LA SEARCHHire an SEO consultant if you want one experienced person doing the work, talking to you directly and costing less. In Ahrefs’ poll of 439 SEO providers, agencies charged 138% more than freelancers on average (global figures, updated August 2024). Hire an agency if you need lots of people across lots of channels at once, or the sheer volume of work is more than one person can do. Either way, judge them on the same thing: who actually does the work, and whether they can show you results.
I’m a solo specialist, so yes, I’m biased. I’ll be honest about when an agency is the better call, though, because sometimes it really is.
What you actually get from each
An SEO consultant is one person (sometimes with a trusted freelancer or two for specialist jobs). The person who wins your business is the person who does your work. You get their experience directly, and you can usually reach them quickly.
An SEO agency is a business with a team. Typically there’s a salesperson, an account manager, and a team of specialists doing the hands-on work. Big agencies can cover lots of channels and lots of hours. You’re buying a system, not a person.
Neither is automatically better. Here’s the question that matters: who will actually touch my website? Ask it out loud, in the first meeting. The answer tells you a lot.
Cost
Agencies carry more overheads: offices, management, sales teams, account managers. That shows up in the price.
The best numbers I can find:
- Ahrefs’ poll (439 providers worldwide, August 2024): agencies charge 138% more than freelancers, and consultants averaged $3,250 a month.
- YunoJuno’s booking data: SEO consultants average £374 a day (read 2 November 2026).
I’ve written a whole post on what an SEO consultant costs in the UK if you want the detail.
Cheaper isn’t the point, though. The point is how much of your money goes into work on your website versus everything around it.
When an agency is the better call
Real talk. Go for an agency if:
- You need several channels at once. SEO, paid ads, social, design and development, all launching together under one roof.
- The volume is huge. Hundreds of new pages a month, lots of markets and languages, or several brands at once.
- You need cover every day. If a site going down at 7am on a Sunday is a crisis, you want a rota, not a person.
- Your procurement rules demand it. Some big organisations can only buy from suppliers of a certain size.
If that’s you, a good agency is worth its weight. Just make sure you know who’s on your account.
When a consultant is the better call
Go for a consultant if:
- You want senior experience on your site, not just in the pitch. With me, you get me: over 10 years of SEO experience and a lifetime of creative thinking, on every project.
- You want to talk to the person doing the work. No message passed from account manager to specialist and back again.
- You want to learn. A good consultant can fix the foundations and then teach your team to keep it going. You end up owning your SEO, not renting it.
- Your budget is real but not enormous. You’d rather it went on hours spent on your site.
- You need specialist depth. A technical SEO problem, a migration, or GEO work that most generalist teams are still learning.
The honest downside of a consultant? One person has limited hours and takes holidays. Ask how they handle both.
Questions that tell you who you’re really talking to
Google has a page called Do you need an SEO? (updated June 2026). It’s the best free checklist going, and it works for consultants and agencies alike. Some of its questions, plus a few of mine:
- “Can you show me examples of your previous work and share some success stories?” (Google’s question.) Ask for real names and real numbers. My case studies include Waterside Holiday Group (+569.92%) and AerialJohnny (+473%).
- “Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site?” Google suggests asking for “detailed information about your recommendations and the reasoning behind them”.
- “Who exactly will do the work, and how long have they been doing SEO?” (Mine.)
- “Whose name are my Search Console, Analytics and Business Profile in?” (Mine.) The answer should be yours. Always.
- “If you offer GEO, is your advice aligned with Google’s official guidance?” Google now asks this one itself.
- “What results do you expect, and in what timeframe? How do you measure success?” (Google’s.) Beware anyone who guarantees rankings. Google’s words: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”
And notice whether they ask you questions. Google puts it nicely: “See if the SEO is interested in you and your business. If they’re not interested, find someone who is.”
A two-minute way to decide
Answer these honestly:
- Is SEO (and GEO) the main thing you need, or one of five channels?
- Do you want to speak to the person doing the work?
- Would you like your own team to understand it by the end?
- Is your budget closer to “a few days a month” than “a department”?
Mostly yes? Start with a consultant. Mostly no? Talk to a couple of agencies, and use the questions above to check who’ll be on your account.
What about a consultant who works with agencies?
Plenty of us work both sides. I partner with agencies too: they look after the client relationship and I do the specialist SEO and GEO work. If you’re an agency reading this, here’s how that works.
For you as a business, it means one thing: ask who’s actually doing the work. Sometimes the answer to “agency or consultant?” is both.
FAQ
Is a freelance SEO consultant cheaper than an agency?
Usually, yes. In Ahrefs’ poll, agencies charged 138% more than freelancers on average. You’re paying for a bigger team and the overheads that come with it.
Is an SEO consultant as good as an agency?
It depends on the person and the job. An experienced consultant brings years of hands-on expertise straight to your site. An agency brings more capacity. Judge both on their results, their process and who does the work.
Can one person really handle all my SEO?
For most small and medium-sized businesses, yes: technical fixes, on-page work, local SEO, content strategy and GEO. If you need hundreds of pages a month or several channels at once, you’ll need more hands.
What should I ask before hiring either?
Start with Google’s own list on its Do you need an SEO? page. Add: who does the work, who owns the accounts, and what happens if you want to leave.
Do agencies or consultants do GEO?
Both can. Check that their GEO advice matches what Google, OpenAI and Microsoft actually publish. I’ve summarised that in GEO in 2026: what Google, OpenAI and Microsoft actually say.
Want to talk to the person who’d actually do the work?
That’s me, Leigh-Anne. I’ll look at your site, tell you honestly whether you need a consultant, an agency or just a few fixes you can do yourself, and what I’d do first.
