Month 1: Get Found
The first 30 days are about building the technical foundations that every other digital marketing activity depends on. Without them, content marketing, advertising, and social media all underperform. The goal of month one is simple: make sure Google can find you, understand what you do, and surface your business to relevant local searches. Four actions, one week each.
Week 1: Launch Your Website
You need a fast, mobile-responsive website with at minimum: a homepage, a services page, an about page, and a contact page. Each page needs your business name, location, phone number, and a clear description of what you do. Register with Google Search Console and submit your sitemap so Google can index your site immediately. Don't overthink the design in week one — structure and speed matter more than aesthetics at this stage.
Week 2: Set Up and Verify Google Business Profile
Create or claim your GBP listing at business.google.com. Complete every available field: description, categories, services, hours, and contact information. Request verification — for most businesses this takes 2–5 days. Add at least 10 photos. This is the single most important action in your first month.
Week 3: Build Your Core Citations
List your business on Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Use your canonical NAP (name, address, phone) identically on every platform. These five platforms cover the majority of online map and local search queries alongside Google.
Week 4: Launch Your First Service Page Content
Write one detailed service page targeting your primary service + your city. Minimum 500 words, including your location, the specific service you provide, why customers choose you, and a strong call to action. This page will begin ranking for local service queries within 4–8 weeks.
Month 2: Get Trusted
With foundations in place, month two focuses on building the trust signals that convert first-time visitors into enquiries — and the authority signals that improve your ranking over time. Four actions across four weeks: generate your first reviews, add social proof to your website, publish your first blog post, and set up analytics with conversion tracking.
Week 5: Get Your First Reviews
Email or text your first 10–20 customers a direct link to your GBP review page. Don't incentivise reviews — this violates Google's policies. Simply ask: "Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It helps us enormously." A personalised ask converts at 5–10× the rate of a generic request. Aim for 10 reviews by the end of week 6.
Week 6: Add Social Proof to Your Website
Add the testimonials, results, and reviews you've collected to your homepage and service pages. Include before-and-after results where possible. If you don't have testimonials yet, add a results-focused paragraph describing the specific outcomes customers achieve with your service.
Week 7: Publish Your First Blog Post
Write one 800–1,200 word article answering the most common question your customers ask. Structure it with the Answer Capsule format: lead with a direct 50-word answer, then provide supporting detail. This begins building topical authority and will appear in Google results for long-tail queries within 2–4 weeks.
Week 8: Set Up Analytics
Install Google Analytics 4 on your website and set up conversion tracking for phone number clicks, form submissions, and booking page visits. Without conversion tracking, you cannot measure what's working and invest accordingly. This is non-negotiable before starting any paid advertising.
Month 3: Get Booked
Month three is about optimising your conversion path and beginning to scale what's working. By now you should be receiving organic enquiries. Weeks 9–10 focus on conversion rate optimisation — reviewing Analytics data, fixing the five conversion elements. Weeks 11–12 add paid amplification with Google Local Services Ads or Search Ads, starting with a small daily budget once conversion tracking is proven.
Weeks 9–10: Conversion Rate Optimisation
Review your Analytics data. Where are visitors dropping off? Check your homepage — is the primary CTA clear and above the fold? Is your phone number visible in the header? Is your contact form three fields or fewer? Make the five conversion improvements and measure the impact over the following two weeks.
Weeks 11–12: Add Paid Amplification
With conversion tracking in place and a converting website, you can now run Google Local Services Ads or Google Search Ads profitably. Start with a small daily budget ($10–$20) targeting your primary service + city. Monitor cost per lead and scale up the campaigns that generate the best results.
After 90 Days
A business that executes this blueprint thoroughly will typically have: 10–30 first-page keyword rankings, 15–25 Google reviews, 50+ consistent local citations, functioning conversion tracking, and a baseline of organic enquiries to build from. Months 4–12 compound this foundation — more content, more citations, more reviews, and progressively stronger ranking positions across your category.