How Long Does It Take To Rank Well?
There are many aspects to ranking when it comes to SEO. You have short terms aims which look at how quickly you can rank well in search engines; the medium term aims of building traffic from that rankings; and the long term aim of sustaining and/or improving both the ranking and the traffic.
One question many people ask is “how long does it take to rank well in search results?” There are so many variables involved that it is impossible to answer the question with any accuracy. Search Engine Round Table posed the question to see what others experienced. The biggest response suggested 3-6 months (35%) followed by 6-9 months (19%).
The problem with trying to estimate how a time span is that you cannot control two components; the first is the search engines algorithms which are continually changing, the second is your opposition – they are continually working to maintain their position.
Ranking well is a process that lasts the lifetime of the site, or at least for as long as you want to put in the effort. Even with the best SEO strategies available, a pages ranking will fluctuate, sometimes being at position one or two, at other times out to position four, five or worse; and then back in again.
Web owners need to be wary of those who promise to get you to number one in x number of days. Most SEO professionals can get a websites name to number one in a very short time. However, you want to be at number one for your keywords, not your name. For most web owners, getting your own site name to number one can be a simple as submitting a sitemap to the search engines. Wait a week and do a search for your site name, without the .co.uk extension and with ” ” inverted commas around the name. I could almost guarantee a top five listing – and it hasn’t cost you a penny.
Ranking well in search engines is a continuous process. Well balanced on and off page SEO strategies will allow your site to gradually and naturally rank well – that is the first secret to achieving your long term aim of sustained high rankings and strong delivery of traffic – the ultimate aim of SEO.
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