Comparevs. an SEO agency
An SEO agency’s work, without the agency.
Many agencies bill for hours, calls and a monthly report. We make one useful change to your site every working day. This is how the two compare, line by line.
| IndexFirst | A typical SEO agency | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A change made on your site every working day | Agency: Audits, a strategy and a list of jobs |
| Who does the work | We do, in your CMS, and each change is checked first. | Agency: Often your own team or web developer, working from their notes |
| Search and AI | Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Copilot, in one plan | Agency: Mainly Google rankings. AI answers are an extra, where offered. |
| How you see progress | A log of every change and a weekly report | Agency: A monthly report, usually a PDF or a dashboard |
| Meetings | None needed. Email John, the founder, whenever you like. | Agency: Regular calls with an account manager |
| Contract | 3 months to start, then month to month | Agency: Often a fixed term of several months |
| Price | £1,750 a month, one plan | Agency: About £22,000 a month for the same output* |
*Our estimate: each line of our plan priced at UK rates, with agencies at about £100 to £150 an hour, November 2026. See the sums. Weighing up types of agency? See B2B marketing agencies compared.
Pick a day. See what would be live.
Each square is one day. Blue means a change went live on your site that day. The IndexFirst row is the pace the plan is built for, one change each working day after a short setup. We are new, so it is our commitment, not a measured record. The agency and freelancer rows are typical patterns, not measurements.
IndexFirst
A typical SEO agency
A typical freelancer
A change went liveA call, audit or reportNo change that day
IndexFirst suits you if
- Your site runs on WordPress, Wix, Webflow, Squarespace or another CMS we can work in.
- You want the changes made, not a plan for making them.
- You care whether AI answers name you when buyers ask, not just where you sit on Google.
IndexFirst doesn’t suit you if
- You want paid ads, trade show or brand work in the same contract.
- Your team wants a strategy meeting every month.
- You are a large group with procurement rules and a locked-down CMS.
See where you stand first.
The Search and AI report shows how Google and AI answers treat your firm today. £750 once, counted toward your first month.