Hire an SEO consultant who runs your Google Ads too.
Twenty years in search. SEO since 2007, Google Ads since 2013 — and a Google Partner the whole way. I run both, integrated, in the order that actually works: ads first to find what converts, SEO once we know.
SEO is a slow burn. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling, not assessing.
Ads first. SEO when the data says where.
Most freelance SEO consultants pick a lane and stay in it. I run both — and I run them in the order that wins.
Ads first, to find what actually converts.
Google Ads tell you within months which keywords drive revenue, not just traffic. If you're already running ads, that data shapes the SEO strategy from day one. If you're not, we discuss whether to. For most growth-stage businesses I work with, the answer is yes.
SEO follows the data.
Technical foundation. Content for the categories that matter. Links earned on queries with commercial intent. All pointed at keywords your ads have proven convert. No guessing. No budget burned on terms that look good in a keyword tool but don't move the bank balance.
Both compound.
Ads keep revenue flowing while SEO takes 6 to 18 months to move. Once organic ranks for the converters, ad spend on those terms can taper — total cost-per-acquisition drops, revenue stays.
It's not two services bolted together. It's one search strategy run in the order that works.
One hundred five-star reviews, one direct-hire client at a time.
Excellent. If you are looking for an expert in SEO and Google Ads, David is your man.
Excellent work. David knows his way around Google Ads, and works collaboratively where needed, to understand service-specific details to achieve the solid end objective. Will certainly continue working with David at this rate.
David is very knowledgeable in Google Ads and comes highly recommended.
Good fit, bad fit, honest about both.
Good fit. Owner-operated UK businesses with growth ambition. Service businesses, ecommerce brands with their own product range, B2B with real lead value. Already running Google Ads, or planning to — the integrated methodology compounds with paid traffic in motion. Clean-history sites are ideal; an SEO foundation is easier to build than to repair.
Bad fit. Sites already penalised by a Google update — usually from past link-buying. Recovery takes a long time and often doesn't fully resolve. The lesson: don't DIY your links. I'll be straight about it on the call if it's what you're facing, but it's not work I take on. Affiliate sites, lead-resellers, dropshippers. Anyone hunting for guaranteed rankings by a specific date — I won't promise those, and anyone who will is lying.
If you're not sure where you sit, the free audit is the way to find out. Searching specifically for a freelance SEO consultant? Same offering, written for that angle.
Things owners ask before booking.
How is direct-hire SEO different from hiring an SEO agency?
You hire me. I do the work. No account managers, no juniors learning on your site, no farming link building out to a contractor in a country I've never been to. The same person who audits your site is the person running the strategy in year five. If you're specifically looking for a freelance SEO consultant, the model is the same — solo, direct-hire, no agency layer.
How long does SEO take to work?
It depends on your starting position, your sector, and how much technical foundation needs building. Realistic ranges:
3 to 6 months for technical fixes and quick-win pages to show effect.
6 to 18 months for competitive head terms to move into striking distance.
Anyone telling you "ranked in 30 days" without seeing your site is selling, not assessing. The slow burn is real — which is exactly why my methodology pairs SEO with Google Ads, so revenue flows while organic compounds.
Do you only do SEO, or also Google Ads?
Both. I've been in search since 2007 — five years in SEO before Google Ads — and Google Partner since 2013. My methodology is to run ads first to find which keywords actually convert, then point SEO at those keywords. See the Google Ads consultant page for the other half of how this works.
What if my site has already been penalised by Google?
I generally don't take on penalty recovery work. Most penalties are from past link-buying. Recovery takes a long time and often doesn't fully resolve. The lesson: don't DIY your links.
If your traffic dropped overnight after a Google update, the audit call will tell you what you're facing — but the honest path forward is usually a clean restart on a new site, not rescuing the existing one. Hard truth, told kindly.
How much does SEO consultancy cost?
It depends on the size of the site and what's needed. Ongoing SEO retainers typically sit between £750 and £3,000+ per month. Audits and project work are quoted separately, always after the free 15-minute call.
A free 15-minute audit.
I'll look at your site and your ads (if you're running them) before the call. On the call I'll tell you what's actually wrong, what I'd fix first, and roughly what it's worth. No sales pitch, no commitment.