The honest answer is: some things in weeks, the competitive stuff in months. Here's what to expect, and how to tell whether it's working.
What can move in the first few weeks
- Google Business Profile fixes. The right categories, services, service area, hours and photos can improve how often you show up in the map fairly quickly.
- Technical fixes. If Google couldn't read parts of your site because of slow pages, broken links or missing titles, fixing them helps right away once Google crawls the site again.
- New pages getting indexed. A new page for a service you weren't targeting can start showing up for less competitive searches soon after Google finds it.
What usually takes months
- Competitive searches. Short, high-value searches in a big metro are where everyone competes. Moving up there takes steady work.
- Reviews. A strong review profile is built one job at a time.
- Links and mentions. Getting other local sites to mention you, like suppliers, associations and local news, takes time.
What slows it down
- A brand-new website or domain with no history
- A crowded market with established competitors
- Your business name, address or phone listed differently across the web
- Thin pages that say the same thing with a different city name
How to tell if it's working
Rankings are useful, but they're not the goal. Track the things that pay the bills: calls from your Google listing and website, quote requests, and which pages and searches they came from. A good monthly report should show all of that in plain English, and it should be trending the right way even before the most competitive rankings move.