Most of the time when we start an SEO project for a client, they are really hoping to see results fast. Most of the time, people want to see SEO results fast. There are a lot of variables that determine how long it can take to see the results after you start.
SEO can give immediate results in the form of fresh content and better organisation, but the majority of businesses are after something a little more long term and visible, usually a prime spot on page one of major search engines.
How long after you start SEO do you see results?
There are a lot of variables that determine how quickly you get results after you start optimising your website for search engines.
Baseline traffic, website design, domain age, geographic location, competition, and target market all play into how quickly you can gain search engine traffic from SEO.
Generally, websites gain momentum around 3 months in and noticeable results are evident around 4 to 8 months in.
However, this also depends on the kind of results you are looking for and which influence the techniques you practice on a regular basis.
Can we speed it up?
Many factors determine how fast your SEO efforts will start delivering results. If you have a new website, new domain name and fresh content without a business history it could take a while, up to six months in this scenario before you see results.
Your efforts will begin to gain momentum over time and gradually deliver greater returns the longer you keep actively practising. To understand why SEO takes a while to get going, let’s break it down and look at the key areas:
What is SEO?
Success in SEO, as with most things in life, comes down to mastering the basics. With that in mind, here are some SEO basics that everyone should understand.
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. It is the process of getting traffic from the free, organic, or natural types of search results on search engines.
All major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers relevant to the search.
Search Engine Basics
This starts with understands the three main types of traffic companies receive from search.
Map Listings – Google Maps started in 2005 as a way for consumers to find local establishments on the platform. It became the world’s leading map application with new features added on a regular basis.
Organic – Traditional search results from Google‘s search engine. We discuss more below about the algorithm that determines these rankings.
PPC – Pay Per Click campaigns are when a company pays for their search engine rankings through ads. These ads are traditionally on the top and right of the Google search. Pay per click campaigns are also called Search Engine Marketing.
Four Determining SEO Factors
1. Keywords and Search Phrases
Keywords help you drive the targeted traffic that you want to your site. With all of the changes that Google has made over the past year, this means you need to create quality traffic that your visitors will like as well.
When you can do this successfully, you have the power to find the quality clients you want for your business. It is not easy, but with the ideas above you have the strategies to make it work for your business.
2. Your Domain Name
At the root level, your SEO revolves around your domain name. Does your domain have keywords in it? Having a domain name with keywords in it can accelerate your SEO efforts. But it’s not a silver bullet technique. Even domain names with SEO rich keywords can rank horribly.
Did you just buy your domain name? Relationships built on the internet with search engines revolves around trust. Mimicking real life to determine trust search engines must determine you know what you are talking about.
They also factor in the age of your domain to determine the legitimacy of your information, website and business.
Is your domain penalised? If you bought your domain name from a third party auction site its possible its been abused and discarded. If it was involved in malicious activity or black hat tactics and flagged by search engines it will take you a long time to reverse the damage.
Was your domain owned by a business outside of your geographical area? Sometimes when a business closes they sell their domain name. Perhaps your business has had the.org and now the .com is available.
You might be excited because it was owned by a business in another state long before you started your business.
The only problem, in the beginning, is that domain has a long history with the previous business in their geographical location.
While this won’t ruin your chances, it does put a bit of a roadblock until you assume ownership and the internet begins to recognise the owner’s new address.
3. Your Business and Location
For starters, every business should claim and list their business with Google. It’s free and a great tool for improving your businesses online presence.
What does your business provide? If you have a niche business serving a limited clientele you will see faster results if your clients are specifically searching for your services. For example, your business only recycles cooking oil for restaurants in Fort Myers, Florida.
If you are in a more competitive field, like dentistry, you will have more competition. Not only are there more dentists than oil recycling companies, but they are also spending money to consistently outperform their competition.
4. Your Content
Your website content needs to do something remarkable. It needs to be written, so humans will enjoy it and Google will rank it. This is a tall order for any site to accomplish.
It is a primary reason so many businesses give up in disgust after not receiving enough traffic early on in their SEO campaign.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you might have learned from this article that using search engine optimisation for your business is not a one size fits all task and there is no ‘templated’ way of going about it.
The bottom line is that if you’re focusing on a small group of generic keywords, you’re probably not being found by most of the people who are searching for you.
Consistency is important when it comes to any kind of SEO. Stick with your marketing plan – even if you aren’t seeing noticeable results after month 4. Time and commitment will get you the search engine traffic that you want to see.
