/ Cost guide · Marketing
How much does SEO cost?
£300 to £3,000+ per month in the UK in 2026 for ongoing SEO, plus setup.
- UK price range
- £99+
- UK average
- £950/mo
- Tiers explained
- 4
- Category
- Marketing
/ 01
Quick answer: £300 to £3,000+ per month in the UK in 2026 for ongoing SEO, plus setup.
The UK average for SEO in 2026 sits at roughly £950/mo. The huge range is because SEO isn't one product — it's a category with wildly different tiers, and the tier you pick determines almost everything about what you get.
Below we break it down properly: what each tier gets you, what factors change the price, the hidden costs nobody warns you about, and where a fair, honest price actually lands.
/ 02
Pricing tiers explained
Here's how the UK market for SEO actually breaks down in 2026:
- • Cheap 'SEO packages' (£99–£299/mo) — for nobody. avoid. You get: Templated reports, spammy backlinks, no measurable outcome.
- • Local SEO (RIOT) (£350–£800/mo) — for local service businesses You get: GMB optimisation, local citations, review acquisition, on-page.
- • Growth SEO (RIOT) (£800–£2,500/mo) — for smbs targeting national keywords You get: Technical SEO, content strategy, link building, monthly review.
- • Enterprise SEO (£3,000–£15,000/mo) — for big brands, thousands of urls You get: Full team, deep technical, content production at scale.
/ 03
What changes the price
The same tier of supplier can quote wildly different prices depending on scope. Here are the factors that move the number up or down:
- • Competitiveness of target keywords
- • Site size (10 pages vs 10,000)
- • Content production included or not
- • Link building strategy
- • Local vs. national vs. international
- • Technical audit + implementation
/ 04
Hidden costs nobody mentions
Every headline price hides costs that only surface later. Watch for these:
- • Content writing (£150–£500 per article)
- • Link building outreach (£300–£2,000/mo)
- • Tools (Ahrefs, Semrush — £80–£400/mo)
- • Site fixes recommended by SEO team (developer time)
/ 05
What we charge
Local SEO from £350/mo, growth SEO from £800/mo, one-off SEO setup £450. Content writing extra.
We're a small Colchester studio working with UK SMBs and international clients. Our pricing is fixed, itemised, and includes everything you'd expect from a good agency — without the agency overhead.
/ 06
How to compare quotes fairly
The biggest mistake when getting quotes for SEO is comparing headline numbers without checking scope. A £500 quote and a £2,500 quote for what looks like the same thing are almost always for very different things.
Three checks that put every quote on a level playing field: 1) Ask what's included by line item. 2) Ask what happens if scope changes mid-project. 3) Ask what you own at the end (files, code, accounts). If any supplier can't answer those clearly, move on.
/ FAQs
Common questions
How long does SEO take to work?
Local SEO: 3–6 months to move rankings. National keywords: 6–12 months. Anyone promising faster is either selling smoke or targeting keywords that don't matter.
Is cheap SEO ever worth it?
Almost never. £99/mo buys you spammy links that get you penalised and templated reports nobody reads. Better to save the £99 and do nothing than spend it on bad SEO.
Can I do SEO myself?
Local SEO — yes, mostly. Technical + link building — hire someone. Content — you're the best person to write it, we can edit and optimise.
/ Related
How much does a logo cost?
£50 to £5,000+
How much does a website cost?
£300 to £15,000+
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
£1,500 to £30,000+
How much does a Shopify store cost?
£1,500 to £15,000+ to build
How much does Google Ads management cost?
£300 to £3,000+ per month in management fees
How much does a rebrand cost?
£1,500 to £50,000+
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