It takes at least 2 to 3 months to see initial results from SEO efforts, but more substantial results can take a year or more. The exact amount of time hinges on several key factors.

Instagram, Instacart, Instant Pot — we all want things to happen ASAP.

But as it turns out, this isn’t exactly a realistic timeframe for search engine optimization (SEO).

When done right, SEO generally takes at least a few months to yield results. And, for what it’s worth, any team or SEO agency that tells you differently is probably setting you up for disappointment.

Below, HawkSEM Senior SEO Manager Hayden Pochop helps break down how long SEO takes — and why it’s still well worth your company’s investment.

People renovating the house concept

Proper SEO is like proper home construction — you need a strong foundation to build on. (Image: Rawpixel)

How long does SEO take to work?

SEO takes between three and six months for initial results and up to a year for more meaningful milestones.

While you may observe some initial improvements in search rankings or an increase in site traffic in the first month, “a holistic SEO strategy typically takes upwards of a year or more to yield lasting results,” explains Pochop.

Why SEO results take longer

“Search engines have a complex algorithm they use to rank websites,” says Pochop. “They take hundreds of factors into consideration and take time to crawl, index, and ultimately rank your website for specific keywords.”

A year may sound like a long time, especially when compared to other digital marketing methods like paid search.

But SEO is a long-term strategy that’s still very much worth your while because of the results it can bring about in the months and years to come.

Once you’ve created a strong foundation, you can focus more on optimizing, enhancing, and beating out the competition.

Factors that impact how long SEO takes

The exact amount of time it takes to see SEO results depends on some key factors, including:

  • Industry: Highly competitive industries take longer to rank for than niche or low-competition searches.
  • Keyword difficulty: Similarly, highly competitive keywords are harder to rank for and will take more time and strategy.
  • Budget: A limited budget makes it difficult to dedicate the appropriate amount of time and resources to see meaningful results.
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs): Expecting higher conversions within three months might not be feasible, whereas increased traffic over six months is a more realistic goal.
  • Consistency: Regularly publishing new content, optimizing, and link-building compound over time, while sporadic efforts slow momentum.
  • Existing SEO performance: Technical site issues like poor crawlability, slow site speed, or indexing errors can delay results until they’re fixed.
  • Backlink profile: Existing authoritative, relevant backlinks speed up trust and SERP visibility.
  • Content strategy: Original, high-quality, helpful content ranks higher than generic pages.
  • Domain age: A new site typically has a lower domain authority than an established site and takes more time to accumulate credibility.
  • Algorithm updates: Google updates can delay (or accelerate) progress, depending on how well a site aligns with its changes.
  • Core Web Vitals: Google’s performance metrics (Core Web Vitals) measure a page’s load time, how quickly it becomes interactive, and how visually stable it is for users. A poor score hurts engagement and limits your ability to rank competitively.

SEO management timeline

Once your agency or in-house team has decided to start an SEO campaign, it’s key to manage expectations. In our years of working in digital marketing, this is the timeline we typically expect from effective SEO efforts:

0-3 months

Using an SEO audit as your guide, initial technical SEO strategies, such as fixing broken links or improving website speed, can have immediate impacts on some search engine visibility and rankings.

3-6 months

For those in niche markets or targeting less competitive keywords, there may be noticeable improvements from on-page optimization, including keyword rankings, increases in organic search traffic, and higher click-through rates (CTRs).

6-12 months

In moderately competitive industries, it takes closer to six to twelve months for substantial results — like gaining traction for more competitive keywords and earning quality backlinks.

12 months+

Typically, achieving top rankings and maintaining them takes upwards of a year.

Long-term SEO success requires continued investment in content creation, link building, technical optimization, and monitoring — as well as adjusting strategies based on changes in both search engine algorithms and industry trends.

Important SEO KPIs to track (and when to expect improvement)

Tracking the right KPIs helps you understand whether your SEO efforts are gaining traction. Because SEO is a long-term strategy, different KPIs may carry heavier weight or more meaningful results at different times.

Keyword rankings: How you rank on the SERPs for target keywords. This is one of the earlier indicators of SEO success, depending on the keyword difficulty.

Impressions and clicks (on Google Search Console): Impressions show how often your pages appear in search results, while clicks indicate engagement. These metrics typically improve before traffic increases and are useful early indicators of progress.

Organic traffic: Organic traffic reflects your site’s overall visibility in search engines and can help determine how relevant your content is to a certain target audience. Traffic growth tends to be incremental and may lag behind early ranking improvements, making it a stronger mid to long-term indicator of SEO success.

Organic conversions: Desired actions taken by organic visitors to your site, such as form fills or purchases.

Conversions can take the longest to improve, because they depend on more than Google rankings — they rely on traffic quality, intent, and on-site experience as well.

Backlinks: The number of authoritative, relevant websites that link back to your site. Backlinking often involves outreach in addition to creating high-quality content, therefore takes longer than other SEO strategies to see results.

African american female empowering other colleagues in workplace

Even if you’re outsourcing the content on your site, it’s important to work with your marketing team to keep the lines of communication open. (Image: Rawpixel)

7 tips for faster SEO results

There’s no secret trick to skyrocket your content to the first page of Google results.

However, there is low-hanging fruit that SEO pros can go after right off the bat.

1. Optimize for mobile

With the growing number of mobile searches via smartphones and tablets, Google’s algorithm gives preference to mobile-optimized websites.

This includes:

  • Responsive web design
  • Optimized page load speed
  • Enhanced local SEO
  • Dynamic serving
  • Strong mobile content
  • Easy navigation
  • Optimized meta descriptions and title tags
  • Clear headers and CTA buttons for usability
  • Schema markup

Further reading: How to Build a Mobile-Friendly Site: Best Practices + Examples

2. Conduct a technical audit

Improving technical issues such as page speed, sitemaps, and structured data can improve rankings (and user experience) more quickly.

You can identify these SEO issues with a website audit at the launch of your SEO work.

Further reading: Technical SEO: An Easy-to-Follow Guide + 6 Improvement Tips

3. Focus on local SEO

Local SEO is the strategy of optimizing your online presence to increase visibility in local search results and maps.

If you have a physical business location, make sure to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile, improve on-page SEO, and build consistent local citations.

Further reading: Local SEO: What It Is and How to Do It Right (Expert Tips)

4. Revisit your keyword research

Targeting low-competition keywords (those with lower search volume) first before going after those highly sought-after industry terms can be a more effective keyword strategy.

This typically includes long-tail keywords, which are more specific search queries of three or more words — these tend to align with more bottom-funnel user search intent and attract a qualified audience.

Further reading: Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail Keywords: Key Differences (+ When to Use Each)

5. Promote published content

Don’t forget to share your content marketing efforts on social media platforms to reach a wider audience and encourage backlinks via social sharing.

6. Include schema markup

Schema markup is essentially a script added to the code on the backend of your website. It helps to communicate more clearly with search engines so they better understand your content.

It’s also an alternative way to increase visibility in SERPs, and it can even help you snag rich snippets. Consider adding this script to your site for elements such as product pages, reviews, videos, and FAQs.

Further reading: Schema Markup: What it is, How to Audit + Why it Matters

7. Earn backlinks

Similar to the importance of internal linking for on-page SEO, backlinking is a critical off-page SEO strategy.

Also called link building, backlinking is the process of getting other relevant, authoritative websites in your industry to link to your site.

Search engines like Google consider backlinks an important SEO ranking factor and consider websites with a larger portfolio of backlinks to be authoritative and trustworthy.

Further reading: What is Backlinking? How to Earn Links That Boost SEO Rankings

How PPC and SEO timelines work together

As an SEO expert, Pochop says organizations see the best results when they supplement their pay-per-click (PPC) advertising with SEO and content optimization that drives consistent traffic and conversions over time.

“From a business perspective, SEO is a cost-effective tactic that can balance out the ongoing advertising expenses of PPC,” says Pochop.
“Once your content ranks well organically, it continues to attract visitors without additional costs.” In this way, your website’s SEO is crucial in obtaining a sustainable, long-term online presence.

The takeaway

SEO is a long-term digital marketing strategy that is tasked with driving quality traffic to your site and converting that traffic into leads and customers.

No matter how you slice it, SEO takes time to build. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and as the saying goes, slow and steady wins the race.

Traffic to your web pages is bound to fluctuate over time, and SERP volatility will influence how well your site ranks for certain target keywords, no matter your efforts.

Need some help along the way? Reach out to HawkSEM for a custom SEO strategy to rise to the top of the search results.

This post has been updated and was originally published in March 2022.

Caroline Cox

Caroline Cox

Caroline is HawkSEM's senior content marketing manager. Through more than a decade of professional writing and editing experience, she creates SEO-friendly articles, educational thought leadership pieces, and savvy social media content to help market leaders create successful digital marketing strategies. She's a fan of reading, yoga, new vegetarian recipes, and paper planners.