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Foundation vs Growth vs Authority: local and AI search plans compared
Foundation, Growth and Authority are three levels of one monthly local and AI search service. Foundation is $360 a month and gets your Google Business Profile working. Growth is $720 and adds two new pages or posts a month plus AI-citation testing. Authority is $1,200 and adds four pages, link building and a strategy call. All are month to month.
The three search plans at a glance
| At a glance | Foundation Plan | Growth Plan | Authority Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $360 a month | $720 a month | $1,200 a month |
| Billing | Month to month, no contract, no setup fee | Month to month, no contract, no setup fee | Month to month, no contract, no setup fee |
| New pages or posts each month | None | 2 | 4 |
| Best for | Solo operators and single-location businesses that need the map pack first | Local businesses with a clean Google Business Profile that now need the website to work harder | Businesses in competitive markets where several established competitors already rank |
Search engines typically take 60 to 90 days to react, and nobody can guarantee a ranking. What we promise is the work listed here, done every month, with plain-English reporting on what it produced.
What each search plan includes each month
| What is included | Foundation | Growth | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile optimization, weekly geo-grid rank tracking, one Google post a week, review requests and a plain-English monthly report | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New SEO and GEO optimized pages or posts | None | 2 a month | 4 a month |
| AI-citation testing (ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI) and competitor gap tracking | Baseline AI Visibility Report | Ongoing | Ongoing |
| Directory name, address and phone cleanup | No | Yes | Yes |
| Local link building and digital PR outreach | No | No | Yes |
| Full technical and schema SEO across the site | No | No | Yes |
| Monthly strategy call | No | No | Yes |
Which search plan should I start with?
- Start with Foundation if your Google Business Profile needs basic work and you want to see the map pack improve before committing to more.
- Start with Growth if your profile is already clean and you want the website to pull its weight, with two new answer-first pages a month and ongoing AI-citation testing. It is the plan most businesses should be on.
- Start with Authority only if several established competitors already rank for your terms, such as Naples aesthetics or Fort Myers contractors. In an uncompetitive category it is money spent early.
- Not sure? Start with the free AI Visibility Report. It shows where you stand across Google and AI assistants, and we will tell you honestly which tier your market calls for.
Questions, answered
How much do the monthly local and AI search plans cost?
Foundation is $360 a month, Growth is $720 a month and Authority is $1,200 a month. All three are month to month with no contract, and the first month is covered at checkout, with later months invoiced by email until you tell us to stop. Foundation and Growth have no setup fee, and every current price is listed on the website design prices page.
What is the difference between Foundation and Growth?
Foundation gets your Google Business Profile working properly: optimization, weekly geo-grid rank tracking, a weekly Google post, review requests and a monthly report. Growth includes all of that and adds the website work: two new SEO and GEO optimized pages or posts each month, continuous AI-citation testing across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI, competitor gap tracking and directory name, address and phone cleanup.
When do I need the Authority plan instead of Growth?
You need it when several established competitors already rank for your key terms and on-page work alone will not close the gap. Authority adds four new pages or posts a month instead of two, local link building and digital PR outreach, full technical and schema SEO across the whole site and a monthly strategy call. Most businesses do not need it at first.
How long before I see results from a search plan?
Local and AI-search work usually shows movement in about 60 to 90 days, then compounds. New pages need time to be crawled and indexed before they can rank or be cited. Competitive markets move more slowly. We report every month on what moved and what did not, so you can see progress instead of guessing, and we adjust the plan based on the data.
Can you guarantee rankings or mentions in ChatGPT?
No. Nobody controls what Google or an AI assistant shows, and anyone promising a ranking, a number of links or a citation is guessing. We do not buy links or use link schemes. What we promise is the monthly work in your plan, done every month, and honest reporting on what it produced, including the tracking from the AI-citation tests.
Can I move up a plan later?
Yes. You can start on Foundation and move to Growth or Authority when your market calls for it, because the plans are month to month with no contract. Each plan includes everything in the one before it, so the work already done carries forward. If you are unsure where to begin, the free AI Visibility Report shows where you stand and which tier fits.
Built by hand by the team at AI Website Design, the same answer-first system proven on our own Fort Myers businesses (Lumina Skin Sanctuary and Sanctuary Growth Co). Questions? sales@aiwebsitedesignswfl.com.
