How We Approach a New Client SEO Engagement — Our 90-Day Process

The process described here begins the day after the contract is signed. We have run it for every client since Semola Digital was founded, and we refine it based on what the data from each engagement teaches us.

Why the First 90 Days Determine Everything

An SEO engagement is, in some ways, like building a structure. The decisions made in the first month determine what the rest of the year can support. Rush the foundation and the subsequent work produces diminishing returns: content published on a technically flawed site does not rank at the rate it should, keywords targeted without a full analysis produce isolated pages rather than compounding clusters. And growth metrics tracked from an unconfigured GA4 account cannot be attributed to the investment being made.

The first 90 days of Semola Digital engagement are designed to eliminate these failure modes before they become expensive.

They are built around a simple sequence: understand the site’s current technical reality fully before changing anything, build the strategy from data rather than assumption, fix what is broken before scaling what is possible, and measure from the start so that every result is attributable.

By Day 90, three things should be true that were not true on Day 1. The site should be technically sound. The content should be live and indexing. And organic leads should be appearing for the first time in GA4, measurable, attributable, and growing.

This article describes exactly how we get there.

The 90-Day Overview

The 90 days are divided into four phases. They are not arbitrary time boxes. Each phase has a specific purpose and ends when its purpose has been achieved, not when the calendar says so.

Pre-Start (Days 1–7): Access, contract, and configuration. The engagement cannot begin until we have everything we need to run it. This phase ends when we have access to the site, the analytics, and the hosting.

Phase 1 — Diagnostic and Strategy (Days 8–30): Everything diagnostic happens before anything executional. The technical audit, keyword build lists and semantic relations, competitor analysis, content cluster map, and measurement setup are all completed and delivered before a single piece of content is commissioned or a single line of code is changed.

Phase 2 — Foundation (Days 31–60): The foundation is built. Priority-one technical issues are resolved. The first content pieces go live. The internal link pattern is established. Structured data is implemented. The measurement system is verified.

Phase 3 — Early Growth (Days 61–90): The site now has a clean technical base and a content cluster beginning to index. This phase scales both: more content goes live, link acquisition begins, and the performance tracking data starts producing its first meaningful signals.

Pre-Start: Getting the Engagement Ready

Before any strategic or technical work begins, two things must be in place: the right access and the right agreements. This phase is operational, not glamorous, but its importance is high. An engagement that starts without full site access, or without a shared understanding of what success looks like, generates friction from the first week.

What happens in this phase

1. The discovery call (45 minutes): This call happens before the contract is signed. It covers your business model, your current organic presence, what has been tried before, and what ‘success at 12 months’ means in language your finance team would recognise. We are assessing fit as much as you are. If the engagement is not right for your situation, we will tell you in this call.

2. Proposal and contract: The proposal is delivered within five business days of the discovery call. It specifies monthly deliverables, reporting format, pricing, contract term, and the data ownership clause. We do not begin work until the contract is signed and the first month’s invoice is settled.

3. Access credentials: We need four accesses before the audit can begin: Google Analytics 4 (editor access on your existing property, or we configure a new one), Google Search Console (editor on your verified property), your website CMS or hosting panel (for technical implementation), and any existing SEO tool accounts. All of these are configured in your accounts. We are added as editors. You remain the owner.

4. Baseline snapshot: Within 48 hours of access being granted, we take a full baseline snapshot: GSC impressions, clicks, average position, coverage status, and GA4 organic traffic data for the past six months. This becomes the baseline against which every month’s progress is measured.

Phase 1: Diagnostic and Strategy — Days 8–30

Phase 1 is the most information-dense period of the engagement. No execution happens yet. What happens instead is the complete diagnostic and strategic foundation that makes everything in Phases 2 and 3 deliberate rather than speculative.

The sequence within Phase 1 matters. The technical audit comes first because it tells us what the site can and cannot currently support.

The keyword research and semantic terms/entity mapping comes second because it tells us which topics to build content around. The content cluster map comes third because it converts the keywords in our build list into a structured content plan.

The strategy deck comes last because it synthesises everything into a 12-month roadmap that the client approves before any work begins.

The Technical SEO Audit (Days 8–16)

The audit covers nine areas, each evaluated against specific pass/fail criteria: crawlability and access, indexation, site architecture and URL structure, page speed and Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, on-page technical signals, structured data, HTTPS and security, and JavaScript rendering.

Every finding is documented in the standard Semola Digital audit report format: issue description, the tool and command used to identify it, priority classification (P1 through P4), and a specific fix action written in language a developer can execute without a follow-up call. The audit report is a complete technical record of all our findings.

The audit also generates two supplementary outputs: a CTR quick-wins table identifying pages that rank in positions 4–10 but have below-average click-through rates, and a redirect chain log documenting every multi-hop redirect that is bleeding authority. Both are actioned in Phase 2.

Keyword Research (Days 14–20)

Keyword research for a new engagement begins with the business brief from the discovery call and the competitive landscape visible in GSC and third-party tools. We map every query that a potential client or customer for this business is typing into Google, classify each by search intent (informational, commercial, transactional (and in-between, local), record the monthly search volume and competition level, and assign each to a content cluster.

The output is not a list of keywords. It is a prioritised executable action plan: the queries that should be targeted by pillar pages, the queries that should be targeted by cluster articles, and the queries that should be targeted by service or location pages together with the semantically related terms that should go into the content body.

Every query in our findings has a content type, a funnel stage, and a call-to-action assigned to it before the cluster map is built.

Content Cluster Map (Days 18–26)

The cluster map converts the keywords into a structured content plan. It identifies three to four primary topic clusters for the engagement and maps each one completely: the pillar page title and target keyword, the cluster article titles and target keywords, the internal linking structure between them and the anchor text selection, and the call-to-action on each piece.

By the end of this document, every content piece that will be published in the first 12 months has been planned, titled, and assigned to a cluster before a single brief is written. The editorial calendar for the full year is attached.

The Strategy Deck and Walkthrough Call (Days 26–30)

The strategy deck is the synthesis of everything from Phase 1: the audit findings and P1 priorities, the keyword selection summary, the content cluster map, the 12-month editorial calendar, the measurement framework with specific KPI targets, and the ROI projection model. It is delivered as a document and presented in a 60-minute walkthrough call.

The walkthrough call is not a formality. It is the point at which we align on every strategic decision before any execution begins. If the client disagrees with the cluster priorities or the keyword targeting, we discuss and adjust here, not after three months of content has been published. The client approves the strategy in writing before Phase 2 begins.

Day-by-Day: Phase 1

Phase 2: Foundation — Days 31–60

Phase 2 is execution against the Phase 1 findings. It is deliberate, systematic, and sequenced. The order of operations matters: technical foundation is established before content is scaled, because content published on a technically flawed site ranks below its potential and, in some cases, fails to index correctly.

P1 Technical Fixes (Days 31–40)

All P1 (critical) issues from the audit are resolved or in active remediation within the first ten days of Phase 2. The most common P1 issues across new engagements are: www/non-www canonical inconsistency causing authority to split between two versions of the same site; LCP failing because the hero image has ‘loading=lazy’ applied to the LCP element; GA4 conversion events not configured, making ROI measurement impossible; and Core Web Vitals in the ‘Poor’ range on mobile due to layout shifts from cookie banners or web fonts.

P1 fixes are implemented by the client’s development team (or Semola’s if development services are in scope), using the specific implementation instructions in the audit report. After each P1 fix is deployed, we verify resolution via GSC, PageSpeed Insights, or the relevant tool and update the audit tracker. A P1 is not marked resolved until it passes the verification check.

Structured Data Implementation (Days 35–45)

Once the technical foundation is clean, structured data is added to all key page types. The sequence: Organisation or LocalBusiness schema on the homepage, Article schema on all blog posts, BreadcrumbList on all interior pages, FAQPage on any page with Q&A content, and Service schema on all practice area or service pages. Every schema block is validated through the Google Rich Results Test before the phase ends.

Structured data matters at this stage specifically because it affects GSC reporting. Once schema is implemented and indexed, the Enhancements reports in GSC begin populating — which means that when we start generating content-driven impressions in Phase 3, we can see which pages are earning rich result features and which are not.

First Content Published (Days 38–55)

The first two to three pieces of content are published in Phase 2. The sequence follows the cluster map: the pillar page for the most commercially important cluster goes live first, followed by the first two cluster articles that support it. Each piece is internally linked to the pillar and cross-linked to the other cluster article before publication.

Content in Phase 2 is not published to generate immediate traffic. It is published to establish the cluster architecture, begin the indexation clock, and provide the internal link structure that subsequent content will build on. The first page published on Day 45 will be competing for its ranking position for the next six to twelve months. It needs to be written to the brief and structured to the standard described in the content strategy document.

First Monthly Report (Day 57–60)

The first monthly report is delivered before Phase 2 ends. It covers: the P1 issues resolved and their verification status, the P2 issues in progress, the first content published and their indexation status in GSC, the baseline metrics from Day 1 compared to the current state, and the plan for Phase 3. The report format is the same format the client will receive every month for the remainder of the engagement.

The first report is also the moment when the measurement framework is confirmed as working. If GA4 conversion events are not firing correctly, we identify and fix this before Phase 3 begins. A Phase 3 that starts with broken conversion tracking produces 30 days of unattributed lead data that cannot be recovered retroactively.

Day-by-Day: Phase 2

Phase 3: Early Growth — Days 61–90

Phase 3 is where the compounding mechanism starts to activate. The technical foundation is established. The content cluster has its first pieces live and beginning to accumulate engagement history. The measurement framework is confirmed as working. Phase 3 adds volume, velocity, and off-page signals to a foundation that is now capable of supporting them.

Content Cluster Scaling (Days 61–80)

Two to three more cluster articles are published in Phase 3, bringing the total live piece count to five or six by Day 90. With each new publication, the internal link structure is updated: the new article links to the pillar, the pillar links to the new article, and one or two existing cluster articles are updated to include a contextual link to the new piece.

By Day 90, the cluster structure should be clearly visible in Screaming Frog: a pillar page with four or more inbound internal links, each cluster article linked to the pillar and cross-linked to at least one sibling article.

This is not just architectural tidiness. It is the mechanism through which authority flows from established pages to newer ones, accelerating their indexation and ranking potential.

Link Outreach Begins (Days 70–85)

Link acquisition in the first 90 days is not aggressive. It is targeted and quality-controlled. We identify three to five specific opportunities: credible business publications, industry directories, partner or complementary business websites, and any professional association or chamber of commerce listings relevant to the client’s sector. We approach each with a specific, contextually relevant pitch rather than a bulk outreach sequence.

The goal in Phase 3 is not to generate a large backlink count. It is to acquire two to three high-quality, contextually relevant links that begin building the off-page authority signal for the domain and the specific pages they point to. At this stage, one authoritative link from a domain with genuine topical relevance is worth more than twenty low-quality directory submissions.

Performance Signals and First Organic Leads (Days 75–90)

By Day 75, the Phase 1 content is typically six to eight weeks old and has been crawled by Google at least twice. GSC begins showing the first impression data for the target queries. The CTR opportunity table from the audit is revisited: if any Phase 1 content is appearing at positions 8–15 with low click-through rates, title tags are revised immediately. A ranking at position 10 with a strong title tag produces more traffic than a ranking at position 7 with a generic one.

Between Days 80 and 90, the first organic leads typically begin appearing in GA4 for well-executed engagements. These are not volume leads yet. They are the first attributable signals that the content strategy is working: a potential client who found the pillar article through a non-branded search, read it, and submitted the contact form.

Each of these leads is worth more than a traffic report because it confirms that the right audience is finding the right content and taking the right action.

Figure 3: Realistic Day 90 benchmarks for a well-executed SEO engagement. These are directional indicators, not guarantees. Every site starts from a different baseline. The direction of movement matters more than the absolute values at this stage.

Day-by-Day: Phase 3

What Happens After Day 90

Day 90 is not an end state. It is the completion of the foundation phase. By Day 90, the engagement has: a technically sound site, a functioning measurement framework, five or six live cluster articles beginning to rank, two to three quality backlinks, and the first organic leads appearing in the attribution data.

The work from Day 91 onward is compounding. The content cluster grows by two to three pieces per month. The monthly report tracks the movement from baseline. Keyword positions consolidate. Lead volume grows. The cost per organic lead declines as traffic scales without proportional cost increase.

The businesses that generate the strongest SEO returns over a 12-month engagement are almost always the ones that took the Phase 1 diagnostic seriously, approved and engaged with the strategy before execution began, and moved quickly on P1 technical fixes. Those decisions, made in the first 30 days, create a foundation that every subsequent month’s work builds on.

That is the process. It is the same for every client. The specifics — the keywords, the cluster topics, the technical findings — are different. The structure is not.

What We Need From You

A well-executed 90-day process requires active participation from the client side at specific points. Here is exactly what that looks like.

Read This Before Your First Call

This article describes exactly what the first 90 days of a Semola Digital engagement looks like. Nothing in it is aspirational. Everything described is what we actually do, in the order we actually do it.

If you are evaluating whether to work with us, the most useful thing you can do with this document is read it alongside the questions in our ‘Best SEO Agency in Lagos’ article and apply the ten-point scorecard there to what we have described here.

The process above should score well against those criteria. If there is a point where it does not satisfy your evaluation, we would rather know before the engagement starts.

Introductory calls are 45 minutes and carry no obligation. The process described here begins the day after the contract is signed. We have run it for every client since Semola Digital was founded, and we refine it based on what the data from each engagement teaches us.

Start the conversation: semoladigita@gmail.com

Oladoyin Falana

Founder, Technical Analyst

Oladoyin Falana is a certified digital growth strategist and full-stack web professional with over four years of hands-on experience at the intersection of SEO, web design & development. His journey into the digital world began as a content writer — a foundation that gave him a deep, instinctive understanding of how keywords, content and intent drive organic visibility. While honing his craft in content, he simultaneously taught himself the building blocks of the modern web: HTML, CSS, and React.js — a pursuit that would eventually evolve into full-stack Web Development and a Technical SEO Analyst.

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