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Yes it takes time and ability to get exceptional SEO results, however also there are "horses for publications" and lots of small enterprise owners may be concentrated on non-competitive search terms and simply need the fundamentals of SEO accomplished right in place of greater unique and superior talents. like here on flstatewideinsurance website.

I agree with you both.

Yes it takes time and skill to get great SEO results, but also there are "horses for courses" and many a small business owner may be targeting non competitive search terms and just need the basics of SEO done right rather than more specific and advanced skills.

What you get from one service provider to the next, in terms of skill and results, is sometimes very hard to measure until you've worked with them and found out. I'm a web designer who provides support and hosting and some SEO. I only charge £40 per hour which is a great rate here in the UK for someone of my experience (built and supported websites for HP, NHS, Ministry of Defence and many more). I charge what I think "a fair rate" because I have very low overheads and want to stay busy. So I think you can't always judge quality from a higher price tag ...as those air hockey tables and coffee machines at larger agencies need paying for by somebody!

But I agree, it takes time and experience for some more complex projects which can start to rack up the hours/cost. Especially those wanting results for larger organisations with competitive search terms.

I would agree normally, especially for my company that I work for, but he is a roofer, that doesn't really understands the web, but wants an online presence. As its not a very competitive word in the town we live in, its actually quite easy to rank and doesn't require a lot of effort. The web doesn't actually drive that much business for him, its still mainly the good old word of mouth.

If he was a retailer or large business in a competitive industry I would say £100 is a waste of each others time, but no for him and the company it works. I would say I do more work on the website that the agency does, and I am probably more advance than them - but I don't have the time to do his work and even if I did, there probably isn't really a lot more I can do. They have the local connections in the local press for mentions etc. I only really have them at national level and on large tech blog sites, if I wanted to, I could try and get these connections but for £100 not worth my time.

In terms of the site I manage, £100 - well Moz cost $99 a month, Search metrics is another $x a month etc, but for him and the agency it works. Not all website owners need to spend big to get good RIO - so long as it ranks ok, his still main source of new clients is word of mouth.

Sorry, but when I see " £100 " as a quote on a monthly fee for services my first thought is always that the client should just buy a great bottle of wine and forget all about this.

Fact is in my world that you only get what you pay for - and I know 3 UK SEO firms that at their rock-bottom lowest monthly fee levels are at the least $1000 Euros monthly.

You just cant' get away from it....talent and succcess costs money....sorry to say for all those who're so new to the web that they just don't have a budget at that kind of level.

That said - suddenly I remembered that some SEO firms still do a "pro bono" client a year type of 'pay-back' and that might mean that you'd be 'eligible' to get the SEO work done for free for a year...or some kind of term. Might be worthwhile searching for a UK firm that does that - here in Canada we do it as do many others too!

Hi

They charge a monthly retainer, I think its around £100 a month, but they are not doing website work - they aren't doing any html / coding work - just basic PR and on site issues.

Hi Andy,

Just out of interest... What do you consider suitable rates for UK based small business SEO work? Are we talking about companies charging per hour for their time to implement services or do companies like you mentioned usually try to work up a monthly on-going campaign rate?

I am a web designer and mostly work out my costs by calculating an hourly rate for the time I expect it to take. For web support work and on-site SEO tweaks its an easy calculation but project work requires defining the tasks and estimating the time it will take to perform and them coming up with a total figure.

Just wondering what type of money is "they dont charge alot"?

Hi,

If you decide not to go with a UK based company or would like another quote for responsive redesign, please let me - cole@pixelbrushstudios.com

Our site is pixelbrushstudios.com and a lot of our prices are online. It appears your budget is going to be right up our alley as we primarily help small business owners.

Thanks,

Cole

Cant be any harm. They do good work, not brilliant but he gets good organic traffic (I do his Analytics for him as well). I should really just do his SEO for him as well, but I don't have that much free time.

Everything is legit and they don't do anything Black Hat or anything. They could do with a better designer so they can do infographics etc, but I probably want what my entire team can do at Ebuyer.com for me, but he doesnt pay too much

They look after my uncles roofing business and do ok, they are not the best but they don't charge a lot (plus I can check what they say for him). While its close I think its too far for them. They like to have weekly / bi weekly face to face meetings, with updates etc.

Depends where you are based, I know a small SEO agency based in Doncaster, Yorkshire http://www.thinkboxseo.co.uk/ but they only deal with Doncaster and the surrounding based area companies. And only deal with small companies

Hello,

It may be helpful to hire two separate companies - one focused on small business SEO and the other focused on small business web design. I've seen people in my local town do this and it turns out well.

I work for a US small company that caters to small business owners in both web design and SEO. I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have here.

Thanks,

Cole