There’s no hiding the truth. SEO takes time. As much as it would be great to leap from the third page of Google to the first overnight, there’s no amount of wizardry that can make this happen. Instead, it requires a little patience and a lot of hard work to climb up the rankings.
The reason it takes time is that you need to prove to Google that you’re an authority and your site gives users what they want. This means building a technically impressive site that’s easy to use and full of helpful content.
You’ll also need to establish links from trusted and relevant sites in your industry. These links effectively serve as respected organisations calling out to Google and saying ‘hey, look at these guys, they really know what they’re talking about!’. Once Google has listened to this shout, you should notice that you begin to creep up the rankings.
But Why Do I Need to Be at The Top of Google?
Getting as far up the first page of Google is anything from a vanity project. Indeed, research has revealed that the first result for any given Google search will receive 32.5% of traffic whilst second place will get 17.6% and third will take 11.4%.
When it comes to searches concerning the products and services your business provides, you’re naturally going to want to take the lion’s share of the traffic.
What Will I Need to Do?
The first thing you’ll need to do is make sure that your site is technically sound and setup correctly. You’ll need to ensure that each page is properly titled, the content is laid out with the approved heading structure, and you’re not overdoing it with your keywords. You’ll also want to make sure the site loads nice and quickly.
Once you’ve got these foundations firmly in place, it’s time to set about building links and getting the right people to point to your site.
This process is something of an art form in itself and you’ll need to be certain that the sites you’re approaching are worth getting a link from. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself how relevant the site you want a link from is and if its users will benefit from being directed to your site.
A good digital agency will be able to identify the true value of a link to your site and provide recommendations about the best ones to chase up.
How Long Will I Have to Wait for Results?
The time it will take for your site to reach the sweet spots will depend a lot on your industry. If you’re selling running shoes, for example, there will be a lot more competition than if you’re selling used xylophones. There’s no need to fear if you are selling running shoes, however, as there are still ways to speed things up. Creating engaging content, acquiring powerful links, and tightening up your site pages will all signal to Google that you’re an active and valuable resource for users.
Do You Have Any Proof of all This?
At Nu Image, we’ve been fortunate to work with some fantastic local businesses for many years. In the case of Norfolk Broads Direct and Broads Tours, we’ve been managing their SEO for over six years. During this time, we’ve enjoyed some impressive gains.
Back in 2013, Norfolk Broads Direct attracted just over 50,000 users. Last year, it cleared well over 220,000 users. Over this period of time we’ve also seen organic traffic increase by over 1160%. In terms of sales, this led to a 69% rise in online bookings.
This certainly goes a long way towards illustrating the greater pay-offs that SEO delivers as time goes on.
A key benefit of managing these SEO campaigns for a number of years is that we’ve collected a lot of data in that time. An awful lot of data, to be precise. From keyword performance to user behaviour, we’ve been able to monitor every aspect of the way the business operates online.
This data has allowed us to better understand how users arrive at the site, what they do once they get there, and most importantly, how they like to place bookings.
Armed with this information, we’ve been able to optimise the sites and make them as profitable as possible. This is what we now do on a daily basis to continue directing new customers to the site.
How Can Your Agency Help Me?
We make no apologies for being huge SEO nerds at Nu Image. Obviously, our success hinges entirely on the success of our clients. Not until they’re rising up the rankings are we able to celebrate.
Keeping up to date with the industry at large, we pride ourselves on adapting our strategies every time that Google decides to move the goal posts. Ultimately, this allows our clients to focus on the day to day running of their business whilst we make sure that new customers can find them online.
If you or your business is looking to improve your SEO, get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.
