How Soon Your Post Will Take To Rank – 5 Crucial Factors

Front page rankings are the holy grail in content marketing. Everyone wants to know how soon your post will take to rank on the first page. They are the pinnacle of success everyone’s gunning for.

It is the golden key to recurring traffic and a constant flow of inbound leads on autopilot. The best part?

Not only is search marketing recurring, but it also lowers your Cost Per Lead (CPL) significantly and gathers more steam with time.

With the #1 organic result 10x more likely to get a click compared to a page in the #10 spot, today’s SEO landscape is a high stake winner-takes-all game. Either you win big or get nothing. Nada, zero, zilch.

This begs the question.

What does it take to rank an article?

In this post, I’ll walk you through 5 essential factors that dictate how long it will take for a blog post to rank on Google.

But first, let’s answer the question on every marketer’s lips…

How Many Days Does It Take For An Article To Rank First Page?

Well, it depends on who you ask.

To give you an idea, this is how long it’ll take you to get first-page rankings according to some respected voices in online marketing:

• how long does it take to rank (61-182 days)
• Neil Patel (100 days)
• Search Engine Journal (120 days)
• Cognitive SEO<(90-180 days)

As you can see, on average across all sources it takes 75-145 days (3-5 months) for a page to rank in search engines.

Therefore, don’t expect quick results. Be patient because it takes a while for the search engine wheels to turn.

That said, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how soon your post will take to rank.

#1. Content Quality

Let’s be clear about one thing from the onset.

Google doesn’t rank trash content. Well, usually. ?

To rise in search engines, produce top-notch content. Many marketers and SEOs take content for granted and focus mostly on other silky techniques to hike their rankings.

The result? Utter failure.

Here’s the thing:

Without a firm foundation of stellar content, forget about top-page rankings.

This brings us to the question: What is quality content?

Here are 6 attributes of top-grade content that pleases people and courts search engines fast:

1. Written for people, not search engines.
   Powerful content rests on the people-first foundation. It’s targeted at people, not search engines because search engines were created to serve people, not vice versa. If you obsess over search engines, you’ll produce a ridiculous copy that turns people off. Write for people first, and optimize for search engines later.
2. Be useful and engaging.
   People gather around, talk about, and share content that meets their needs. When that happens, search spiders wake up and jump into action. The user is at the heart of the content creation process.
3. Brings something new to the table.
   Solid content addresses old subjects in new ways. Google disfavors those who rehash what everyone else is saying. Why must Google promote your content if it adds nothing new and exciting to the conversation?
4. Matches search intent.
   When a user types a query into a search engine they are hunting for something specific. They want content that answers their questions definitively. Such content does well in search engines.
5. Designed for delicious consumption.
   What use is your content if visitors don’t enjoy consuming it? To make your content user-friendly improve readability through short paragraphs and organize it around a clear easy-to-follow hierarchy. Include remarkable visuals to enhance understanding. Don’t block content with huge pop-ups. 
   
6. Credible and supported by data.
   These days everyone has an opinion because the internet has given everyone a platform to express themselves. But only brands whose content is data-based will be respected. Solidify your content with original research and stats from reputable sources.

In short, content that focuses on users’ needs wins.

Google sums it up well.
“Designing your site around your visitors’ needs while making sure your site is easily accessible to search engines usually produces positive results.”
Without the backbone of exceptional content, no SEO ninja tricks from all the experts will save you.

You will be invisible online. You’ll remain stuck on page 101 if nobody clicks. You’ll think the Google gods have forsaken you.

Therefore, don’t stint on content writing resources. You have three options. Learn how to do copywriting and do the writing yourself. Or hire a professional copywriter to do the heavy lifting.

You can also rope in a reputable agency. If you don’t do that, all you’ll get is garbage content no sane human wants to read.

Next, domain authority is also key.

#2. Domain Authority

Your website’s authority plays a major role in how soon your posts can rank.

The higher your Domain Authority (DA) the easier and faster it is for you to rank—and the lower your DA the tougher and longer it’ll take you to show up in search engines.

Domain Authority is a measure of a site’s strength and likelihood to rank in search engines based largely on the quality of the website’s backlink profile and other factors.

A study by Ahrefs showed that sites with a higher Domain Rating (Ahrefs equivalent of Domain Authority) rank for significantly more keywords than those with lower authority.

It’s an undeniable fact: popular sites rank for more keywords faster than less established sites.

A quick Google search confirms these findings. Here are the results for the ‘SEO guide’ via Ahrefs.

The average DR of sites ranking for this keyword is 89.

If your site is DR40 or lower, trying to rank for this highly competitive keyword is futile. It’s a steep, tortuous uphill climb that’ll end in tears. Yes, there are outliers. David can sometimes defeat Goliath.

But you are better off targeting a low-competition keyword to enhance your chances. Plus, make sure the leading pack has a website authority that’s closer to yours. Then you’d be within striking range.

Quick Tips To Bump Up Your Domain Authority

Wondering how to boost your website authority?

Here’s a quick rundown of what you can do.

• Pay close attention to on-page SEO
  Optimize the title tags, write an interesting meta description, use proper hierarchical structure in your headings  H1, H2, and H3, and work on the readability of your posts. Compress your images and write good alt tags for them.
• Make sure your technical SEO is on point
  Optimizerobots.txt settings, XML sitemap, migrate to HTTPS, find and correct crawl errors, identify and fix broken links, and remove toxic links from your site. Setting up your site infrastructure correctly allows search engines to crawl and index your web pages more efficiently.
• Get your off-page SEO right
  Conduct blogger outreach to get sites in your niche to link to your content, guest blog on household sites, get mostly do-follow links, do competitor link analysis, and diversify your anchor text.
• Produce excellent link-worthy content
  Craft useful in-depth content, fine-tune your content for a great user experience, support your views with credible sources, and add stunning visuals. Or, try infographics because they’re excellent link magnets.
• Improve your site’s speed
  Use a hosting company that prioritizes speed, compresses all images, uses browser caching, reduces redirects, improves initial server response time, minifies CSS, JavaScript, and HTML, and delete unused plugins.

In short, a strong website gives you a head start in the ranking race.

#3. Links, links, links

Third, links are also a powerful ranking element.

Confession time.

When I started on my content marketing journey 8+ years ago, I thought attaining rankings would be a breeze. I’d write excellent content, hit publish, and wait in eager expectation for the post to pop up magically on the front page.

Guess what?! It never happened. ?

Little did I know that for your post to rank, you need links—lots of them. Links are one of the top 3 ranking factors. So, to fast-track your post to the top of SERPs, build many links to it.

4 Link Factors You Must Balance For How Soon Your Post Will Take To Rank

When building links to your posts, there are elements you must consider otherwise you won’t see results.

Four factors play a key role in link building.

1. Link quantity
Google views pages with more links as more trustworthy and valuable than those with fewer links. Therefore, the more links you garner, the more ground you gain in the ranking race.

With no links pointing to your article, your content remains stuck in the starting blocks.

2. Link quality
It’s not enough just to get many links, the links must be of high quality. A few well-chosen links from authoritative sites will have more impact on your rankings than a ton of crappy links from low-ranked sites.

Spammy links will hurt your site, not help it.

3. Relevance of link

Not only do search engines prefer many A-grade links, but they must also be super relevant to your topic and niche. Say you run a photography site.

A juicy DA90 link from a car racing site won’t do you any good, but a DA50 link from a respected photography news and trends site would.

4. Link uniqueness
You get more value when you get backlinks from new sites than getting several links from the same site.

Earning a link from a new referring domain that has never linked to you before is better than a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th backlink from a previously linked site.

Rock-solid Link Building Tips For Higher Rankings

Yes, links are prime for ranking quickly, but how do you get them?

Here are several techniques to hike the number of unique referring domains to your website.

• Guest posting
  Write for niche sites with a decent DA and link to your content in the post’s body or bio.
• Generate blog posts with experts
  Write expert roundup posts where you feature contributions from experts in your niche. Influential contributors will promote the post widely or even link to it.
• Roundups contributions
  Contribute to expert roundup posts in your industry and get links from many sites.
• Testimonials
  Give stellar testimonials about the tools you use and get a link back to your site.
• Directories
  Submit your site to several website directories.
• Linkable assets
  Write outstanding content that’s the best resource out there on a given topic and get links organically or use the content as a focal point in blogger outreach.

For your content to gain traction in search engines, you must get many high-grade links.

#4. Social Signals to Help on How Soon Your Post Will Take to Rank on the Front Page

Next, let’s look at social signals

These days social media is part of the marketing mix as it helps with your business’s online visibility. Although the official line from Google is that social signals aren’t a ranking factor, evidence on the ground suggests otherwise.

Studies like the one below from Cognitive SEO reveal a clear connection between shares and rankings.

Content that ranks well in search engines tends to have high social shares.

Yes, correlation does not suggest causation. But while shares may not directly impact rankings, it’s clear they contribute indirectly.

Two simple ways shares drive rankings:

1. When you increase the reach of your content, your traffic increases. Search engines view sites with a lot of traffic more favorably.
2. Again, the more people see your content, the higher the possibility some of them will link to it organically.

How To Get More Social Shares Fast

So, how do you get your content to spread like bees over honey and dominate threads on social media platforms?

Here are some proven strategies to try.

• Shareworthy content– your content must be worth sharing and engaging. Craft educational, inspirational, and entertaining content people love to spread.
• Shareable content– focus on e.g. list posts, how-to articles, controversial content, and visual content like infographics.
• Share buttons– have prominent and beautiful share buttons on your pages to make it easy for readers to share your content.
• Channel optimization- use unique copy and images tailor-made for each social media channel instead of one generic copy/image.
• Incentives– give readers a reason to share your content by offering them something valuable e.g. free ebook, free book chapter, early access to your tool, etc.
• Paid promotion– spread your contest faster through paid promotion on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook ads. Plus, use content promotion tools like Viral Content Bee, Quuu Promote, and more.
• Niche communities– promote your content and be active in niche communities like Growth Hackers.
• Hashtags use hashtag generator tools to find the best hashtags for the platforms frequented by your target audience. Then people will find your content organically and spread it further.

Of course, when your content pops up on many social media channels at once, people (and Google) take notice.

#5. Budget Size

Finally, your budget counts in the battle for rankings and how soon your post will take to rank.

Sometimes, all things being equal, it all boils down to the size of your budget.

Therefore, the equation is simple:

Big war chest = Big Spoils

Furthermore, brands with vast resources to spend on a campaign outrank those with limited reserves.

How can they do it?

They can:

• Hire the best writers on the market and get higher-quality content.
• Build more links to their content assets faster through link-building outreach specialists—it’s the difference between 30 links and 1 link per month.
• Get countless links through massive Public Relations campaigns.
• Create exquisite images and design their content better by hiring professional designers.
• Promote their content using multiple paid content tools.

If your budget allows, pay your way to the top by investing in the finest of everything.

Front Page Rankings: Tough But Worth It and See How Soon Your Post Will Take To Rank!

In summary, getting rankings isn’t as easy as it was before.

But with some smart work, you can do it. Admittedly, top-page rankings are not an exact science.

And these are only a few of the hundreds of ranking factors in Google’s complex algorithm, but they are some of the major ones.

However, all you have to do is follow these 5 simple steps:

1. Produce exceptional content.
2. Boost your website’s authority.
3. Build quality links to your content.
4. Promote your content consistently.
5. Invest in top writers, PR, and more.

Final Note on How Soon Your Post Will Take To Rank in the Search Engines

Now, use these tips to climb steadily through the rankings and reap the rewards of increased traffic, leads, and sales.

We will meet you on the front page of Google.

Have you often wondered how soon your post will take to rank? We would love to know more in the comments below on how your blog posts are ranking today!

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Qhubekani Nyathi

According to his cheeky wife, Qhubekani Nyathi aka The Click Guy is irresistibly handsome. He’s an offbeat certified freelance SEO content writer who crafts zingy pillar content that ranks, drives traffic, and leads for B2B SaaS, Marketing, and eCommerce companies. He contributes to prestigious blogs like Search Engine Watch, Crazy Egg, Clickz, Get Response, and Smart Blogger.

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• How Soon Your Post Will Take To Rank – 5 Crucial Factors - September 16, 2020