How Long Does SEO Take? Explained!

Search engine optimization, abbreviated SEO in Swedish, is a hugely popular and effective marketing method that is a cornerstone of many companies’ marketing strategy. But at the same time, SEO is quite broad and can be complex for beginners who are not familiar with its principles and how it works.

A common question that many who are new to SEO wonder is how long SEO takes. This question can be answered in several different ways depending on how it is asked.

On the one hand, you may wonder how long the work with SEO takes. But the most pressing question is actually how long it takes before you can expect results from your SEO efforts.

In this article, we will clear up both of these questions and several others connected to SEO and its time frames.

What Affects the SEO Timeline?

The most common question is connected to how long it takes to see results from your SEO work.

SEO is a rather unique form of marketing that differs from most other marketing methods because it is completely organic.

Most forms of marketing include various forms of paid advertising and promotion. This means that you create an ad and then start your campaign. This means that you can start seeing results fairly immediately.

Since SEO is organic and relies on optimizing your website according to the principles of the search engines in order to be seen higher, the success and time it takes to see results from SEO is rooted in the search engines and their algorithms.

The short answer to the question is that it depends on several different factors. However, the time it takes before you see any significant results is highly dependent on your SEO strategy and how much you work with your SEO strategy. But even if you do everything right, the fact is that you won’t see results. Assuming you have a good strategy and follow it, a rule of thumb is that you won’t start seeing any significant results until a few months. A figure that is often discussed is 6-12 months, which is the time it can take to see bigger and significant results. That said, it can take both shorter and longer, but it’s an indication of what most SEO beginners can expect.

To understand why the SEO process takes different amounts of time for different websites, let’s take a closer look at the many factors that affect the SEO timeline. These factors range from industry-specific challenges to the technical health of the website itself.

The competition within the industry

First and foremost, the competition in your industry affects the time it can take to see results in SEO. An industry with higher competition will be more difficult to succeed in and require more work. An industry where your competitors generally don’t do SEO will make it significantly easier to see results as the competition is lower making it easier to rank quickly and well.

The Current state of the website and technical factors

Another factor that affects the time it takes to see results is the current state of your website and its technical factors. Things that negatively affect your SEO will naturally delay and negatively affect your results. For this reason, it is important to do a thorough analysis of the technical parts of your website when you get started. Things such as issues with loading times, mobile optimization, and indexing can delay results. Fixing technical issues early can accelerate the entire SEO process.

The quality of the content and its relevance to the target audience

High-quality content plays a central role in search engine optimization. For this reason, the quality of your content can have a big impact on how long it takes you to see results.

If you produce high-quality content that search engines love, they will quickly want to highlight this content and present it to their users. If your content is therefore mediocre and not much better than what is already in the search results, you can expect it to take longer for your website to rank and be seen well.

Available resources and budget for the SEO work

Your SEO results are directly linked to your efforts and your work with SEO. How hard you work with SEO and how extensive your SEO strategy is is perhaps the most important factor in the time it takes before you see results. Companies with greater resources can run extensive campaigns and invest in advanced tools, potentially accelerating results.

The phases of SEO and their time frames

To better understand how long SEO takes, it is important to break down the process into its various parts. Each phase has its own timeline and contributes in different ways to the overall success of SEO. Let’s take a look at the different phases of SEO and their relative time frames:

Phase 1: Technical optimization (2-4 weeks):

Site structure and loading speed:

• Identification and rectification of technical errors.
• Optimization of website architecture for easy navigation.
• Improved loading speed for a better user experience.

Mobile-friendly interface and user experience:

• Ensure that your site is responsive on different devices.
• Optimize the user experience for mobile users.
• Implement mobile-friendly design and navigation.

Phase 2: Content optimization (2-6 months):

Keyword optimization and research:

• Identification of relevant keywords for your industry.
• Optimizing existing content with relevant keywords.
• Creation of new content based on keyword research.

Create high-quality and relevant content:

• Development of informative, engaging and high-quality content.
• Optimization of headlines, meta-descriptions and captions.
• Use of varied media such as images, videos and infographics.

Implement internal links and hierarchy:

• Create a logical internal link structure.
• Implement relevant internal links to improve user navigation.
• Optimizing the page hierarchy to increase searchability.

Phase 3: Link building (3-12 months):

Create links from high-quality and relevant sources:

• Identification of potential link partners and influencers.
• Developing a strategy for natural link building.
• Handpicking quality links to strengthen website authority.

Build a sustainable link profile:

• Measuring and monitoring link profile growth.
• Remediation of any harmful links or spam.
• Continued strategy to diversify the link profile.

Phase 4: Analysis and fine-tuning (ongoing):

Measurement and analysis of results:

• Using web analytics tools to evaluate performance.
• Analysis of traffic, conversions and behavior patterns.
• Evaluation of key performance indicators (KPIs).

Adjustments based on analyzes and changes in the industry:

• Continuous adaptation of strategies based on analyses.
• Updating content and keyword strategies as the industry changes.
• Exploration of new possibilities and trends in SEO.
• Realistic expectations and strategies to speed up the process

When working with SEO, it’s important to have a balance between realistic expectations and at the same time work as hard as you can with strategies that can speed up progress. But before you get started, it’s also important to know what to expect.

Realistic expectations of results based on industry and goals

It’s important to have realistic expectations when working with SEO so you don’t lose motivation because you’re working but not seeing immediate results. Remember that SEO is a long-term investment. It takes time to see results but the results can continue to be generated for many years to come.

Although early improvements can begin to be noticed within a few months, it is important to be aware that the full results may take longer, especially in competitive industries. Establishing a strong online presence and climbing the search results is a gradual process that requires persistence.

Factors such as industry competition and keyword competition play a crucial role in shaping the timeframe of SEO results. In less competitive industries, progress may be faster and more noticeable, while in more competitive environments it may take longer to improve your positions.

Focus on sustainable results

When working with SEO, it can be tempting to use short-term tactics that can bring quick wins. But since SEO is a long-term effort, you want to focus on using long-term sustainable strategies to get long-term sustainable results.

Avoid “quick” methods as they can lead to unsustainable results or even risk damaging your site’s reputation in the eyes of search engines.

Keep the quality of your content high and make sure to regularly update and optimize your website as these components will contribute to improved results. This strategy, while it may take longer to generate results initially, positions the site for long-term success and minimizes the risk of negative impacts from future search engine algorithm changes.

Using paid ads for instant results

SEO differs from paid advertising in an important way, which is that with paid ads you control the exposure and how many campaigns you run.

If you want to work with SEO but at the same time see results quickly, it may be a wise idea to use both SEO and paid advertising in parallel. This way, while working long-term with SEO, you can get immediate results and can avoid just sitting around waiting to see any results from your marketing efforts.

A popular form of paid advertising is Pay-Per-Click (PPC). In this context, Google Ads often becomes a natural choice to appear high in the search results as a paid option while you work to also appear there organically. With PPC, you can be seen immediately and get immediate results.

At the same time, it is important to emphasize that PPC does not replace the need for organic visibility, which is why you should work with both of these in parallel.

Long-term strategies for sustainable growth

As I said, SEO is a long-term effort, and with that, it is necessary to continuously and strategically work with SEO. It’s not something you do once and then sit down and wait for results.

Instead, you must continuously optimize and improve your content, build links, optimize the technical part of your website, and take care of all other aspects of your SEO. Regular updates and optimizations of existing content to keep it relevant and competitive contribute to increased visibility over time. In this work, link building is quite an important strategy. By gradually increasing the number of high-quality and relevant links, your website can strengthen its authority and thus accelerate its position in the search results.

Last but not least, you should stay up to date to adapt your strategy to any changes in the algorithms that search engines use.