What is a realistic time frame for a first page search result?

[SeoGeek]

I'm using normal SEO strategies with articles and backlinks and I'm going for key words that don't appear to be competitive. If I keep up my daily SEO strategy, how long is a realistic time frame that I'd be looking at to reach the first page organically on Google? I'm thinking 6 months time. Does that sound right?

[chrishirst]

maybe.

Maybe even quicker.

Or it could be never!

BTW Articles and backlinks are only the "normal atrategies" of wannabee SEOs and the clueless no-hopers.

[SEFL]

What Hirst said.

Your biggest problem, and the reason you ended up here, is that you're trying to find universal answers that don't exist to questions that shouldn't be asked (such as this one). "First page ranking" contains too many variables to possibly predict when or even if you'll achieve it in one or more instances. It also relies on rank checking, which is at best a complete waste of time.

Ask yourself this...why are you writing articles? If you're writing them for SEM purposes (as about 99.999% of the crowd does), you're diluting what is already a watered-down "article information base" and you're not really helping your own cause.

You need to stop doing what you're told to do just because you're told to do it. If you do ti because it's "normal SEO strategy", how are you making yourself any different? Where is your unique selling propostion? How are YOU, as in YOU personally, standing out from the crowd?

If you can't stop doing what you're told to do, or if you can't think for yourself and come up with some original strategies and/or marketing plans that work for YOU without hurting others, then you're in the wrong line of work.

[Connie]

I agree with what Chris, and Adam told you.

I'm not a professional SEO. I have made a living on the web for 10 years with one e-commerce website.

Personally I do not see article writing, or link building as a SEO strategy. It could be considered as a marketing strategy, but IMHO there is a difference.

It is possible that they could help you in ranking. Then again they might never help you with the SEs. If those efforts produce targeted traffic, what difference does it make if they help you with the SEs?

As Chris pointed out there is no set time frame, in which any one thing you do might shoot you to the first page of the results, or drop you from the first page.

Years ago Google in particular only crawled the web every few months and that was known as the "Google Dance". Results were only updated every few months.

Today Google crawls and updates the results daily (Sometimes hourly). Unfortunately a lot of advice you find on the web is still based on the "Google Dance" which no longer exist. I think that is where the idea came from that it takes 6 months to see results.

[SeoGeek]

Oh thanks for your reply, one thing what i noticed in this forum is I get most of the answers from the moderators than the other members.

[Connie]

Originally Posted by SeoGeek

Oh thanks for your reply, one thing what i noticed in this forum is I get most of the answers from the moderators than the other members.

So who do you want answers from? People who have years of online experience or people who who don't have a clue?

I move a lot of post and replies because they are not helpful, and were made to drop a link which is against our forum guidelines.

[SEFL]

Originally Posted by SeoGeek

Oh thanks for your reply, one thing what i noticed in this forum is I get most of the answers from the moderators than the other members.

That's because most people either lurk looking for the golden nugget/magic bullet answer or are here to self-promote. What you're finding is actually fairly typical among forum boards...you get a relatively small proportion of people who have knowledge and will impart it, a somewhat larger crowd of people either legitimately looking for help and that will at least pay it forward, and an even larger crowd again that takes the knowledge acquired and harvests it, creating an "information dead end" of sorts.

The only difference here is that the owner of this board (when he's available...right now he's got some other things to deal with) recognizes the first group and promotes them as a reward for good behavior.

[SeoGeek]

oh that's ok