How long will it take it get my business onto the first page of Google?
Introduction
It’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions that most seo company’s gets asked, that is how long does it take to get a business onto the first page of Google?
And that’s to be expected right? All SEO agencies should be able to reel off an answer almost immediately to this question, surely?
Well no. That’s the long and short of it. That’s because every business sector is different, and it all comes down to how strong your competitors are.
So, here’s why it’s not such a straightforward question to answer:
How strong are your competitors?
In a nutshell, it all boils down to this, how strong are your competitors?
Are they a bunch of pushovers? Or, are they established businesses that have recognised the importance of investing in digital marketing, so they’ve paid for expert advice, and have therefore been subsequently implementing high quality seo for many years?
Well, if you operate in a competitive business sector, and how many businesses do not these days? It’s therefore safe to say that you will often find that the competition have been investing in seo, and often for many years, so there’s often a lot of work by a business that needs to be completed to catch up.
So, if a new business thinks it can wade into the party late, and then take on the established status-quo for a few hundred quid a month, well often that business will be quickly disappointed with how far the business will get.
Therefore organic seo often requires a sustained investment, and often for a long time.
Your fibbing, we’ve rang a business and their going to do it all for a pittance
Often this is the type of e-mail that some seo companies receive after explaining what they can offer, and how much it will cost.
That’s to say the customer may get on the phone and is often able to find a much cheaper quote in a matter of minutes. So, that’s good right, why would a business pay over the odds for seo services?
Well, quite simply put the old saying starts to spring to mind, that is, you truly do get what you pay for!
And when it comes to seo this saying cannot be more true. Here’s the thing, there are so many marketing agencies that offer seo services at really cheap prices.
Yet, these companies may not be implementing the best quality seo (white hat). This means they may be able to get your website moving forwards, and even to rank on the first page for a bit, but sooner or later if the seo isn’t quality, well your business will incur a penalty.
A penalty, such as a Google Penguin penalty can mean your website drops, so from like page 1 to page 20, or it could mean your business is removed altogether.
And don’t think in all cases a business can then bounce back overnight, as sometimes it can mean that a businesses will suffer from being ranked much lower for some time. This is not to mention the hefty bill your new seo agency may charge you if you ask them to fix the previous seo agencies mistakes.
One more thing, do not let the price point of the seo services fool you, as really cheap seo may mean you the quality of the seo is rubbish, but paying a lot of money to an agency also doesn’t guarantee that your business is immune to low quality seo.
So, it all boils down to one thing, is the seo quality or not? If its not your business may incur a penalty, like a Google Panda penalty.
I am hearing problems, I want to hear some solutions!
The solution is simple, partner with a white hat seo agency. It’s as simple as that, yet some businesses state they are white hat, when they are not, so you have to find a business truly offers quality seo work.
So, what factors are pivotal when an seo agency is deciding on how much work is needed?
We believe how long it will take for a business to get onto the first page depends on these three factors:
#1 How strong your competitors are
Now, some seo agencies may state that it will take a very long time to get your business onto the first page. Yet, sometimes this will be an honest assessment in terms of how much work is required.
As previously mentioned, it does all boil down to how strong your competitors are. So your digital marketing agency should evaluate your competitors:
· Backlinks
· What’s their content marketing like?
· How well their website has been been built
· Onsite seo efforts
Then your seo business can gain an understanding of how much work is required in order to beat your direct competitors.
#2 Quality of the SEO
Quality seo takes a lot of time to implement correctly. For example, to build quality backlinks takes a lot of time.
Quality must come first.
#3 Monitor results
Your seo business should be monitoring results, they should then report back to you weekly or monthly on how well your seo is progressing.
So we think its no a matter of plucking numbers out of thin air
Often many marketing agencies secure new clients by telling them what they want to hear. That’s to say where some companies do not offer a timeframe for how long it will take to get their business onto page one, some do.
However the businesses that do, well sometimes they are plucking a number out of thin air. Hoping that the business selects their seo agency, and signs a 12 month contract for seo services.
We think that a much better approach would be find an agency that offers quality work, and then presents their findings for how strong your direct competitors are.
Then based on how much work is required, a monthly fee is set.
Then, each month the business is sent an seo report, they can then see how far the business is progressing.
The seo agency should also provide a breakdown of work items they have been working on. Then the business can see what’s been implemented, and if the website is not moving forwards as soon as they would like, they can invest more.
As long as the agencies implementing white hat work, and keeping their client informed of progress we think this is the best way to work with an agency. That’s rather than choosing a company that over promises, yet under delivers.