One of the greatest misconceptions about SEO is that it is a short-term race that needs to be completed quickly in a matter of weeks or months. But that is not the case. SEO is a marathon.
Just like every business, SEO must be part of the long-term project.
In this article, you’ll understand how and why SEO is a marathon. This will definitely change how you implement your SEO strategies and how you view it as a whole.
Why SEO Is A Marathon
By now, you must know that there are different types of search engines and SEO. But in this context, we’ll focus primarily on Google’s Search Engine Optimization.
Everything About SEO takes time
One of the main reasons why SEO is a marathon is that it takes time in every aspect – I mean every single aspect of it. See some instances below.
A new site cannot get indexed immediately on Google. It takes time. Moreover, it takes time for such new sites to show up on Google for their branded keywords.
Even for non-branded keywords, any new site cannot get indexed or rank for them until after several months of publishing consistently.
New sites need to gain Google’s trust before being rewarded with more search traffic gradually.
What this means is that even if you have the best content on the internet about a certain key phrase, it won’t rank high on the search engine simply because Google trusts other (older) sites better.
In my opinion, though, this is one of the reasons I think Google’s search engine is very much biased and unfair. It defies the need to write ‘better’ content since a bigger site that Google trusts better would always rank higher.
Understanding this simple principle that Google SEO takes time would save you a lot of stress. For example, it will save you from needlessly trying to inflate your Domain Authority score, thinking Google would reward you for that.
Publishing regularly is a good way to start earning Google’s trust gradually. But apart from your content, what earns you Google’s trust most is coincidentally the most difficult part of SEO.
Google Core Updates
Google’s regular (core) updates is another reminder that SEO is a marathon, not a race.
Google makes updates to its search algorithm regularly but core updates happen twice or thrice a year.
In the time past, all you needed to rank higher on the search engine was to get all kinds of links from any site, whether they are relevant or not.
Some even went as far as starting PBNs – Private Blog Networks.
Just one core update changed everything. Some sites went from 500k organic traffic per month to just 50.
Another recent example is Google’s recent helpful content update which fights AI-content sites.
Some sites have suffered a significant loss of organic traffic ever since the update.
The bottom line here is that if you see SEO as a marathon, you’ll avoid all shady or Black-hat SEO practices.
Great content and White Hat SEO is always best. It will always stay winning no matter the update from Google.
Final Thought
Always keep it at the back of your mind that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Understanding that everything about SEO takes time and that Google’s updates would catch up with shady practices would help us to be successful over time.
Your ability to stay consistent in publishing great content despite thick and thin is something Google would eventually reward over time.
Also, understand that every site has its own time. All sites cannot grow at the same pace or time because of various factors.
In essence, all of these factors outlined above are the reason why you must think of SEO as a marathon – a long-term game.
