APPLYING SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION TO MY WEBSITE
When hiring an SEO, focus less on “qualifications” and more on proof they can rank sites in your niche without risky tactics. There isn’t a single UK-recognised licence for SEO, so anyone can claim to be an expert. Ask for case studies showing: the starting point, what they changed, and the results over 3–6+ months (traffic, rankings, and—ideally—enquiries/sales). Get references you can actually contact, and check they can explain things in plain English rather than hiding behind jargon.
Look for experience across three areas: technical SEO (site speed, indexing, crawl errors, structured data),on-page (titles, headings, internal linking, content that matches search intent),and off-page (earning relevant links/mentions). Ask what tools they use (e.g. Google Search Console, GA4, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs/SEMrush) and insist they set up reporting you can see. Be wary of anyone promising “#1 on Google” or pushing bulk link packages—those can backfire.
Cost varies a lot. For a small UK business site, a one-off audit is often £300–£1,500, and ongoing work tends to be £500–£2,000+ per month depending on competition and how much content/link work is needed. Cheap SEO can be false economy if it’s just automated changes and spammy links.
Before you sign, ask for a short plan covering: target pages/keywords, quick wins, content schedule, link approach, timelines, and what success will be measured against (leads, calls, sales—not just rankings).
