Why Do Some Sites Rank Faster Than Others?

For all the things that have changed in my time in search engine optimization, there remains one constant when it comes to engaging in discussions with a prospect for SEO services.

Most prospects are very keen to know the answer to this one, very basic (but not “simple”) question: “How long until I’ll see results”?

As with most things in SEO, the question begs another question: how do you measure “results”? As well, the answer has to have the added “it depends” followed by a number of follow-up questions.

Often, prospects are saying things like, “I want to be the top result for X keyword.” And, as I’ve mentioned many times, good SEO doesn't revolve around any “one” ranking for any “one” keyword. If it does, you’re probably doing things that you shouldn’t be doing, such as overly-aggressive link building tactics against “money” keywords.

But, these same prospects are typically getting quick answers to this – actually very complicated – question.