Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was Nike, Apple, Facebook, or any other brand with which you’re familiar. And while patience is a virtue, it’s also a tough pill to swallow at times. But, just like medicine, a little bit of patience can make all the difference.

This is especially true when it comes to content marketing. But why is this the case?

Why Content Marketing Takes Time

One of the biggest reasons why it takes time for content marketing to yield results is the sheer size of the internet. The amount of data currently present on the web is estimated at over 4.4 Zettabytes (ZB). For those of us who aren’t data scientists, a ZB is 2 to the 70th power bytes. Or, 1021 (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) bytes.

What’s more, is that over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day. At this rate, analysts expect the internet’s size to reach 175 ZB by 2025.

Suffice it to say, the internet is big and getting bigger every second. So, you can imagine how difficult the job of Google (and other search engines) is to sift through all of that data and return high-quality results to every user’s specific search.

So how does Google make sure the results that show up on the first page are quality sites? One of the key ways they do it is by placing pages that have a history of putting out quality content. The result of this methodology is that new sites and pages can take a while before they start placing highly enough on SERPs (search engine result pages) to bring in visitors searching for related products, services, or information.

This begs the question: how long does it take to place highly on SERPs?

How Long Does it Take to Rank on Google?

The real answer to this question is, unfortunately: it depends. However, detailed analysis like this report from Ahrefs gives us a good idea of what to reasonably expect. The results of their study show that the average top ten ranking pages are over 2 years old, with pages taking the coveted top spot being an average of 3 years old.

Perhaps more telling than those numbers is the fact that out of all the top 10 ranked pages they analyzed, only 22% got there in under a year. Diving deeper, the data shows that only 5.7% of all newly published pages that make it to the top 10 do so in a year or less. And even those 5.7% of pages that do make it within a year still take around 2-6 months to do so.

Suffice it to say that content marketing takes time to produce results. However, this doesn’t mean your content is just sitting there uselessly as it waits for Google to improve its ranking and start getting views.

How Can Content Marketing Provide Immediate Value?

While content marketing can take a long time to start getting good results on SERPs, that doesn’t mean it’s useless during that time. Effective content establishes your business as an expert, solidifying your brand’s identity in the minds of your customers.

While it may take time for the content to start generating natural traffic, you can still leverage the content itself to provide value, entertainment, and connections to your growing audience. One of the greatest aspects of content marketing is the content itself acts as a touchpoint between your customers and your brand. And it can act as a tool for strengthening bonds of trust while confirming your organization’s authority in your industry.

Content marketing is a great tool that works beautifully in tandem with your other marketing efforts, whether that’s social media or paid advertising. Great content functions as a way for your audience to get to know and trust you and your brand. And while it may take a while before it starts generating natural traffic to your site, new content drops provide the perfect opportunity for improving your standing and engaging new and existing customers.

At Cardinal, we believe every organization deserves to be seen. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our digital marketing services.