Have you ever been quoted £15,000 a month for small business SEO services and wondered what the bloody hell you’re actually paying for? You’re not alone. The SEO industry is crawling with chancers promising the earth and delivering sod all.

*Actual figures from an actual client who hired me when their SEO didn’t work!

I don’t want you to be ripped off, YOU don’t want you to be ripped off, so let’s take a look at how to spot the wanky SEO salespeople before they drain your marketing budget on promises they can’t keep.

And let’s be clear here – I’m talking about your average small business to business services website, not a behemoth of an ecommerce site with 4000 products, a massive brand selling sports shoes, or a ginormous job site with 10,000 jobs, And I’m not (really) talking about ‘award winning SEO agencies’ with multiple staff working on your site at any one time – although if I’m honest, I could be, so this is worth a read anyway, as some of the same principles apply.

A warning before you start – this is L-O-O-N-G – honestly, I’d grab a cuppa before starting it – probably a biscuit or two – I’ve tried to make it easily scannable, but as always, I have so much to say!

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Small business SEO red flags that scream “run away”

When you’re looking for SEO help, these warning signs should have you heading for the door faster than the salesperson can say “Just sign this 12 months contract”.

Guaranteed Google rankings claims

“We’ll get you to #1 on Google!” is perhaps the most obvious red flag. No one – and I mean absolutely no one – can guarantee specific rankings. Google uses hundreds of ranking factors, the algorithm changes constantly, and your competitors aren’t sitting around doing nothing.

Anyone promising specific rankings is either lying or planning to use dodgy techniques that will eventually get your site penalised. Either way, you lose.

Mysterious “proprietary techniques” they can’t explain

“We use our exclusive, proprietary ranking methodology that we can’t discuss in detail.”

Translation: “We’re making this up as we go along.”

Real SEO isn’t a secret sauce or magic spell. While there are certainly advanced techniques, a genuine expert should be able to explain their approach in terms you understand. If they can’t (or won’t), they’re hiding something – usually their own incompetence.

Contracts with no clear deliverables

Watch out for contracts that specify monthly payments but are mysteriously vague about what you’ll actually receive. Legitimate SEO proposals include specific deliverables: technical audits, content creation schedules, reporting frameworks, and implementation timelines.

If your contract just says “SEO services” without detailing what that actually means, you’re likely paying for fresh air with a side of disappointment.

The classic “we have special Google access” bollocks

“We have insider connections at Google” or “We have special insight into the algorithm” are immediate red flags. Google guards its ranking systems jealously, and even most Google employees don’t have detailed knowledge of how the algorithms work.

Anyone claiming special access or insider knowledge is talking absolute rubbish. End of story.

Suspiciously cheap packages that promise everything

“Complete SEO services for just £99 a month!” If that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it absolutely is. Quality SEO takes time, expertise, and effort – none of which come cheap.

These bargain-basement offerings targeted towards small businesses typically involve automated tools, copy-paste content, and generic “optimisation” that delivers zero value. As the saying goes, if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Questions that make dodgy SEOs squirm

Want to separate the professionals from the pretenders? Ask these questions and watch their reactions closely.

“How exactly will you measure success?”

Beware of agencies that focus solely on rankings or traffic. These metrics mean nothing if they don’t translate to business results. A good SEO will discuss:

Conversion improvements (leads, sales, sign-ups)
Revenue increases from organic traffic
Return on your SEO investment
Specific ranking improvements for commercially valuable keywords

If they can’t explain how their work connects to your business goals, they’re not worth your money.

“What specific changes will you make to my website?”

Vague promises of “on-page optimisation” or “content enhancement” aren’t good enough. A professional should be able to provide a clear roadmap of planned changes after reviewing your site, including, but not limited to:

Specific technical issues they plan to address
Content gaps they’ve identified (and whose job it is to fill them)
Structural improvements they recommend

Anyone who can’t provide specifics either hasn’t done their homework or doesn’t actually know what they’re doing.

“How do you stay updated with algorithm changes?”

SEO changes constantly. Google made about 17 gazillion (OK, a slight exaggeration) algorithm updates last year alone. Ask potential SEOs how they stay informed about these changes.

Look for answers that mention specific industry sources, testing methodologies, professional networks, and ongoing education. Be wary of those who claim they “just know what works” without explaining how they adapt to industry shifts.

“What happens if we don’t see results within six months?”

This question reveals their confidence and accountability. Good SEOs will discuss:

What will be “quick wins”
What will take more time
Their review process for strategies that aren’t working
How they adapt approaches based on performance data

If they get defensive or offer only vague reassurances about “SEO taking time,” they may not have confidence in their own abilities.

What good SEO service actually looks like

Now that we know what to avoid, let’s talk about what legitimate SEO help looks like for small businesses.

Clear, jargon-free explanations

Professional SEOs explain complex concepts in plain English. They don’t hide behind technical jargon to make themselves sound clever or to confuse you into thinking their work is more complex than it is.

When the explanation sounds like alphabet soup (E-E-A-T, YMYL, DA, PA, and other acronyms – we SEOs LOVE an acronym!) without clear explanation, that’s usually a bad sign. Good SEOs translate the technical stuff into language that, as a small business owner, you can actually understand and apply.

Transparent reporting on actual business metrics

Good reporting doesn’t just show rankings or traffic – it connects SEO work to business outcomes. Effective SEO reports should include:

Revenue or leads generated from organic search
Comparison of traffic quality, not just quantity
Updates on specific work completed and its impact
Clear next steps and priorities

The report should be more than just an automated list of rankings or a generic Semrush export. It should show you exactly what work was done, what impact it had, and what’s coming next. It should connect SEO activities to actual business results, not just SEO metrics.

Education, not dependency

The best SEO professionals teach you as they work. They want you to understand the basics so you can make informed decisions and maintain the improvements they make.

Be wary of SEOs who treat their work as mysterious and incomprehensible – they’re often creating dependency to keep you paying indefinitely. A good SEO partner wants to improve your understanding of digital marketing, not keep you in the dark.

Focus on revenue, not just rankings

Rankings alone don’t pay bills. Genuine SEO experts focus on keywords and strategies that drive business results:

Targeting transactional keywords that attract buyers, not just browsers
Optimising conversion paths from organic landing pages
Improving site experience to encourage the sales process
Tracking and enhancing SEO return on investment

If your SEO talks only about getting you to number one without discussing what happens after visitors arrive on your site, they’re missing the point entirely.

The SEO services that actually deliver value

Let’s look at the SEO services that typically provide actual returns for small businesses.

Technical SEO audits with specific recommendations

A proper technical audit examines your website’s foundation and identifies issues that are holding back your performance. It should include, at the very least:

Crawlability and indexation analysis (can Google find and list all your pages, and is it?)
Site speed optimisation suggestions (what can they do to make your site faster, if needed?)
Mobile usability assessment (does your site work properly on mobile?)
Structured prioritisation of fixes (what to do first and why)

The key difference between valuable audits and wastes of money? Practical, prioritised recommendations you can actually implement, not just lists of problems.

Content strategy based on actual search data

Effective content strategy begins with research into what your potential customers are actually searching for. Look for SEOs who:

Conduct keyword research specific to your business and location
Analyse search intent for each target keyword
Create content plans that address the full customer journey
Recommend improvements to existing content, not just new content

Quality content strategy connects search trends to your business offerings and customer needs – it’s not just about blogging for the sake of blogging.

Local SEO setup and optimisation

For businesses serving specific geographic areas, local SEO provides some of the highest returns. Valuable local SEO includes (as an addition to everything else I’ve talked about):

Google Business Profile optimisation and management
Local citation building and clean-up
Review generation and management strategies
Local schema implementation (technical bits that tell Google important stuff)

Be wary of local SEO services that focus solely on Google Business Profile – effective local strategy requires multiple approaches working together.

Conversion improvements

The best traffic in the world is worthless if it doesn’t convert. Look for SEOs who address:

Landing page optimisation for better user experience
Call-to-action placement and testing
Form simplification and user journey improvement
Site speed enhancement for reduced abandonment
Conversion path optimisation (Blimey I’m starting to sound a bit jargon-y – this just means ‘how people go from the page they land on to the page you want them on to book a call/make an enquiry/buy your stuff)

These improvements convert more of your existing traffic into customers – often providing faster returns than pure ranking work. I talk about this in SEO isn’t always the answer.

Regular, plain-English reporting

Finally, valuable SEO services include reporting that makes sense and ties to business outcomes:

Clear connection between SEO activities and revenue
Jargon-free explanations of technical improvements
Honest assessment of what’s working and what isn’t
Evolving strategies based on performance data

You should get regular updates that clearly explain what’s been done, what results have been achieved, and what’s coming next – in language any business owner can understand. These don’t have to be every week or every month, and they may be done on a Zoom call or in a meeting, but you need to know what’s going on in a way you can understand.

What’s usually a waste of your SEO budget

Now for the services that typically deliver poor returns for small businesses.

Link building packages

“We’ll build 50 high-quality backlinks for £500” is almost certainly a scam. Quality links come from earning mentions through good content, business relationships, and genuine PR – not from bulk packages. I talk about this in this blog post about building quality backlinks.

Worthless link building typically includes:

Directory submissions to irrelevant sites
Low-quality guest posts on obvious link farms
Comment spam or forum profile links
Private blog network links that violate Google’s guidelines

These links range from useless to actively harmful. Google has sophisticated systems to identify artificial link building, and penalties can devastate your visibility.

Keyword stuffing services

Services promising to “optimise your content” often just stuff keywords everywhere:

Cramming keywords into titles beyond readability
Forcing exact match phrases into every heading
Creating awkward, keyword-stuffed content
Over-optimising image alt text with repetitive phrases

This approach hasn’t worked since about 2010. Modern SEO requires natural language that serves user intent, not keyword stuffing.

Social media followers

While social signals may indirectly benefit SEO, most “social packages” sold as SEO services deliver zero value:

Purchased followers who never engage with your content
Fake engagement from bot accounts
Generic social posting with no strategic purpose
Platforms that don’t match your business audience

Unless social media directly drives your business model, these services rarely deliver SEO benefits worth their cost.

Guaranteed anything

No legitimate SEO can guarantee specific rankings because:

Google’s algorithms change constantly
Competitors are also optimising their sites
Ranking factors number in the hundreds
Search results vary by user, location, and device

Anyone guaranteeing rankings is either lying or planning to use techniques that violate Google’s guidelines – putting your site at risk of penalties.

Black-hat techniques that will get you penalised

Short-term ranking boosts from manipulative techniques always end badly:

Cloaking (showing different content to users and search engines)
Hidden text or links
Spammy doorway pages
Keyword stuffing
Paid links on irrelevant websites or link farms

These techniques might work briefly, but when (not if) Google catches on, the penalties can be severe and long-lasting.

How to find legitimate SEO help

So how do you find the genuine experts in a sea of snake oil? Here’s my advice.

Look for educators, not gatekeepers

The best SEO professionals educate their clients and potential clients. They don’t hoard their knowledge like some dragon sitting on a treasure pile – they share it freely because they know that an informed client is a better client.

They:

Publish helpful content explaining their approach
Offer free resources that provide actual value
Explain concepts clearly without unnecessary jargon
Want you to understand what they’re doing and why

If someone treats SEO like a mysterious black box that only they understand, they’re probably hiding their lack of expertise.

Check their own SEO presence

Think about it – would you hire a personal trainer who’s obviously never seen the inside of a gym? Of course not. The same applies to SEO professionals.

While not every SEO expert needs to rank #1 for “SEO” nationally, their online presence should demonstrate they understand the basics. Do they rank for relevant local terms? Is their website properly optimised? Does it load quickly on mobile? If they can’t sort their own SEO, they certainly can’t sort yours.

Start with a smaller project before committing long-term

Don’t dive straight into a 12-month contract without testing the waters first. Commission a specific project with clear deliverables, like a technical audit or a 1:1 session. This gives you a chance to see how they work, communicate, and deliver before you commit to a long-term relationship.

Trust your gut when something sounds too good to be true

Your business instinct has gotten you this far – don’t ignore it when it comes to SEO. If someone’s promises sound like fantasy, they probably are. If you feel pressured to sign immediately, walk away. If explanations are constantly vague or confusing, that’s a red flag the size of a bedsheet.

What should SEO actually cost?

Costs vary by location and industry competition, but general guidelines for the UK market:

Local service businesses: £500-1,500 monthly
Small e-commerce (under 500 products): £1,000-2,500 monthly
Regional businesses: £1,000-3,000 monthly
Technical SEO audit (one-time): £500-2,000 depending on site size
Content creation: £300+ per quality piece

Anyone charging significantly more should demonstrate exceptional value and results. Anyone charging significantly less may be cutting corners.

(Don’t @ me on this – I know there are always outliers, and people just getting started may charge less, agencies will definitely charge more, and the whole thing is really “how long is a piece of string”, but I didn’t think “It depends” was a great answer here!)

How long does SEO really take?

Sadly, there’s a reason there’s a joke that whatever you ask an SEO, the answer will be “It depends” – it’s because it really does. This varies by competition and starting point, but general expectations:

Technical improvements: 2-4 weeks to implement, 1-2 months to see impact
Local SEO: 2-3 months for significant improvements, but there may be quicker wins
Content strategy: 3-6 months for new content to gain traction, again there may be some quick wins
Link building: 6-12 months or more to see the impact of quality link acquisition
Competitive markets: 6-12+ months for significant movement

Be extremely wary of anyone promising major results in less than 2-3 months unless you’re in a very low-competition niche.

SEO isn’t a one-off job

SEO isn’t a one-time fix – it needs ongoing maintenance and improvement:

Competitors are constantly optimising their sites

Your competitors aren’t sitting still – they’re actively working to outrank you. That marketing company down the road might look quiet, but they could be cranking out location pages, building local citations, and gathering reviews while you’re not looking. SEO isn’t a “set it and forget it” game – it’s more like an arms race where standing still means falling behind.

Google updates its algorithms regularly

Google makes thousands of tweaks to its algorithms every year, with major updates dropping several times annually. What worked brilliantly last year might be less effective today. Ongoing SEO work means staying on top of these changes, adapting your approach, and sometimes pivoting strategy entirely when Google decides to shake things up.

User behaviours and preferences evolve

Remember when everyone searched for “marketing London”? Now they’re using voice search to ask “who’s the best marketing company that works with fashion businesses?” The way people search changes constantly – they use different devices, ask different questions, and expect different results. Your SEO strategy needs to evolve as your customers’ search habits do.

New content opportunities emerge constantly

Your industry isn’t static, and neither should your SEO and content be. New services, products, problems, solutions, and questions arise all the time. Without ongoing content development, you’ll miss opportunities to capture traffic for emerging search terms and topics that your potential customers are suddenly interested in.

Like a garden, SEO requires regular tending, not just initial planting. Budget for ongoing work, not just a one-time push.

SEO isn’t magic – it’s methodical work

The biggest takeaway I want you to have is this – SEO isn’t some mystical dark art that only chosen gurus can perform. It’s methodical work that involves:

Understanding how search engines function
Identifying technical issues that hurt performance
Creating content that serves user needs
Building authority through quality references
Measuring and adapting based on results

Anyone claiming otherwise is trying to separate you from your money without delivering value. Now you know better.

If you’re tired of being fleeced by SEO “experts” and want straight-talking, result-focused help, I’ve been helping small businesses for over 30 years. Unlike the chancers, I’ll tell you exactly what I’m doing, why it matters, and what results you can realistically expect.

Ready for SEO that actually makes sense? Let’s talk.
Decided to go it alone? Then my non-wanky on-page SEO course might be for you!