SEO consultant for when you need clear direction, not a retainer.
SEO consulting is expert advice on what to fix and in what order, delivered as an audit and a roadmap your own team or developer can act on. It suits you if you want to understand your options before committing to ongoing work.
When consulting is the right fit
- You have an in-house team or developer who can do the work but needs a plan.
- You want an independent second opinion on what your current agency is doing.
- You are about to redesign or move your site and want the search risks checked first.
- You are not sure whether SEO is worth the investment for your business yet.
How a consulting engagement runs
- 01
Discovery call
We learn your business, your customers and what you have tried, and agree what you want to get out of the engagement.
- 02
Audit
A review of technical health, content, local presence and AI search visibility. See what a good SEO audit includes.
- 03
Prioritised roadmap
Findings ranked by likely impact and effort, in plain language, so you know what to do first and what can wait.
- 04
Walkthrough
We take you or your team through the findings and answer questions, so the document does not just sit in a folder.
A roadmap is only useful if it is carried out. If you would rather have us do the work, the same findings move straight into our managed SEO service.
What an SEO audit covers
An audit is a structured review of how well your site can be found and trusted. Google's Search Essentials are the baseline: technical requirements, spam policies and key best practices. We check your site against all three, then add the things specific to your business.
- Technical: crawling, indexing, canonicals, redirects, sitemap, speed and mobile layout.
- Content: what each page targets, where pages overlap, and where answers are missing.
- Local: your Google Business Profile and consistency of business details.
- AI visibility: how your business appears when customers ask AI assistants.
- Trust: reviews, authorship, business information and any risky tactics.
Consultant, agency or in-house?
| SEO consultant | SEO agency | In-house hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | Advises and plans | Plans and does the work | Does the work day to day |
| Commitment | Project-based | Ongoing | Ongoing salary |
| Best when | You have people to act on the plan | You want it handled for you | SEO is central to the business |
| Risk | Plan is never carried out | Choosing an agency you cannot judge | One person cannot cover every skill |
Many clients begin with consulting and move to our managed SEO service once they can see the plan.
Redesigns and site moves
A redesign or domain change is the moment most sites lose rankings. Google's guidance on site moves and URL changes is clear: map every old URL to its new equivalent, use permanent 301 or 308 redirects straight to the final destination, avoid sending unrelated pages to one place such as the home page, and keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least a year. We review plans against that guidance before launch.
When we will tell you to wait
SEO is not the right first move for every business. If your site does not explain what you sell, if you cannot handle more enquiries, or if you are about to change your offer, we will say so. A consultant who only ever recommends more SEO is not being independent.
What you get
- A written audit with findings ranked by priority
- A roadmap your developer or team can follow
- A walkthrough call to explain it
- An honest view on whether more work is worth it
Related pages
Start with a free AI visibility check
In 30 minutes we look at how your business appears in Google, on maps and in AI assistants, and tell you what we would fix first. See what happens on the call.
Sources
SEO consulting: common questions
What is the difference between an SEO consultant and an SEO agency?
A consultant advises and plans; an agency also carries out the work month after month. Many clients start with a consulting audit and decide afterwards whether they want ongoing help.
Can you review the work my current agency is doing?
Yes. An independent review compares what has been done with what your site needs, and lists any gaps. It is a way to check value, not a way to start an argument.
Will you check a redesign or migration before it launches?
We can review plans and the staging site for search risks such as changed URLs, missing redirects and blocked pages, so problems are caught before launch.
Do I need an audit before starting SEO?
It is the sensible first step. Any good SEO programme begins by recording where you stand and what is holding you back.
How long does an audit take?
It depends on the size of the site. We agree the scope and timing on the discovery call so you know what to expect.
Will I get a written report?
Yes. You receive findings ranked by priority and a roadmap in plain language, and we walk you through it.
Can you train my team?
We can explain the findings and the reasons behind them so your team understands what to do and why. Anything beyond that we would agree separately.
Do you review keyword strategy?
Yes. Part of the audit checks whether your pages target the searches your customers actually make and whether pages compete with each other.