparison is the one worth doing.
How long should I commit for?
Prefer a short initial term with a defined set of deliverables, then extend once you have seen the work. Long minimum terms at the start transfer all the risk to you before either party knows how the relationship will go, and they are usually negotiable if you ask.
What is the most common regret?
Discovering that the things that would actually have helped, the content, the development work, the advertising budget, were all outside the package, so twelve months of fees bought reporting and small adjustments. Asking for the exclusions in writing at the start prevents almost all of it.