It’s something we hear all the time. And we get it – our clients have just launched a shiny new website that they have poured their resources and budget into, so naturally they want to know when Google is going to start showing it some love.
Just as frustrating for the client is the honest answer – it depends.
But that’s just the short version so let’s dive a little deeper.
The First Few Months: Google is Watching
The truth is that for brand-new websites, it can take anywhere from 3-6 months to start seeing results. Imagine that launching a website is showing up to a party where no one knows your name. Google needs time to crawl your site, spending time learning what your website is about and then figuring out where it should fit within all the other websites.
It doesn’t mean that you will see no results during that period, but it does mean that patience is key.
What Affects How Fast You Rank?
Lots of different factors can influencer how quickly your site starts climbing up the search rankings during that waiting period.
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Competition
If your niche is very competitive with lots of other businesses also vying for the same spots, it’s going to take longer for you to make a dent. There will be established websites within those spaces, that have been building up rankings for a while, so your website will need to earn its spot.
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Content Quality
Having a content rich website, with useful, relevant and original content. Valuable blog posts, product descriptions and landing pages for all your different services are all important to achieve this. And of course, not just relying on Chat GPT to write your content.
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Backlinks
Backlinks work as votes of confidence in your website. So, if other high quality, well ranked websites link to your content then Google see’s you as trustworthy. And trust is very important in SEO. This can be achieved through getting partners or associate businesses to link to you, making sure you are on any industry relevant directories or getting content posted on publications.
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Technical SEO
Site speed, mobile responsiveness, correct tagging and secure hosting all play a role in your website ranking. A slow, clunky website or confusing navigation can slow down your chances of ranking high. Of course, if you build your website with us, we’ll take care of all that.
So, How Can You Speed Things Up?
As we say all the time to clients – there is no one magic SEO button that needs to be switched. Believe me, I wish there was! But there are things you can do to help moving it along.
- Post great content regularly — blogs, guides, FAQs, videos, Google loves to see you adding new, useful and relevant content.
- Get strategic with keywords — go for a mix of competitive keywords and the low search volume, highly specific keywords that have less competition.
- Earn those backlinks — reach out, guest post or create content worth sharing.
- Quick wins with PPC – PPC campaigns can be a good way to be visible on Google search while you work to build up organic rankings.
- Build out more landing pages – add more landing pages on specific locations you cover, or a deeper dive into different services. These don’t have to be part of the main navigation but can sit in the background gathering rankings.
- Ensure your whole marketing strategy is working – how you appear across the internet all affects ranking – so make sure your social, emails, and other marketing is all working together.
Final Thoughts
The truth is, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Like anything worthwhile, it takes time and effort. When you start to see your site climb the rankings and bring in all that organic traffic, it will be worth it.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or not sure where to start, reach out to our team.
