What is SEO, and how long does it take? Explore our quick guide to what results to expect from your SEO efforts
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is having your website rank appropriately for relevant keywords based on trust, experience, and the quality of your site content.
However, in a world where most things take a simple click of a button with results in seconds, SEO is a slow-burner and, therefore, you should be prepared to wait weeks if not months to see the fruits of your labour.
Unlike some marketing tactics, SEO is not a fad and, if performed correctly, can lead to a massive increase in web traffic and engagement, which will increase business leads and sales.
When embarking on an SEO strategy, it’s important to keep the following in mind:
Quality is more important than quantity
The only time you need to concern yourself with the amount of content you’re producing is when considering the length of your content.
Typically, longer content is seen as more valuable, providing it’s well-written and includes relevant keywords.
A good guide to follow is that your website’s landing pages, such as pages outlining your services, have at least 300 words for blog posts and at least 400 words – if you can make the content longer without compromising on quality, do.
Always proofread your content to ensure it’s easy to read, clear, and concise – avoid waffling for the sake of creating longer content. Use Grammarly – a free tool that can help.
Make changes in stages, not all at once
When you’re boosting your site’s SEO, it’s tempting to pump out heaps of content quickly; however, that’s simply not how SEO works.
Google and other search engines want to see your website refreshed continuously with new, engaging, and high-quality content rather than being filled with excellent content once and then left stagnant for a year, for instance.
In which case, work with your digital marketing agency to create compelling, relevant content continuously – for a larger website, this could mean a couple of page rewrites and two or more industry-relevant blog posts per month.
- 60% reported their business has an SEO strategy.
SEO takes research
Before you implement an effective SEO strategy, you, or the local SEO experts you’re working with, will need to carry out extensive research to find the best keywords for your business.
Often, keyword research is a combination of exploring keyword rankings on Google’s free Keyword Planner Google’s free Keyword Planner, Moz’s SEO softwareMoz’s SEO software, and Alexa’s SEO auditing tool, and then comparing the results.
At the same time, you can explore your competitors’ websites to find out why they are ranking as well as they are, taking away ideas for your content.
Proper research can take days so be patient and put together a full target list of primary and secondary target keywords before you begin working towards boosting your SEO.
Monitor everything
Before implementing your SEO strategy, complete a review of your current search ranking for the various keywords you’re targeting, jotting down both the Google page number and ranking position, which will help you to monitor any changes in position and give you a good indication of what results your efforts are having.
At the same time, you may want to track some of your competitors’ positioning so you can see how your movement affects them, as well as get an idea of the current SEO strategy they have in place and which keywords are of focus.
Monitor your ranking every week – if after a couple of months, you have seen no movement, you may need to try a different approach.
Consider the competition
Do you feel your SEO efforts are not recognised while your competitors continue to flourish?
We’ve been there, but you must bear in mind that your competitors may have been around longer than your business and, therefore, are more trusted.
In any case, be patient as results can take months and, even then, will require regular maintenance for continuous improvement and to retain search ranking.
Remember, don’t dive into an SEO strategy – instead, take your time, do the research, and produce great, engaging content. After all, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.
To find out more about our SEO services in Guildford, please contact us.