When it comes to e-commerce SEO, you’re probably wondering how to measure success. How can you see what’s working, what isn’t, and what is the typical timeline? In this post, I will break down how long it should take you to see results, and what you should be looking for each month.
Measuring SEO Success
How Long Does it Take to See an ROI?
SEO success is generally assessed on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. Why? It’s a long-term strategy that requires time and finesse to generate strong ROI results. Companies can typically expect a negative ROI in the first three-six months of dedicated SEO optimization. Let’s breakdown what a potential SEO ROI timeline looks like:
Months 1-3
During the initial phase of SEO optimization, you will likely be setting the groundwork for more long-term success. Things to review:
- Review your keyword research and ensure the pages are properly optimized for the appropriate keywords.
- Implement site optimizations for your core revenue-generating URLs.
Results to expect:
- You likely will not see a positive ROI or an increase in leads. It is critical to remember these changes are being set for long-term results, not overnight conversions.
Months 4-6
During the next phase, you will begin to perform more focused optimizations for local search and link building. Things to review:
- Ensure your Google My Business listings have been claimed and fully optimized.
- Implement call/lead tracking software to better visualize your sales funnel.
- Devise a backlink and internal link strategy that will help Google search bots better understand the format of your website.
Results to expect:
- Depending on how competitive your industry is, you will likely start to see keywords increasing in both number and rank. You will also begin to see an increase in site traffic around the end of this phase if done properly.
Months 7-12
During these months you should be continuing to optimize for keywords in striking distance, building supportive content to ROI generating products and services, and looking to build quality links from both influencers and credible third-party sites. Things to review:
- What keywords are driving traffic to your site? Are they properly optimized on both your sites and Google Ads?
- Do you have a content strategy that builds upon the keyword growth and increases the number of internal links?
- Is your site experience improving? (Site speed, Mobile Friendliness, 404 errors, etc.)
Results to expect:
- Your number of backlinks should have increased.
- Number of keywords and rank of keywords increased.
- Google should trust your site more and be able to rank your products for increased visibility.
- You should be able to see moderate improvements that lead to an increased number of generated leads, sales and conversions.
Months 12 and Beyond
Every year it is important to perform a complete audit of what you implemented the year prior. These checks will highlight areas of growth, as well as areas you can look to improve. Things to review:
- Website Performance
- Users
- Bounce Rate
- Conversion Rate
- Content
- Technical SEO Elements
- Local Search Performance
- Internal and External Link Analysis
Results to expect: After a full year of SEO optimization, you can expect to see your site improve in brand visibility, brand loyalty, and conversions.
Unfortunately, results are not something you’ll see in one night. It takes time, but most of the best things in life do. As long as you’re tracking your SEO optimization month by month for a year, you should see changes if you’re on the right track. Think you’d like some help with your SEO? Schedule a free consultation with us today and let’s see what we can do for your business!
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Looking for more SEO tips to help you grow your e-commerce business? Check out these posts:
- Getting Started With SEO – How To Identify & Prioritize What To Optimize
- How To Do Keyword Research For An Ecommerce Business
- What Should Your Ecommerce Site Architecture & On Page Optimizations Look Like For Maximum SEO Value
- How To Tackle Technical SEO For Your Ecommerce Business
- Local SEO For Your Business That Sells Through Ecommerce & Retail Locations
- Getting Started With Link Building For Your Ecommerce Business
Greg is the founder and CEO of Stryde and a seasoned digital marketer who has worked with thousands of businesses, large and small, to generate more revenue via online marketing strategy and execution. Greg has written hundreds of blog posts as well as spoken at many events about online marketing strategy. You can follow Greg on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
