Improving a website’s search performance starts with a solid on-page and technical SEO strategy. Many business owners and site managers often ask: “How long does it take?” and “What actually happens during the process?”
This post outlines the complete on-page and technical SEO process for a single page or a small group of pages, breaks down how long each step typically takes, and explains how to monitor progress until rankings improve.
Contents
- Step 1: SEO Audit & Benchmarking
- Step 1b: Comprehensive Advanced Audit
- Step 2: Fixing Technical SEO Issues
- Step 3: On-Page SEO Optimisation
- Step 4: Indexing & Submitting to Search Engines
- Step 5: Monitoring & Reporting
- How Long Does It Take to See SEO Results?
- Scaling This Process for a Full Website
- Final Thoughts
Step 1: SEO Audit & Benchmarking (1–2 Days)
Every SEO campaign should begin with a detailed technical and on-page SEO audit to uncover issues affecting performance in search results.
Common checks include:
- Site speed and Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS)
- Crawl errors, broken links, and 404s
- Duplicate content or missing metadata
- Indexing issues and sitemap status
- HTTPS and redirect errors
- Structured data and schema usage
- Mobile responsiveness and usability
- Headings, internal linking, and keyword usage
🛠 Tools commonly used: Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights, Schema.org Validator, Ubersuggest, Answerthepublic
Step 1b: Comprehensive Advanced Audit (3–5 Days)
For deeper insights, a more advanced audit goes beyond the basics and includes:
- Competitor analysis: Comparing keyword targets, backlink profiles, content strategy, and site architecture
- Content gap analysis: Discovering keywords competitors rank for but the site doesn’t
- Backlink audit: Identifying toxic or low-quality links
- Server and crawl diagnostics: Investigating JavaScript rendering, crawl budget issues, or latency
- Behaviour analytics: Evaluating bounce rates, engagement, and conversion metrics
- Local and schema validation: Verifying structured data accuracy, especially for local businesses
This type of audit is essential for sites competing in medium to high-difficulty niches.
Step 2: Fixing Technical SEO Issues (2–7 Days)
Based on the audit findings, technical fixes are applied to help search engines efficiently crawl and understand the website.
Tasks often include:
- Resolving crawl errors and broken internal links
- Fixing redirects (301, canonicalization issues)
- Optimising page speed and Core Web Vitals
- Updating XML sitemaps and robots.txt
- Adding or correcting structured data
- Enhancing mobile usability and security via HTTPS
⏱ Estimated time: 2–7 days (depending on site complexity)
Step 3: On-Page SEO Optimisation (3–7 Days)
On-page SEO focuses on aligning each page with its target keyword and improving its structure and relevance.
Common actions:
- Keyword mapping per page
- Optimising title tags and meta descriptions
- Using correct heading hierarchy (H1–H6)
- Adding alt attributes to images
- Improving internal linking and content flow
- Eliminating duplicate or thin content
- Enhancing keyword relevance within content
🔎 Bonus: For e-commerce or local service sites, optimising category/product/location pages with structured data, breadcrumbs, and clean URLs can further improve SEO visibility.
Step 4: Indexing & Submitting to Search Engines (Same Day)
After technical and on-page optimisation, updated pages should be submitted to Google (and optionally Bing) to ensure fast discovery and indexing.
Steps include:
- Submitting updated sitemap.xml files
- Manually requesting indexing in Google Search Console
- Monitoring crawl status and index coverage
⏱ Time required: Usually within the same day; indexing can take from a few hours to several days depending on domain authority and crawl frequency.
Step 5: Monitoring & Reporting (2–6 Weeks)
SEO success requires ongoing tracking after implementation. This helps identify early signs of ranking movement and ensures the website remains technically sound.
Typical metrics tracked:
- Keyword rankings (daily/weekly trends)
- Indexed pages vs. submitted
- Organic impressions and click-through rate
- Core Web Vitals and site speed
- Crawl statistics and page experience
- Algorithm change impact
🔧 Tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs, SERP tracking tools, and analytics dashboards are used to monitor progress.
How Long Does It Take to See SEO Results?
| SEO Activity | Time to Implement | Time to See Results |
|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO Fixes | 2–7 days (per page) | 2–6 weeks |
| On-Page Optimisation | 3–7 days (per page) | 4–8 weeks |
| Indexing Pages | Same day | Up to 7 days |
| Ranking Improvements | — | 1–3 months (average) |
| Stable Top Positions | — | 3–6 months (varies by niche) |
⚠️ Note: These estimates vary by niche, keyword difficulty, domain authority, and backlink strategy.
Scaling This Process for a Full Website
For websites with 20+ pages, each targeting different keywords, the process expands:
- Full-site audit duration: 3–7 days or more
- On-page work: Typically 1–2 pages optimised per day
- Monitoring and growth phase: 3–6 months minimum for broad ranking improvement
- Backlinks and content expansion: May be necessary for competitive niches
Larger websites require more planning, time, and follow-up to reach consistent performance across all target pages.
