Question 1

How long until I’d actually see results?

Accepted Answer

Realistic answer: most local SEO improvements start showing up on page 1 within 6 to 12 weeks for the right keywords. Broader competitive terms take 4 to 9 months. Anyone promising page 1 in 30 days is either lying or targeting keywords no one searches for. I’ll set proper expectations on day one based on your trade, your area, and what we’re competing against.

Question 2

How much do local SEO services cost?

Accepted Answer

Depends on the scope. A small business in Leigh or Atherton targeting a few local keywords costs much less than a multi-service business in Manchester or Bolton competing for high-volume terms. Pricing is monthly retainer or one-off project work, agreed up front, no hourly billing, no surprise invoices. Ask for a quote and I’ll be straight with you about what’s worth doing and what isn’t.

Question 3

Do I need a new website, or can you do SEO on the one I have?

Accepted Answer

Honest answer: it depends. If your current site is fast, mobile-friendly, and built on a sensible platform, I can almost always improve its SEO without a rebuild. If it’s a slow Wix site from 2018 with no proper meta tags or schema, the SEO ceiling is low and a rebuild often pays for itself in months. I’ll audit your existing site for free and tell you which side of that line you’re on.

Question 4

What’s the difference between local SEO and Google Business Profile?

Accepted Answer

GBP is one piece of local SEO. It controls how your business shows up in the map pack and on Google Maps, important, but it’s not the whole picture. Local SEO is the umbrella term covering your website’s local relevance, your GBP, citations across the web, reviews, and the consistency of your business info everywhere it appears. You need both. A great website with no GBP misses out on map searches. A great GBP with no website misses out on organic searches. Done properly, the two reinforce each other.

Question 5

Do you guarantee page 1 rankings?

Accepted Answer

No, and you should walk away from anyone who does. Nobody controls Google’s algorithm. What I can guarantee is best-practice work, a fast, technically sound, properly optimised site targeting realistic keywords. Most projects that follow that playbook see meaningful ranking gains within a few months. That’s the right way to talk about SEO. Anything else is salesmanship.

Question 6

Will the work I’m paying for stop working if I stop paying?

Accepted Answer

Most of it stays. Technical improvements, schema, on-page optimisation, well-written content, none of that disappears when a retainer ends. What stops is the ongoing tuning, fresh content, rank monitoring, and reacting to algorithm shifts. Some businesses do a one-off project and then sustain it themselves. Others stay on a low-touch retainer for monitoring and adjustments. Whichever you prefer.

Question 7

What’s your background, are you actually qualified to do SEO?

Accepted Answer

I’m a freelance web designer and developer based in Leigh, and SEO is built into every site I deliver, it’s not a side service. I work with real local businesses across Greater Manchester, see the rankings change in real time, and adjust based on what’s actually working. No agency overheads, no junior account managers, just the person doing the work. I’m happy to walk you through real client results before you commit to anything.

SEO Services Leigh & Greater Manchester