What does SEO work involve? What gets done, in what order, and when

Updated: 3 November 2026.

What does SEO work include?

SEO is not a single task but six groups of work that depend on each other. If a proposal or monthly report does not show which of these were done, it is fair to ask what you are paying for.

Measurement runs through all six. Without Google Search Console and analytics in place, there is no way to tell whether the SEO work is working.

What does “organic SEO” mean?

Organic SEO is work aimed at the results you do not pay Google for. Results labelled “Sponsored” are Google Ads; when the budget stops, so does the visibility. Organic results have no cost per click but take longer to earn.

Google treats tactics that try to inflate rankings artificially, such as bought link packages, scraped or mass-produced pages and keyword stuffing, as spam. Organic SEO means improving the site so it genuinely deserves the visibility, without those shortcuts.

How is SEO done? A plan for the first three months

This is the order I follow on an existing business website. On a new site, the first two steps are shorter.

1. Week 1: Set up measurement and record a baseline.

   Search Console and analytics are set up and the sitemap is submitted. Note which pages are indexed, which searches you already appear for, and whether enquiries (forms, calls) are tracked. This baseline answers “what changed?” three months later.

2. Weeks 2–3: Remove technical blockers.

   Fix important pages that are not indexed, a “discourage search engines” setting left on, broken links, redirect chains, the same content on several URLs, and pages that load slowly on phones. Skip this and later content work has limited effect.

3. Weeks 3–4: Map keywords to pages.

   List the searches customers use for each service or product group and give each search one page. Two pages chasing the same search weaken each other; merge one or separate their topics.

4. Month 2: Strengthen the pages that earn money.

   Start with existing service and category pages, not new blog posts: titles and descriptions, price ranges, process, FAQs, case studies, real photos and internal links pointing to them. Pages already on page two of Search Console with high impressions usually move fastest.

5. Month 2: Fix local visibility.

   For a local business, complete and verify the Google Business Profile, make the site’s name, address and phone match it exactly, and ask customers for reviews. You can test consistency with the free NAP & Local SEO Checker.

6. Month 3: Write the missing content.

   Answer the questions customers ask before buying that your site does not yet cover: cost, timelines, comparisons, how to choose. Link each guide to the relevant service page.

7. Month 3 onwards: Get mentioned elsewhere.

   Industry directories, trade bodies, suppliers and partners, local press. Bought link packages do not work and can harm the site.

8. Every month: Measure and reprioritise.

   Impressions, clicks and average position in Search Console; enquiries in analytics. Drop what is not working and do more of what is.

How long does SEO work take?

These timings depend on the site’s age, the competition and how quickly changes are made. SEO is not a one-off job, but it does not need the same intensity every month either: once the technical base is sound, the work continues mostly as content and measurement.

Has AI search changed SEO work?

Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT search and Perplexity build their answers from web pages, so the fundamentals have not changed: crawlable pages that give accurate information and answer questions clearly do well in both classic results and AI answers. What changed is that there are more places to measure. I explain the overlap in SEO vs GEO and the practical steps in what is AI search optimization. You can check how AI tools read your site with the free AEO visibility checker.

Do it yourself or hire someone?

Setting up Search Console, completing your Google Business Profile, writing service page copy and asking for reviews need no technical skill. Technical SEO, redirects during a redesign, structured data and keyword-to-page mapping can lower existing rankings when done wrong; that is where specialist help saves time.

From an SEO consultant or agency, expect a monthly report that shows at least: the work done that month, the URLs that changed, movement in Search Console impressions, clicks and position, and next month’s priorities. A report that only counts backlinks or tracks one keyword is missing most of the picture.

If you work with me

I start with your Search Console data and competitors, then share technical fixes and a content plan in priority order, in writing. As a WordPress developer I implement the fixes myself rather than passing them to another team. Ongoing SEO starts at £1,500 per month; one-off audits and projects are listed on the AI search optimization services page.

Planning a new site first? See how much a business website costs.