“How much does SEO cost?” is one of the first questions small business owners ask, and one of the hardest to get a straight answer to. Prices vary enormously, and it can be difficult to tell a fair quote from an expensive one or a cheap one that will do more harm than good.
This guide explains how SEO is usually priced, what affects the cost and how to work out what is right for your budget.
The Short Answer
SEO costs depend on how much work your website needs, how competitive your market is and whether you want a one-off job or ongoing support. A survey by the SEO tool company Ahrefs polled 439 SEO providers. It found that:
- the most common monthly retainer was $501 to $1,000 a month, charged by 20.4% of respondents;
- the most common hourly rate was $75 to $100 an hour, charged by 24%;
- the most common price for a one-off project was $2,501 to $5,000, charged by 21.2%.
The survey was published in December 2023, priced in US dollars and covered providers around the world, so treat it as a rough guide rather than a UK price list. Many providers charge more or less than these figures.
How SEO Is Usually Priced
Monthly Retainer
You pay a fixed amount each month for ongoing work, such as technical fixes, content, links and reporting. This is the most common way to buy SEO, because the results build over time.
One-Off Projects
You pay a fixed price for a defined piece of work, such as an SEO audit, a website migration or setting up local SEO. One-off projects suit small businesses that want the foundations put right and then plan to carry on themselves.
Hourly or Daily Consultancy
You pay for an expert’s time, often for advice, training or reviewing work you have done yourself.
Doing It Yourself
DIY SEO costs your time rather than money. Free tools such as Google Search Console and Google Business Profile cover the basics. Our guide on how to do SEO yourself explains where to start.
What Affects the Cost of SEO
- Competition: ranking for a competitive search across the UK takes much more work than ranking for a specialist service in one town.
- Your starting point: a website with technical problems, thin content or a poor history of bought links needs more work before it can rank.
- The size of your website: more pages means more to audit, fix and improve.
- How many services and areas you target: each one may need its own pages and content.
- What is included: content writing, link building and reporting all add to the time involved.
- Who does the work: freelancers, small agencies and large agencies charge differently.
Local SEO vs National SEO Costs
If most of your customers are in one area, local SEO is often the most cost-effective place to start. It focuses on your Google Business Profile, your reviews and a smaller set of local searches, so it usually needs less work than ranking across the UK. Our one-off local SEO packages list fixed prices for this kind of work.
National SEO, where you compete with businesses across the country, usually needs more content, more links and more time.
Beware of Very Cheap SEO
If someone offers to get you to the top of Google for a very small monthly fee, ask what they will do for it. Cheap SEO packages often rely on tactics that break Google’s rules, such as:
- buying large numbers of low-quality links;
- creating dozens of near-identical pages for different towns;
- generating large amounts of low-value content.
Google’s spam policies cover all of these, and they can harm your rankings. Google also warns that “no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google”, so treat any guarantee as a warning sign.
How to Get Value From Your SEO Budget
- Ask exactly what is included: a clear list of tasks for the first few months.
- Ask how results will be reported: you should see search traffic and enquiries, not only rankings. Our guide on how to choose an SEO company lists more questions to ask.
- Start with the quickest wins: technical fixes and your Google Business Profile often bring results soonest.
- Do the simple parts yourself: such as asking for reviews or writing about your own work.
- Give it time: judge SEO over months, not weeks.
If you are weighing SEO against advertising, our guide to SEO vs PPC compares the costs and benefits of each. Our guide on whether SEO is worth it for a small business helps you decide whether to invest at all.
SEO Costs and AI Search
You don’t need a separate budget to appear in AI search. Google says there are “no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode”, so the same SEO work helps you show up in AI answers. Be cautious of anyone selling expensive “AI optimisation” as a separate service without explaining what it involves. Our guide on how to appear in AI search explains what helps.
Get a Clear Quote
We give small businesses a clear quote after a free 30-minute call, based on what your website needs and what you want to achieve. Our SEO services for small businesses can be ongoing, project-based or one-off.
FAQs
How Much Does SEO Cost for a Small Business in the UK?
It depends on the work needed, your competition and whether you want ongoing or one-off support. An Ahrefs survey of 439 SEO providers worldwide found the most common monthly retainer was $501 to $1,000, but prices vary widely.
How Much Does SEO Cost Per Month?
Monthly retainers vary with the amount of work included. In the Ahrefs survey, $501 to $1,000 a month was the most common range, charged by 20.4% of providers.
Is Cheap SEO Worth It?
Very cheap SEO often relies on tactics that break Google’s spam policies, such as buying links. Ask exactly what the provider will do before you pay.
Can I Do SEO for Free?
Yes, if you do it yourself. Google’s free tools cover the basics, and you can make good progress with your time rather than money.