# Four Months In, the Client Is Reading the Wrong Numbers
URL: https://www.getrankonmap.com/blog/four-months-in-client-disappointed
Published: 2026-10-06

When a local SEO client is disappointed four months in, the report is often
measuring the wrong things. It shows site-wide Search Console averages when it
should show the map pack, the Business Profile and calls from the target area.
As of September 2026 this is one of the most common ways a first client goes
wrong. On **8 August 2026** someone doing SEO for their first client posted
their numbers to r/localseo: 25 clicks, 795 impressions, 3.1% CTR and an
average position of 54 over six months, for a Florida target, with most clicks
"not even from the US". The thread drew 84 upvotes and 129 comments. Read
closely, those numbers say something different from "disappointing".

```
  THE SAME NUMBERS, READ TWO WAYS — r/localseo, 8 August 2026
  ┌────────────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐
  │ figure (6 months)      │ as reported    │ what it actually says      │
  ├────────────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
  │ impressions            │ 795            │ 508 of them in July alone  │
  │                        │                │ = 64% in the last month    │
  │ clicks                 │ 25             │ mostly outside the US —    │
  │                        │                │ not local-intent traffic   │
  │ average position       │ 54             │ an average over every      │
  │                        │                │ query; hides the few that  │
  │                        │                │ matter                     │
  │ map pack / GBP / calls │ not reported   │ the client's actual market │
  └────────────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘
  64% is our arithmetic from the poster's figures (508 ÷ 795)
```

## The Trend Is Up, and the Report Hid It

Of 795 impressions over six months, 508 came in July. That's 64% of the
total in the latest month, which points to a site starting to be seen, not one
failing. A six-month total puts month one next to month six and makes the
growth look flat.

The first fix costs nothing. Report month by month, so the client can see the
line going up.

The CTR hides a second clue. 25 clicks out of 795 impressions is 3.1%, and
that is high for a site whose average position is 54. Pages that far down
almost never get clicked. So the clicks are probably coming from a small number
of queries where the site already ranks well. Those queries are the ones to
find, check for local intent, and build on.

## Clicks From Outside the Market Are Not Results

"Most clicks are not even from the US," for a Florida business. That means the
site is showing up for searches that don't carry local intent. It might be
informational queries, broad terms, or pages that happen to match something
abroad. Those clicks make the totals bigger without bringing in a single
customer.

For a local client, the only useful slice is queries and clicks from the
service area. Filter the report to the country and look at queries with a
service or a place in them. Expect small numbers, because that is the real size
of the market.

## An Average Position of 54 Measures Nothing a Client Needs

Average position across every query the site appeared for mixes one term at
position 3 with forty terms at position 80. It can't tell a client whether
they're visible for the five searches that bring in jobs. For a local business,
most of those searches show a map pack above the organic results, and the
report had no map pack figures at all.

The poster asked:

> I have done On-page, Technical. I am about to work on backlinks for the
> client this month. What else could I do?
>
> — r/localseo, August 2026

Before more work, the report needs a better scoreboard. The next step may be
exactly right, but under this report it will look disappointing too.

## Ranking #1 Without Calls Is the Same Problem

Six months earlier in the same room, a business owner had the opposite case.
Three months in, rankings "improved and showing #1", but "not many calls
coming in yet". A good number on the wrong scoreboard is as misleading as a
bad one. Both reports left out the one thing the client pays for, which is
calls and booked jobs.

## Rebuild the Report Before Month Five

1. **Pick five money terms** with the client, service plus place, and report
   only those.
2. **Grid them for the map pack**, dated, and show coverage month by month. See
   [one rank number lies](/blog/one-rank-number-lies).
3. **Add the Business Profile's own numbers**: views, calls, website clicks,
   direction requests. Most local leads never touch the site. See
   [the new website when the profile is the problem](/blog/new-website-when-the-profile-is-the-problem).
4. **Filter organic to the service area** and show it by month, not as a
   six-month total.
5. **Set the time frame in writing.** See
   [how long it takes to rank in the map pack](/blog/how-long-to-rank-in-the-map-pack),
   and for tying rankings to calls,
   [ranked #1 but the phone is not ringing](/blog/ranked-1-but-phone-not-ringing).

## Sources

**Our own data.** Collected for this page and not published elsewhere.

- **July share of impressions**: 508 of 795 = 64%, computed from the poster's
  own figures. Calculated 21 September 2026.

**Cited externally.** Accessed September 2026.

| source | what it supports |
|---|---|
| [r/localseo, 8 August 2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/localseo/comments/1vistu2/after_4_months_of_seo_for_a_client_the_results/) — 4 months of SEO, client disappointed | the case; 25 clicks, 795 impressions (July 508), 3.1% CTR, position 54; Florida target; non-US clicks; the work done; quoted line; 84 upvotes, 129 comments |
| [r/localseo, 5 February 2026](https://www.reddit.com/r/localseo/comments/1qwbl01/3month_seo_progress_looking_for_opinions/) — 3-month SEO progress | ranking #1 after 3 months with few calls |