Why does SEO take so long to see results?

In this post, I’m explaining why (ethical/white hat) SEO takes so long for search engine success.

In short, SEO takes so long because it is about trust. Trust has to be earned, not bought — and that takes time.

Any company keen to gain (and retain!) a foothold in the market must be prepared to invest their time and energy into a number of ‘slow burn’ toolkit items that will, over time, dramatically improve their findability and reputation.

SEO is an essential component of your business toolkit.

Consistently, SEO ranks amongst the leading producers of Return On Investment (ROI) across all platforms. However, it’s often overlooked as SEO takes time to produce direct outcomes, and in a society that has grown used to instant gratification, the time investment required to develop and optimise your business or website using SEO is often seen as tiresome and not worth the effort…

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In this article, we’ll discuss why SEO takes so long to produce page authority and search engine success — but also why it’s worth every second.

1. There’s a lot to do

Regardless of what stage you’re at with your website or business — just starting out, keen to fix a slump or looking to grow — there are almost invariably a number of things which could use some serious TLC, particularly in the all-seeing eyes of search engines.

From better targeting of keywords on your content and titles, increasing your link profile, to restructuring the format of web pages, and more, the positive outcomes of SEO-optimisation are profound. Working in conjunction with SEO, another toolkit element that is not considered by many businesses is their domain’s age. As is generally the case with wine and antiques, age equals reputation, prestige and worth. The same applies to webpages — and if your site is brand new, it’s going to take time to establish, build and maintain trust (with both customers and search engines).

2. Competition

In a world of increasingly digital literacy, your competitors are exploring these exact same issues — and most savvy businesses know SEO is a critical component of achieving their goals. There aren’t many ‘secrets to success’ anymore, but knowing and doing are two very different things — and it’s those who are willing to roll up their shirtsleeves, so to speak, and put in the hard work who are most likely to reap the benefits. In short, there are no quick fixes. To succeed in the SEO space you have to be ready to jump at every opportunity — because with your competitors also actively working on their SEO, getting rankings on the first page (a.k.a. the only page) of search engine results is a moving target. Only the smart and the fast will survive.

There are a couple of critical questions to consider here:

1. How quickly is the competition ‘driving’?
2. How long it will take you to catch up?

The answer to the first relies simply on observation and analysis. That’s the research gathering phase which will inform your answer to the second question — which depends on deciding how much energy and budget you are willing and able to allocate to your SEO strategy.

However, budget is only half the battle. The reality is that SEO is complicated, and requires careful attention and creative evolution. Algorithm changes, competitor SEO-budget increases, or inspired content creation (from you or your competitors) are all moving pieces in a complicated chess game that you need to commit time and focus in to get ahead — and win.

3. Accumulation procedure

Companies will often hire SEO professionals to perform an optimisation project, under the mistaken impression that all that’s required to boost their business, and improve their search engine ranking, is a one-time-only upgrade.

This kind of one-off project is, more often than not, a waste of money and utterly misses the point of effective and lasting search engine optimisation. SEO must be thought of as an ongoing component of a sustainable business plan — as essential as payrolls, EOFY tax statements, and other fundamental elements at the core of every business.

It’s more helpful to think of an effective SEO plan as a process of ongoing accumulation. Search engines will preference sites that update content on a regular basis, perform frequent on-site optimisation, and demonstrate link acquisition. Undertake these elements, and more, and you will establish search engine trust, and be rewarded with superior visibility in the digital space.

For these reasons and more, SEO service on a monthly basis is vital for your business success.

See my SEO packages

Having a targeted and intentional approach to make sure that you are not only performing these SEO-boosting programs, but also performing them well, will help your company to build trust and a positive reputation with Google and other top search engines.

Only then, after you have developed a proper foundation, will you be able to build a strong business on top. The positive long-term outcomes stemming from a solid SEO plan are far-reaching and incredibly valuable.

I’d like to conclude this article by repeating that SEO takes time.

SEO requires maintenance and improvement on constant and consistent basis. It’s not for the faint-hearted — but neither is business. And if you want your business to succeed, you must invest in a strong SEO plan.

By slowly building up and gathering momentum over several months, once you have achieved your target and have your site ranked on the first search pages, the results of your efforts will speak for themselves: visibility online, trust from customers and search engines, and the generation of top-quality leads and prosperity for years to come.