238LAB Corp

What is the minimum contract length for an SEO agency project?

The standard term for a managed SEO project is 6 months. For stable, compounding results, we recommend 12 months or more.

SEO is cumulative work. Short-term contracts rarely reach the point where you recover your investment.

  • 6 months: Core SEO structure cleanup, plus early content and off-page gains
  • 12 months: Full growth phase and confirmed revenue contribution
  • 18-24 months: Brand keyword dominance and overtaking competitors

Phased Execution During the Term

  • Months 1-2: Site audit, competitive landscape analysis, keyword structure design
  • Months 2-3: Technical SEO fixes, initial content publishing, off-page groundwork
  • Months 4-6: Full content operation, off-page expansion, performance data accumulation
  • Month 6 onward: Keyword refinement, conversion optimization, brand asset building

Why We Do Not Recommend Short-Term Contracts

  • Google and Naver (Korea's dominant search engine, ~58% market share) algorithms take 4-8 weeks on average to reflect changes
  • Off-page effects fully materialize 3-6 months later
  • Content assets compound from the point of accumulation

Contract Renewal Structure

  • Review results at the Month 5 checkpoint meeting, then decide on extension
  • Scope can be re-scoped based on performance at renewal
  • If you want to move to in-house operation, we arrange a separate handover schedule

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