Looking for a UK SEO agency? Maybe consider an SEO freelancer instead
Direct access to the person doing the work. No account manager in the way.
So, you have a business website that’s sitting there looking pretty. But is it bringing in customers? While every SEO agency in the UK will promise you results, what you’ll often get is an account manager who barely knows your business passing your work down a chain of junior staff.
What your business deserves is someone who takes the time to understand your specific goals, responds when you need changes, and implements strategies personally. Someone who sees you as more than another client code in a spreadsheet.
What goes wrong when you hire a UK SEO agency
Agencies aren’t evil. Plenty of them do decent work. But the way most of them are built means the person who sold you the dream is rarely the person doing the work, and that shows up in your results and your inbox.
Your work goes down a chain
Sales director pitches, account manager relays, junior executes. Every handover loses a bit of what you said about your business.
Nobody knows your business
You explain what you do on the onboarding call. Three months later you’re explaining it again to someone new.
Changes take a fortnight
Google shifts the rules, you spot a problem, and the fix has to go through a ticketing system and a Tuesday stand-up before anyone touches it.
Reports designed to look busy
Forty pages of impressions and rankings, none of which tell you whether anyone rang or filled in a form.
You’re paying for the office
Sales team, account management, project managers, a nice reception. All lovely, all coming out of your monthly fee.
One-size-fits-all packages
The same monthly tasks as every other client, whether or not your website needs them this month.
Why I’m better than any SEO agency
When you work with a dedicated UK SEO freelancer, you get direct access to the person doing the work, faster response times when Google changes the rules, and typically much better value without those hefty agency overheads.
I care about your business
When you work with me, you’re not passing your business to a faceless team. You’re working directly with someone who takes the time to understand what makes your business tick, who your customers are, and what success looks like for you.
I’ve been doing SEO since before Google existed, and I still get a kick out of seeing a client’s enquiries go up.
UK SEO servicesYour success is my success
I don’t have a sales team to feed or a junior to keep busy. My reputation is built on what happens to your website after we start working together, so I’m as invested in your results as you are.
If something isn’t working, you’ll hear it from me first, along with what we’re doing about it.
Book a callYou’re not “another client”
You won’t be a client code in a spreadsheet. You’ll have my direct number and email, and when you ask a question you get an answer from the person who knows your site inside out.
Want to learn to do it yourself instead? I teach that too.
SEO trainingWhat a UK SEO freelancer does for your website
Everything an agency would put on the proposal, done by the person you spoke to, and only the bits your website needs.
Proper SEO audit first
Technical, on-page and content. I find out what’s broken and what’s missing before anyone touches anything.
Understanding your customers’ searches
What people type when they’re ready to buy what you sell, and what they type when they’re still working it out.
Technical fixes
Crawl problems, speed, indexing, the plumbing that stops good content ranking. Fixed, or briefed clearly to your developer.
On-page SEO
Titles, headings, page structure and content that matches what people are searching for. Written for humans, readable by Google.
Content that answers the question
Blog posts and service pages that solve the problem behind the search, so they rank and convert rather than sitting there.
Local SEO where it matters
Google Business Profile, local pages and citations for businesses that need customers in Derby or Swindon, not the whole country.
AI search and Google’s AI answers
Making sure your site is the one that gets cited when ChatGPT or Google’s AI overviews answer your customers’ questions.
Reporting you can read
Enquiries, calls, form fills and the searches that drove them. One page, plain English, no forty-slide deck.
Straight answers, fast
Ask a question, get a reply from me. Google changes something, you hear from me before you’ve read about it.
SEO freelancer vs SEO agency: what you’re really paying for
An agency fee pays for the work plus everyone who stands between you and it. A freelancer fee pays for the work. Same hours on your website, a lot less spent on the bits of the business you never see.
- The person you speak to is the person doing the work, every time
- Thirty years of SEO experience on your account, rather than on the pitch deck
- Changes made in hours or days, without a ticketing system
- A strategy built around your business goals, not this month’s package tasks
- Reports that tell you about enquiries and sales, in words you can read
- No agency overheads hidden in your monthly fee
When to choose an SEO agency and when to choose a freelancer
I’m not going to pretend a freelancer is right for everyone. If you’re a multinational needing SEO in nine languages across forty markets, you probably want a big team. For most UK B2B businesses, though, the maths points the other way.
A UK SEO freelancer suits you if
- You want to talk to the person doing the work
- Your business is small to medium sized and every pound of budget has to earn its keep
- You’ve been burned by an agency before and want to know what you’re paying for
- You want SEO built around your business, not a package off a shelf
- You’d like to learn as you go, so you understand your own website
An SEO agency suits you if
- You need multiple languages and markets covered at once
- You want paid ads, PR, social and SEO all under one roof
- Your procurement team requires a company of a certain size
- You need a team available every hour of every day
- You’re happy paying for the structure that comes with all that. Here’s the longer version of the comparison
Who hires a freelance SEO consultant instead of an agency
Mostly small and medium sized UK businesses selling to other businesses, run by people who want their website to bring in enquiries and would rather not spend an afternoon a month on a video call being shown graphs. Some have left an agency. Some have never used one and don’t fancy starting. All of them want to know what’s being done to their website and why. If that’s you, let’s chat.
What I know about SEO and about your industry
What do I know about SEO?
I’ve been promoting websites for 30 years, since before Google existed, when getting to number one was quick, easy, and didn’t require second-guessing what a search engine wanted, because most of them hadn’t been invented yet. Since then I’ve seen every algorithm change, every trend and every dodgy tactic that promised instant results. I know what works, what’s a waste of your money, and how to tell the difference.
What do I know about your industry?
Over three decades I’ve worked with businesses selling everything from children’s clothes to engineering services, accountants to SaaS platforms, architects to healthcare providers. Every industry thinks it’s unique, and in some ways each one is. But how customers search when they’ve got a problem to solve is remarkably consistent. I learn your industry quickly, and I already know how search works.
What do I know about you?
Not much yet. That’s what the first conversation is for. I’ll ask about your customers, your competitors, what a good month looks like and what you’ve tried before. Then I’ll look at your website and tell you honestly what it needs, including if the answer is “not me”.
What people say about working with Nikki
Clients, course students and people whose sites I’ve fixed. No account manager involved in any of it.
Free SEO audit before you choose an agency or a freelancer
Whichever way you go, you should know what state your website’s in first. I’ll go through it, tell you what’s wrong, what’s fixable and what it would take. If the answer is “you don’t need me”, I’ll say that too. No proposal deck, no follow-up sales calls.
Ask for the free auditWhat a UK SEO freelancer costs compared to an agency
Foundation is £750 a month for small service businesses, three months minimum. Growth is £1,500 a month for growing SMEs who want blog content included, six months minimum. Authority is £2,250 a month for established businesses who want the full content strategy, six months minimum. I’ll tell you upfront what your website needs and which one makes sense. You won’t be sold the biggest one for the sake of it, and none of it is paying for a reception desk.
SEO agency vs SEO freelancer questions
Is a freelance SEO consultant cheaper than a UK SEO agency?
Usually, yes, for the same amount of work. You’re not funding a sales team, account managers and an office. My packages start at £750 a month. Agency retainers for similar work tend to start higher and go up quickly. Cheaper isn’t the point, though. Knowing what you’re paying for is.
What happens if you’re ill or on holiday?
I tell you in advance, and SEO isn’t an emergency service. Nothing on your website is going to fall over because I’ve had a week in a caravan. If something urgent does come up, you have my direct contact details, and you’ll get a straight answer about when it’ll be sorted.
Can one person really do everything an agency does?
For a small to medium sized B2B website, yes. Audit, technical fixes, content, reporting and AI search are all things I do every week. Where a job needs a developer or a designer, I brief them clearly and you keep one point of contact. What one person can’t do is nine languages across forty markets, and I’ll tell you if that’s what you need.
How quickly will I see results?
Technical fixes can show within weeks. Content and authority take months, whoever does the work. Anyone promising page one in 30 days is selling you something, and it isn’t SEO. What you will get from me is a clear picture in the first month of what’s wrong and what we’re doing about it.
Do you work with businesses anywhere in the UK?
Yes. Most of my work happens on video calls and email, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re in Chester, Norwich or Inverness. Local SEO for a specific area is part of the work where it’s relevant.
I’ve had a bad experience with an SEO agency. How is this different?
You’ll speak to me, you’ll know what’s being done to your website and why, and you’ll see reports about enquiries rather than graphs about impressions. Start with the free audit and I’ll tell you what the last lot did, good and bad, before you spend anything.
What if I’d rather learn SEO myself?
Then do that. My SEO training teaches business owners and marketing teams to look after their own websites, and it’s a perfectly good route if you’ve got the time. Some people do the training and then hire me for the bits they don’t fancy.
Skip the agency. Talk to the person doing the work.
Your business success matters, and your SEO support should reflect that. Something many an SEO agency, in the UK or elsewhere, simply can’t deliver.
Let’s chat!Non-Wanky SEO