HOW TO HIRE · MARKETING, DESIGN & TECH

How to hire an SEO specialist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies to SEO specialists. Here is how to keep your accounts, avoid banned tactics like fake reviews, and agree monthly work in writing.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring an SEO specialist in five steps

  1. Ask for case studies with numbersTraffic and enquiries before and after, for sites like yours, and how they were measured.
  2. Keep your accounts in your nameSearch console, analytics and your business profile owned by you, with the SEO specialist as a user.
  3. Agree the monthly deliverablesTechnical fixes, pages written or improved, links earned and a report, listed each month.
  4. Refuse guarantees and shortcutsNo promised number-one rankings, no paid link packages, no fake reviews.
  5. Expect a few months before judgingResults usually build over three to six months; set review points.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No law licenses SEO specialists or agencies in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and there is no required qualification. Check case studies, a client reference and exactly what work the fee buys.

Ask for two clients you can contact and what was done for them month by month.

No fake reviews

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, writing or commissioning fake consumer reviews is banned, and the CMA's guidance covers reviews on any platform. Some local SEO offers include review "boosting"; that puts your business in breach.

Ask the SEO specialist in writing how they help you get reviews, and refuse any that are written or bought. gov.uk →

Content that is original and accurate

Pages written to rank are still marketing. They must not mislead consumers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and copying other sites' text infringes copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Check new pages for accuracy and spot-check that the text is original before it goes live. gov.uk →

Tracking and consent (PECR)

Analytics and advertising cookies need visitors' consent under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, unless strictly necessary. An SEO specialist who adds tracking tags should respect your consent banner.

Refuse cookies on your site and check analytics does not record the visit. ico.org.uk →

VAT

SEO services are standard-rated, so a registered SEO specialist adds 20% to the monthly fee, the audit and any content written for you. Registration becomes compulsory once an SEO specialist has VAT-taxable turnover over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months; from then VAT must be charged and shown as a separate line on the invoice.

Ask the SEO specialist for the VAT number when the term is agreed and for VAT on the monthly fee as a line of its own. gov.uk →

“What SEO results have you got for sites like mine, and how were they measured?”

A good answer: Traffic and enquiries over time, from analytics you could check, not just a screenshot of one ranking.

“Will my search console, analytics and business profile stay in my name?”

A good answer: Yes. The SEO specialist is added as a user and removed when the work ends.

“What exactly will you do each month for the SEO fee?”

A good answer: A list: technical fixes, pages improved or written, outreach for links, reporting.

“How does an SEO specialist like you earn links to my site?”

A good answer: Content and outreach to relevant sites. Paid link packages and private networks are against search engines' rules and risky.

“How would you, as my SEO specialist, help me get more reviews?”

A good answer: By asking real customers at the right moment. Never writing, buying or incentivising fake reviews, which the law bans.

“Do you guarantee rankings?”

A good answer: No. A good SEO specialist explains what is likely and how long it takes, and leaves the guarantees to people selling something else.

“What is the notice period on the SEO specialist contract?”

A good answer: Usually a month after any minimum term, with your accounts and work handed back intact.

Getting the quote right

  • Monthly deliverables listed: technical, content, links, reporting
  • Who actually attends to the work: the SEO specialist you hired, an employee, or subcontracted writers and link builders
  • Any one-off audit or setup fee
  • Content writing included, with the number of pages or posts
  • Reporting frequency and what is measured
  • Your accounts stay in your name; access removed on exit
  • Minimum term, notice period
  • The VAT number, and VAT at 20% on the monthly fee and the audit

Walk away if

  • Guaranteed first-page or number-one rankings
  • Cheap packages of hundreds of links
  • Offers to write or buy reviews
  • Wants your business profile moved to their account
  • Reports with rankings but no traffic or enquiries
  • No list of what they actually did each month
LOW
£400
TYPICAL
£799
HIGH
£1,500

What an SEO specialist costs: £400–£1,500 per month

SEO specialists usually charge a monthly retainer for agreed work, sometimes after a one-off audit fee. SEO Specialist price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

SEO specialists near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. AuditTechnical health, content and competitors reviewed.
  2. Keyword planThe searches your customers use, mapped to pages.
  3. Fixes and contentTechnical problems fixed, pages improved and new content written.
  4. Links and localRelevant links earned and your business profile kept accurate.
  5. Monthly reportRankings, traffic and enquiries, with the next month's plan.

Search console
The search engine's free tool showing how your site appears in search.
Technical SEO
Fixing speed, crawling and indexing problems on the site.
Backlink
A link to your site from another website.
On-page SEO
Improving titles, headings and content on your own pages.
Local SEO
Work to appear in local and map results for nearby searches.
Organic traffic
Visitors arriving from unpaid search results.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check your account accessConfirm you are still the owner of search console, analytics and your business profile, and remove the SEO specialist when you part ways.
Compare reports with your own analyticsTraffic and enquiries in the report should match what your analytics shows.
Keep the audit and the work logThe technical audit and the record of changes help the next person pick up the work.
Write the reviewRate the SEO specialist on the things that mattered to you: the result, the communication, the price. Anything wrong goes through make-it-right before the review is published.

STEP 1Complain to the SEO specialist directlyExplain to the SEO specialist, in writing, which part of the job fell short and what you want done. If the work lacked reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets you ask for it to be put right at no extra cost, or for money back.
STEP 2Bring in LocufyBelow four stars, Locufy asks if the SEO specialist should be told first and given a chance. We follow it up; your review goes live once it has run its course.
STEP 3Where to report itWith no regulator for SEO specialists, the SEO specialist can be referred to Trading Standards by the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (0808 223 1133) in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) or Consumerline (0300 123 6262) in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Small claims, as the last stepIf the SEO specialist still will not refund or fix it, the small claims routes need no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales, £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring an SEO specialist: questions people ask

No. No licence, register or qualification applies to SEO specialists in any UK nation.

No. Writing or commissioning fake reviews is banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

No honest one can. Search engines decide rankings; ask what work will be done and how results will be measured.

The range is £400–£1,500 per month, and £799 is a typical figure. Competition for your searches, content volume and link-building set the monthly retainer. The SEO specialist price guide covers what changes it; enter your town above to compare local SEO specialists.

Your business. Add the SEO specialist as a user and remove them when the contract ends.

Results usually build over three to six months, faster for local searches with little competition.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in marketing, design & tech

How to hire: Google Ads / PPC SpecialistHow to hire: Digital Marketing ConsultantHow to hire: CopywriterHow to hire: Blog WriterHow to hire: Web DeveloperHow to hire: Web DesignerHow to hire: Content CreatorHow to hire: Social Media ManagerAll 701 hiring guides →

SEO specialists near you

SEO specialists in LondonSEO specialists in ManchesterSEO specialists in BirminghamSEO specialists in GlasgowSEO specialists in BelfastAll seo specialists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (CMA) — short guide on consumer reviews and fake reviews
  2. gov.uk — regulations that affect advertising
  3. ICO — cookies and similar technologies (PECR)
  4. Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 11 — first ownership
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  9. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register