Local SEO & Google Rankings

You typically see your first ranking movements in 4–8 weeks (long-tail keywords moving from page 4 to page 2). Major commercial keywords usually move into the top 10 between months 3 and 6. By month 12, well-executed Local SEO compounds — most clients are getting more leads from organic search than from paid ads at half the cost.

No, and you should not work with anyone who does. Google rankings are competitive and depend on factors no agency controls (your competitors' actions, Google algorithm updates, your own review velocity). What we guarantee is honest tracking, weekly work documented in your dashboard, and a clear monthly report. If we are not delivering, you cancel — no contract.

The Performance & SEO Retainer is $150/month flat — that includes Local SEO, Google Business Profile management, blog posts, FAQ updates, unlimited content edits, and a monthly report. There are no per-keyword fees, no content surcharges, no citation-building add-ons. Compare to Hibu and Townsquare bundles, which run $500–1,500/mo and often cap content at 1 post per month.

Local SEO is the broader discipline — it includes on-page work on your website, off-page work like citations and reviews, AND Google Business Profile. GBP management is one component of Local SEO, focused specifically on the Google Maps listing. We sell them bundled in the Retainer because they reinforce each other; doing one without the other leaves money on the table.

It works for any business whose customers physically visit (restaurant, salon, shop) or whose customers are searching for a local service (HVAC, plumbing, lawyer, contractor). It does NOT work for pure e-commerce shipping nationwide — that's national SEO, a different discipline. If you serve customers within a 50-mile radius, Local SEO is the highest-ROI marketing channel available.

Yes, the moving parts are public — Google publishes guidelines, citation databases are searchable, and ranking trackers cost $30/mo. What you cannot DIY easily is the time: ongoing citation cleanup, weekly GBP posts, monthly content production, and the technical schema work. Most owners try DIY for 3 months, get frustrated, and hire it out. Skip step one.

Get a copy of your last 3 months of reports and the list of keywords they're tracking. If the reports are vague ('we increased impressions by 18%') and you cannot find a single commercial-intent keyword that's actually ranked you on page one, you're being charged a retainer for activity that does not move the needle. We will audit your current setup free and tell you honestly whether to fire them.

Yes. About 60% of our SEO clients are in Rome / Utica / Syracuse, but the methodology works in any city. We have clients in Buffalo, Albany, and a handful out-of-state. The deeper expertise on Central NY just means we already know which directories matter locally and which Chamber memberships actually drive citation authority.