If anyone promises you they can do good SEO for your site “instantly” or with a few simple tricks, run–don’t walk–away! The truth is, truly valuable SEO takes time to accomplish.
Why? In this episode of Here’s Why, Eric Enge and Mark Traphagen explain all that goes into effective SEO, and why that takes time to get right.
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Transcript
Eric: They say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” But neither is an effective SEO program.
Mark: Well, at least not one that will bring long-lasting results. But that brings us to our first question, Eric. Why does a good SEO take a long time?
Eric: Well, first it doesn’t always take a long time. Or, at least, you can sometimes get significant results in a relatively short time frame. But it’s true for the most part that the bigger wins, the wins that keep on reaping benefits for the site, usually take longer to accomplish.
Mark: So why is that?
Eric: Well, for one thing, it’s because of the immense complexity of search. SEO is part science, and it’s also in large part an art. The art comes in navigating a world where you can only see it in part. A search engine algorithm makes use of hundreds of ranking factors, both direct and indirect. Many we know about, but many more we don’t.
Mark: And it’s not just the ranking factors themselves. There’s also the complex way they interact. Different queries and conditions may cause an emphasis on a set of factors that a different query wouldn’t. So, yeah, it gets complex.
Eric: Right, and another element that adds to the complexity, and time investment of an SEO campaign, is that search rankings are often a moving target. You never know what a competitor might be doing that pushes their results up, or even down. And when that happens, your results often move, too. A search engine may adjust, or change an algorithm, or individual ranking factor.
Mark: But it’s not just the complexity of search engines that make good SEO take time.
Eric: Right, there’s also the craftsmanship factor. By that, I mean that creating the changes and conditions that will produce lasting results for a site is a real craft. It involves lots of hard work, and careful step-by-step implementation to build up the right set of onsite improvements, combined with good, earned links, that results in an SEO win.
Mark: And that’s hard work. And craftsmanship involves things like running a full site audit to determine potential SEO problems.
Eric: Developing and implementing a plan to make needed changes discovered in the audit, not to mention getting buy-in from all parties involved in making those changes.
Mark: Then there’s creating excellent content to increase the relevancy and link attractiveness of the site.
Eric: And let’s not forget outreach to influencers and relevant sites to pursue link opportunities.
Mark: And with that list, we’ve only scratched the surface of what a good SEO does.
Eric: Right, for example, we didn’t even talk about all the strategic planning before the campaign as well as constant measurement and evaluation along the way.
Mark: It’s overwhelming and exhausting.
Eric: But cheer up, Mark! Yes, quality SEO is hard work that takes time to do right. But the good news is that such an investment very often pays off in big benefits for the site.
Mark: And not to brag. Well, okay, I’ll brag a bit. But we well know that here at Perficient Digital, because we have so many great clients, who have stayed with us for many years as our SEO craftsmanship brings them rewards that affect their bottom lines.
Eric: Folks, this is what happens when you let your marketing director on your videos.
Mark: Hey, my momma always said, “It ain’t bragging if it’s true.”
Eric: Yeah, I think we’ve made our point, though. If you want true long-term gains in search traffic, be willing to invest in quality SEO craftsmanship that does the hard work and knows the craft inside out. That doesn’t have to be by us. Well, maybe it should be. Well, never mind. But, please, don’t leave your SEO to amateurs, whatever you do.
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