Why Does SEO Take Time?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is typically not an overnight process. It takes time and consistency to increase your page rank. Though there are cases in which people see limited results after just a few weeks, it generally takes between six months and a year to see the significant results you are probably after.
What you may be wondering is why it takes this long. Why can’t you just update your site with some new SEO terms and keywords and see it quickly rise to the top of the search results page? It’s a complex issue and there are many different factors in play. Below are a few of the most common reasons.
Your site needs to be indexed
For one thing, your site has to be indexed by Google before it is going to rank at all. This is why the age of a website can have an impact. It may take a few months for your site to be included in the results. So if you’re creating a site from scratch, even if you’re doing SEO correctly from the very beginning, there is still going to be a delay. Once your site has been indexed, Google can then determine where it should rank among competitor sites.
Algorithms are complex
Another thing to consider is that modern algorithms are far more complex than they were in the past. For instance, it used to be easy to get a site to rank higher simply by including numerous keywords. But this led to now-prohibited SEO tactics, such as spamming the site with the same keywords repeatedly. Today, the algorithm considers the quality of the content, the backlinks that are included, both short-tail and long-tail keywords, and many other factors. The complexities of these modern algorithms have to be addressed, and that takes time.
Fresh content can help your ranking
Additionally, consistently posting fresh content can show Google that your website is authoritative and provides the information that users are actively looking for. Weekly posting over 12 months shows that you are constantly adding new information for the user, for instance, increasing your page ranking. But it’s impossible to do this quickly.
It is also worth noting that Google considers the type of information being provided on your site when determining if “freshness” should matter. For instance, it’s very important for breaking news articles to have new and up-to-date content, but it is not as important for sites that are offering evergreen content. So part of your SEO process has to be considering what your audience is looking for and how you can show Google that that’s exactly what you’re providing.
Getting started
Here at Content Customs, we have decades of experience with SEO tactics and we can help you generate the type of content that will get results. Please get in touch with us today to learn more.