← BLOG · SEO
Six months of local SEO, numbers included
A candid look at what an SEO retainer actually moves for a small Sydney café.
AAYUSH MARCH 28, 2026 11 MIN
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Month 1 shows no movement. That’s normal. Don’t fire anyone at month 2.
- First real ranking shifts arrived at month 3; revenue lift at month 5.
- Google Business Profile drove more of the lift than organic search did.
- Total 6-month cost $4,140; attributable monthly revenue lift ~$2,800 → payback month six.
Most SEO case studies compare month 1 to month 6 and show big percentages. The reality is slower. Here’s a real one, as flat as I can tell it.
The starting point
Small café, Marrickville, ~60 seats, brunch-focused. Existing Squarespace site, well-rated on Google, 1,100 Google Business Profile views/mo, barely ranking organically for anything except their own name. Retainer: $690/mo for 6 months, no lock-in.
| Metric | Month 0 (start) | Month 6 (end) |
|---|---|---|
| GBP profile views | 1,100 | 3,850 |
| GBP calls | 22 | 61 |
| Organic clicks (web) | 180 | 620 |
| Website bookings | 4/mo | 14/mo |
| Top-3 rankings (tracked) | 1 | 9 |
| Attributable revenue/mo | ~$0 | ~$2,800 |
Month by month
The actual play-by-play. Nothing skipped. No spin.
Month 1 — foundations
- Technical audit. Fixed 19 broken internal links, added LocalBusiness + Menu schema, rewrote 8 page titles.
- GBP hygiene. Added 45 photos, cleaned categories, filled Q&A section, turned on messaging.
- Search Console + GA4 properly wired (previously both were broken/partial).
- Traffic change: 0%. This is expected.
Month 2 — content + proof
- Published 4 local-intent pages: "best brunch marrickville", "vegan brunch inner west", "dog-friendly cafés marrickville", "weekend breakfast near sydenham".
- Encouraged review flow — 18 new reviews in 30 days (previous 90 days: 4).
- GBP views up 18% on photo engagement alone.
- Organic traffic: flat.
Month 3 — first movement
- First ranking movement: "brunch marrickville" from page 3 → position 7.
- Organic traffic up 31% off a tiny base (still just 240 clicks/mo).
- GBP calls: 35 (from 22 baseline).
Month 4 — links arrive
- Earned 2 links from local food blogs via a cold pitch + a press-ready "opening times" page.
- Three tracked terms on page 1.
- Clicks up 58% YoY.
- Revenue attribution starts being measurable (~$900/mo).
Month 5 — booking flow
- Redesigned the booking section on the homepage. One booking widget, not three.
- Website bookings up from 4/mo to 11/mo.
- GBP calls up 40%.
- Attributable revenue/mo ~$2,100.
Month 6 — ROI month
- 7 terms on page 1, 2 in the top 3.
- Organic traffic 2.3× start (420 → 970 clicks/mo).
- Reported revenue attributable to SEO: ~$2,800/mo increase.
- ROI: $4,140 spent, ~$8,400 earned in the last 3 months alone. Payback clean.
We didn’t do anything magical. We did the unglamorous local SEO playbook, consistently, for six months.
What we didn’t do
- Buy links. Not one.
- Publish 40 generic blog posts.
- Chase "café sydney" — too broad, not winnable on the timeline.
- Use any AI content for the on-site pages. We used AI for outlining and then wrote from scratch.
What it cost the client
| Item | Spend |
|---|---|
| 6 × $690 retainer | $4,140 |
| Google My Business premium features | $0 (free tier) |
| Schema markup tool | $0 (hand-written) |
| Link building spend | $0 |
| Content production | Included |
Total out-of-pocket: $4,140 over six months. Attributable uplift in the back three months alone: ~$8,400. Ongoing recurring benefit at no extra spend.
COMMON QUESTIONS