What Should Happen in the First 90 Days With a New Marketing Agency?
Last updated: November 13, 2026 · By Kayce Sadler, Founder & CEO, Abode Marketing
The first 90 days should move from access and cleanup, to tracking, to the first growth work, with something visible you can check every month. You may not see many new leads in month one. You should see fixed listings, working tracking, a clear plan and regular communication.
Key takeaways
- Month one: access, audit, fixing what’s broken, and tracking.
- Month two: the first new pages, profile improvements and review requests going out.
- Month three: early results you can measure, and a plan adjusted to what the data shows.
- Every account, profile and website should be in your name, with the agency added as a user.
- Ask for a report that ties work to calls, forms and booked appointments, not just traffic.
Month one: what should get done?
- Access. The agency should get access to your Google Business Profile, website, analytics, Search Console and ad accounts, added as a user, not by taking ownership.
- Audit. A written look at where you stand on Google, Maps and AI search compared with the businesses ranking above you.
- Cleanup. Wrong phone numbers, duplicate listings, broken pages and missing categories get fixed first.
- Tracking. Calls and forms should be measured so later results can be proven.
Month two: what should start to change?
This is when new work starts showing up: service and location pages, a more complete Google profile, the first review requests going to clients, and ads launched if they’re part of the plan. You should be able to click on each new thing and see it live. Here’s my take: if you can’t point to anything new by the end of month two, ask why.
Month three: what results are realistic?
By month three, most businesses can see early movement: more impressions in Search Console, better positions for some searches, more calls from the Google profile, and new reviews. Big ranking gains for competitive terms usually take longer, as we covered in how long local SEO takes. Ads move faster but need the tracking from month one to prove what they bring.
What are the warning signs?
| Warning sign | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The agency owns your Google profile, domain or ad account | You can lose them if you part ways |
| Reports show only traffic or impressions | Traffic isn’t customers. You need calls and forms |
| No one can tell you what was done last month | Work you can’t see may not be happening |
| Long contracts with no way out | Good work rarely needs a lock-in |
| Promises of specific rankings by a date | No one controls Google’s results |
What should I do as the business owner?
Give access quickly, answer questions about your services and customers, approve content on time, and tell the agency when calls come in. Your knowledge of your customers is the part no agency can replace, and the businesses that share it get better pages and better ads.
What we’d check first
If you’re about to hire an agency, we’d confirm you own every account they’ll touch, set up call and form tracking first, and write down where you rank today so the first 90 days can be measured against it.
If you’d like a second set of eyes, our free visibility audit covers this and shows where you stand on Google, Maps and AI search.
More owner questions we’ve answered: Agency or in-house hire? · Who owns your website? · What to ask before you hire
Frequently asked questions
How long before I see results from a marketing agency?
Fixes and tracking show up in the first month. Early ranking and call improvements often show by month three. Competitive terms can take longer.
What should be in a monthly marketing report?
What was done, what changed in rankings and visibility, and how many calls, forms and booked jobs came from each channel.
Should the agency own my Google Business Profile?
No. You should own it and add the agency as a manager.
Is it normal for an agency to ask for a long contract?
Some do, but month-to-month terms are common, and a short initial commitment is enough for most local work.
What if I don’t see anything new after two months?
Ask the agency to show you each piece of work live. If they can’t, that’s a sign to revisit the arrangement.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage users for your Business Profile — Adding an agency as a manager
- Google Search Central: Do you need an SEO? — Google’s guidance on hiring SEO help
- BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey — How customers use reviews
