Updated
Updated What changed on
Fact-checked The YunoJuno and IT Jobs Watch day rates and every Google quote were checked at source on 14 October 2026. My prices did not change.
- Added what a freelance SEO consultant does, how I work and named client results.
- Added how to check any SEO consultant, using Google's own hiring questions.
- Added a short section on SEO and AI search, quoting Google.
- Replaced an unsourced market day rate with YunoJuno and IT Jobs Watch figures.
- On 15 October 2026, corrected the retainer terms to 30 days' notice, matching the pricing page.
Freelance SEO consultant in the UK who does the work himself.
I'm Jason Burns, a freelance SEO consultant based in Wellingborough, working UK-wide and remote-first. In search since 2007. You get one senior SEO expert doing the audits, the fixes and the calls. No account manager, no junior handover. Agency-grade thinking at a £450 day rate.
£750k annual organic sales for Rooflights Company. 3,500% local visibility lift for Sushi Daily. See the case studies
What does a freelance SEO consultant actually do?
A freelance SEO consultant is one independent specialist who improves how your site shows up in Google. I audit the site and find the search engine optimisation problems that cost you rankings and sales. Then I fix them, or write the spec your developer needs, and show you what changed. No team in between.
- Technical SEO. Crawling, indexing, site speed and Core Web Vitals. Plus site migrations and redirect maps.
- Keyword research. Which searches your buyers actually use, and which page should answer each one.
- On-page SEO. Titles, headings, internal links and copy that matches what people search for.
- Content strategy. What to write, what to merge and what to cut.
- Competitor gaps. Who outranks you, and what they have that you don't.
- Local SEO. Location pages and listings for businesses people visit in person.
- Authority. Earning links and mentions. Never buying them.
- AI search. Getting cited in AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Most briefs land in one of three lanes:
Ongoing fixes, content and authority work, with a report on what actually changed and why.
SEO management serviceCrawls, migrations, indexation problems and Core Web Vitals. The unglamorous work where most organic traffic is won or lost.
Technical SEO serviceClearer entities, citable writing and cleaner page structure, so AI answers can quote you.
GEO consulting serviceWhat changes when you go freelance.
I founded SEO Moves in 2014 and grew it past £1m, so this is not an agency hit piece. Agencies are the right buy when you need volume: lots of content, lots of hands. When you need senior judgement, a freelance SEO consultancy wins. Here is the honest comparison.
| What you're buying | Freelance SEO consultant | Typical agency retainer |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the workThe bit that matters most | Me. The audit, the calls, the recommendations, the fixes. The person you meet is the person who delivers. | A team. Often a senior at the pitch, then a junior analyst doing the delivery from week two. |
| What you pay forWhere the money goes | Delivery time. £450 a day, published on this page. No account management layer built into the price. | Delivery plus overheads: account managers, office, reporting meetings, new business time. |
| Speed of decisionsIdea to shipped | Decided on the call. No ticket queue, no sprint backlog, no waiting for the monthly review. | Changes usually route through an account manager and land in the next sprint cycle. |
| ScaleWhen each shape wins | One senior person. Right for strategy, audits, technical work and training. Wrong for 50 articles a month. | Many hands. Right for big content programmes and multi-channel campaigns run in parallel. |
| CommitmentGetting out again | Project work is fixed scope, fixed fee. Retainers roll monthly and cancel with 30 days' notice. | Often 6 to 12 month terms with a notice period written into the contract. |
Not sure which shape you need? Send me the brief. If an agency would serve you better, I will say so in the first reply.
How I work, step by step.
Most work follows these four steps. You can stop after any of them, and you know the price before each one starts.
Send the brief
Tell me what is broken or what you want to grow. One reply within one working day: a rough scope and a price, or a clear "not me" pointing you somewhere better.
Half-day review, £225
A focused 4-hour block on one question. Live call, follow-up notes and priority email for 7 days. The usual first step.
Fix what matters first
A full audit and SEO strategy with a prioritised fix list, or a multi-day project. You agree the deliverables and the day count before it starts, so the total is known.
Monthly retainer
A fixed block of senior days each month. I keep the context and report on what actually changed and why.
Rates on the page, not on request.
Most freelance SEO consultants make you book a call to hear a number. I don't. These are the rates, and they are the same rates whoever asks.
| Engagement | Price | Best fit when |
|---|---|---|
| Half-day reviewThe usual first step | £225Fixed | You have one focused question, such as a traffic drop, a migration plan or a page that will not rank, and want a senior answer without a retainer. |
| Day rateAudit, fix sprint or training day | £450Per day | A full audit with a prioritised fix list, a hands-on technical day, or a training day with your marketing team. |
| Multi-day projectFixed scope, fixed fee | From £1,800Per project | Migrations, technical clean-ups and content system builds. You know the price before the work starts. |
| Monthly retainerOngoing senior days | From £1,800Per month | A fixed block of senior days for teams that want continuous input. Rolling, cancel with 30 days' notice. |
For context, YunoJuno's 2026 rates report puts the average SEO consultant day rate at £374. UK contract roles that mention SEO had a median of £413 a day in the six months to 14 October 2026, from 43 quoted rates on IT Jobs Watch. IT Jobs Watch counts job adverts and YunoJuno counts bookings on its own platform, so treat both as a rough guide. To model your own budget, try the SEO pricing calculator.
Full detail on what each engagement includes is on the pricing page.
Results with names on them.
In search since 2007. Founder of SEO Moves, the agency I started in 2014, grew past £1m and still run today. 80+ client projects along the way. Here are three of them.
£750k
Annual organic sales for Rooflights Company, a specialist supplier losing product searches to bigger DIY sites.
100/100
PageSpeed score for BlackRock, on a large estate that needed speed work without breaking governance or brand.
3,500%
Local visibility lift for Sushi Daily, across hundreds of physical locations.
"We've worked with Jason across both SEO and web strategy projects for several years. His work is exceptional, always delivered on time, to spec, and without fuss."
Want to speak to a past client? After a first call I can introduce you to one whose work matches yours. See all the case studies
How to check any SEO consultant, me included.
Google publishes questions to ask before you hire an SEO. Here are the ones that matter most, with my answer to each.
| Google's advice | My answer |
|---|---|
| Previous work"Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?" | Yes. Three named results are above, with more on the case studies page. After a first call I can put you in touch with a past client. |
| Measuring success"What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe? How do you measure your success?" | We agree the deliverables before work starts. Then I report on what actually changed and why. |
| Sharing changes"Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site...?" | Yes. A full day ends with a written summary and next steps. |
| Site accessFor an audit, "only grant read access to Search Console" | Agreed. Read access is the first thing I ask for. |
| Guarantees"If they guarantee you that their changes will give you first place in search results, find someone else." | Agreed. I won't promise a #1 ranking. Nobody honestly can. |
| AI search adviceIs GEO or AEO advice "aligned with Google Search's official guidance"? | Yes. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special optimisation beyond good SEO. My AI search work starts there. |
Source: Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central, last updated 5 June 2026.
Is AI replacing SEO?
No. Google's guide to AI features says SEO best practices still apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode. It goes further:
"There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary." Google Search Central, AI features and your website
So AI search work starts with SEO done properly. On top of that, I check where your brand is cited in AI answers, and where a competitor is cited instead.
You can now measure part of it. As of 31 August 2026, Google has rolled out Search Console's generative AI report to all websites. It shows your impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode. Impressions only, not clicks.
More detail on AI search optimisation, GEO consulting, and my answer to whether SEO is dead in 2026.
Best fit.
A quick check before we talk, so you know whether a freelance consultant is the right engagement for what you actually need.
Right brief for me
- An in-house team that needs senior SEO judgement, not more hands.
- A small business or SME that wants direct access to the person doing the work.
- An agency that needs white-label technical or migration support.
- A one-off audit or second opinion before a big site change.
Not the right brief
- You want the cheapest possible link building at volume.
- You need a full outsourced marketing department.
- You need someone embedded five days a week. That is a hire, not a freelancer.
Industries with their own page: e-commerce SEO, SaaS SEO, law firm SEO and accountant SEO.
Freelance SEO consultant FAQ.
How much does a freelance SEO consultant cost in the UK?
Should I hire a freelance SEO consultant or an agency?
What results can I expect, and how fast?
How many days a month do I need?
Do you do one-off SEO audits?
Do you cover AI search, such as AI Overviews and ChatGPT?
Is SEO being replaced by AI?
Is there a contract or notice period?
Do you work with agencies on a white-label basis?
Where are you based, and do you work remotely?
Start with a half-day review.
£225, one focused question, a senior answer. Send the brief, the traffic drop or the migration plan. I reply within 1 working day. If a freelancer is not the right shape for the job, the first reply says so.
Book a review