SEO
Your first 90 days of SEO: what should happen, month by month
Published by Zubair Afzal, responsible editor
First published Updated 9 min read
Why it takes time
Why the first quarter is mostly groundwork
Every change to your site has to be found by Google, re-read and compared with everyone else’s pages before it can change where you appear. On a small site Google may only revisit some pages every few weeks. Then the competition has to be overtaken, and they are not standing still.
Google’s own page on hiring an SEO puts it plainly: in most cases it takes four months to a year to make improvements and see potential benefit. So the first 90 days should be judged on whether the right work was done and recorded, not on rankings alone.
Before day one
What to have ready before you start
- User access to your website or website builder (not your own password).
- Manager access to your Google Business Profile.
- Access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics, or permission to set them up.
- A list of the services you want more of, and the towns or areas you serve.
- Your busiest and quietest months, so progress is judged against the right baseline.
- Any past SEO work, especially links that were bought or pages added in bulk.
Month by month
What each month should deliver
Weeks 1 to 2: measure the starting point
Search Console and analytics connected, and a record of where you stand today: impressions, clicks, enquiries and where you appear for your main services. Without this, nobody can show progress later.
You get: A dated starting point
Weeks 2 to 4: check and agree
A full check of your website and Business Profile, written up with the biggest problems first. Then a short list of target searches, agreed with you in writing, chosen for what you sell and where.
You get: An audit and an agreed list of searches
Month two: fix the foundations
Technical problems fixed (pages Google cannot index, broken links, slow pages), page titles rewritten for the agreed searches, your Business Profile completed and your details made consistent across the main directories.
You get: A dated list of what was changed
Month three: build and measure
New or improved pages for services or areas that were missing, a start on reviews and real mentions from other sites, and the first report comparing impressions, clicks and enquiries with the starting point.
You get: A report against your starting point
Realistic expectations
What is realistic at 30, 60 and 90 days
| Dimension | What you should see | What is too early to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Day 30 | A written audit, an agreed list of searches, access set up, first fixes started | Ranking changes |
| Day 60 | A dated change log, fixes live, profile complete, important pages indexed | More enquiries from search |
| Day 90 | Missing pages added, the first report against the starting point, impressions starting to move for some agreed searches | Top positions for competitive searches |
Good signs and bad signs
How to tell progress from busywork
Good signs
- You can see a dated list of every change made to your site
- The target searches were agreed with you and have not quietly changed
- Impressions for those searches are starting to rise in Search Console
- Reports say what is not known yet, instead of filling the gap
Warning signs
- A guaranteed ranking or number of leads
- Reports full of activity with no link to your agreed searches
- Changes made to your site that nobody told you about
- Links bought in bulk, or a “link package” with a fixed count
At day 90
Five questions to ask at the 90-day review
- What was changed on my site and profile, and when? Can I see the list?
- Which agreed searches have moved in impressions or position since we started?
- Which of my important pages are indexed now that were not before?
- What did not work, or is taking longer than expected, and why?
- What are the three priorities for the next 90 days?
Questions
Questions owners ask in the first 90 days
Should I see results in the first month?
You should see work in the first month: a written audit, the first fixes and a list of target searches agreed with you. Changes in rankings usually take longer, because Google has to find and re-assess your pages. Google’s own guidance says most SEO takes four months to a year to show benefit.
What if nothing has changed after three months?
Ask what was fixed, when, and which agreed searches have moved in impressions in Search Console. If nobody can answer with specifics, that tells you more than the rankings do.
What should I have ready before SEO starts?
Access to your website, your Google Business Profile, Google Search Console and Google Analytics, a list of your services and the areas you serve, and a few lines on what makes your business different. Give access as a user, not by sharing your password.
Can rankings drop at the start?
They can wobble for a few weeks after big changes such as new page addresses or a new website, while Google re-reads the site. Redirecting every old address to its new page keeps that short. Small fixes such as better titles rarely cause a drop.
References
Sources for first 90 days of SEO
The official documents and research this page is based on. Platform rules change, so check the source before you act on a detail.
Start here
Next: what you can do yourself
Lesson five lists the SEO jobs a business owner can do in about an hour a week, with no technical skills.
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