93% of all online activities start with a search engine. If you want to attract more people to your dental practice, search engine optimization (SEO) is a great place to start.
SEO allows you to rank higher on search engines like Google. After launching your first dental SEO campaign, you might start to wonder how soon you’ll see results. However, the SEO timeline depends on a few different factors.
Keep reading to learn all about SEO ranking and what to expect from your search engine timeline in our helpful guide!
How Long Does It Take to Rank?
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with SEO is assuming you’ll see immediate results. SEO can have a long-lasting effect on your overall marketing strategy. In order to generate those results, however, you need to set realistic expectations for yourself.
First, expect to play SEO out as a long game. Don’t ask yourself “how long before SEO changes take effect?” Instead, focus on your company’s long-term goals.
Then, link your SEO efforts to those goals. For example, if you want to drive more people to your website, you’ll need to create content that appeals to their interests.
Next, you need to prepare yourself to invest a lot of time and effort into your dental SEO timeline. You’ll see results based on the effort you put into your campaigns. The more time, effort, and sources you put into your SEO, the sooner you’ll generate results.
As part of your SEO planning, make sure to schedule time to re-evaluate your SEO campaign regularly.
There are dozens of factors that come into play when building an SEO campaign. Google has over 200 ranking signals that change throughout the year.
In other words, the search engine timeline you build for this month won’t necessarily remain the same in the months to come. Instead, you’ll need to remain willing to experiment to see what works best for your industry.
According to one study, a company saw a 40% increase in qualified traffic that doubled online sales six months after making SEO updates. However, how long it takes your company to see results from an SEO campaign depends on the campaign itself.
Ranking Factors
As you build out your SEO timeline, it helps to prioritize updates that consider Google’s ranking factors. Then, you can improve your SEO strategy to generate results as soon as possible.
Here are a few components of your SEO campaign you’ll need to consider to generate results.
Competitors
The top of a search engine results page (SERP) will change as your competitors improve their own SEO campaigns.
The number of companies you’ll need to compete with will depend on your niche. Try to focus your SEO strategy on a smaller niche in your industry. The more specific your niche, the more likely you’ll reach your ideal customers.
Remember, you’re trying to attract real people to buy your product or service. Appealing to your target audience with a unique value proposition will help you stand out from the competition.
The more competition you have to deal with, the longer your search engine timeline will extend.
Focusing on a niche will limit the number of competitors you have to deal with. You’ll also have to compete based on the competency of the SEO professionals who are working on your competitors’ campaigns. If your competitors are working with the best SEO professionals in the business, you’ll want to as well.
Otherwise, you might have a difficult time breaking through the competition.
Inbound Links
There are three factors that influence Google search rankings. After analyzing 1 million Google search results, experts determined links impact rankings the most. The other two ranking factors are your content and RankBrain (Google’s machine-learning system).
First, you’ll need to consider the volume of links that send people to your website. More links will usually help you achieve SEO success faster. However, you want to make sure these links come from high-quality websites.
Too many links from low-quality sites, on the other hand, could hinder your success.
Make sure these links are relevant to your industry and customers. The faster you earn high-quality links that are relevant to your business, the better for your SEO timeline. Make sure your link building strategy follows Google’s guidelines to avoid penalties.
As Google’s search algorithm continues to change and adapt to new trends, however, new ranking factors are bound to pop up.
Content
In order to rank on a SERP, you’ll need high-quality content that your customers want to read. Otherwise, why would they bother clicking on your website?
There’s no minimum or maximum word-count length you need to worry about. Instead, focus on providing high-quality content that benefits your readers.
You’ll need to complete thorough keyword and audience research to develop a strong content creation strategy. Then, you’ll need to know how to naturally implement your keywords within the content. Keyword stuffing, on the other hand, could result in penalties.
Try to mix up your content, too.
For example, videos are becoming increasingly popular. You can also create quizzes, polls, and other forms of interactive content. Interactive content is great for boosting your clickthrough rate and dwell time, which are both ranking factors.
Don’t forget to post on a schedule. Posting frequently will encourage Google to crawl and index your site more often. That can help speed up your SEO timeline.
New content will encourage people to return to your website as well. Increased visits will tell Google your visitors are having a positive user experience, which can also benefit your SEO strategy.
How to Develop a Strong SEO Strategy
The first step to develop a strong SEO strategy is to research your target audience. Who are they? What keywords are they searching that are relevant to your dental practice?
Next, create content that reflects these search queries. Try to post on a schedule.
Share your blog content on social media to attract more people to your site. You can also start guest blogging to improve your link building strategy.
Don’t forget to optimize your website, too. Google looks for sites that create a positive user experience. A responsive, quick-loading website is more likely to rank higher on search engines.
As you use these SEO planning tips, make sure to analyze your results and optimize your campaign. That way, you can make improvements throughout the year to speed up your SEO timeline.
Generate Real Dental SEO Campaign Results: Your Guide to SEO Success
How long before SEO changes take effect? For the most part, there’s no exact answer. Instead, you’ll need to consider what’s involved in your SEO campaign. You’ll also need to appeal to Google’s ranking factors and adapt your strategy to the latest trends.
As you reevaluate your SEO strategy throughout the year, you can improve your ranking and beat out the competition.
Want to start attracting more people to your practice? Request a free SEO analysis from our team today.
