Why SEO quotes differ so much
Two agencies can quote very different numbers for the same website because SEO is not one service. It is a bundle of technical work, content production, on-page optimisation and measurement, and the mix changes with the site.
Before comparing prices, compare scope. A proposal without a defined page count, content volume and technical backlog is not comparable to one that has them.
The four factors that move the price
Most of the variation in SEO pricing comes down to four things.
- Competition: national commercial terms need far more content and authority than neighbourhood service terms.
- Technical debt: a slow, poorly structured or badly indexed site needs development work before optimisation pays off.
- Content volume: topical authority is built with pages, and pages take research and writing.
- Scope of measurement: proper tracking, Search Console hygiene and reporting take time and are worth paying for.
What a realistic engagement looks like
A credible SEO engagement starts with an audit and an intent map — one primary search intent per indexable page — and then works through a prioritised backlog rather than promising positions.
Expect technical improvements within the first weeks, and meaningful ranking movement on competitive terms over four to eight months of consistent work.
Questions to ask before signing
Ask what will be delivered in month one, how many new or optimised pages are included, who writes the content, and how success will be reported.
- Which pages will be optimised, and for which intent?
- How is content produced and reviewed for accuracy?
- What technical fixes are in scope, and who implements them?
- How will enquiries — not just rankings — be reported?
- SEO pricing
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