Summary
- Retainers run $1,000–5,000 (US) or £750–4,000 (UK) per month.
- Local SEO for one location starts at about $500 or £400 monthly.
- Ask how many hours the retainer buys and who does the work.
- Avoid ranking guarantees, bought links and long lock-ins.
- Expect meaningful growth in 4–6 months, not weeks.
Quick answer
A monthly SEO retainer costs about $1,000–5,000 in the US and £750–4,000 in the UK for a small or mid-sized business. Local SEO for a single-location service business starts lower, around $500–1,500 or £400–1,200 per month.
Typical 2026 prices
| Service | US | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Local SEO, one location, per month | $500–1,500 | £400–1,200 |
| SMB retainer, per month | $1,500–4,000 | £1,000–3,000 |
| E-commerce or multi-location, per month | $4,000–12,000 | £3,000–9,000 |
| One-off technical audit | $1,500–6,000 | £1,000–4,500 |
| Content production, per article | $150–800 | £120–600 |
| Consultant hourly rate | $100–250 | £75–200 |
| Migration support (site rebuild) | $3,000–15,000 | £2,500–12,000 |
What a retainer should include
Ask how many hours the retainer represents and who does the work. A $2,000 retainer that buys six hours a month is a very different product from one that buys twenty.
Warning signs
How long until it works
Expect early technical and local wins in 1–3 months, meaningful traffic growth in 4–6 months, and competitive rankings in 6–12 months. Anything faster usually means the market is uncompetitive — or the tactics are risky.
Getting value from a smaller budget
Summary
Budget $1,000–5,000 or £750–4,000 per month for genuine SEO work, less for single-location local SEO. Judge proposals on named deliverables, hours and reporting on leads — not on promised rankings.