We live in an on demand world. Successful businesses are built on deliverying quality goods and services sooner rather than later. Fast food. Mobile communications. Overnight delivery. You name it, we want it … now!
Search engine optimization doesn’t live in this world. SEO lives in a gated community, stuck somewhere in time around 1955. It’s by design. If ranking well was quick and easy, everyone would do it. Search engines don’t want that.
Granted, I’m not saying drastic improvements in a 30-day period (or less) aren’t possible. I once took a site that wasn’t in the Top 1,000 for its targeted keyphrase to No. 11 on Google in a 48 hr. period. Additionally, trusted news sources can rank quickly for hot-off-the-presses keywords. However, that’s much more the exception than the rule.
Aside from the actual process, the greatest challenge in SEO – and I know I’m not alone – is managing customer expectations when optimizing a Web site. Most think that a few tweaks here and there, and it’s Next Stop: No. 1, as if it’s a magic trick or some sort of voodoo. If you hire an SEO with that expectation, you’re in for a disappointing experience.
SEO is a marathon. It’s difficult. And it’s only getting more challenging with every algorithm update and as more sites launch regularly. As a result, it’s going to be a greater expense. Search is only going to get more important to marketing and branding. At the same time the universe of experts isn’t growing in step with demand.
The long tail relies so heavily on search. Many live-and-die by rankings. How many without budgets to support a strong organic strategy will fade away?
With greater difficulty, an already slow process should get even slower. With SEO, patience is the greatest virtue.
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