I am often asked “how long before you think I can rank #1 on Google?” The short answer is I’m not sure, because no two campaigns are the same, and I’d be lying to you if I told you otherwise. I can put together an estimate, but the fact is that not all websites are the same and different amounts of work are required to help your site rank. Some locations are more difficult to rank for than others, and some industries are much more competitive than others. All of this factors in the amount of time it takes for your organic search campaign to generate results. It requires time, research and work for SEO to be done correctly. If you want results that stick than you want to think in months, and often times years, of working on your campaign to garner success. And it’s important to remember that what works for one website doesn’t always work for another. So what factors should your business consider when it comes to understanding the level of work that will be needed to make your SEO campaign succeed? Below are some of the more important aspects to consider when venturing into a new SEO campaign.

How Many Keywords Are You Looking To Rank For?

Every business offers some level of product and service, and often times many small businesses offer more than just one. Your key competitors may offer additional services or products or less than you do. Defining the number of keywords you intend to rank for has a big impact on your campaign. Why? It requires more keyword research, more content, and more pages. With everything, the more you want the longer it will take.

How Many Locations Do You Want To Rank In?

Sometimes businesses are located in a large city and they only want to rank for a particular area within the city. Other businesses want to rank in their city as well as their surrounding cities and towns. Multiply the number of locations you intend to have a search presence by the number of keywords you intend to focus on, and you are looking at the total amount of content needed for Google to properly index your website for those locations and keywords.

How Are You Currently Ranking?

Are you just starting and have little to no current rankings? Taking a website from position #50 to position #1 often times requires less than taking a website from #200 to #1. Google makes you work to get to the top, and they prefer gradual rise rather than immediate jumps. So the lower you currently rank, the more work and time it will take to reach the first page of Google.

How Much Work Does Your Website Need?

Some websites are built and structured appropriately that when they come to us all they need is valuable SEO content and minor website optimization. On the other hand, some business websites are missing key information that is inhibiting them from showing up in search results. The goal is to make your website easy for Google to crawl and start indexing your pages. If your site needs work then expect more time to be involved in the SEO process.

I’ll reiterate what I said at the beginning, no two SEO campaigns are identical. They all require work, time and research to identify problems, figure out the best course for action, and begin implementing the strategy that is decided. Your competitors all face similar challenges, but that is why you hire the expertise of an SEO firm. We help you figure out the proper strategy to get the results your business needs to be successful online. With time and effort your business will get SEO results that stick and that rank high.