Why it takes Time for SEO to Work?

So you've outsourced search engine optimization (SEO) to a reputable agency - or perhaps you've outsourced it to your in-house team.  You wait a few days and enter relevant keywords into Google or another search engine and you feel like you're hitting a brick wall: your ranking doesn't change.  So what happened?  Why don't you see the instant improvements you anticipated from all the SEO efforts?

It doesn't happen overnight

Before you bring your employees to the table or start yelling at the agency you just paid for, you need to understand a few facts about how SEO works.  Fact #1: Improving rankings through SEO doesn't happen overnight, or even necessarily in a few weeks.  In fact, companies that try to put their thumb on the ladder to speed up SEO results may actually see their rankings drop (for example, if they link too quickly).

So, how long does it take for SEO to work (i.e. for it to work), and why does it take longer than you'd like?  The answer is (as is so often the case when processes are complex), "it depends".  Let's see why.

The three pillars of effective optimization

The effective optimization of your website relies on multiple factors, but some are more important than others.  As the Search Engine Journal explains, three of them are particularly important:

"The truth is that it takes a long time to analyze several variables for your own website compared to the same variables for your competitors' websites.  Three specific criteria play a significant role in how long it will take for your SEO: competition, inbound links and content".

So how do you make sure that each of these criteria is met?  Here are some basic principles:

Who are you competing with and how competitive is what you are selling?

If you sell authentic Amish lace doilies or quilts in your local market, chances are you don't have as much competition (i.e. as many competing websites).  On the other hand, if you have a national law firm, you will have a lot of competition.

In other words, the more companies that sell what you sell and the more websites that showcase those products and services, the more competition there is and the longer it will take you to see the results of your SEO efforts.

There is another important caveat about the nature and extent of the competition you face.  If your website is currently poorly ranked in search engines (for example, if you are not even on the first three pages), you will see a faster progression than if you are close to the top.

The lower the ranking of a given website, the easier it will be to surpass it, because lower ranked sites, like yours, are generally not well optimized.  The higher your site climbs, the slower your ascent will be.

How many high-quality inbound links do you have, and how did you create them?
What is a "high quality" link?  It is a link from a reputable website that many people visit and trust, and that provides accurate and useful information.  In other words, an incoming link from New York times is of better quality than a link from your local Penny Saver.  While both the quantity and quality of inbound links are important, quality always outweighs quantity.

In general, the higher the volume of high quality inbound links to your site, the higher your search engine rankings will be.  There is, however, another caveat.  Sites that increase their volume of inbound links too quickly can be penalized, especially if their linking campaign violates search engine guidelines (see this Google article on "link systems" for an idea of how this works).

Is the content of your site valuable and useful to the visitor?

Remember that the goal of search engines is to give users the best, most accurate and relevant information possible.  Most of this information comes in the form of posted content, from blogs to case studies, white papers and how-to articles.  If the content on your site is reliable and accurate, you will get a higher ranking; if it is second-rate or contains questionable statements, you will get a lower ranking.

So what if your site's content is of little use or poor quality?  Here there is an important difference with link building.  Search engines do not penalize sites that quickly develop their content pool (provided, again, that the content is good).

If you have a solid content library ready to be published, publish it.  It is also interesting for search engines to publish new content on a regular and long-term schedule.

Conclusion

Of course, SEO can be a complicated business, usually not a do-it-yourself project.  If you're serious about improving your site's ranking and thereby increasing traffic (and hence the quality of leads, conversions and sales), take the time to find a reputable agency that can do the work for you, and do it well.

Read More... Reasons Why Your Business Needs to Focus on SEO