Most people who have either tried SEO (search engine optimization) on their own or have hired a firm to do it for them have learned that it is tough to achieve significant results for competitive keyword phrases and that it take a considerable amount of time.
It’s a commonly known fact the technology makes most tasks easier, but it actually makes search engine optimization more difficult. It’s not a direct result though, instead it’s because technology is making it easier than ever to launch a website and start doing business online, and as a result competition is increased. This can be a significant issue in the more common niches, and sometimes less of an issue in the smaller more focused niches, but it is an ever increasing factor in almost all niches.
How competitive is the niche that you’re competing in? You can find out by doing a quick Google search for some of the keyword phrases that are relevant to your business; look at the top right side of the page (see the example for the keyword phrase “marketing company” below).
Generally, 0 to 250,000 competing pages is low competition, 250,000 to 1,000,000 is moderate competition, 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 is relatively high competition, and anything over 5,000,000 competing pages is ultra-competitive. If you keep an eye on these numbers over time, you’ll notice that they are continually growing, which means that ranking for a particular keyword phrase will become increasingly more difficult over time. This is why it’s important to start (and maintain) your search engine optimization campaign now instead of waiting. Otherwise, you’re giving your competitors, some of which may not even exist yet, a serious advantage over you.
