What Happens After You Hire SEO Services? The Journey Begins

You’ve done the research, compared agencies, signed the contract, and made the initial payment. Congratulations! You’ve taken a significant step towards improving your online visibility and attracting more organic traffic. But now that the ink is dry, you might be wondering, "Okay, what happens next?"

Hiring SEO services isn’t like flipping a switch for instant results. It’s the start of a strategic partnership and a dynamic process designed to build sustainable online growth. The period immediately following the hiring is crucial, setting the foundation for all future efforts. Let’s break down the typical journey after you entrust your website’s search performance to the experts.

Phase 1: The Onboarding & Discovery Deep Dive

This is perhaps the most critical initial phase, laying the groundwork for a successful collaboration.

1. Welcome & Introduction: You’ll likely be introduced to your dedicated point of contact – often an Account Manager or Project Manager – and potentially the SEO specialists who will be working directly on your account. This establishes clear lines of communication.
2. Access & Tool Setup: The agency will need access to various platforms to perform their work. This typically includes:

   • Your website’s Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, Shopify, etc.
   • Google Analytics (or your preferred analytics tool)
   • Google Search Console (essential for understanding how Google sees your site)
   • Any relevant third-party SEO tools you currently use.
   • Access to your hosting account or DNS settings might be required for technical implementations.
   • Access to your social media profiles for integrated strategies.

3. In-Depth Discovery Sessions: Expect detailed conversations about your business. This goes beyond just your website. The agency needs to understand:

   • Your business goals (Are you targeting leads, e-commerce sales, brand awareness?)
   • Your target audience (Who are you trying to reach?)
   • Your unique selling propositions (What makes you different?)
   • Your primary services or products.
   • Your market and key competitors (both online and offline).
   • Past SEO efforts and their results.
   • Any upcoming marketing initiatives or website changes.
     This phase is about the agency becoming an extension of your marketing team, truly understanding your world.

Phase 2: The Comprehensive Audit & Strategy Development

With access and a solid understanding of your business, the agency dives into the technical analysis and strategic planning.

1. Technical SEO Audit: The experts will scrutinize your website’s technical foundation. This includes checking:

   • Site speed and mobile-friendliness
   • Crawlability and indexability (Can search engines easily find and understand your content?)
   • Site architecture and internal linking structure
   • Presence of sitemaps and robots.txt files
   • HTTPS security
   • Structured data implementation (Schema markup)
   • Canonical tags and handling of duplicate content
   • Any rendering issues for search engines.

2. On-Page SEO Audit: They will analyze your existing content and page structure, looking at:

   • Keyword usage (Are you targeting relevant terms?)
   • Quality and depth of content
   • Optimization of title tags, meta descriptions, and header tags
   • Image optimization (alt text, file size)
   • Readability and user experience.

3. Off-Page SEO & Backlink Analysis: The agency will assess your website’s authority and reputation online by:

   • Analyzing your existing backlink profile (Are links high quality and relevant?)
   • Identifying harmful or spammy links that need disavowing.
   • Evaluating your online mentions and citations (especially for local SEO).

4. Keyword Research & Competitive Analysis: Based on the discovery sessions and their market research, they will identify the most valuable keywords to target – those with a good balance of search volume, relevance, and achievable ranking difficulty. They’ll also analyze your competitors’ SEO strategies to identify opportunities and threats.
5. Strategy Formulation: Combining the findings from all audits and research, the agency will develop a tailored SEO strategy. This isn’t a generic plan; it’s a roadmap outlining the specific actions, priorities, timelines, and anticipated outcomes designed to achieve your business goals. The strategy should clearly define what type of work will be done (technical fixes, content creation/optimization, link building, etc.).

Phase 3: Strategy Presentation & Alignment

Before any major implementation begins, a good SEO agency will present their findings and proposed strategy to you.

1. Presentation of Audit Findings: They will walk you through the results of their technical, on-page, and off-page audits, explaining the issues they found and why they matter.
2. Presentation of the Proposed Strategy: They will detail their recommended plan of action, explaining the reasoning behind their keyword targets and the chosen tactics. This is your opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback, and ensure you fully understand and agree with the approach. Alignment here is key to a strong partnership.

Phase 4: Implementation Kicks Off

Once the strategy is approved, the real work begins. This is where the agency starts making changes and building assets.

1. Technical Implementations: Fixing site speed issues, implementing structured data, resolving crawl errors, improving mobile responsiveness, etc. These often require technical expertise and careful execution to avoid disrupting the site.
2. On-Page Optimizations: Optimizing existing content, writing new SEO-friendly content (blog posts, service pages, product descriptions), refining meta tags, improving internal linking.
3. Off-Page Activities: Beginning link building outreach, managing local business listings, working on online reputation management.
4. Tracking Setup & Verification: Ensuring all tracking (Google Analytics, Search Console, goal tracking) is correctly set up and verified to accurately measure progress.

Phase 5: Regular Communication & Reporting

SEO is an ongoing process, and transparency is vital.

1. Ongoing Communication: You should have regular check-ins or access to your point of contact for questions and updates.
2. Monthly Reports: Expect detailed monthly reports outlining:

   • Work completed during the month.
   • Changes in keyword rankings (for target keywords).
   • Trends in organic traffic (sessions, users).
   • Goal completions or conversions from organic search.
   • Technical health status of the site.
   • Backlinks acquired.
   • Analysis of the data and what it means for your goals.
   • Plans for the upcoming month.

3. Performance Reviews: These reports often accompany a call or meeting to discuss performance, answer questions, and adapt the strategy as needed.

Phase 6: Adjustment, Optimization, and Long-Term Partnership

SEO is not static. Search engine algorithms change, competitors evolve, and user behavior shifts.

1. Continuous Monitoring: The agency constantly monitors your site’s performance and search engine results.
2. Strategy Adjustments: Based on performance data, algorithm updates, and market changes, the strategy will be refined and adjusted over time. Some tactics might be paused, while new opportunities are pursued.
3. Ongoing Optimization: SEO is about continuous improvement. New content opportunities are identified, technical debt is addressed, and link building efforts continue to build authority.
4. Focus on Results: The conversation increasingly shifts from activities to outcomes – how SEO is contributing to your business goals (leads, sales, ROI).

Managing Expectations: The Timeline

One of the most frequent questions is, "How long until I see results?" It’s crucial to understand that SEO takes time.

• Initial Impact (1-3 months): You might see some initial improvements from technical fixes and foundational on-page optimizations. Keyword rankings might start to fluctuate or improve slightly for less competitive terms. Traffic changes are often minimal but positive.
• Significant Growth (4-12 months): This is when you typically start seeing more substantial results. Rankings improve for more competitive keywords, organic traffic increases noticeably, and you should see a clearer impact on your business goals (leads, sales).
• Sustained Success (12+ months): SEO is an ongoing investment for sustained visibility. Maintaining rankings, adapting to changes, and continuing to build authority require consistent effort.

SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires patience, consistent effort from the agency, and active participation and collaboration from you, the client.

FAQs About What Happens After Hiring SEO Services

• How long until I see results? While initial foundational work can show minor improvements in 1-3 months, significant, measurable results typically take 6-12 months, depending on competitiveness, your site’s starting point, and the scope of work.
• What access do you need to my website? They will need access to your website’s backend (CMS) to make on-page and technical changes, and access to Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor performance and identify issues.
• How often will we communicate? Most agencies provide monthly reports and performance calls. You should also have access for questions via email or a project management tool in between reports.
• What is my role after hiring? Your role is crucial! You need to be available for initial discovery, strategy approval, providing insights into your business/industry, approving changes, and reviewing reports. Collaboration is key.
• How do we measure success? Success should be measured against your business goals, not just rankings. This includes metrics like organic traffic, conversion rates from organic traffic, leads generated, and ultimately, revenue attributed to SEO.
• Can you guarantee #1 rankings? No reputable agency can guarantee specific rankings. Google’s algorithm is complex and constantly changing, and they control rankings, not the agency. Agencies can guarantee best practices, strategic effort, and aiming for high rankings based on their expertise.
• Will you make changes to my website without asking? A professional agency will always present their proposed strategy and significant changes for your approval before implementation, especially those affecting design or content.

Conclusion

Hiring SEO services is the beginning of a transformative journey for your online presence. What happens after you sign the dotted line is a structured process of deep understanding (onboarding & discovery), rigorous analysis (audits & strategy), collaborative planning (strategy presentation), expert execution (implementation), and transparent tracking (reporting & optimization). It’s a partnership that requires patience, clear communication, and a shared focus on achieving measurable business outcomes. While results take time, the consistent effort invested pays off in sustainable organic growth and increased online authority.

Ready to Start Your SEO Journey? Contact Relativity

Understanding what happens after you hire SEO services highlights the importance of choosing a partner with a proven process, deep expertise, and a commitment to transparent communication. If you’re looking for an SEO agency that prioritizes understanding your unique business, develops a tailored strategy, and works collaboratively to achieve your goals, consider contacting Relativity.

Their team is equipped to guide you through every step of the process, from initial discovery and audit to implementation, reporting, and continuous optimization. Visit their website at relativityseo.com to learn more about their services and discuss how they can help your business thrive online. Don’t just hire an SEO agency; hire a partner invested in your success.