“How long does SEO take to show results?” is a common question among brands that are only starting to get serious about their digital presence. Because they typically have a limited budget, it’s only reasonable for them to want to maximise their ROI on their SEO efforts and make sure that every dollar they spend contributes to their brand growth.
SEO is a long-term strategy, though, meaning it’s an ongoing investment that requires your consistent attention and effort. So, the answer to that question isn’t so simple. Most industry experts agree that SEO starts producing noticeable results four to six months after your campaign launch. Over time, the results you’ll see from your SEO will grow, but only if you continue refining your strategy.
The time it takes to see significant SEO results depends on various website and optimisation factors, which is why you need to keep monitoring your campaign performance.
Below are the top three factors that influence your SEO performance.
1. Domain Age and Authority
Although it’s not an official search ranking factor, your domain’s age is a major contributor to your website authority. If your domain has been active for around 10 years, it’s bound to have built an extensive backlink profile that Google interprets as rank-worthy, which helps you outrank newer domains.
Google’s Senior Webmaster John Mueller adds that old content tends to beat fresher pieces because these pages have already accumulated trust, links and other kinds of ranking signals over the years, making it seem like an authoritative reference page.
The fact that your domain age contributes to your website authority only proves that the longer you work on your SEO, the better the results you’ll see.
2. Link Building
Backlinks are a vital search ranking factor because they signal to Google that other websites find your content valuable enough to link it within their own pages. As your website earns more backlinks, search engines infer that your website is trustworthy and is worth ranking higher on the results page.
One link building strategy that adds long-term SEO value to your website is cross-posting your on-page content on your social media profiles. Although your social media presence doesn’t directly contribute to your search ranking, it does help increase your brand exposure.
Social media cross-posting widens the reach of your content distribution and provides users with a one-click route to your website. So, these platforms not only broaden your audience, but they also help drive more site traffic.
Lastly, social media backlinks prolong the lifespan of your on-page content. You can reshare old blogs, videos and infographics whenever there’s a trend or event that makes them relevant again.
3. Website Performance
Google announced in May 2020 that web core vitals are now ranking signals. This means that the search engine now looks at your page loading speed, page interactivity and visual stability, so your website performance can translate to either a rise or fall in your search ranking.
Search engines aren’t the only ones looking at your web core vitals, though. Consumers also assess your website’s user experience to decide whether they’ll continue browsing or not. They’re more likely to explore your pages and maybe even read your blog if your website is organised, navigable and fast-loading.
The way web core vitals encourage user interaction on your website is another example of how SEO strategies contribute to your long-term growth. If your website performs well, it should lead users to where you want them to go, whether that’s the checkout or contact page.
The bottom line is that SEO is meant to be a long-term strategy. Although you can use it to aim for quick wins, such as an increase in SERP ranking or site traffic, you’ll reap higher returns on your investment if you work towards long-term benefits like brand credibility, customer loyalty and other measures of sustainable brand growth.
Plan Your SEO Strategy for the Long Term
Media Crew, a full-service SEO agency in Melbourne, helps small to medium businesses play the long game in SEO. We tailor our SEO services to your business needs and objectives, constantly monitoring and tweaking your campaign to look for areas for improvement to make sure you stay on track of your long-term goals.
Fill out our online form now to book a free SEO strategy session.
I am regular visitor. Great article.