Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and Founder of Facebook, is known for the saying, “Done is better than perfect.”
In fact, it epitomizes Facebook’s groundbreaking methodology so well that it’s painted on the walls of their office.
Although it can take years to rank on the first page of Google, once you are there, it becomes harder for others to outrank you.
As such, time is both your friend and enemy, or “frenemy,” when it comes to your SEO.
This is exactly why the idea of “done is better than perfect” holds true when you’re designing a website for a law firm or title agency.
“I’m a perfectionist” or “I don’t have the time!”
So many companies want to delay their website project in order to find more time, that perfect homepage picture or hire a photographer to take employee headshots.
These are nice things to have, but they are not critical in Google’s eyes.
In fact, aesthetic choices won’t get your website closer to the first page of Google.
That’s why it’s almost always in your best interest to launch a website, even if it is missing a page or two that you’d like to have, then correct your course as needed.
Now, I’m sure the Type A personalities out there are seeing huge flashing alarms and panic buttons at the idea of publishing something that’s less than utmost perfection – but bear with me…
Ranking well on Google takes time, and you can’t start that process until your website is live. In fact, the sooner Google can index your site, the sooner you can dominate its search results.
Enter the Google Sandbox…
Because Google’s algorithm is based on keywords, location, and other ranking systems, it may sound like an easy gig for a spammer to create a website chock-full of keywords and other SEO mumbo-jumbo that catapults enhancement ads to the top search engine results.
But as they’ve proven time and time again, the folks at Google are pretty smart. Although it’s never been officially acknowledged by Google, the “Sandbox effect” is a trend SEO specialists noticed when creating new websites.
Brand new websites tend to have trouble ranking well in their first few months, even if they’re doing everything right with their SEO practices.
The “Sandbox” period can last anywhere from a couple of months to over a year, as Google’s algorithms try to work out how legitimate a website is and where to rank it.
The Google Sandbox is an effective way to combat spam sites, but it can be frustrating for businesses that are trying to judge the success of a new website shortly after launch.
In the Sandbox system, time is a helpful friend that puts new sites on probation – but it can also be a bit of an enemy, since your site has to go through probation, too.
Remember that there is a silver lining to time
When it comes to SEO, time is your friend as well.
Once your site reaches the hallowed first page of Google, it becomes more difficult for other websites to outrank yours. This is based on the amount of time your website has been live, combined with many other SEO factors like having a website that is secure and mobile-friendly, among other things.
Google also tracks the amount of time visitors spend on your web pages, which is why rich, informational content like blog posts and videos, related to your practice or service areas will also help your search rankings.
Once you’ve made your way out of the Google Sandbox, and the algorithm has determined that your website is legitimate, provides good info to visitors, and has been around long enough to carry its own weight, you have the ultimate toolkit to land on that coveted first page.
So whether it takes a handful of months or a couple of years to get there, once your website is where you want it to be, it’s much harder for a whippersnapper website to overturn the throne. And believe me – when it comes to search engine rankings, it’s good to be king.
So how long does it actually take to rank?
It depends! Here at TitleTap, we’ve found that over 90% of websites we host rank on the first page of Google. This is not common with other general web agencies because it largely in part to the industry-specific content and features we provide – not just the fact that we both build websites.
This is like assuming a Kia and a Tesla are the same thing because they are both cars. Both will get you from point A to point B, but only one of them will go 0 to 60 MPH in 2.3 seconds.
Keep in mind that although these numbers are common on our platform, they not guaranteed. Search rankings can vary based on many factors outside our control such as market, timing, back links to your website, company name, competition and much more.
The point is we’ve learned that the sooner you launch your website, the sooner it can make its way through Google’s algorithm to that glorious first page of search results.
So if you’re stuck deciding whether to build a new website now or wait until the timing is right, remember – time is the “frenemy” of search engine optimization.
Choose now over later and today over tomorrow so that search engines can start indexing your site right away. Then make tweaks as you go.
Is your title company or law firm’s website ready for a redesign? Do you want to take your title agency or law firm’s marketing to the next level without allocating more people? Take a tour to learn what TitleTap can do for your business!