With any marketing activity one of the most important things to know and understand is how long it will take to see a return on your investment.
With many online marketing endeavors it can be hard to adequately gauge the amount of time one should expect as there are a large number of factors which could influence when your marketing initiatives will pay off in the short-term and long-term. For search engine optimization especially it can be hard to plan the date or determine when to expect organic results being achieved in major search engines.
Competition
One of the largest factors influencing the success of a SEO campaign is competition. Many businesses find themselves in an industry where there are a number of other businesses which are displayed prominently when typing in keywords relevant to their industry. Some industries including healthcare and hospitality are located in an industry where there are hundreds of businesses paying online marketing firms to help them achieve results.
It is important to take into consideration not only the level of competition you face in your industry, but how competitive your online marketing strategy is in comparison to others. Your online marketing agency may be taking the initiative to select keywords both highly relevant to your core businesses and highly searched for in major search engines, but it is important to understand that highly competitive search terms will require more time and effort. Many of the most effective SEO strategies focus on long-term growth and maintaining a strong search presence rather than quick gains.
Monetary Investment
Search engine optimization functions similar to other marketing endeavors in that your investment will greatly determine how successful your campaign will be in both the short term and the long term. While many businesses search for a marketing campaign which has a minimal financial investment with a large payout, the best marketing campaigns often require a significant investment over a long period of time in order to achieve consistent results. Search engine optimization is no different in this respect.
One of the hardest jobs of a search engine optimization is achieving a top position when users search for keywords and terms relevant to the products and/or services your business offers. It is also difficult to maintain that position after achieving it as there are others in your industry with an interest in being ranked there. Businesses which continue to invest in their search engine optimization will see more success than those which are interested in short-term gains. As search engines look for new ways to determine relevancy and authority, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain and achieve positions for keywords which contain high activity.
Establishing Credibility
Google and other major search engines are often taking into consideration the credibility of a website when determining where to place it in the search results. It is important to keep in mind that this is an automated process which takes into consideration hundreds of factors when determining the credibility and authority of a website. Online marketing companies assist businesses by working to influence your businesss credibility in order to naturally improve your search visibility. It takes time to build credibility and to showcase to major search engines that your business is not only relevant to the terms being searched, but authoritative.
Asking the Expert
The best way to determine how long it will take to see results is to discuss it with your search engine optimization company. When starting a campaign, they will be able to provide you with an expectation for how long it will take to see results and what results to expect at that time. While the nature of the industry is one that is constantly changing, SEO professionals have years of experience in dealing with turbulent search results and will have the best understanding of what to expect in both timeline and in results. While there are no guarantees in search marketing, experienced online marketing companies will have insightful advice and information on when to expect to see results and what you will see at that time.
