How long does SEO take to work?
It’s a pretty straightforward question with a less straightforward answer. Because that answer (like it always seems to be) is a frustrating it depends.
Sorry. I know, that’s never any help. But the answer will never be the same for any two sites because, quite simply, no two sites are ever the same.
So, while I cannot give a straightforward answer to ‘how long does SEO take to work,’ what I can do is offer a typical timeline for a generic SEO strategy as well as the factors that determine how quickly a site might respond to that strategy in each phase. So let’s dive in.
Typical SEO Timeline
Compared to PPC campaigns which provide almost immediate results, SEO is a long haul that can take months to build a strong foundation and years to create a powerful, sustainable search presence.
Most SEO strategies can be split up into four phases with distinct levels of activity. If you’re considering hiring an agency, they’ll likely follow a similar timeline.
Phase One
Defined: The first phase is almost always dedicated to research and review. If you’ve hired an SEO agency, they’ll likely spend the first month or so researching your industry, niche, or market, keywords, competition, as well as become acquainted with your website and tracking schemes.
Time: Phase one is usually about a month or so. If you’ve hired an agency or SEO that is already familiar with your field or niche, this will be even quicker.
Expected Results: don’t expect any.
Phase Two
Defined: Phase two is when activity really begins. If the agency discovers major technical issues or finds areas to improve the code or structure of the site, these are typically tackled in the first round of activity. We want to make sure that search engines can easily access and read your site. This is also the time in which we’ll begin our link building efforts.
Time: For small, healthy, or young sites, phase two may only take a couple of days if it’s even necessary at all. But for larger sites that may be older (especially if multiple developers have managed it over the years) and less technically sound, this process can take a while; sometimes up to several months.
Expected Results: Once the technical aspects are fixed, it is certainly possible to see improvements in impressions or positioning. But technical fixes alone won’t make a successful SEO strategy.
Phase Three
Defined: This is where content production and improvement begin. Once we have a solid technical foundation to build on, agencies will start to optimize current landing pages as well as schedule and publish new content to drive inbound traffic. By this point, link building outreach is in full swing.
Time: Phase three will take anywhere from one to six months. By the end of the third phase, once technical fixes are made, existing content has is optimized, and new content is published, by this point, there should definitely be some favorable movement in the organic search metrics.
Expected Results: This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting new clicks left and right. It could simply mean a respectable bump in impressions for a handful of landing pages. Which brings us to…
Phase Four
Defined: Phase four is really just a continuation of phases two and three. Agencies will make adjustments according to search performance, client feedback, and changes to the almighty algorithm.
Time: Phase four is indefinite. By now, enough time has passed to collect data on those initial changes from which we can fine-tune and further optimize our strategy moving forward
Expected Results: Phase four is where you’ll see sustained, steady growth. This is where SEO is really meant to shine and the results you can expect will depend on just how good your SEO team is. But with a solid team, year over year increases should be expected and great SEO teams can double organic users every few years.
So… How Long Will This Take?
It will probably be a number of months before your SEO agency will be able to offer any evidence of progress. As a business, it’s important to understand that going in. SEO requires patience and long term strategizing and any agencies that guaranteed they can get you to rank #1 in “x” months should be viewed very skeptically.
If you’re considering SEO for your business, check out Fanatically Digital’s services as well as our SEO pricing.