It is a common misconception that building a pretty website with keyword-rich content is all it takes to be on the first page of Google. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Most websites take anywhere between six and twelve months to rank on the first page of Google for organic search traffic. And that’s if you’re doing everything right. You have to create high-quality content, build backlinks, and optimize your website for technical SEO.
This article will share some tips on how Google SERP works and give you an accurate timeline of how long it usually takes for a new website to rank.
How Long Does It Take A New Website To Rank?
Google is slow to rank a new website because it has to index all new pages. And there are billions of new pages waiting to be indexed every day. This is why ranking takes a few months to a year, depending on unspecified metrics.
It is also worth noting that it takes longer to rank for a competitive keyword than it does for a less competitive one. So if you’re in a niche with little competition, you could rank in as little as six months. But it could take up to two years to get to the first page in a competitive industry.
For example, if you’re a personal injury lawyer in New York, you’ll compete with hundreds of other law firms trying to rank for the same keywords. It’s going to take some time and effort to outrank them.
On the other hand, if you’re a personal injury lawyer in Winslow, you’ll have less competition. You could rank in a few months if you produce high-quality content and build backlinks.
Here’s a general timeline of how long it takes to rank on the first page of Google:
3-6 Months: If you have a small website with fewer than 50 pages in a low-competition niche, you could rank in three to six months. This assumes you’re doing everything right, from keyword research to on-page optimization and link building.
6-12 Months: If you have a medium-sized website with 50-200 pages and you’re in a medium-competition niche, it will take six to 12 months to rank. Again, this is assuming you’re consistent with your SEO efforts.
12-24 Months: If you have a large website with more than 200 pages or are in a highly competitive niche, it will take 12 to 24 months to rank. You should throw in some paid advertising to help you rank faster for this one.
These are just general timelines. It’s important to remember that Google does not operate on a set schedule. The algorithm is constantly evolving, so it’s impossible to say how long your website will take to rank.
What you can do, however, is focus on producing high-quality content and building quality backlinks. If you do those two things consistently, you will see results eventually.
Why Google Takes Months to Reward Your Site with Organic Traffic
Building a new website is exciting. You put all your blood, sweat, and tears into crafting the perfect user experience, filling it with high-quality content and ensuring it’s responsive and loads quickly.
Then you hit publish, and… crickets. No one visits your site except for the occasional family member or friend. And you wonder why your site isn’t ranking on Google.
The answer is simple: Google has to discover your website first. Once it does that, it has to understand what your website is about. Then it decides where to rank your website in the search results.
Google relies on several factors to determine the quality of your website and how relevant it is to users’ search queries.
Some of these factors include:
- The age of your domain: Google trusts domains that are over one year old more than it trusts new ones.
- The quality of your content: Google wants to make sure that users are getting the best possible results when they search, so it looks at things like the relevance of your content, user engagement, and whether you tried to game the system with unscrupulous tactics like keyword stuffing.
- The number of backlinks you have: Backlinks are like votes for your website. The more backlinks you have from high-quality websites, the better. Google sees this as a sign that your website is worthy of ranking.
- Your website’s design and user experience: Google wants to ensure that users have a good experience when they visit your website, so it looks at things like your website design, how easy it is to navigate, and whether or not it loads quickly.
- The click-through rate: Google also looks at how often users click on your website in the search results. If users click on your website more often than others, it’s a good sign that your website is relevant and valuable, and Google will reward you with a higher ranking.
- How often you publish new content: Google loves fresh content, so if you’re regularly publishing new articles, blog posts, or product pages, it will help your website rank higher. However, the content you publish has to be high-quality if you want it to make a difference.
- Bounce rate: Your website’s bounce rate measures how often users leave your website after viewing one page. A high bounce rate indicates that users didn’t find what they were looking for on your website, so Google will be less likely to rank you at the top of search results.
These are some of the known ranking factors that Google uses. But there are likely many more that we don’t know about.
The important thing to remember is that it takes time for Google to consider all of these factors and decide where to rank your website. So if you’ve just launched a new site, don’t expect to see results overnight.
Be patient, keep producing high-quality content, and continue building backlinks, and eventually, you will see your website rank higher in the search results.
Buying Your Way to the First Position in Google SERPs
Let’s face it. Everyone would love to be in the first position on the Google search engine results pages (SERPs) for their relevant keyword terms. After all, that’s where the vast majority of clicks go – approximately 27.6%, according to recent studies.
But what if you’re starting and don’t have time to wait for your SEO efforts to pay off?
The good news is that there’s a way to buy your way to the first position in Google SERPs, which is to buy Google Ads.
Google Ads is an advertising platform that allows you to place ads on Google.com and across the millions of websites in the Google Display Network.
When you create a Google Ads campaign, you can display your ads in the search results when people Google relevant things. These are called “text ads,” They can appear above or below the organic listings on the SERP.
This all sounds well and good, but there’s a catch.
Google Ads is an auction-based system, which means you have to bid against other advertisers for the top position. The amount you’re willing to pay per click (CPC) determines your position in the ad auction. The higher your CPC, the higher your placement.
You can also create what are known as “display ads,” which appear on websites across the Google Display Network.
Display ads come in all shapes and sizes, and you can use them to target specific websites or groups of websites.
For example, let’s say you sell women’s clothing. You could create a display ad and target it to websites that are popular with women, like Cosmopolitan.com or Oprah.com. Combine that with a solid social media marketing strategy, and you can achieve great results.
Buying ads is a great way to get to the top of the SERPs quickly, but it’s important to remember that you’ll need to continue paying for your ads to stay there.
Conversely, SEO is a long-term strategy to help you rank higher in the SERPs without paying for ads.
While it takes longer to see results from SEO, it’s a more sustainable way to get traffic to your website in the long run.
So, if you’re starting, we recommend combining SEO and Google Ads to get the best short-term and long-term results. But that also means you need to invest a lot of money upfront.
Final Thoughts
Ranking in the first position of Google SERPs is the holy grail for most businesses, but it’s important to remember that it takes time, effort, and patience.
If you’re starting, you can use Google Ads to buy your way to the top, but we recommend using a combination of both SEO and Google Ads for the best results. This combination is a bulletproof way to achieve long-term success.
Whatever route you decide to take, remember to be patient and keep producing high-quality content, and eventually, you will see your website rank higher in the search results.