Starting a new SEO role can feel like jumping onto a train already in motion. You’re expected to keep things running, fix what’s broken, and build new growth opportunities—all at the same time. No pressure, right?
That’s why I always rely on a 30-60-90 day plan. It’s not just about ticking boxes; it’s about keeping myself grounded, setting expectations, and showing I’m here to do more than tweak title tags. I’m here to make SEO matter.
Over the years, I’ve noticed the first three months boil down to three core priorities:
- Figure out what’s working (and what’s not)
- Spot quick opportunities
- Lay the foundation for long-term growth
The exact approach changes depending on whether you’re in-house or at an agency. Agency SEOs are often pushed to deliver quick wins across multiple accounts, while in-house SEOs may need to spend more time building buy-in—but get greater control over long-term impact.
Here’s how I break down those critical first 90 days.
Days 1–30: Discovery, Trust, and Quick Wins
The first month isn’t about proving you know every ranking factor. It’s about listening, learning, and laying the groundwork.
If you skip this step, you’ll spend month three cleaning up mistakes from month one.
1. Meet the People Behind the Site
SEO doesn’t happen in isolation. Start by meeting the people who influence the site, whether that’s:
- Marketing leads who care about traffic goals
- Content creators who want SEO support without losing their voice
- Product managers or developers who own the CMS and backlog
- Sales teams who focus on what actually converts
Ask what success looks like, what’s keeping them up at night, and what kind of SEO win would make their lives easier. You’ll uncover hidden context you won’t find in a crawl report.
2. Audit Everything—But Prioritize Ruthlessly
Yes, you’ll run an audit. But resist the urge to deliver a 50-slide deck of broken links and technical issues. Instead, zero in on low-effort, high-impact fixes—the ones that build instant credibility.
Examples:
- Pages that are accidentally noindexed
- Mobile issues affecting conversions
- Blog posts sitting on page two for valuable keywords
- Duplicate or missing metadata on top pages
Finding early wins earns you trust and gives you breathing room for bigger projects later.
3. Understand Performance—And the Politics Behind It
Data only tells part of the story. How leadership interprets that data matters even more.
Ask yourself:
- Does the company live and die by organic traffic?
- Or do they only care about conversions, demos, or revenue?
- What’s been called a “win” (or a failure) in the past?
The goal here is alignment. If leadership only cares about demo signups, don’t waste time bragging about impressions. Focus where it counts.
4. Define the SEO “Now” and Tease the “Next”
By the end of your first month, you should have:
- A clear picture of what’s working and what’s broken
- 2–3 quick wins already in play
- A draft of your SEO goals tied to business objectives
This shows you’re not just diagnosing problems—you’re already moving toward solutions.
ALSO READ: 10 SEO KPIs Every Business Should Track
Days 31–60: From Insight to Movement
Month two is where people stop thinking of you as “the new SEO” and start judging your impact.
Don’t panic. You don’t need to overhaul everything. You just need to prove you can prioritize and ship results.
Build a Simple Strategy You Can Explain in One Breath
Turn your findings into a clear narrative:
- What’s the problem?
- Where’s the opportunity?
- Why does it matter?
Group issues into themes: crawlability, internal linking, stale content, poor metadata. Not everything is urgent. Pick your battles.
Get a Win Out the Door
Momentum matters. Pick one meaningful fix and execute:
- Refresh a blog post that’s stuck on page two
- Rewrite metadata for your top product pages
- Fix internal linking so key URLs stop getting buried
It doesn’t need to be flashy—it just needs to get done. Visible progress builds confidence.
Sketch the Long Game
Begin shaping a roadmap:
- Short-term wins (weeks)
- Mid-term projects (quarter)
- Long-term plays (year)
It doesn’t need to be perfect yet. Even a messy draft helps others see where SEO is heading and what resources you’ll need.
Build One System to Save Your Future Self
This could be:
- A rank-tracking dashboard
- A reporting template for content briefs
- A workflow for dev tickets
A single repeatable system now will reduce chaos later.
Days 61–90: Strategy, Buy-In, and Big Moves
By month three, your “new” grace period is over. You’ve run audits, delivered wins, and shared insights. Now, you need to cement your strategy and prove you can lead it.
Deliver a Clear Roadmap
Your roadmap should outline:
- The top 2–3 focus areas for the next quarter
- Key phases or milestones
- Dependencies from other teams (dev, content, leadership)
- The expected business impact
This is when you stop being the person who ‘does SEO’ and become the one driving the strategy.
Secure Buy-In
SEO doesn’t succeed in silos. You’ll need allies.
- Work with content teams on refreshing and scaling content
- Partner with devs to unblock technical fixes
- Keep leadership updated with clear ROI connections
Make your asks specific:
- “Here are 5 priority pages to refresh this month—I’ll supply briefs.”
- “Can we open up the nav so Google can crawl product pages?”
- “This blog has impressions but low conversions—can we A/B the CTA?”
Collaboration beats pressure. Speak their language.
Launch a Bigger Initiative
By now, it’s time to lead something substantial, such as:
- Building a content hub for a high-value topic
- Running a backlink campaign
- Refreshing 20+ stale posts at once
- Rolling out structured data for rich results
This is where you prove you can go beyond quick fixes and manage real SEO projects.
Refine Reporting
Traffic is nice. But stakeholders care about impact. Start reporting on:
- Visibility gains for priority pages
- CTR improvements after metadata updates
- Indexation and crawl health
- Conversions or leads influenced by organic traffic
Even if results are early, show momentum and tie everything back to business goals.
In-House vs. Agency: What’s Different
- In-house: More cross-team alignment, slower implementation, deeper long-term strategy.
- Agency: Faster execution, higher pressure to show results, communication and clarity are everything.
Wrapping Up
Your first 90 days aren’t about perfection. They’re about building trust, delivering early wins, and proving you can think strategically.
From here, the real work begins. SEO either becomes an integral part of the business—or it gets sidelined again. The difference often comes down to how you communicate, collaborate, and make your work impossible to ignore.
