This is the most asked question by prospective SEO clients. In the early days of SEO, it was a simple 2-3 month wait to rank near the top for almost any phrase. Twenty years on it’s no longer so simple, or so fast. In low competition markets, perhaps results can still be achieved in these short time periods. In more competitive markets it’s better to plan on a year and more.
Over the years Google has refined their algorithm to thwart the efforts of SPAMMERS who would try to game their search results using trickery. Part of these improvements were delays in ranking new websites to prevent spammers from raising one site after another to replace Spammy ones that Google discovered and blacklisted sending them and their clients to the basement of search results.
Additionally today most businesses have awoken to the reality that the future of their business is in sales generated through the internet. Today businesses are actively investing in improving their web presence, including gaining rankings for phrases important to the sale of their products & services. It’s not difficult to imagine that if there are many competitors actively promoting their websites for a given period of time that you may have to make an equal effort to improve your website to their level and compete.
Set realistic goals and a time frame that allows for the success of your SEO investment. Much like the proverbial tortoise and hare, it’s best to plot a slow long term plan for success. You can review our offerings for Search Engine Optimization here.