Among the biggest misconceptions held by people about search engine optimization (SEO) is assuming that it will bring an instant transformation to their website. While it’s true that SEO can have a dramatic and long-lasting effect on your site, it’s also true that achieving good SEO takes time and that individuals who want to enjoy the full benefits of what SEO can offer would have to be patient and understand all the different factors that play vital roles in an efficient SEO strategy.

Why Does Good SEO Take Time?

“Instant SEO” is one of the most damaging and widespread myths on the internet. While many below-par SEO agencies promise swift results or guaranteed first-page Google rankings, these organizations are merely making empty promises they can’t keep. Regardless of how good an SEO company or expert is, a great SEO takes time and there are no two ways about it.

A lot of people don’t understand why this is so. The reason is because there are a couple of factors that are responsible for making an SEO campaign “work”. Highlighted below are just a handful of those factors;

SEO is Amazingly Complex

There are a lot of things you have to do to get a high ranking in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). Google, after all, has more than 200 ever-changing ranking signals. Finding the right balance is a process of jumping through hoop after hoop and being willing to experiment to see what produces results and what doesn’t. Additionally, tactics that work today, may be utterly useless tomorrow and for some SEO tactics that work exceptionally well for one website will do nothing to improve the rankings of another website.

Google Changes its Algorithms Constantly and Doesn’t Always Tell Marketers

SEO is always changing; hence, it’s almost impossible to stay on top of it completely or long-term. When Google updates its algorithms, it rarely announces the all of the specific details of its updates. SEOs and other marketeers are left to guess what will rank well now, just like ship captains are left to guess about the real size of an iceberg when all they see is just the tip.

That’s why, following the release of a new algorithm, SEO specialists gather data from the changes in rankings from numerous websites. This helps us to determine what may have happened and why some sites’ rankings visibly improved while others suffered. This information is then used to make educated decisions about what has changed and how to counter it.

Your Competitors are Living, Breathing People

You never can tell what your competitors are doing to rank better or worse in Google’s SERPs. This means that Google’s front page is a constantly moving target and that there are no guarantees when it comes to ranking there. Just as you are reading this article to find out more about SEO, the chances are (if they are planning on staying in business) your competitors are doing the same.

SEO is a Craft

SEO is both a science and an art, and learning how to rank well regularly involves a significant amount of study and hard work; running site audits and creating Google-friendly content are complicated. These factors on their own are more than enough to make SEO a complex, challenging beast, and marketers who understand this will more likely thrive in the digital world.

Interested in seeing what could be negatively affecting your SEO? Contact us and we’ll get one of our team to take a look for free!