Pay-on-performance SEO · Australia
You only pay when we deliver.
A lower-risk way to do SEO. We tie part of our fee to the rankings, traffic and qualified leads we actually deliver, so our incentives line up with your growth from day one.
Trusted by 7,280+ Australian businesses · 10+ years experience · Google Partner
$2.3M in new B2B revenue over twelve months, by ranking for the trade-focused searches competitors had left on the table.
What is pay-on-performance SEO?
Pay-on-performance SEO ties part of your fee to the rankings, organic traffic and qualified leads we actually deliver, rather than charging the same whether results move or not. At 3P Digital we agree the targets with you up front, track them in a live dashboard, and carry more of the downside ourselves. It runs month to month with no long lock-in, and if you prefer a standard monthly retainer, our SEO starts from $800 a month. These are real client outcomes, not guarantees, which is exactly why we agree your targets first.
How pay-on-performance works
Part of our fee is earned on the results, not the promise.
Most SEO is billed the same whether your rankings climb or sit still. We do it differently: we agree the targets, then tie part of what you pay to actually hitting them.
We agree the targets first
Before any fee is tied to performance, we set the metrics that matter to your business: the rankings, organic traffic and qualified leads we are aiming to move. No vague promises, just numbers we both sign off on.
Part of the fee follows the results
A portion of what you pay is linked to those agreed outcomes, tracked in a live dashboard. When the rankings, traffic and leads land, that part of the fee is earned. When they do not, you are not paying full freight for work that has not delivered.
We carry more of the risk with you
The same senior team and strategy you would get on a standard retainer, with more of the downside on us. It is a lower-risk way to start, month to month, with no long lock-in.
The model, side by side
Fixed retainer, or fee aligned to delivery.
Both models can deliver good SEO. The difference is where the risk sits and what your agency is paid to care about.
You pay the same, results or not
- The full retainer is due whether rankings move or stall
- Little built-in pressure to chase revenue, not vanity traffic
- The risk sits almost entirely with you, the client
- Often locked into a long contract before any proof
Part of the fee is tied to delivery
- A share of the fee is linked to agreed rankings, traffic and leads
- We are paid to move the metrics that drive revenue
- More of the downside sits with us, not just you
- Month to month, no long lock-in, scale or pause when you need
Prefer a straightforward monthly retainer? Our standard SEO starts from $800/mo, about half the typical agency floor. See standard SEO.
Is pay-on-performance right for you?
It works best when the numbers are real on both sides.
We can only put part of our fee on the line when results are measurable and the opportunity is genuinely there. Here is the kind of business it suits.
Clear commercial intent
Your customers are searching for what you sell, and a lead or sale is worth enough that ranking for those terms genuinely moves the business.
Trackable outcomes
We can measure what good looks like: rankings, organic sessions, enquiries and revenue, tracked honestly so the performance portion is fair to both sides.
A real product to back
A site and an offer worth sending traffic to. We are confident enough in the work to put part of our fee on the line, so the fundamentals need to be there.
Proof it works
Results we have actually delivered.
$2.3M in new B2B revenue over twelve months, from trade-focused content competitors had ignored.
574 extra leads delivered while cutting Google Ads spend by 63.5 percent.
Authority rebuilding and a steady content engine restored organic growth.
Real client outcomes, not guarantees. Past results do not promise the same for every business, which is exactly why we agree your targets up front.
Pay-on-performance SEO, answered
Straight answers on how the model works, what we tie fees to and how to get started.
It is a lower-risk way to do SEO. Instead of paying a flat retainer no matter what happens, part of our fee is tied to the rankings, traffic and qualified leads we actually deliver. We agree the targets together up front, so our incentives line up with your growth.
With a standard retainer you pay the same whether your rankings climb or sit still. Here, a share of the fee is linked to agreed outcomes, so more of the downside sits with us. You still get the same senior team and the same strategy, just with the risk shared more fairly.
Not quite, and we would rather be straight with you. There is still a base fee that covers the work, because real SEO takes ongoing effort. The performance portion on top is what is tied to results: when the agreed rankings, traffic and leads land, that part is earned; when they do not, you are not paying full price for work that has not delivered.
We set the metrics together before anything is tied to them: things like target keyword rankings, organic traffic and qualified enquiries. Everything is tracked in a live dashboard so both sides can see exactly where things stand. No moving goalposts.
It works best when your customers are actively searching for what you sell, the outcomes are measurable, and a lead or sale is worth enough that ranking genuinely moves the business. If the fundamentals are there, we are usually happy to put part of our fee on the line.
That is completely fine. Our standard SEO starts from $800 a month, about half the typical agency floor, month to month with no lock-in. The best way to decide is a free strategy session where we look at your numbers and recommend the model that suits you.
Reviewed by
Alex Frew
Founder, 3P Digital
Pay-on-performance SEO at 3P is led by Alex Frew. He served on the Google CEO Advisory Board from 2019 to 2020 and led a group that ran 83 Google BETA programs, 80% of which went on to be adopted globally. Earlier in his career he helped scale CSG from $5M to $330M through its ASX listing.
More about Alex- Google CEO Advisory Board, 2019 to 2020
- Led 83 Google BETA programs, 80% adopted globally
- Scaled CSG from $5M to $330M to ASX listing
- 10+ years in digital marketing
See if you qualify for pay-on-performance.
Book a free strategy session. We will look at your numbers honestly and tell you whether the model fits, with no obligation either way.