3-month-old local service site: 589 impressions / 20 clicks in 28 days. Is this on track for a niche like this?
I’m a consultant who usually does the strategy and hands off the execution. I recently started my own small agency and this is the first site where I’m doing the full SEO work myself, so I’d really value a sanity check.
The site: a local healthcare-adjacent service business (court-ordered / compliance-related services) in a large US metro. The site is about 3 months old, it’s a WordPress site on Elementor, and I’m not running ads yet. I’m also managing the Google Business Profile.
Search Console (web only):
Last 28 days: 20 clicks, 589 impressions, 3.4% CTR, average position 20.1
Last 7 days: 6 clicks, 163 impressions, 3.7% CTR, average position 21.4
A few form submissions so far
What I’ve done so far:
Rebuilt the core service pages and added new dedicated pages for the main services (including one for the online version)
Rewrote titles, meta descriptions and headings around the target keywords, and cleaned up internal links and the menu
Added schema (local business, FAQ) plus a credentials/trust section that links to the official state listings
Removed the theme’s demo content, fixed 404s and submitted validation in Search Console
Speed work: CSS aggregation, a preloaded hero image, resized images. Desktop PageSpeed is about 91 and mobile is in the low 60s (heavy theme)
GA4 events for calls, directions clicks and form submissions, plus spam protection on the forms
Started on directory listings and citations (Yelp is verified, the rest are in progress)
Added a short explainer video on the main pages
Where I’m unsure:
For a niche like this, are ~590 impressions a month and an average position around 20 reasonable at 3 months, or should I be further along?
I don’t have Semrush or Ahrefs, so I can’t see full search volumes. What’s the best way to judge whether the keywords are worth chasing without those tools?
There’s a lot of spammy backlink junk pointing at the domain. I’ve held off on a disavow. Is leaving it alone still the right call?
What would you prioritize next: reviews and the Business Profile, links from local professionals, more content, or something I’m missing?
Platform question for future builds: is WordPress still the best choice for SEO and content-heavy local sites, or is there a CMS or platform you’d pick instead (Webflow, Shopify, a headless setup, something else)? The theme and page builder on this one are heavy, and mobile speed is the weak spot, so I’m curious what you’d choose for a small local business site in 2026 and why.
Happy to share more detail on the queries and pages if it helps. Thanks in advance, and be as blunt as you like.