The short version
- The range: free to £1,500+ — and most paid ones in that range are automated tool reports.
- Free option: online scanners that flag basic technical issues, with no human judgement.
- A person manually checking a small site: usually £400 to £1,500.
- Top end: several thousand pounds, up to £10,000+ at big agencies, for large or complex sites.
- How long: usually a few days to a week.
- What matters most for a local business: whether customers can actually find you.
What is a website audit?
It's a check of how well your website is working — someone goes through it and tells you, in writing, what's holding it back and what to do about it.
Most audits aimed at small businesses are really about getting found online. You'll often see these called an SEO audit. SEO stands for search engine optimisation, which is simply the work of getting your website to show up when someone searches. Other kinds exist — a security audit looks for ways hackers could get in, an accessibility audit checks the site works for people with disabilities — but for the vast majority of local businesses those aren't the question. The question is whether customers can find you.
What does a website audit actually check?
A proper visibility audit isn't vague, and there's usually plenty to find. In one study of over a million websites, only about a third passed Google's page-speed check and nearly three-quarters had no meta description (Ahrefs, 2024). In plain terms, a good one looks at:
- Google search and the map pack — do you appear when someone searches what you do in your area, including the block of three businesses at the top of local results?
- AI tools and Bing — can ChatGPT, Copilot and Google's AI find and recommend you? Several of them lean on Bing's index, so is your site even in it?
- Your Google Business Profile — the listing that decides whether you show on Maps. Complete and correct, or half filled in?
- Your service pages — proper pages for the services you want more of, or everything crammed onto one "Services" page?
- Location coverage — visible across all the areas you work in, or only your home town?
- How search engines read your site — the technical layer customers never see: whether Google and AI can properly understand your pages.
- Whether anything measures your enquiries — if nothing counts your calls and form fills, every decision about the site is guesswork.
Why do prices swing from free to thousands?
The price reflects overhead far more than the value of the checks. A free scanner is automated — it runs in seconds and gives you a raw list with no judgement about what actually matters. At the higher end, prices climb for reasons that have little to do with your business: big-site depth a local trade will never use, London rates (typically 20 to 40% more), and the fact that plenty of cheap or "free" audits are really the first step in selling you a monthly retainer.
| What you get | Typical cost | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| A free online scanner | £0 | An automated list of basic issues — no priorities, no judgement. |
| A cheap paid "audit" | £10–£50 | Usually the same automated report, lightly branded. Still nobody actually looking. |
| A focused review for a local business | £100–£250 | A person checks how you show up on Google, Bing and AI, and whether the site turns visits into enquiries. Ranked fixes, no retainer. |
| A freelancer or small-agency audit | £400–£1,500 | A deeper dive into full-site, large-scale SEO — more technical depth, and more hours, than a small local site needs. |
| A large agency audit | £750–£10,000+ | A team going deep on large or complex sites, priced with agency overhead and often a monthly retainer. London adds 20–40%. |
None of that means a proper human review has to be expensive. A focused check of what a local business genuinely needs — done by a person, not a tool — can be thorough without the agency price tag.
What does a local business actually need?
Most of what the expensive audits measure, a local plumber or hairdresser will never use. Strip it back and it comes down to three questions. Can people find you when they search what you do plus your town, in the normal results and on the map? Is it clear — does your site plainly say what you do and where, so both people and search engines understand it? And does it work — when someone taps your number or fills in your form, does anything actually happen?
An audit that answers those three, in order of what to fix first, is worth paying for. One that buries them under technical detail you'll never touch is not.
How to check some of it yourself, free
Before you pay anyone, spend ten minutes on the basics. Search your business name and check your details are right. Search what you do plus your town in a private browsing window — so Google doesn't flatter you based on your own history — and see if you turn up. Tap your own phone number and test your own contact form to make sure they work. Ask a tool like ChatGPT to recommend a business like yours in your area, and see whether it knows you exist.
None of that costs a penny, and it tells you whether you have a real problem worth paying someone to investigate. Why isn't my website showing up on Google covers the usual causes if the answer comes back badly.
What to watch for before you pay
If you decide an audit is worth it, five quick checks stop you overpaying:
- Know your one question — usually "why aren't customers finding me?". It keeps the audit focused on what matters.
- Get the scope in writing — what's covered, and whether a person is actually reviewing your site or just running a tool.
- Insist on priorities — a ranked "fix these first" list, not a data dump of ninety flags.
- Make sure you keep a written report — something you can act on in your own time, not just a phone call.
- Watch for a hidden contract — some cheap or free audits exist to sell a monthly retainer. A one-off audit should be a one-off price.
Common questions
- How much does a website audit cost?
- Anything from nothing to £10,000 or more. Free online scanners cost £0 but nobody looks at the result. Cheap paid reports at £10 to £50 are usually the same automated output with a logo on it. A freelancer or small agency going through a site by hand is typically £400 to £1,500, and a large agency £750 to £10,000 or more, with London rates 20 to 40 per cent higher.
- Is a free website audit worth anything?
- As a starting point, yes — free scanners spot obvious issues like a slow page. But a free audit is often bait for a sales call: a tool runs, you get a worrying list, and someone rings to sell a monthly contract. The flags are real. What's missing is anyone judging which ones actually matter for your business.
- Is a website audit the same as SEO?
- No. An audit is a one-off check that tells you what's wrong. SEO is the ongoing work of fixing it and improving your position over time. An audit is the diagnosis; SEO is some of the treatment. You can act on an audit yourself without ever paying for ongoing SEO.
- Do I actually need a website audit?
- Only if work has gone quiet, or you've spent money on a website that brings nothing in. If the phone is ringing, save your money. An audit is for when you need to know why before spending more trying to fix it.
- How often should I get a website audit?
- For most local businesses, only when something changes — a drop in enquiries, a new website, or moving into a new area. It isn't a yearly ritual. Do the free ten-minute check now and again, and pay for a proper look when there's a real question to answer.
- What should a website audit check for a local business?
- Three things, in this order: can people find you when they search what you do plus your town, in the normal results and on the map; is it clear what you do and where, to both people and search engines; and does it work — when someone taps your number or fills in your form, does anything actually happen. An audit that answers those three in order of what to fix first is worth paying for.
Related guides
Price bands are what UK providers publish or quote for this work; they are sellers' own figures, not survey data. Page-speed and meta-description figures from Ahrefs' study of over a million websites, 2024. Updated 15 September 2026.