Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process involved with improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website from search engines like Google. This is done by optimising a website to focus on a number of key indicators like page speed, high quality content, keyword density and fixing vital backend issues, just to name a few. However, this process takes a long time to see results and is just one of those things that takes a long time. Many people want their SEO changes to be seen immediately, but this is rarely the case and patience is key.
SEO does not work overnight and is often a gruelling process to see any results at all. There are different processes that can be taken in order to see results faster than others, but there are some factors which take a very long time. For example 1 important factor is the age and authority of a site which cannot be improved at a fast rate. Whereas fixing critical page errors such as broken site pages can be a quick fix in some instances.
How Long Does It Take For SEO To Work?
Everyone knows it takes a long time for SEO to work, but how long before SEO changes take effect for your website to rank is quite important. Generally speaking the earliest time it takes for SEO to start seeing results is a minimum of 2 weeks. However these are usually minor effects and may not really be attributed to SEO site changes. To see actual big changes to any site, this will usually be seen within 6 months of beginning any SEO campaign. So yes, being patient with SEO is super important. It can be frustrating spending so much time and to not see any big changes fast through lots of hard work can be annoying.
It is important to know that there are so many factors that contribute to SEO on search engines. The importance of these is largely unknown but there are quite a few that are known to be great for ranking purposes. The focus of optimisation is on long term results and not so much for immediate changes in the short term. Affecting the authority of your site through the eyes of a search engine like Google takes time to build and is ultimately how your SEO success will be determined. Factors like backlinks, age of site, social links and reviews are just some examples of off-page factors that contribute to the authority of a site.
How long does it take for a website to show up on Google after making SEO changes is a question asked very often. It does depend on which keywords you are searching for and if they have a higher amount of searches it may be harder to rank high straight away. It is very important to have realistic expectations when starting any SEO campaign to know that it does take time to increase rankings.
Why Does SEO Take So Long?
But why does SEO take so long to start seeing good ranking results? This is because search engines like Google need to be sure that the authority of a site is built up over time. SEO takes time to build the authority needed to rank highly which is what Google looks for when promoting sites up the rankings for certain keywords. Another factor is the competition that is also vying for the same keywords can create a longer process to overtake them in rankings. It can confuse the Google algorithm if multiple sites are creating positive ranking factors for the same keywords.
There is no SEO timeline for what methods are going to work the fastest to get good results. It takes a consistent effort to gradually build up the authority of a website to get the best possible results. However, once you are at the top of ranking results, the effort cannot stop and think the job is done because the competition is going to all start vying for that position. Using SEO services to employ a greater digital marketing strategy is important to not be left behind in search results, even if it may take a long time to start seeing positive ranking results.
How Long Does It Take To Actually Rank In Google?
How long does it take for Google to update search results is a question that cannot really be answered accurately. This is because ranking on Google will usually take anywhere between 2 weeks to see small initial results in ranking changes. To see larger ranking results it will usually be seen within 6 months at the latest. To index a new website or a new page on Google it will usually take a few hours to a few days to first see your site or page appear. However these figures are just rough estimates as it can take a longer or shorter time depending on various factors. It can be frustrating to not see the number of keywords or organic traffic increase to your site in the short term, but remaining patient with the SEO process is important.
What Are The Best SEO Factors To Optimise Your Site?
There are specific SEO practices that can best help with optimisation strategies and with SEO there are no quick fixes and guaranteed fast results. Because there is no guaranteed timeline for SEO to show results, it can be frustrating using various methods to fix optimisation that take such a long time to affect a site. The main best methods of optimisation include both on-page and off-page factors.
Age And Authority Of Site
The age of a website is extremely important when determining the SEO value a website can bring to a search engine. A brand new site built within the last week is never going to outrank a site that has been going strong for 10 years. This is mainly because it takes a while for sites like Google to recognise the authority of a site that brings good value to search results.
Backlinks
The number of backlinks pointing to your site form an important part of any SEO strategy. These links count as an authoritative ‘vote’ which shows that your page can be trusted and is a good source of information by Google’s standards. Where the link originates from is important and links from just any spammy website will not provide as much power from a relevant site within the same industry or niche.
Good Content Strategy
Creating good content is one of the most vital aspects of SEO. The content needs to provide value to readers and must be good enough to give search engines a valid reason to rank your site highly. Writing content is hard and endless pieces of information about your topic can be difficult, but it is important to continue writing relevant and helpful content.
Other forms of content like video can also be useful to rank because it communicates a great message when combined with other SEO techniques. However there should still be some other form of written content on the page. For example, this pool inspector site has a great library of videos which helps customers prepare for an inspection. All of this content will eventually rank when combined with other SEO strategies if done well, but can be a daunting task at the beginning.
Keyword Optimisation
Using the right keywords based upon what potential customers actually search for is important to help with ranking. Different keywords can be super targeted like the word ‘Skylights’ (short-tailed keywords) or be very specific like ‘Skylight Installation Melbourne’ (long-tail keywords). There are different factors that go into choosing the right keywords for SEO, but anything with a high search volume, low competition and a topic related to your site is a good place to start.
On-Page Issues And Errors
Issues with your site can create huge consequences for the ranking potential because search engines don’t want to rank sites highly that have many errors warnings. This includes various issues like slow loading page speed, many 404 error pages, missing alt text images and broken redirects. Of course there are many more errors that can contribute to issues associated with SEO rankings and fixing these alone will not guarantee ranking success.
Does SEO Actually Work?
Search Engine Optimisation does work when all the appropriate measures are taken to ensure a site is optimised for search engines. When starting to improve the SEO of any site, it is important to know if the site is starting from scratch or if there is already a site structure set up. This will affect some factors like age and authority of a domain may already be established, thus potentially leading to better initial results. Of course, these results will take anywhere from a couple weeks to see small results, to a few months to see bigger results.
The various on-page and off-page SEO factors that affect SEO do not act alone and it must be a combination of many factors that lead to better site performance. Because it is not an exact science and the best processes are not 100% known, nothing is guaranteed when it comes to ranking results. SEO that worked a few years ago may not work now, but it is important to use the best up to date processes in order to see the best results, because SEO really does work when done correctly.
Looking To Improve Your SEO Results?
SEO results are often hard to come about without any prior knowledge or experience, but it is important to know that nothing with optimising any website can be guaranteed because of the volatility of SEO. Results cannot be seen straight away which is often a frustrating point of the entire process, but something all site owners go through. At BeOnTop we understand the complexities that trying to bring traffic to your site can bring, so we make the process easier for you. Contact us today for more information about how an SEO campaign can help improve the online results of your site.