Local Search: Are We There Yet?
The question “How long does it take to rank in local search?” is a frequent question we field and the answer is about as complicated as your teenage daughter! Our data was found through a Bright Local study released August 1st and we have summarized it for you!
Definition of ‘significant ranking &/or performance improvement’?
A clear improvement in either search ranking &/or clicks that leads to increased lead generation, which can be attributed to the optimization work being done.
According to a panel of SEO experts there are a lot of variables that attribute to rank such as:
Scenario 1
- How long your business has had an online presence
- o Competitive sector & location: 78% 3-9 months to achieve significant rankings
- o Non-competitive sector & location: 100% say generally it will take no more than 9 months to achieve significant ranking
Scenario 2
- Site with some previous optimization
- o Competitive sector & location: 89% 3-9 months to achieve significant rankings
- o Non-competitive sector & location: 94% say generally it will take 1-6 months to achieve significant rankings
Scenario 3
- Previous, poor optimization
- o Competitive sector & location: 83% 3-12 months to achieve significant rankings
- o Non-competitive sector & location: 61% say generally it will 3-6 months to achieve significant ranking
Scenario 4
- A site that has been hit with a penalty
- o Competitive sector & location: 76% 3-12 months for a website to reappear after a manual penalty while 24% say a website can return within 2 months
Scenario 5
- An existing client stops investing in SEO
- o Within 1-2 months there is very little change
- o After 3-6 months without any local optimization, the first significant drop in rankings will occur (20%)
To read the FULL ARTICLE click here!