You’ve just landed a new SEO client. The strategy is brilliant, the team is energized, and the kickoff call was a success. Then, 30 days later, the email arrives: ‘Hi, just checking in. Are we ranking for anything yet?’
It’s the question every SEO professional dreads. You know that meaningful results—significant traffic growth, page-one rankings, and a tangible impact on revenue—take time. But how do you communicate progress when the metrics clients care about most haven’t budged?
The answer isn’t simply to ask for more patience. It’s to change the conversation entirely.
The first 90 days of an SEO campaign aren’t about waiting for results; they’re about building the foundation that creates them. The secret to keeping clients happy, engaged, and confident during this critical period is to report on the construction work, not the finished skyscraper. It’s about shifting the focus from lagging outcomes to leading indicators of success.
The Great Misconception: Why Traffic and Rankings Are the Last Things to Report
Imagine you’re building a house. On day 30, you wouldn’t expect to see it finished. You’d see a cleared lot, a poured foundation, and maybe the start of some framing. You’d know progress was happening because you could see the foundational work taking shape.
SEO works the same way. We often make the mistake of focusing only on the ‘finished house’—the lagging indicators.
Lagging Indicators: These are the results of past efforts, like organic traffic, keyword rankings, and conversions. They’re slow to change and tell you what has already happened.
Leading Indicators: These are the inputs and activities that predict future success—things like technical issues fixed, content pages published, and site speed improvements. They are within your immediate control and show that you’re on the right path.
Focusing on lagging indicators in the first 90 days is a recipe for nervous clients. Focusing on leading indicators demonstrates momentum, proves your activity, and builds the trust needed to see the strategy through.
What to Report in the First 90 Days: Your Foundational Work Scorecard
Instead of an empty traffic report, present a scorecard of the foundational work your team is completing. This transforms the conversation from ‘Why aren’t we seeing results?’ to ‘Look at all the progress we’re making.’
Here’s what to include in your early-stage reports.
Technical SEO Health: Fixing the Engine
Before you can win a race, the car’s engine has to be running perfectly. Technical SEO is the engine of your client’s website. A startling 50% of pages on the average e-commerce site have SEO issues, from broken links to poor metadata. Your first priority is to get the site into top technical shape.
What to Report:
- Crawl Errors Resolved: Show the number of 404s, redirect chains, and server errors you’ve fixed. (e.g., ‘Resolved 85 crawl errors identified in the initial audit.’)
- Indexation Status: Report on the number of valuable pages now indexed by Google, compared to those that were previously ignored.
- Site Speed Improvements: Use Google PageSpeed Insights to show a ‘before and after’ score. This is critical, as 47% of consumers expect a webpage to load in 2 seconds or less. Frame this as improving the user experience to meet customer expectations.
Content Velocity and On-Page Optimization: Paving the Pathways
Once the engine is tuned, you need to put up signposts that guide Google and users to the right places. This involves creating and optimizing content around the keywords that matter.
What to Report:
- On-Page Elements Optimized: Tally the title tags, meta descriptions, and headers you’ve updated to align with the keyword strategy. (e.g., ‘Optimized 42 title tags and meta descriptions for our target service pages.’)
- New Content Published: Quantify the output of your content plan, such as the number of blog posts published or service pages launched.
- Internal Links Added: Show how many new internal links you’ve built to help Google understand site structure and pass authority to key pages.
Authority and Visibility Signals: Getting on the Radar
This is where you can start to show the very first glimmers of future success. While rankings for primary keywords may still be out of reach, you can measure the initial ‘ripples’ your work is creating.
What to Report:
- Impression Growth (Google Search Console): Impressions are the number of times the site appeared in search results, and this is often the very first metric to increase. An upward trend in impressions is a powerful leading indicator that Google is taking notice of your changes.
- ‘Striking Distance’ Keyword Improvements: Identify keywords that have moved from position 50+ into the 11-30 range. While not on page one, this demonstrates clear positive momentum.
- Backlink Activity: Report on the number of outreach emails sent or new, high-quality backlinks acquired.
Structuring these reports consistently is a core part of building an SEO program that keeps clients informed and confident.
Bringing It All Together: The 30-60-90 Day Reporting Framework
Use a phased approach to tell a compelling story of progress over the first quarter.
Month 1 (Day 30): The ‘Audit and Fix’ Report
The focus here is entirely on foundational health. You’re showing the client you’ve diagnosed the problems and are actively implementing the fixes that will pave the way for future growth.
Headline: ‘Building a Strong Foundation: Month 1 Technical Health and Strategy’
Key Metrics: Crawl Errors Resolved, Site Speed Score (Before/After), Keyword Map and Content Plan Delivered.
Month 2 (Day 60): The ‘Content and Momentum’ Report
Here, you build on the technical fixes with content execution. You can also introduce the first visibility metrics to show your work is starting to get noticed by Google.
Headline: ‘Gaining Momentum: Content Activation and Early Visibility’
Key Metrics: New Pages Published, On-Page Elements Optimized, Impression Growth (MoM), Number of Keywords in Top 50.
Month 3 (Day 90): The ‘Connecting the Dots’ Report
In the final report of this initial phase, you can begin to connect your foundational activities to the very first signs of lagging indicators. This sets the stage for the next phase of the campaign, where traffic and rankings will become a bigger focus.
Headline: ‘Connecting the Dots: How Foundational Work is Driving Early Growth’
Key Metrics: Showcase a chart linking content published in month 2 to impression growth for that content in month 3. Highlight ‘striking distance’ keywords that are now on page 2 or 3.
The Psychology of Building Unbreakable Client Trust
Reporting on leading indicators does more than just fill a document—it fundamentally reframes your relationship with the client.
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It Positions You as the Expert: You’re not just checking off tasks; you’re educating the client on why these tasks matter for their long-term success. This builds authority.
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It Fosters Partnership Through Transparency: In a world where 86% of consumers say business transparency is more important than ever before, showing your work is non-negotiable. It proves you are a good steward of their investment. Efficiently tracking and presenting data is invaluable for turning complex activities into clear, reportable metrics.
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It Proactively Manages Expectations: By introducing this reporting framework from the kickoff call, you set the expectation that the first 90 days are about building, not harvesting.
When you successfully shift the conversation from results to progress, you earn the time and trust needed to deliver the results everyone is waiting for.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: When can we realistically expect to see significant traffic and ranking improvements?
A: While every site and industry is different, most SEO campaigns begin to show meaningful movement in lagging indicators like traffic and page-one rankings between months four and six. Our focus on leading indicators in the first 90 days ensures we are on the fastest possible path to those goals.
Q: Why are impressions important if we’re not getting clicks?
A: Impressions are the essential first step. You have to be seen in the search results before you can be clicked. A steady increase in impressions proves that Google is finding our new content, understanding our optimizations, and showing the site to more relevant searchers. Clicks will follow as we continue to climb the rankings.
Q: Is it possible to see no movement at all in the first 90 days?
A: In highly competitive industries, it’s possible for lagging indicators like traffic and rankings to remain flat initially. This is precisely why reporting on foundational work is so critical. We can still demonstrate immense progress by showing technical fixes, content velocity, and impression growth, proving the strategy is working even before the major results appear.
Q: How do technical SEO fixes translate to more customers?
A: Think of it in two ways. First, a technically sound website—one that’s fast, mobile-friendly, and error-free—provides a better user experience. Happier users are more likely to become customers. Second, technical fixes allow search engines like Google to crawl and index your site more efficiently. When Google can easily understand your content, it’s more likely to rank it for relevant queries, which drives qualified traffic that can convert into customers.
Your Path Forward
Stop letting the 90-day waiting game create client anxiety. Use it as your opportunity to build unbreakable trust. By reporting on the foundational work—the leading indicators of success—you transform yourself from a service provider into a strategic partner.
Shift your reporting today. Celebrate the technical fixes, the content velocity, and the early visibility signals. Tell the story of progress, and you’ll earn the runway you need to deliver the results that truly matter.