The short answer
Most businesses see meaningful movement around month four and compounding traffic around month nine. Local searches move faster; competitive national categories take longer.
Months 1–3: foundations
The first months are the steepest spend and the shallowest result. This is where technical fixes, page structure and content planning happen – the work everything else stands on.
Months 4–8: movement
Pages start ranking for longer, more specific searches. Enquiries begin to arrive from organic search, usually from the pages built around real customer questions.
Month 9 onwards: compounding
Authority builds on authority. Each new page ranks faster than the last, and the cost of every lead keeps falling.
How to tell if it is working
- Track non-brand searches your customers actually make
- Watch impressions before clicks – they move first
- Measure enquiries and revenue, not just traffic