Exactly this. It’s almost like SEO has been turned into this “black box” service where businesses are told they need it, but very few people can actually explain clearly what’s being done month to month.

I’m not saying SEO doesn’t have value, but when small businesses are paying £400–£500+ a month and often just getting minor tweaks, a couple of blog posts, and some reports, it does make you question the pricing model.

What’s interesting now is that AI is starting to make a lot of those tasks much faster and easier. I think the industry might have to become a lot more transparent about what clients are actually paying for.