What makes up the price of SEO
"SEO" isn't one service — it's four blocks of work. The price depends on how much of each your site actually needs:
1. Technical foundation. Speed, structure, metadata, Schema.org, fixing indexation issues. A big one-off block at the start, then maintenance.
2. Content. Pages for commercial queries and articles for informational ones. This is SEO's main fuel: every page is a separate entry point from search.
3. Authority. Links, mentions, directories, reviews. The slowest and most expensive block — and the one separating top-3 from page three.
4. Local SEO. Google Business Profile, reviews, a "service + area" structure. For local businesses — clinics, builders, solicitors — this is half the result.
What it costs: market ranges
| Format | Price | What's in it |
|---|---|---|
| SEO audit (one-off) | £300 | Technical + content teardown with a prioritised fix list |
| Base retainer | from £300/mo | Technical upkeep, 1–2 articles, steady growth |
| Competitive niche | £500–2,000/mo | Healthcare, legal, finance: more content and links |
| Content alone | £30–100/article | From a simple post to a researched B2B piece with charts in 3 languages |
Why "guaranteed #1" is a red flag
Google doesn't sell positions and no contractor controls the algorithm. Honest work sounds like this: "we'll build the site to the standards Google rewards, then grow content and authority — first results in 3–6 months". Anyone guaranteeing #1 in a month is either charging for air or using grey tactics that get sites filtered later.
Our model is different: every site we build is SEO-ready from day one — structure, 90+ speed scores, Schema.org and local SEO are part of the development price, and a year of technical support is included in every package. A separate SEO retainer isn't for everyone, and rarely from day one — see what's included on the pricing page.
Rates, the full monthly work list and answers to awkward questions — on the SEO services page.
When you don't need SEO yet
- A new niche with no formed demand — start with ads and validate the offer first
- A brochure site with no content — build service pages first, promote second
- A budget under £300/mo — better saved for a one-off audit and content than spread thin
- Expecting results in a month — SEO doesn't work that way, and it's more honest to say so upfront
A special case: SEO for medical websites
Clinic SEO has its own specifics: local search for "dentist + area", MedicalOrganization schema, a page per service and legally correct content. That's why healthcare costs more than a base retainer. How we build clinic websites — on the healthcare solutions page.
5 questions to ask any SEO contractor
- What exactly do you do each month? "Comprehensive SEO" without a work list isn't an answer
- What does the report show? Positions and traffic, not "work performed"
- Who writes the content, and who fact-checks it?
- What links do you build? Marketplace link packages are a road to a penalty
- What do I keep if we part ways? Content and fixes stay yours forever
