Why SEO Takes A Long Time (And Why It’s a GOOD Thing!)

“How long does it take for SEO to work? How long will it take for me to show up at the top of the Google search results for these keywords after launching a campaign?”

We get asked this question quite a bit, especially after bringing on a new client. The short answer is, “it depends.”

It’s common for business owners to have a “build it and they will come” mentality when it comes to their online presence, especially if SEO is foreign territory for them.

Perhaps you found this post because you’re a small business owner who just recently built a website and got your listing verified on Google My Business. You hired a Charlotte SEO agency to help you get ranked for your industry keywords. But it’s been a few months, and you’re still not really seeing results.

You’ve had almost no phone calls or web form submissions. In fact, when you search Google for certain keywords, you’re not even seeing your website or Google Business Listing on the first page.

What gives? Is that local SEO company not doing its job?

Hopefully the agency you hired has a transparent, detailed reporting strategy that lets you in on what they’re doing each month to help move the needle. (That’s something we employ here at Fleek Consulting that we believe sets us apart from the competition!) Beware of self-proclaimed digital marketing “experts” who prefer to keep you in the dark when it comes to data.

At the same time, it’s important that your SEO company sets realistic expectations when it comes to the types of results you’re likely to see within the first 3, 6, 9, 12 months—and beyond. And that’s exactly why we’re writing this blog post! So many of our clients have posed the question, “how long does SEO take?”, along with “why does it take so long?” (in some cases), that we thought it was about time for another Q&A.

As mentioned before, the short answer is, “it depends.” Every niche and market is different. What may take 3 months for a business owner in one niche and area could take 12 months for a business owner in another industry and location. Unfortunately, there’s simply not a one-size-fits-all answer.

Here’s what we can generally say about the SEO process, no matter what niche or industry you’re in: except in very rare cases, it doesn’t happen overnight. Which is why we often recommend running some sort of pay-per-click advertising campaign, such as Google ads, while you wait.

Why does SEO take so long?

I often use real estate as an analogy for SEO because I think it’s relatable. As with physical real estate, it takes time for a digital property’s value to develop and increase. If you paid $300,000 for a house to be built, you likely wouldn’t expect to turn around and sell it within 3 weeks or even 3 months and make $100K. The same goes for digital real estate. When you put up a website and/or Google Business Listing, it takes time for those properties to be established as an authority and increase in rankings, thereby generating you revenue. How long depends on the niche and competition, as well as the keyword searches.

The work that we are doing on the backend — creating content, building citations, and building backlinks — will help to establish a website and Google Business Profile as authoritative, but it’s important to have realistic expectations when it comes to the timeline.

The fact that SEO can take a while may sound like a bad thing, but it’s actually good news. You want SEO to take time because it creates a higher barrier of entry for competitors who aren’t willing or able to invest in their business. If anyone could rank at the top of page 1 for any keyword search within days, weeks, or even months of putting up a website and verifying a Google Maps Listing, it wouldn’t be very fair for the 5-star award-winning business owner who’s invested tens of thousands of dollars and decades of time into local marketing and online reputation. There are various marketing verticals that small business owners can use to grow their business: social media, SEO, Google ads, email marketing, print, radio, TV… the list goes on. Rather than relying on a single vertical, we advise you invest in various forms of marketing all at once. That will ensure you see results right out of the gate, and maintain them over time.

Speaking of advice… click the link to read part 2 of this post:

STOP Googling your keywords to see where you’re ranked!