How long can it take for SEO tweaks to manifest in search engine ranking reports?

Your business has had a solid search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, but you recently noticed that your search engine ranking reports are showing a dip in your numbers. In response, you made some tweaks to your SEO, but you are not sure if your tweaks are successful. 

Your business is far from the only one that might find itself dealing with this scenario. It can also be hard to tell if your SEO tweaks have been successful right away. In many cases, it can take six to 12 months for SEO changes to generate the increased traffic, leads and conversions that help bump up the numbers in your search engine ranking reports. There are several reasons why this is the case. 

Three reasons your SEO tweaks can take a while to improve your search engine ranking reports

  1. You have competition.

There are some businesses that cater to small or niche markets, and it is relatively easy for such businesses to improve their search engine rankings. However, the difficulty increases if there is stiff competition for the goods or services your business offers. Why? The short answer is that other businesses are spending money and time to improve their online presence, too. As a result, search engines have more pages to consider, which can increase the time it takes for your updates to be recognized and re-ranked. 

2. You need to select the right keywords. 

You have probably heard the phrase “Content is king” if you have been listening to digital marketers, and it is true. Trustworthy, engaging and well-researched content is a major draw for search engine crawlers. However, the foundations of effective pieces of content are the keywords upon which those pieces are built. Faster increases in search engine ranking report numbers can come from targeting long-tail keywords instead of generic keywords. Some reasons for this are that: 

  • Generic keywords have a high search volume, but they are likely being targeted by your competitors. 
  • Long-tail keywords are more specific to the goods or services your business offers. 
  • Long-tail keywords tend to draw more consistent leads because they attract people who are more likely to purchase your product or service. 
  • Long-tail keywords lead to content that encourages people to spend more time on your webpages, which is noticed by search engines. 

3. It takes time for search engines to index sites. 

Generally, it is vital to request that a search engine re-index your website after you make SEO tweaks to your site. If your site is not indexed properly, search engines will not find it. This can lead to a sharp drop in the values on your search engine ranking reports. However, it can take some time to see an uptick in your numbers after you fix issues and request re-indexing. For instance, Google warns that re-indexing can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for its crawlers to re-index a site. 

Want to see a faster improvement in your search engine ranking report numbers? Burg & Co. can help

Improving your search engine rankings plays a role in increasing website traffic and conversions, which can lead to new clients. However, it’s difficult to boost search engine rankings for your site when you don’t know what to do. Fortunately, this is one of the digital marketing techniques we specialize in at Burg & Co.

Our team has years of experience in helping businesses improve their digital presence to attract new leads and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more visitors to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help. Contact our team today for more information about digital marketing or to schedule a complimentary consultation.

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