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Be a bit careful with anyone promising page 1 rankings in a fixed timeframe, especially locally. In practice it depends heavily on competition, search intent, and how established the site already is.
For a local business in New South Wales, the biggest quick win is usually getting the fundamentals right first: a properly set up Google Business Profile, consistent NAP details across directories, and location-specific landing pages that actually match how people search.
After that, it becomes more about content depth and local relevance than anything “hacky.” Reviews also end up mattering more than most people expect, both for rankings and conversions.
If your friend is talking to agencies, I’d focus less on “page 1 guarantees” and more on what their process is for local SEO specifically and how they measure progress beyond just rankings.
