This is the question I get on almost every call: how long is this going to take?
The honest answer
Sometimes I can see movement really quickly, within weeks. Sometimes it takes years before I see really strong movement in a good direction. Typically, companies take 6 to 12 months in the SEO world before results are seen.
Sometimes it even goes backwards first. Here's a page that dropped for two months before it recovered.
SEO vs. Google Ads
A lot of people say SEO compounds.
Google Ads is a very simple start. Start spending money and start seeing results almost immediately. SEO: start paying money, and you don't start seeing results for 3 to 6 or 6 to 12 months.
When you shut off ads, you stop spending and you stop getting results immediately. If you stop spending on SEO, you still receive the benefit, and it slowly starts fading away.
Why it isn't a one-time cost
A lot of times, people are hoping for this to just be a one-time cost. No, this is actually more part of your marketing plan.
"Hey, I'm not trying to keep you long term." Yes, I do want you long term, but it's not a turn-on, turn-off. It's set it and keep going, a consistency approach. You might see that as a sales tactic, but the algorithms are always changing. The algorithm needs fresh content. It needs to make sure your website is not stale and that it's being updated.
