A question I get asked all the time is, "Why does SEO take so long?" Now imagine you've just hired a new SEO company. You're excited. They've walked you through their strategy for how they're going to get you found on Google and drive all this traffic to your website.
But you're about two months in and nothing seems to be happening so what's wrong? Well probably nothing, the truth is SEO takes time. Google actually says it takes 4 to 12 months to really start seeing results.
But why does it take so long? And what does that mean for you? If you want to learn more keep watching.
Hi, I'm Tom Malesic, Founder and President of EZMarketing, and you're watching Ask EZ. This is where small business owners go to get real answers to their marketing questions.
SEO Has Changed
One of the reasons we hear this question is people have an outdated perception of how SEO really works.
In the early days, it used to be a pretty simple formula right? You pick some high volume or really popular keywords, you put them on your website just a ton of times over and over again, and then you get lots of links back to your website, and bingo: now you have results.
If it were a math equation it would look like:
A+B+C=Success!
But now the equation looks a little more like this:
Today SEO is MORE complicated with MORE variables which means it just takes a lot more work to get through.
How Long DOes SEO Take?
It Depends on Your Content
Great content takes time. Effective SEO relies on high-quality content that's relevant for your customers. This is things like copy on your website, maybe blog posts, guides, infographics, or even videos like this one.
Look SEO takes time because great content doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. It takes time to write it, to design it, to optimize it, to promote it. And certainly to get backlinks to it. The point is if you want results from your SEO you have to invest the time to create the best possible content.
It Depends on the Competition
Asking how long SEO will take really depends on a lot of things. One of the biggest factors is your competition.
So asking how long it will take to rank on Google is kind of like asking how fast do I need to run to win the race? Well it depends on how fast your competition's running, right? If you're running against a bunch of slowpokes you probably don't have to work real hard to win. But if you're running against very trained marathon runners you might be in trouble. So chances are, your competitors are doing SEO and winning is a moving target.
Also, some keywords in industries are naturally more competitive than others. So if you wanted to rank for "industrial powder coating service" that's going to be relatively easy to rank for compared to if you wanted to rank for "auto insurance" which is insanely competitive.
It Depends on Your Budget
If you're outsourcing your SEO service, how long it takes also depends on your budget. Look there's a lot that goes into SEO: we have things like site audits, writing content, optimizing your website, building backlinks.
Look it all takes time and if you're only spending a couple hundred dollars a month, you're not giving your SEO company very long to work, and it's going to take them longer to get results.
Now that doesn't mean that you should have to wait 4 to 12 months to understand what your SEO Company is doing for you. They should be able to explain what they're doing and why and be able to show some level of progress.
Get Long-Lasting SEO Results
SEO does take longer than other types of marketing, but the good news is it also lasts longer. Unlike Google Ads that disappear the second that you stop paying for them, SEO builds over time. You still need constant maintenance, but once you rank, you're going to keep getting results and traffic will last longer.
If you want to get better results from Google I invite you to fill out the form below so that we can give you a FREE SEO Audit.
We're going to give you a report and lots of suggestions on what improvements you need to make to your website to get better visibility on Google. And of course, if you like this video don't forget to like and subscribe.
