"online accountant" gets 1,000 searches a month in the UK, "accountant london" 3,600. The search without a city is less than a third the size, yet a click on it costs £43.28 against £9.48: more than four times as much (DataForSEO, Google Ads UK, September 2026; CPC converted from USD at £1 = $1.3242).
Professional practices now compete in two different markets: the local one, where the best Google Business Profile wins, and the national one, where well-funded online firms have arrived. The two games have opposite rules, and almost no practice consciously decides which one it is playing.
Below: the numbers behind both kinds of demand, who holds the first page and what clients actually search for before choosing.
What each profession is worth
| Search | Monthly volume | CPC | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| register as self employed | 18,100 | £4.61 | 27,100 in September 2025 and January 2026 |
| accountant near me | 12,100 | £6.62 | 14,800 in September 2025 and January 2026 |
| accountant london | 3,600 | £9.48 | 6,600 in September 2025 |
| tax advisor | 2,400 | £12.40 | 4,400 in September 2025 |
| architect london | 2,400 | £8.75 | 3,600 in October 2025 and February 2026 |
| online accountant | 1,000 | £43.28 | 1,900 in September 2025 |
| how much does an accountant cost | 1,000 | £4.66 | 1,600 in January 2026 |
| self assessment accountant | 1,000 | £9.36 | 2,900 in September 2025 |
| payroll bureau | 880 | £39.18 | 1,600 in September 2025 |
September and January are everyone's months. Accountant, tax advisor, self-assessment help and registering as self-employed all peak in September, ahead of the 5 October deadline for registering for Self Assessment, and again in January, the month of the 31 January Self Assessment deadline: "how much does an accountant cost" reaches 1,600 then. Architects follow a different calendar, with peaks in October and February at one and a half times the average.
The most expensive clicks in the group are the ones sold on subscription: "online accountant" at £43.28 and "payroll bureau" at £39.18. A client who signs up pays every month for years, and the online firms bid accordingly. The architect sits at £8.75 for 2,400 searches: few projects, each of high value, the typical pattern of a profession where the client chooses once and stays.
A large firm is first, not you
On the first page for "accountant london" the first organic result is Saffery, a national firm with a London office. Above it there is a "Find results on" carousel of directories (Bark, Yell, Tipped and others) and a local pack with three practices; further down, Unbiased and VouchedFor list "top" accountants (DataForSEO, Google UK, London, September 2026).
The practices in the local pack have between 37 and 106 reviews: Perrys Chartered Accountants 4.9 with 37, Clarkwell & Co 5.0 with 106, Mysimplytax Accountants 5.0 with 58. For the biggest city in the country these are low numbers, which means the bar for getting into that block is within reach of any practice that asks for a review once the tax return is filed.
Two of the ten organic results are review and comparison sites for advisers. That is how intermediaries build trust in place of the professionals: they collect the reviews and then rank the practices themselves.
The new competitor is not the practice across the road
Crunch, one of the UK's online accountancy services, ranks for 13,604 keywords with 100 first positions and estimated organic traffic that would be worth about £320,000 a month in advertising (DataForSEO, Google UK, September 2026).
These are not the numbers of a property portal, but they are built exactly where a traditional practice does not look: the questions of people starting out, not of people looking for a professional. "register as self employed" gets 18,100 searches a month, "how much does an accountant cost" 1,000, and practice websites almost never answer them.
A practice does not have to beat those services on price. It has to hold the ground an automated service does not reach: non-standard situations, specific sectors, HMRC enquiries, the move from sole trader to limited company. These are small searches, with clients worth far more than an annual subscription.
Recommended reading: SEO for professional services.
The price question comes back here too
The four questions Google shows under "accountant london" are "How much does an accountant cost in London?", "Is it worth paying an accountant?", "Who are the big 5 accountants?" and "Do accountants give free advice?". Three out of four are about money.
Nothing stops a practice from publishing typical fees, and some already do: one of the organic results on that page opens with "fixed fee accountants for small businesses". A practice that states what an annual fee covers for a given type of client answers half the searches in the sector and stands apart from most competitors, who say nothing on the subject.
Frequently asked questions
Can a professional advertise?
Yes. In the UK, advertising has to follow the CAP Code enforced by the ASA, and the professional body's own code: the ICAEW Code of Ethics, for example, rules out exaggerated claims and disparaging or unsubstantiated comparisons with other firms. Information on services, specialisms and fees is not restricted.
Better to be found in your city or across the country?
It depends on how you work. The national market has the online firms, the highest click prices and clients who compare on price; the local one has plenty of volume ("accountant near me" alone gets 12,100 searches a month) and a low entry bar in the local pack. A small practice usually has more to gain locally.
Do I need a blog?
Yes, if it writes about real cases in your specialism. Generic articles on tax deadlines compete with sites that have tens of thousands of pages, starting with gov.uk, and with AI assistants, which give those answers directly.
Is it worth being on Bark or similar platforms?
It brings in contacts straight away, often shared with other professionals and chosen on price. Useful for filling gaps, less suited to building a practice: the reviews you collect stay on the platform, not on your Google Business Profile.
When should I push?
In September, which is the peak for almost every search in the sector, and in January, ahead of the Self Assessment deadline. For architects, October and February. June to August are the weakest months.
Where to start
Search for your profession with your town and count the reviews of the practices in the map block. In London the three accountants shown have between 37 and 106: a bar you can clear in a few months by asking every client for a review once their return is filed. Then check whether your website says how much anything costs. If it doesn't, you are leaving unanswered three of the four questions Google links to your profession. If you want an opinion, get in touch.
