The short answer
For a small local business, ongoing SEO in the UK usually costs somewhere between a few hundred pounds and a couple of thousand pounds a month. Most local businesses, such as trades, salons, clinics and shops, end up paying in the region of £300 to £1,000 a month for a proper local SEO service.
That's a wide range, and the price on its own tells you very little. A £350 package that includes your Google Business Profile, website and content can be better value than a £900 package that only sends you a ranking report. What matters is what's actually being done each month.
How SEO is usually priced
You'll come across four main pricing models:
- Monthly retainer. The most common option for local businesses. You pay a fixed fee each month for ongoing work: optimisation, content, Google Business Profile management, citations and reporting. SEO builds over time, so this fits how it works.
- One-off projects. A fixed price for a specific job, such as an SEO audit, a website optimisation or setting up a Google Business Profile. Useful if you want a starting point or plan to do the ongoing work yourself.
- Hourly or day rates. Common with freelancers and consultants for advice, training or technical fixes.
- Pay on results. You pay only when you rank for certain keywords. It sounds attractive, but it often rewards ranking for easy terms that bring no customers. Read the small print carefully.
Rough UK price guide
These are broad guides based on what's commonly quoted for small businesses, not fixed rates. Prices vary with location, competition and what's included.
| Type of service | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Local SEO package from a freelancer or small specialist | £250 to £600 a month |
| Local SEO from an established agency | £500 to £1,500 a month |
| National or multi-location campaigns | £1,500 a month and up |
| One-off SEO audit | £300 to £1,500 |
| Google Business Profile setup and optimisation | £100 to £500 one-off |
What affects the price
- How competitive your trade is. Ranking a plumber or solicitor in Milton Keynes takes more work than ranking a niche specialist with few local competitors.
- How many areas you target. One town is far cheaper to win than ten. That's why focusing on one area, such as Milton Keynes, gets results faster for the money.
- The state of your website. A slow, outdated or thin website needs fixing before SEO can do much. Some agencies charge separately for that, which can add thousands.
- Content. Service pages, location pages and articles take time to write well.
- Extras. Social media management, Google Business Profile posts and review management may be included or charged as add-ons.
What you should get for your money
Whatever you pay, a good local SEO service should cover most of the following, and should be able to show you what was done each month:
- Keyword research based on the searches your customers actually make
- Page titles, headings and content optimised for those searches
- Your Google Business Profile fully completed, active and monitored
- Consistent business details across directories (citations)
- Technical checks for speed, mobile use and indexing
- Help collecting genuine reviews
- A clear monthly report in plain English
Red flags to watch for
- Guaranteed number one rankings. Nobody controls Google. A guarantee usually means ranking for terms nobody searches.
- Very cheap packages. £50 a month rarely covers more than automated reports or low-quality links that can harm your site.
- Long lock-in contracts. Twelve or 24-month contracts with no exit make it hard to leave if nothing is happening.
- Secret methods. If they can't explain what they're doing, be wary.
- Bought links or fake reviews. Both break Google's rules and can get your website or Business Profile penalised.
Watch for hidden costs
A low monthly SEO fee can turn expensive once you add the extras. Ask whether the price includes website changes, content writing, Google Business Profile management and reporting. Ask whether there's a setup fee, and what happens to your website if you stop paying. If the agency owns your site, leaving can mean starting again.
Is SEO worth the money?
The simplest way to judge it is to work out what a new customer is worth to you. As an example, if an average job brings in £400 and SEO brings in three extra jobs a month once it's working, that's £1,200 a month from a £350 spend. Many customers also come back or recommend you, so the real value is often higher.
Unlike advertising, SEO keeps working after the effort has gone in. Rankings and reviews you build this year still bring in enquiries next year. If you're weighing it up against paid ads, our guide to SEO vs Google Ads explains the difference.
How our package compares
Our Milton Keynes Local package is £350 a month with no tie-in and no setup fee. It includes a free website build, local SEO, Google Maps and Business Profile management, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posting, AI optimisation, website management and monthly reporting, all focused on one area: Milton Keynes. It starts with a free audit, so you can see where you stand before spending anything.