SEO for startups: the 90-day compounding plan

SEO has a reputation for being slow and mysterious. It's slow — but it isn't mysterious. For a startup, the first 90 days are about building a foundation that keeps paying off long after the work is done. Here's how we sequence it.

Foundations and the obvious wins

Fix the technical basics: fast load, mobile-first, clean titles and meta descriptions, a sitemap, and proper headings. Then claim the searches you should already own — your brand name, your category plus your city, and the “best / alternative / vs” terms buyers type when they're close to deciding. These rank fastest because intent is high and competition is often weak.

The content that earns rankings

Now build the pages that answer what your buyers actually search — problems, comparisons, how-tos, and pricing questions. One genuinely useful page per buyer question beats ten thin ones. Each should target a specific search, answer it better than what's ranking, and point the reader toward a next step.

Authority and momentum

Rankings need trust signals — links and mentions from places that matter. Get listed where your buyers look, turn your best content into guest pieces, and earn mentions through genuinely useful resources (like a checklist). Internally, link your pages together so authority flows to the ones that convert.

Compounding, not spikes

SEO won't spike like a launch. It stacks — month three is better than month one, and month twelve dwarfs both, because the pages you built keep ranking and keep converting at no extra cost. The teams that win are the ones that start before they “need” to.