SEO, or Search Engine Optimization Marketing, has become a befuddling term to many businesses and marketing firms alike. Does SEO come with a handbook? Can SEO marketing be a one time purchase? Do you have to work for Google to understand SEO marketing?
No, no, and no. So many confusions surround this marketing vertical and at the crux of it all lies the most debated contingency of all.
That is, whether successful SEO marketing takes time or can be achieved overnight?
Short answer: It takes time, a lot of time. Anyone who tells you differently is out for a quick payday or just simply is not educated in its process. If you hire an SEO agency and they claim to take your website from page 8 to page 1 overnight, run. Run. Fast.
But today we will focus on the long answer: SEO marketing does take time, consistency, best practices, and above all, patience. But don’t get this confused. Significant results from your SEO marketing campaigns can be seen from day one and along the way.
Taking the slow and consistent steps to a successful SEO marketing plan
These 3 footprints will help ensure the best strategies and practices for your SEO marketing plan and success, now and for your business’s future. And yes, your efforts will take time.
#1- Good Bones = Good SEO
The first step in any promising SEO strategy is a look under the hood. Many people equate SEO only to “keywords” and “content is king”. While these terms are of high importance, a healthy, performance-ready website is just as crucial. 5 out of 10 users will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load, and almost half of all users expect a website to load fully within 2 seconds of engagement.
Health issues start as the backbone of good or bad SEO marketing, and it can take anywhere from weeks to months to work out and correct. As changes are made and updates to the technical side of the site are completed, search ranking and visibility will begin to show improvement. Also, note that this is not a one time fix. We repeat: SEO is NOT a one-time thing. A successful, long-lived SEO plan will set aside time for technical updates every month and have constant monitoring.
#2- Keyword RESEARCH
Most SEO marketing firms align good SEO with keywords, but it is the research behind those keywords that really matter. Search volume, cost per click, search returns, keywords in categories, competitor search, and so much more all factor into what keywords you are focused on and at what times they may change. Your industry’s keywords are constantly changing because users’ search inquiries are, too.
Market research doesn’t happen overnight. A good SEO keyword research strategy will take up to a few weeks to decode and decipher the initial data, as well as set up the top keywords for a business’s SEO campaign. Moreover, keywords need to be tracked and rated upon their success and user engagement. This is another part of SEO marketing that changes often and needs constant care.
#3- Content, Content, Content
This is the meat and potatoes of good SEO marketing. A successful campaign will consist of fresh content being indexed by search engines, blog posts, optimized page copy, social copy, and if paid advertising is present, ad copy and ad optimization. All of this content needs to be researched, created, and finally posted all using the proper formatting and best practices to reach user engagement. A successful content marketing team will focus on all of these categories each and every month, maintaining relevant and useful content to drive attention and conversions to your online business.
For example, it can take anywhere from 2-5 hours for a content strategist to research and create an effective and rewarding blog. In addition, powerful SEO campaigns may post multiple blogs a month for their client’s online business. Researching, developing, strategizing, and implementing content can take significant time and just like all facets of SEO marketing, content needs continual care and maintenance to remain fresh.
The major takeaway from all of this is that proper and successful SEO marketing takes technical development aptitude and expertise, skilled and devoted market research, and a strong voice and writing acumen. SEO “used car salesmen” will tell you that search ranking and visibility can be achieved overnight with links and keyword infiltration, and they will insist on you trusting them with vague reporting and lack of proven results. Because of its complexity and lack of lamen knowledge, SEO marketing has become the “outta sight, outta mind” vertical for many people’s online business, costing them valuable time and money lost on scammers who prey on client’s bewilderment and disorientation about search engine optimization.
The time needed to succeed in SEO marketing can seem endless and slow-moving. Your online presence can and will only be rewarded by a strategic and patient play outlined with best practices and proper implementation at every step along the way.
Trust us, slow and steady WILL win the SEO race.
Digital Marketing & SEO In Atlanta GA
At Searched Marketing, our team of digital marketing experts creates custom content strategies to grow your audience on web and mobile channels. We help companies like yours build solid foundations to generate new leads and grow your business. We have a deep understanding of our client’s target audience and user habits and behavior. Our dedicated team of digital marketers in tech and design go beyond the ordinary to reach your target audience. Our Atlanta digital marketing team are experts in professional B2B and B2C marketing, digital strategy, user experience, content management, email marketing, social media marketing, and video marketing. Call us today at 404-835-7730 or contact us online.