I sell fractional SEO services, so read this with that in mind. I’ve tried to be just as straight about when it’s the wrong choice.
What a fractional SEO consultant actually does
The job is the one a permanent head of SEO would do. Set the strategy. Pick the priorities. Review what the developers ship, brief the writers, direct an agency if there is one and report on progress in a way the leadership team can actually read.
What they don’t usually do is every task themselves. The value sits in deciding what gets done, in what order, and checking it was done properly. On my own engagements that starts with a crawl and your Search Console data, before a single recommendation is written.
In the UK the role is usually called a fractional head of SEO, and US teams tend to say fractional SEO director. Same job, different title.
How the days work
You agree a number of days a month up front. Teams with developers and writers in house need fewer, because the days go on direction. Teams without them need more, because someone has to do the technical fixes and write to the brief.
The days can move as the work does. A migration might need a heavy month or two. A settled site might need very little. That flexibility is most of the point.
Where the days go
- A pulse report at the start of each month, with the five things worth knowing, the headline numbers and what’s queued next
- Tasks tracked in a shared sheet you can open whenever you like
- Crawl monitoring, so regressions get caught in days rather than after a rankings drop
- Search Console mining for the keywords sitting just off page one
- An SEO review of templates and releases before they go live
That’s how I run it, anyway. Other fractional consultants will have their own routine, and it’s worth asking to see it before you sign anything.
How it compares with an agency, a freelancer or a hire
An agency usually gives you a team working to a defined scope. A freelancer is usually booked for tasks. An in house hire gives you someone every day, once you’ve recruited them. A fractional lead sits in between. Senior like a hire, flexible like a contractor, and answerable for the plan rather than a list of tasks.
There’s a fuller breakdown in fractional SEO vs an agency, including when an agency is the better call.
What it costs
It’s priced on days, usually as a monthly retainer. The number depends on how many days you need, how big and messy the site is, how much your team can ship and whether there’s a deadline like a migration.
I don’t publish a price list for that reason. Fractional SEO pricing explains how the quote is built, and the guide to how SEO retainers work covers what you should get for the money.
When it suits a business
- Search matters to revenue and nobody senior owns it
- You already have developers, writers or an agency who can do the work
- You pay an agency and can’t tell whether the work is right
- A migration, replatform or redesign is coming
- Your head of SEO has just left and you need cover while you hire
When it doesn’t
If you need one person to do every task hands on, a freelancer or an agency will probably suit you better. If SEO already needs someone every day of the week, hire. And if search isn’t how your customers find you, don’t buy SEO at all.
I’d rather tell you that on a call than take the retainer.
Is fractional SEO good for small businesses?
It can be. The test isn’t size, it’s whether someone can carry out the work. A small business with a developer on call and someone who can write gets real value from a few days of senior direction. A small business with nobody to do the work usually needs hands before it needs a strategist.
Does it still matter with AI search?
AI answers are built from the same raw material as search results. Crawlable sites, clear entities, sources worth citing. So a fractional SEO plan covers classic rankings and AI visibility together, because both rely on the same content. Anyone promising you’ll be cited in ChatGPT by next month is guessing.
The quickest way to find out whether it fits is a conversation. Book a free consultation and I’ll tell you honestly.