How Long Does SEO Take to Work

SEO is on the tip of every tongue in the digital marketing world, with global businesses all eager to rank organically and inspire traffic from the average web scroller. It’s no wonder considering 68% of all online experiences start on search engines. However, in our often cutthroat economy, people are eager to generate quick SEO results and wonder why their efforts aren’t paying dividends already. So how long does SEO take to work? The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. 

In this blog, we’ll dig into the time it typically takes for SEO results to start making a difference, as well as offer some guidance on ways to speed up the process. 

How long does SEO take?

SEO isn’t a “one-and-done” type of task. For one, implementing the changes themselves isn’t the kind of thing that can be done overnight. Secondly, it takes some time for Google’s crawling and indexing processes to take effect. SEO is an ongoing process with many limbs that need to be attended to regularly for maximum effect – it’s less a solution and more of an overarching business principle. 

How long does SEO take to start working?

As a rule, you can’t expect to see many tangible results any time before three to six months have passed. For a more comprehensive view of how your efforts are doing, it’s best to take stock yearly. However, we understand that a year is a long time in business – around half of them don’t even last three – so it’s important to know how to make your SEO forecasting more promising.

Factors that affect ranking speed

SEO isn’t a one-size-fits-all methodology – every company requires a bespoke plan that works specifically in the context of their industry. However, there are some common elements and considerations that need to be considered/included in every plan.

• Website age/history. Google is generally kinder to older websites, as they’ve had more time to index them and gain information. This isn’t a hard rule but it does mean newer sites might need to attack

• Time, effort & money spent. It’s a rule that applies in every other element of business and life – the more you invest, the more you’re likely to get out of SEO. Better tools and analytics require more money and more expertise – it all adds up.

• Variation in your strategy. You can’t expect quick and comprehensive SEO results without a varied strategy. SEO needs to be built from website design, content marketing, link-building and so much more to maximise efficacy.  

• Quality provision. Cutting and pasting basic SEO keywords and churning our low-rent AI slop content won’t cut it. Google penalises content based on quality, so make sure you’re offering something worthwhile.

• Competition. SEO isn’t a niche subject anymore so you need to see competition in this field much like you do your competition in terms of products and services. Study the competition and figure out how to do better. 

All of these elements need to be considered and applied if you want to generate SEO results. Remember, all of this is ongoing so a commitment to trial and error is a must. 

Choosing the right partner

If you’re eager to start your SEO process now but aren’t sure where to begin, consider working with Digital Next. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with a focus on SEO, offering a wide range of services that have helped our clients rank as major players in their fields.