Every other client has this question from SEO executives and digital marketers, ‘how long will it take for my site to rank first on Google?’ which tends to cause major mental and emotional upheaval.

The truth is: it depends. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a mere 2+2 task, it is an art combining technology that comes with its own set of answers.

SEO’s success depends on a lot of a factors, but you need to understand one thing, not every factor will suit your brand.

However, to give an average, it can take anywhere from 3 months to 6 months. Again, this is not definite and may even extend up to an year, depending on a variety of factors.

What Data Do We Have to Understand SEO’s Main Deciding Factors in Brief?

“How does your website rank on Google? How would you like to rank better on Google?”

How about we list down some of the data and statistics to give you an insight into SEO? Then let us move on ahead.

1. The top-ranked pages are much older than the newer ones. In fact, the average age of most pages that ranked #1 on Google are more or less about 5 years old.

• The average age for content pages is lower i.e. around 3.5 years. Here we are considering content pages that are not homepages.

• Gaining backlinks and authority takes time, which means, more time equals more authority.

• The content that is on the top is the one that receives frequent updates, making it much fresher. This means that, even if the URL or publishing date is older, the update date is less than 8 months ago.

• Keeping your older and valuable content updated is one of the best things you can do to boost your SEO score and value.

• On average, the efforts of SEO take around two months to provide results.

• Pages of some niches, such as breaking news and events, tend to reach the top 10 search results comparatively faster due to their brief and short-lived momentum.

Which Key Factors Play the Main Roles in the Ranking Process?

Previously, in the early 2000s, it was comparatively easier to rank on Google as all you had to do was add your main keywords to your URL, meta title, meta description and multiple times in the content and voila! You could reach the top 10 results within less than a month.

SEO executives would stuff keywords in the content, create some backlinks and start seeing the results quickly. However, that is not your only answer to ‘how to improve google search ranking?’

However, as time progressed and AI and Machine Learning took over the world, it became significantly harder to rank on search engines overall. Google issues updates every other year and those in the SEO field have to remain updated to avoid losing out on their rankings.

What are some factors that affect SEO?

1. The age of domain: any domain that has been registered between the last six months falls within the category of ‘new domains’.

• Level of keyword competition: keywords and phrases with a high level of competition are difficult to rank for since they are search too much. On the other hand, you can try building trust and rankings through keywords with a lower level of competition.

• The quality of content: Google gives preference to high-quality content that provides value to the user and increases engagement.

• The type and quality of links: organic links from higher authority sites automatically add value to the site. Links from low authority sites or purchased spam links deter with the SEO of your site.

• Popularity of domain: the domain name should be popular and something that people are likely to search in the current era.

How Long Do Google’s Bots Take for Indexing Pages?

Google employs Bots or ‘crawlers’ as we know them, to index pages. These crawlers follow an algorithm to index around 100+ trillion pages on a daily basis. However, there is no fixed time period for the indexing.

The web crawler discovers new content by following the links or sitemaps that have been submitted in the webmasters console.

Higher authority sites have the advantage of getting their pages indexed faster. Newer or lower authority sites will have to wait a few days to get their content indexed. They can speed up the process by submitting the URL in the webmasters console directly.

What is the Google sandbox?

Many SEOs believe that despite the best SEO practices, Google may delay the ranking of your webpage just because the site is new and lacks authority.

SEO personnel tend to consider it as ‘Google sandbox’ even though Google does not acknowledge its existence. Instead, Google talks about a bunch of algorithms that impact the ranking of the site.

All in all, there is no guarantee that your site will top the search engine results, even if your SEO practices are perfect.

What Are Some Tips You Can Follow for Ranking Faster?

While SEO is a different game for every other brand and company, there are 10 tips that can enhance your efforts and provide you with results anyhow.

1. Focus on your site’s user experience such as easy navigation and better loading speed.
2. Check which pages are ranking and then optimise and update them so they can rank even higher.
3. Work on mobile apps and optimise them for mobile too, since a majority of the populace is now browsing through their smartphones.
4. Develop content that provides value to your user, by adding statistics, tips, guides and other engaging stuff.
5. Try to acquire high-quality backlinks and do not go for paid or spamming links.
6. While adding new pages, submit a sitemap to Google Search Console every time.
7. Increase your click-through-rate with the help of Google Ads.
8. Keep your pages and simple and free from distractions, which may divert your user from their main goal.
9. Do internal linking as well as external linking within your content.
10. Fix all broken links.

Do you think these tips could be of help? You can get free SEO consultancy if you wish to understand more about SEO or want to know how SEO can be beneficial for your brand.

While we’re on the subject, I am now offering an online SEO course that will give you in-depth insight into the world of insight. Do not forget to check it out!