How Long Does SEO Take to Work?
We get this question from potential and new clients, so we'd like to compile some thoughts here for anyone thinking about it.
New URLs / Web Addresses
It can take up to two years for a new website with unique URLs to begin ranking! It takes time and effort to rank pages, as with most things. Then, content tweaks and technical fixes are required throughout the year to climb the rankings.
We frequently see ranking improvements within the first six months of starting work, but good results can take a year or two!
Established Websites
Regular SEO-focused refreshes may be required for a site with a large amount of existing content. It's no secret that content is the best driver of traffic to a website, and good content, like a plant, needs to be watered to perform optimally.
Page reviews may be required, which takes time on large sites. Choosing one page per month to analyze and improve could do wonders for the page's ranking. This must be done gradually.
Making Content
A good content strategy is essential for your website. Spamming short, hastily written articles is not ideal. The best content strategy is to think about what you want to post and create a regular schedule. It is critical to allow enough time for research, writing, and editing. Your content must engage users while also solving their problems.
You may even require a content audit at times. This includes going through old content to repurpose, combine, or delete it. We've done this for many clients and seen the pages improve dramatically!
Competing
Your content must outperform the competition in your market. For businesses, this is ongoing, but online competition is constant. It is critical to be aware of your competitors and their website content. If you operate in a niche market, that's fantastic; you'll be ranking quickly. If you're in a larger market, you'll need to concentrate your SEO strategy on your own uniqueness and sell it throughout all of your search marketing activities.
When it comes to SEO, you're competing on keywords, so tailoring them to your niche is critical. A small burger restaurant will struggle to rank for "Cheeseburger," but "local burger restaurant Arundel" has a chance. Keep your niche in mind when selecting keywords. Is your offering one-of-a-kind? Is it your offering or your location that distinguishes you? This will be aided by segmenting your target market.
Building Links
Quality inbound links are one ranking factor. Pages must be linked to authoritative sites in order to perform well. This means that your content must be of high quality and shareable. Link building takes time and should be done gradually; sudden increases can appear suspicious. A good SEO strategy will take this into account.
A Long-Term SEO Strategy
To summarize our thoughts, we've seen long-form SEO strategy work for a variety of clients. It is the most long-term method of online marketing. You'll be able to spread out your time and efforts, see what works, and adjust as you go.
Are You Thinking About SEO for Your Website?
Consider your long-term SEO budget when considering Search Engine Optimization for your website. If your budget is limited, we could provide an initial SEO setup as well as regular reviews over a one-year period.
SEO has numerous variables that influence how long SEO can take. We understand how frustrating this can be. If you'd like to talk about SEO, please contact us at