Search engine optimization is pivotal for anybody looking to have a high-ranking website. But in order to gain an appreciation of search engine optimization, we need to break down some significant ranking factors, but also how these ranking factors and the associated methods can take time to take effect. Many businesses ask the immortal question, “how long does SEO take to work?” Let’s show you why the answer is never so straightforward.
What Is Ranking in SEO?
Ranking refers to the website’s position on a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). There are numerous ranking factors that will influence whether a website appears higher than others. There are some non-negotiables when it comes to ranking your websites. These include some of the following:
- A secure and accessible website.
- Mobile-friendliness.
- Inbound and outbound links.
- Optimized content.
- Page loading speed.
How Can Certain Factors Impact the Ranking Time?
To answer this question, we’ve got to delve into a number of different areas. One of the most critical factors for SEO ranking is links. Inbound links are a way of adding more credibility to your website, and while links play a huge role, the impact on how long it will take for real SEO results will depend on a number of factors. Let’s show you three areas and how they can impact the time to rank.
The Volume of Links to the Website
If you have more links, it may help you achieve SEO success quickly, however, fewer high-quality links will have a bigger impact on the results in comparison to a greater volume of low-quality links. But if you earn high-quality links quickly this may indicate to the algorithm that you’re trying to manipulate your rankings, which can slow down your SEO process.
Optimized Content
The content on your website plays a vital role in how you will see results. There is a commonly held belief that you need to publish new content slowly because if you publish lots of your content at once, this could look unnatural to Google, who will penalize you, and this will impact your rankings. When it comes to publishing content, you need to show Google that content is being added on a regular basis, as this will encourage the spiders to index your webpage more frequently, speeding up your SEO. However, it’s not just about new content. New pages do not rank as well as older ones, however, this is not due to age-related factors and is more to do with the quality of the content itself.
What Is the Time Frame for Full SEO Results?
The answer to this question involves assessing a few key items, including the following:
- The type of content already published.
- The popularity of the website or brand.
- How the site is performing.
- The rankings for high-priority keywords and how competitive these are.
So what is the answer? Depending on if your webpage is new or established, you can expect to see tangible results within 3 months to over a year. However, Google has said explicitly that in most cases search engine optimization needs approximately “4 months to a year” to implement improvements and see the benefits.
SEO covers a number of disciplines, and as the rules keep changing, it is so important to keep up to date but remember: it’s not about ticking all of the relevant boxes to ensure you rank.
