How Long Does SEO Take in 2024? A Timeline For Your Business
I went all in on SEO in April 2020. 4 months later, my website had over 1,000 visitors per month. Significant results happened almost 1 year later at 10,000 visitors per month. 2 years later, it reached over 100,000 visitors per month and $5,000+ in passive monthly revenue.
So, is this a normal timeline? And why does SEO take so long?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) takes at least 3-6 months to start seeing results, and up to 12 months for significant results. This depends on your industry, competition, quality of SEO, and Google’s algorithm updates.
Let’s break down the timeline of SEO, what exactly is involved, and when you can expect to see results.
A Real SEO Timeline
For the most current and accurate SEO timeline, let’s take a look at one of our most recent client’s websites.
| Month | Monthly Visitors |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 50 |
| 2 | 80 |
| 3 | 120 |
| 4 | 180 |
| 5 | 230 |
| 6 | 680 |
| 7 | 1,400 |
| 8 | 2,400 |
| 9 | 3,800 |
| 10 | 3,500 |
| 11 | 5,200 |
| 12 | 6,200 |
This website took 3 months to start seeing improvements and 12 months to see significant results. This timeline is similar for our other sites and the SEO industry as a whole.
You can read more about this website in our case study: From 0 to 50,000+ Pageviews in 12 months: It’s Still Doable in 2024
Why Does SEO Take So Long?
There are two reasons SEO takes so long.
First, SEO isn’t like social media. Social media is focused on brand awareness while SEO attracts search engine traffic, such as Google.
A recent study by BrightEdge found SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media. Organic social media makes up only 5% of a website’s total traffic, while SEO delivers 53%.
Second, SEO is a compounding investment. The reason why it takes at least 3-6 months to start seeing results is because it takes time for Google to trust your website and rank your content. However, the more time and quality content your website has, the faster your new content begins to rank. Eventually, this compounds, resulting in exponential growth.
Fun Fact: Google has over 200 ranking factors to determine the rank of a website.
5 Factors Behind The Speed of SEO
To help explain why SEO takes so long, here are 5 key factors to consider:
- Website Age and Authority: New websites may take longer to rank due to a lack of established authority.
- Competitiveness of the Industry: Highly competitive industries might take longer to see results due to intense competition for top rankings.
- Quality of Content: High-quality, unique, and valuable content tends to rank faster and more effectively.
- SEO Best Practices: Adhering to SEO best practices, like proper keyword usage and creating a user-friendly site, can speed up results.
- Algorithm Updates: Search engines frequently update their algorithms, and these updates can impact your site’s ranking and visibility.
Even though you can see results from SEO within a few months, it’s essential to view SEO as a long-term strategy. The most significant and lasting results often come from consistent, sustained effort over time. You need patience, persistence, and a focus on quality to be successful at SEO.
How Much Work is Involved in SEO?
There’s a significant amount of work to be done in SEO. That’s why it’s not cheap.
On average, small and midsize companies can expect to pay anywhere between $1,500 to $5,000 per month on an SEO project.
Nutshell.com
Here’s an overview of our SEO process here at Epic Ranks:
| Timeline | Insights |
|---|---|
| Months 1-3 | Website Audit, Keyword Research, & Core Page Optimizations |
| Months 4-6 | Identifying Key Wins and Replicating |
| Months 6-11 | Taking Market Share from Competitors |
| Months 12+ | Establishing Brand Authority |
- Months 1-3: We start your plan with a website optimization, preparing it to generate SEO traffic. Then, we dive into keyword research—targeting search terms that are valuable, yet lower in competition. We then start optimizing your pages and creating SEO content around these quick wins, helping your website rank on Google.
- Months 4-6: We continue creating SEO content, making sure the keywords and content are on-point. Your website is monitored closely for signs of traffic, so we can take advantage of it. You should start seeing some early results.
- Months 6-11: SEO optimizations are continued to be made, with increasing signs of traffic. At this point, you’re taking market share from your competitors, and we’re not giving them an inch.
- Months 12+: Your earlier SEO content is properly aged, indexed, and trusted by Google, and beginning to rank at the top of the SERPs. As the rest of your content ages, this effect compounds, leading to potentially significant results, setting your site up to be an authority in your industry.
Does SEO Still Work in 2024?
SEO still works great in 2024. We’re driving millions of visitors and over $500k in revenue for our clients.
Still, SEO isn’t easy. With increased competition and AI, and SEO has evolved a lot. This is why it’s important to find an SEO agency who can keep up with these changes and is versed on what’s working.
And here at Epic Ranks, we do just that. Book a call with me if you’d like to see if SEO is a good fit for you. You can also reach out to me personally at Tyler@epicranks.com.
