What SEO is, and what to expect in the first three months

SEO is the set of technical and content work that makes Google understand your site and show it to people searching for what you sell. In the first three months it is realistic to expect the site to be indexed, to appear when someone searches your business name, and to show up for narrow local queries — something like "hair salon Cazin". First place for a broad term like "web design" is not a three-month result, and anyone who promises it is selling you something they cannot deliver.

What SEO actually consists of

People tend to think SEO is one thing you switch on. It is not. It is three separate jobs moving at three different speeds:

• The technical part. Load speed, correct display on a phone, a sitemap, structured data, clean headings and page addresses. This is the developer's job, it is done while the site is being built, and then it mostly stays done.
• The content. Every page needs one clear purpose and should answer one question your customer actually types into Google. A "Services" page with three sentences ranks for nothing.
• Signals from outside the site. A Google Business profile, the same accurate company details in several places, mentions and links from other sites. This is the slowest part and it takes as long as it takes.

The technical part is the only one entirely in my hands. The other two depend on you as well, and it is fair to say that upfront.

What really happens in the first three months

From what I see with new sites, the sequence looks roughly like this.

Month one. Google finds the site and indexes it. I register it in Google Search Console and submit the sitemap. From that point anyone typing your company name finds you. It sounds small, but it is the precondition for everything else.

Month two. Longer, more specific queries start appearing — the three- and four-word ones with a service and a place in them. Competition there is lowest, and that is where a small business gets room first.

Month three. Search Console shows the first real pattern: which words people type, which of your pages are being shown, and where you appear but nobody clicks. That data is worth more than any forecast, because it is what you use to sharpen the content.

What will not happen in those three months: you will not leapfrog a site that has been writing about the same subject for five years. That is not pessimism, it is the timetable.

What takes longer, and how to measure it

Broad, competitive terms need time, more content, and other sites starting to point at you. The same is true if you target towns you are not physically in — local search favours what is near the person searching.

Measure these three things, all in Google Search Console, which is free:

• Impressions — how often your page appeared in results at all.
• Clicks and queries — what actually brought people to you.
• Enquiries you received — messages, calls, bookings. This is the only number that pays the bills.

Do not measure your position by googling yourself. Results differ by person and by location, so that is the worst possible indicator you could use.

What next

I do not charge for technical SEO separately — speed, structured data, sitemap and mobile display are included in every site I build. If you already have a site and do not know whether Google even sees it, send me a message and I will look. I will tell you where you stand, free, and without any talk of "packages".

Frequently asked

Is SEO a monthly charge? Not with me, unless we agree on writing content regularly. The technical part is done when the site is built and it stays done. A monthly fee only makes sense if someone actually writes and publishes something every month.

I have a Google Business profile — do I still need a site? The profile puts you on the map, and that is an excellent first step. The site is what people open after they see you on the map — and the only place where you control what it says.