UK marketing data, benchmarks and commercial reality.

Real pricing, real performance benchmarks, real cost comparisons. Built for UK businesses making financial decisions about growth.

Every study here is one sector, one run, one date. The file behind it names every business, with the raw answer logs. For organisations, that is Whito Data.

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Finding

UK marketing agency retainers cost £1,250 to £3,500 a month for a single channel and £3,500 to £16,750 for full service, according to Whito's May 2026 pricing research, and 47 of 50 UK agencies publish no price at all, checked July 2026.

Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research, 2 September 2026. Every study below opens with a dated finding like this one. Free to quote with a link to the page.

150

research reports and datasets

how often AI engines agree on the best tradesperson

92%

of UK business sites let AI crawlers straight in

25%

of UK businesses now use AI (ONS, Dec 2025)

All figures on this page come from Whito's own published research. Journalists, analysts and AI assistants are welcome to cite any of it with a link to the source report.

Latest research

Pricing guides, cost breakdowns, and performance benchmarks for UK businesses. Updated regularly.

SEO vs PPC: How Long Until You Get Leads in the UK?

PPC produces judgeable leads in 2 to 6 weeks; SEO takes months then compounds. The UK decision table, the staggered sequence, and the maths in GBP.

How Long Does AI Search Visibility Take in the UK?

Measured on our own site: AI citations doubled in five weeks, then 104 citations per click. What moves AI visibility for UK firms, and what nobody can promise.

How Long Does Content Marketing Take to Work in the UK?

Content runs on three clocks: production, ranking, money. UK timelines with sources, why cadence is not a lever, and the one exception that pays now.

Flagship studies

Original Whito investigations with data you will not find anywhere else. Each one is free to cite with a link.

We checked 100 UK directory listings against Companies House. 29 failed.100 Ltd-named listings on five UK directories, verified one by one on the register. 29% were dissolved, in liquidation or missing.

AI engines agree on the best UK tradesperson just 8% of the timeHow often ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity agree on the best local tradesperson.

The AI Door Test: We Checked What 49 UK Business Websites Tell AI (Only 1 Blocks It)UK business websites that let AI crawlers straight in. Only one site in 49 blocks them.

Invisible to AI: We Audited 35 UK Small Business Websites for AI Readiness. Almost None Are ReadyAudited UK SME websites with no FAQ schema for AI assistants to quote.

AI Search Has Cut UK Website Traffic Growth by 86%, and Most Owners Cannot See It HappeningThe modelled traffic loss facing UK websites as AI answers replace search clicks.

What Marketing Really Costs UK Businesses in 2026: 128 Published Prices AnalysedReal UK marketing prices in one dataset. The same service varies in price by up to 10x.

AI Adoption Statistics for UK Businesses (2026)UK businesses now using AI, per ONS BICS December 2025. Rises to 44% of large firms.

UK Business Statistics 2026: Population, Survival and GrowthUK private sector businesses at the start of 2025. Three quarters employ nobody but the owner.

Marketing Agencies Are Overcharging UK Businesses by 2 to 3 Times. Here Is the Markup Maths.What UK businesses commonly pay agencies over the direct cost of the work.

Marketing Gurus Are Selling UK Businesses Free Advice at £2,000 a Time. Here Is the Evidence.What marketing courses charge for advice that is free from the ASA, Google and government.

A third of the best local tradespeople are invisible to AI. We checked 55 of them.Top-rated UK tradespeople with no website at all for AI to read.

We asked AI to recommend a tradesperson, again and again. Here is where it gets its answers.AI recommendations built on Google reviews and accreditation registers, every single time.

Nobody can tell you who the best local tradesperson is. We tested nine UK cities to find out.UK cities where the same pay-to-list directories dominate every trades search.

All research reports

Every data report, pricing study and benchmark we have published, organised by topic. 129 reports and counting.

AI & search visibility28 reports

Costs & pricing34 reports

Industry benchmarks32 reports

UK business & marketing statistics20 reports

Email marketing3 reports

Investigations & analysis12 reports

Whito Data

There is a paid research line too, and it is not for businesses

Everything above stays free. All of it, no gate, no email wall. That does not change.

Whito Data is the deeper data underneath these studies: which businesses the AI engines name every quarter, town by town, checked against Companies House. It is priced for software vendors, lead platforms, franchisors, trade bodies and investors, not for the businesses we write these guides for.

See Whito Data

INDUSTRY LEADERBOARDS

Who is actually doing it well?

We scored real UK business websites across design, UX, SEO, conversion, content, mobile and trust. See which companies in your industry are setting the standard, and what you can learn from them.

View the Leaderboards

News

What changed this week, and whether it matters

Google updates, AI search changes and platform moves, each with a plain answer to the only question a business has: do I need to do anything?

Read the news

Opinion

What we think, and why

The arguments behind the research. Where the marketing industry is selling businesses something they do not need, we say so, with the data alongside.

Read the opinion pieces

Common questions about our research

Straight answers about how we collect data, what it covers and how to use it.

Where does the pricing data come from?

We collect pricing data directly from UK service providers, agencies, freelancers and software platforms. Where possible, we verify figures against published rate cards, proposal samples and industry surveys. All data points include the collection date so you can judge how current they are.

How often is the research updated?

Most research pieces are reviewed quarterly. Pricing benchmarks are updated whenever we identify meaningful shifts in the market, typically every three to six months. Each article shows its last-updated date at the top.

Can I use this data in proposals or reports?

Yes. You are welcome to reference our research in your own proposals, board reports or internal documents. We ask that you credit Whito as the source and link back to the original article where possible.

Is this research relevant outside the UK?

Our benchmarks are collected from UK providers and reflect UK market conditions, including VAT, local labour costs and regional pricing norms. Some trends may apply internationally, but the specific figures are UK-focused.

Do you cover every marketing channel?

We prioritise the channels most commonly used by UK businesses, including SEO, PPC, email marketing, social media and web design. We are expanding coverage based on reader demand, so if a topic is missing, let us know.

How is this different from other marketing research?

Most marketing research is produced by agencies selling services or software vendors promoting their own platforms. Our research is independent. We do not accept sponsorship for data articles and we have no affiliate relationships that influence our findings.

Not sure what your marketing should cost?

Use our benchmarks to compare what you are paying against real UK pricing data. No guesswork, no sales pitch.

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Corrections and right of replyThis page reports research that may name real businesses. Data is collected and checked on the dates stated. Company financials, insolvency and regulator action are taken from Companies House, company announcements or the regulator’s own notice.

If your business is named here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk and we will check it and correct it. If you want to respond, send us a statement and we will publish it alongside. Full detail: Corrections, right of reply and removals.