Freelance SEO consultant Manchester

The short answer is it depends.

SEO pricing in Manchester varies depending on your goals, your competition, and how much ground you want to cover — but most small businesses here spend between £500 and £1,500 a month on SEO.

If you’re a local business — say a café in the Northern Quarter, a tradesperson in Chorlton, or an independent retailer in Ancoats — you can usually see solid progress on the lower end. Consistent local SEO, strong content, and a few good local backlinks go a long way in this city.

But if you’re in a more competitive space — like legal, finance, or e-commerce — expect to invest more. You’re up against bigger brands and national players, so your content and link strategy need to hit harder and go deeper.

You’ll also find freelancers and smaller agencies in Manchester offering short-term work — audits, technical fixes, or local optimisation — typically starting around £300–£600.

The thing about SEO is, it pays off over time. The longer you stay consistent, the stronger your visibility gets — and the harder it is for anyone else to catch up.

My approach is simple — I don’t hand out prices before I understand your goals. I start with a detailed audit, get a full picture of what’s holding your site back, and then build a proposal with timelines and pricing that actually make sense. You only pay for what moves the needle — no fluff, no wasted hours.

Get in touch to request an audit.

Building links for a Manchester business isn’t about flashy PR or chasing big national sites.

It’s about showing Google you’re rooted here — that people in this city know you, talk about you, and trust you.

This is what that actually looks like:

• Get involved in the community – sponsor something that matters — a local football team, a charity event, or a stall at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival. It builds your name, earns trust, and usually gets you a link that actually counts.

• List your business where locals actually look – add yourself to Visit Manchester, I Love MCR, and Manchester Business Directory. They’re not flashy, but Google trusts them — and that trust rubs off on you.

• Give local media something worth sharing – if you’ve done something interesting, useful, or community-driven, pitch it to Manchester Evening News or About Manchester. Local press links carry serious weight.

• Team up with other Manchester businesses – a barber and a clothing brand. A café and a bakery. You feature each other, you link to each other. Both win.

• Don’t overlook the universities – University of Manchester and Manchester Met often link to local partners, student offers, or guest speakers. Even one of those links can make a difference.

Local link building in Manchester isn’t about gaming Google — it’s about showing up, getting involved, and becoming part of the city. The more people here see you, the more Google does too.

And if you’d rather have someone who already knows Manchester’s landscape handle it — that’s exactly what I do.

Google Ads give you results fast. You set a budget, write an ad, and your site shows up right at the top. But once you stop paying, it’s gone — along with your traffic.

SEO takes longer, but it builds something real. You’re creating authority and earning your spot on Google instead of renting it. Once you rank, the leads keep coming in — without paying for every click.

For most Manchester businesses, it’s about balance. If you want instant leads — say you’ve just opened or you’ve got a short-term campaign — Google Ads can get the phone ringing. But if you want consistent, long-term visibility, SEO’s the smarter move.

The best results usually come from doing both — using Ads for quick wins while SEO builds momentum behind the scenes. Over time, SEO takes over, and you spend less on ads to keep getting the same leads.