How long does SEO take for results to appear?

SEO results cannot be guaranteed within a certain timeframe. We can’t control what we don’t have control over, and Google isn’t under our authority.

It is possible to give rough estimates, but they should be explained clearly to the client.

Clients should realize that there are no secrets and there are no magic bullets. To ensure steady growth, you must only follow the best practices. This is the key to managing client expectations effectively.

Let’s return to the question: How long does it take for SEO to produce results?

What are we trying to accomplish?

It is crucial to first understand your client’s goals and then adjust accordingly. What are they looking for in an SEO strategy investment?

Clients would be keen to improve rankings for keywords they know they target. These keywords are often unrealistic and may take many years to reach.

Here is where you can “adjust” your goals.

You can increase the relevancy of keywords by making them more competitive and longer. This will allow you to be more confident in reaching your SEO goals within a reasonable time frame. It is important to inform the client about:

• Long-tail keywords can bring you organic traffic that converts better. The more specific the search query, the easier it is for searchers to find their desired product.
• Keyword gap analysis can identify business gaps which can help a company stand out and reach its unique audience.
• 
  Expanding existing keywords and discovering new keywords can help diversify organic traffic sources, which in turn helps to maintain a consistent organic visibility. You could lose 20-30 percent of your traffic if you drop one to two positions in a short-tail query that has a high search volume. Your site will still drive the same amount of organic traffic even if you lose a few long tail rankings. Google’s SERPs can be dynamic and flexible. Losing rankings is normal, so diversification will help you to maintain stability.
  

The best way to establish client expectations is to set a goal for gradual organic traffic growth (and conversion). Instead of worrying about rank monitoring for some pages that are moving very slowly, you can focus on the positive results from a large number of pages and not worry about ranking monitoring.

What are the metrics that “it all depends upon”?

But, it will always be there: “It depends”.

Each site is unique. You can benefit from SEO work faster than others if you concentrate on traffic growth and not just a few rankings.

SEO timeframe primarily depends upon:

• Site size It is easier to achieve accumulative development when the site is large.
• Site’s historyspan styling=”font-weight 400 If a site has seen a gradual but steady decline in organic visibility and rankings over a number of years, it might be difficult to smoothen that curve and turn it around. Google must re-run any updates that have affected a site (such as Product Review Update), in order to show the results of previous work. SEO professionals cannot predict when the next update will occur, which can impact your SEO results. Let’s not forget the fact that Google’s recent updates have no obvious solution. You must work on every aspect of your SEO in the hope it will help, and sometimes it doesn’t.
• Current backlinks profile (and potential actions): Google may take some time to identify and respond to changes.
• The site’s age It takes longer for Google to accept that new sites can be trusted.

There are many other factors. Another factor that will impact the speed of your results is whether a site exists already. Another thing to consider is the current site structure. Google can take a while to determine what you have done correctly.

The turnaround time of the client is also important to consider. Some businesses need to approve any changes that are necessary to make their websites SEO-friendly. The legal review process for new and optimized content can take several weeks to complete.

Some businesses don’t have the resources to hire developers, so they rely upon freelancers. This adds another layer of back-and forth to slow down their progress, especially when they have ongoing technical tasks. Some CMSs are simpler to manage, such as WordPress and Wix. Others require more technical skills.

SEOs rarely get keys from clients’ websites, allowing them push all required changes live within days.

How long does SEO take?

All of this being said, SEO takes six months to begin delivering tangible results. SEO can start delivering tangible results in six months.

It takes about 12 months to proudly report on the results you have achieved.

You can win quickly…

There are ways to get your clients’ attention quickly and deliver results

Optimizing for branded searches can help you clients get more traffic that converts quickly. This is because people who search for a brand name will most likely convert once they land on your site.

Internal linking is a quick way to increase the performance of pages that are optimized for search terms with lower competition.

Exploring rich options and using structured markup where it makes sense will likely increase click-through without waiting for the rankings to rise (which will take longer).

Updating old articles that rank on the first two pages of search results can also be a quick win.

These are the first steps you should take to get started with active SEO.

It’s a never-ending process.

Another thing clients should know is: How long does it take?

SEO is never finished. It is not enough to optimize a website and then watch the organic traffic convert. Google’s algorithm changes, so current content can become stale. It is important to monitor, update, and re-optimize it. Competitors continue to get backlinks and other key boosts.

It is important to stay on top of SEO efforts. You should develop new content, new link-generating assets, and lead magnets. Explore new search patterns.

A good SEO service should also include a thorough competitor monitoring (and learning) and continual investigation of new opportunities for SEO (like new keywords and rich snippets).

Ann Smarty, the founder of Viral Content Bee and brand manager at Internet Marketing Ninjas, is Ann Smarty. You can find her on Twitter @seosmarty

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