Being an SEO professional, I have been asked so many questions regarding SEO and digital marketing every day.
However, in the end, there is always one question that beats them all “how long does SEO take to show positive results? Or in other words, how long will I have to sit and spend more for effective results?
Well, the answer is not as simple as you think. Because the question itself is quite difficult and tricky, but luckily, it’s also a hot topic in the industry.
Every business owner wants to know how long he needs to spend money and he can finally see a huge return on investment. But unfortunately, unlike traditional paid advertising methods, SEO is not a one-time strategy where you run ads and start getting clicks and leads. It takes some time to show positive results. But how long? Days, weeks, months, or years?
Thanks to our professionals at Hukumat, we are finally able to answer this most frequently asked question. Here we break down all the elements that impact the overall duration of time it takes to see positive results.
You should be getting results with SEO in 6-12 months duration
SEO must show results within 6-12-months. When we say results, we actually mean a great increase in traffic, conversion, sales, leads, and revenue. Now, this doesn’t mean that you can achieve all the goals in just 6 months. But if you are investing in SEO and implementing all the right strategies, then you are expected to see positive results within that specific period.
Another important thing is, it’s not possible to give one figure for all the websites that belong to different niches and industries. Every website has different competitors and a unique timeframe for achieving results.
SEO can only give you the best guess estimate according to the performance of your site and the strategies you implement.
Undoubtedly, SEO takes months and even years to give results. It also depends on factors that determine the average period. Google and other search engines tend to give the best possible results to their audiences, which means there is a great possibility to not show up on the first two pages initially.
However, when you have the right action in place, a 6–12-month period is good enough to see the impacts of all the strategies you are implementing.
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Factors affecting the results of SEO
Let’s analyze some important factors that determine the results of SEO.
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Website upgrading
If your website is not performing well in any aspect and you are upgrading it to make it run smoothly, then remember these changes could have a great impact on the overall results of your SEO. Because sometimes you mistakenly change things that require time to give results.
For example, changes to the overall website platform, redesigning of landing pages, moving domain, CMS updates as well as different front-end and back-end changes. When you make changes in any of these areas, everything in SEO will also get changed and the performance will be affected in some way.
Make sure you consult with knowledgeable professionals before making any changes to your website.
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Budget
Another factor to discuss is- budget. Yes, the total amount of money you spend on SEO strategies usually decides the results of SEO. If you spend the least and want things to work on their own, you might be making a big mistake. Because SEO is no longer a FREE strategy.
It’s just like, the more money you spend on your venture, the more chances to see faster and healthier results.
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Competition
If you are working in a saturated market where there is already a lot of competition, then you definitely have to come up with some world-class strategies to outrank your competitors. Especially if you are working in the e-commerce industry, you have to be very careful as there is great competition in the buying & selling market.
Check how competitive keywords you are using and trying to rank for. If your competitors are already working on those keywords and driving a massive audience every day to their platform, then you need to come up with more goal-oriented solutions to outperform. And this takes time of course because you have to research, plan, and then execute.
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Development
This is another important fact to know, which most people usually neglect when expecting faster results. If you are creating a website from scratch, it will take much more time to get results as compared to the one that is already established in the industry.
You have to do a lot of work and invest so much effort and energy to make it run smoothly and efficiently so it can compete with big players in the market.
If the competition is high, you are new in the industry and your strategies are also quite difficult to execute, then you have to wait long before the site gains some momentum.
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Design
Very few people know that the design of the website also impacts the ranking. It has a big impact on traffic, ranking, conversion score, and bounce rate of the site.
If your site is poorly designed and lacking all the basic elements that grab the audience’s attention, then it’s hard-to-get results even in the six-month duration.
In fact, if you are implementing all the advanced SEO tactics, it’s still not possible to get effective results just because the design is not engaging and SEO friendly.
You can’t build an empire in just one day!
In the end, we must say that it’s not possible to build an empire in just one day. Similarly, SEO takes some time to show results that you actually desire.
Bear in mind that every website is completely different from others and hence needs a different strategy to get ranked. Your strategies will work if they are crafted after great research.
So, if you want to see positive results with your SEO effort, it’s time to hire an SEO agency that promises great results in the long run. We do not promise exceptional results in just days but work hard to deliver streamlined solutions within the optimal period.
Most importantly, remember to have some patience before expecting anything good!