Is my local SEO agency working? What you should see after 90 days

Updated October 29, 2026

Short answer: after 90 days, a local SEO agency should be able to show you three things: the work (what they changed on your Google profile, website and listings), the movement (your rank across your area, calls and reviews compared with the day they started), and the plan (what comes next and why). Rankings in a competitive city can take longer than 90 days, but the work and an honest explanation should not. Use the checklist below, and ask the questions at the end.

This checklist is about what good local SEO looks like, not about catching anyone out. Most agencies do real work. These are the signs that let you tell, and the questions business owners often ask in local business forums.

Before you judge: get a baseline

You can't see progress without a starting point. Ideally your agency gave you one. If not, take your own:

1. Run a gap audit for your main services and city. It shows where you rank on Google Maps and what the top competitors have that you don't.
2. Run a local grid for your most important keyword. It shows your rank point by point around your business.
3. Write down your number of Google reviews, your rating, and the calls and direction requests in your Google Business Profile's performance report.

Run the same audit and the same grid (same keyword, size and radius) again later and compare.

By day 30: the foundations

• You own your accounts. You are the owner of your Google Business Profile, and the agency is a manager. You can access your website, analytics and Search Console.
• You received an audit or plan that names your specific gaps and their priority, not a generic list.
• They recorded a baseline: ranks across your area, reviews, calls.
• They asked about your business: which services make you the most money, which areas you want to win, how customers reach you.

By day 60: the profile and the basics

• Your Google profile is complete and accurate: primary category, services, hours, photos, website link. See what the gap report checks.
• Your name, address and phone match everywhere. A NAP check shows where they don't.
• The core directory listings are done, starting with the ones your competitors have. See citation gaps.
• Pages for your main services exist or are in progress, and for the areas you want to win if you serve several towns.
• There is a review system: a simple way to ask every customer for a review, and replies to existing reviews.

By day 90: movement you can see

• Your local grid has moved for at least one important keyword: more points in the top 3, or a better average rank, compared with the baseline.
• Your reviews are growing at a steady pace.
• The report explains what changed, why they think it changed, and what they will do next.
• Calls, direction requests or leads are measured, even if they have not grown yet.

If the work is done and explained but rankings have not moved yet, that can be normal in a competitive market. Ask what they expect next and when. If the work itself is missing, that is the real problem.

Red flags

• You don't own your Google Business Profile, or you can't get access to it.
• Reports are screenshots with no explanation, or only list "posts published".
• The only advice is "get more reviews", when you already have more than your competitors.
• Guaranteed rankings or "#1 on Google" promises.
• Keywords stuffed into your business name on Google. It can get your profile suspended (see what to do if your profile is suspended).
• Fake reviews, or paying for reviews. Both break Google's rules.
• They can't tell you, in plain words, what they changed last month.

Questions to ask your agency

1. What did you change on my Google profile, website and listings in the last 90 days?
2. What was my starting point, and how does it compare today?
3. Which of my competitors' advantages have we closed, and which remain?
4. What are the next three things you will do, and why those?
5. If rankings haven't moved, what do you think is holding them back?

A good agency will be glad you asked. Clear answers are what you pay them for.

Sources

Google Business Profile Help, read October 29, 2026: Business Profile third-party policy (the business keeps ownership of its profile) and Help protect your Google Business Profile (managers may not change or disable profile features without your consent).