We can’t help ourselves as a society. We want what we want and we want it now. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work so much for SEO. SEO should always be looked at as a long term investment. Looking at it any other way will leave you unsatisfied with your results. SEO is a process of accumulation and will get better with time. A good portion of our clients always asks us how long it takes for SEO to work and it would be unrealistic and irresponsible to give an exact answer. One idea that we have maintained is, if you need SEO, it’s already too late. 
Doing Everything At Once Hurts, Not Helps
Regardless of what some SEO companies tell you, the good ones know that SEO should be fed constantly and not all at once. Google’s algorithm has gotten far too advanced over the years. It can spot when SEO efforts are done all at once and it makes it look like you are trying to manipulate the search engine as opposed to working with it. You should be producing good, fresh content on a monthly basis at the very least and a few times a week if you want to produce better results. If you acquire 100 links in one month but not any the months prior or after it can look like you are trying to cheat the search engine that can lead you down a negative path referred to as black hat SEO.
Black Hat SEO
What is black hat SEO? Black hat SEO can be mostly anything related to a disapproved way of trying to increase your website’s rankings. Google and other search engines have gotten advanced enough that they can spot these types of tactics.
- Keyword Stuffing – As simple as it sounds, this is just the process of putting an unnecessary amount of the keyword you’re trying to rank for on a page or a piece of content.
- Spammy Link Building – This is referred to as a website acquiring links that are from unrelated websites that are riddled with spam.
These types of tactics have led to some major algorithm shifts. Most know them as the penguin and panda update.
SEO Is A Process Of Accumulation
The best type of SEO is accumulated over time. You might ask then, what is too much and what isn’t enough? You can be directed to your overall strategy. A good SEO strategy has a few key components that will make sure you are successful or at least know what to expect.
- Where do you currently rank compared to your competitors? You never necessarily have to do much more than your competitors, you just need to be aligned with their efforts and find that differentiator. If your competition has 50 more links than you, and you want to align with them in 6 months, your goal should be to get around 10 links per month.
- How competitive is your industry? Chances are the more competitive your industry is the more you will need to invest and wait for results. Going back to the bullet point before this, if you have a competitive industry you should try to do a little more than just what will put your neck and neck. The best way to go about this is to make sure you are producing content regularly and make sure your core pages are more robust with good content.
SEO Equity
The overall goal here is not to discourage you from starting SEO, but to get you to stop procrastinating and start today. The most important thing to remember about doing SEO is that everything you’re doing today will pay dividends down the road. Every blog you write, every link you acquire is helping you build towards a goal. Stop waiting and start today!
