Search engines need time to understand changes to a website, like content updates, technical improvements, and new links. That’s why SEO doesn’t deliver results overnight.
Most companies see early movement within 3 to 6 months, with stronger growth afterwards between 6 and 12 months. At Motifo, we’ve guided Brisbane businesses through this process for years. We know what realistic progress looks like and what to expect at each stage.
In this article, we’ll cover why SEO takes time and what happens in the first 90 days. You’ll also learn how to measure progress before rankings change.
Ready? Let’s begin.
Why Do SEO Results Take So Long?
SEO results take time because search engines need to crawl, index, and evaluate your pages before deciding where to rank them. Google also tests new content by moving rankings up and down for weeks before positions stabilise.
Here are the things that happen before search engines rank your site:
- Crawling and Indexing: You might publish a blog post today, but it could sit unnoticed for days or even weeks. It’s because Google discovers pages on its own schedule. But bigger websites with regular updates get crawled more often, so if your site is newer, expect to wait a bit longer.
- Trust and Authority: Building credibility with Google takes time (and there’s no shortcut). However, a strong backlink profile helps because it shows other websites vouch for your content. We’ve worked with new domains that took 6 months or more to rank, even with great content already live.
- Ranking Fluctuations: Your page might hit position 15 one day and drop to 40 the next. It happens due to Google’s continuous testing. This back and forth usually lasts 60 to 90 days while the algorithm figures out how users respond to your content. Things tend to settle after that period.
- The Google Sandbox: New websites often struggle to rank for the first few months, even when everything looks right. Google has never confirmed a so-called sandbox, but many site owners have experienced this delay. So the best approach here is to keep building quality content and earning links while you wait it out.
When these checks are complete, search engines have enough data to rank you.
What Happens in the First 90 Days of SEO?
The first 90 days of SEO focus on building a solid foundation. It includes technical audits, keyword research, on-page fixes, and early content creation. You won’t see major ranking improvements yet, but this preparation sets up major things that come next.
We’ll explain what happens during the first three months below.
Days 1 to 30: Discovery and Technical Foundation
The first month usually covers research, technical SEO audits, and setting up tracking tools. Everything kicks off with a website audit. The goal here is to catch technical issues like broken links, crawl errors, or painfully slow load times. Keyword research runs alongside this process and finds terms you can realistically rank for.
Not only that, but core SEO tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics get set up during this stage, too. They allow you to see how Google views your site and identify technical issues before they limit your visibility.
Days 31 to 60: On-Page Optimisation and Content Planning
The biggest benefit of getting on-page elements right is that it helps search engines understand your pages faster. These elements include meta tags, headers, and internal links.
At the same time, your content plan takes shape by using the research from the first month to decide what to create or improve next. Most teams tackle Core Web Vitals around now as well. Things like load speed, visual stability, and interactivity all factor into rankings.
When you handle these things properly, they improve the experience for users and make your site easier for Google to understand.
Pro tip: Use internal links to point from high-traffic pages to newer ones to help Google discover and value them faster.
Days 61 to 90: Content Publishing and Early Signals
By around day 90, some businesses begin to see long-tail keywords appear in the top 50. Around the same time, your content starts going live, like blog posts, landing pages, or updated service pages (depending on your plan).
And you should focus on being consistent here with your content rather than publishing everything at once.
Then there’s link building. This strategy includes guest posts, local citations, and outreach to industry sites. It moves slowly at first, but the effects build over time. And when it’s happening, long-tail keywords often improve in rankings before competitive ones. It’s a clear sign things are heading in the right direction.
What Factors Speed Up or Slow Down Your SEO Timeline?
Your website’s starting point, backlink profile, and technical health play a role in SEO. There are also other factors like content quality, competition, keyword difficulty, and consistency.
While not everything is in your control, you can improve some of these elements with the right approach.
Let’s go through how these factors impact your SEO:
- Website Starting Point: Older domains with clean histories typically rank faster because they’ve already built some trust with Google. But new sites need time to prove themselves. If you’ve got existing content and decent traffic, you’re starting ahead of someone who’s building from scratch.
- Backlink Profile: If you can get quality links from trusted sites, they can seriously speed up your SEO timeline. But weak or spammy links hold you back. We’ve seen clients stuck in limbo for months because of dodgy links from years ago. Remember that link building takes consistent effort, and there’s no way around that.
- Technical SEO Health: You can lose time to crawl errors, slow load speeds, and mobile issues, which in turn delay indexing and rankings. On the other hand, when your site runs smoothly, search engines tend to pick it up faster. For that reason, improving Core Web Vitals helps users and also sends positive signals to Google.
- Content Quality: Helpful and original content tends to rank faster than thin pages filled with keywords. It’s because Google is now better at telling the difference. When your content clearly answers what people are searching for, results usually come sooner.
- Market Competition: Honestly, some industries are tougher than others. So if you’re up against competitors with years of authority and thousands of backlinks, it’s going to take longer to rank. In comparison, local markets are usually easier. That’s why many businesses see results sooner than national brands targeting the same keywords.
- Keyword Difficulty: When it comes to keywords, the hardest ones can take a year or more to rank for. So we recommend starting with easier, long-tail keywords to build momentum first. Meanwhile, you should keep working toward more competitive terms.
- Resources and Consistency: If you have a smaller budget, things will move more slowly, and that’s normal. What causes bigger delays is stopping and starting. In reality, breaking momentum pushes results back much further than limited spend ever does.
These factors explain why SEO rewards those who prepare properly and stay patient.
How Do You Measure Progress Before Rankings Improve?
You measure early SEO progress through leading indicators like indexed pages, crawl frequency, and impression growth in Google Search Console (GSC). These metrics show that Google is noticing your site, even when rankings haven’t moved yet.
How about we explain what indicators mean?
Leading Indicators to Watch
First, you need to check how many of your pages are indexed in Google Search Console. If that number is growing, Google is finding and storing your content. Then you should keep an eye on impressions. You might not be getting clicks yet, but more impressions mean your pages are showing up in search results.
Crawl frequency is another good sign. If Google is visiting your site more often, it means the algorithm sees activity worth checking. These numbers probably won’t impress your boss at a Monday meeting, but they’re proof that things are moving in the right direction.
Useful tip: Check which queries trigger impressions without clicks and adjust titles to better match intent.
Why Rankings Bounce Before They Settle
Have you noticed your rankings move up and down from one week to the next with no clear reason? We mentioned earlier that it happens because of Google testing how your page performs.
And if you’re curious about why it’s like that, here’s why. When a new page enters the index, Google pushes the page up, watches how users interact with it, then pulls it back down to compare against competitors (just a part of the learning phase).
This kind of movement is expected early on as Google works out where your page fits.
We’ve had clients panic when rankings drop suddenly, but most of the time, it’s just the algorithm testing. As Google gathers more data, results usually settle within 60 to 90 days. During this phase, it’s best to avoid making quick changes.
Where to Go From Here
You now know that SEO results usually take at least 3 to 6 months. In that context, the first 90 days are about setting things up properly, rather than worrying about ranking high.
If your site is new or you’re in a competitive market, expect the timeline to stretch closer to 12 months. And if you’ve got an established domain with some authority already, you’re in a stronger starting position.
We’ve helped Brisbane businesses build SEO strategies that deliver long-term results. If you’re ready to get started or want a realistic timeline for your specific situation, get in touch with our team at Motifo today.