Why SEO is Slow but Worth It

Published September 19, 2025

The truth no one wants to hear

SEO is like planting a stubborn tree. Weeks of nothing. Then a twig. Then one day… shade. Not magic, just compounding doing its boring, beautiful thing.

If you need results by Friday, SEO won’t save you. But if you’re trying to make your future self’s life easier? This is the game.

Short-term oxygen vs. long-term gravity

You need both. Oxygen today, gravity tomorrow.

Short-term oxygen:

Social posts that punch above their weight
Launches: Product Hunt, Reddit, a friendly newsletter cameo
Partnerships: one co-marketing email can beat a month of tweets
Sales work: DMs, demos, actual conversations (wild!)

Long-term gravity:

Search pages mapped to real intent (problem pages, tool pages, comparisons)
Update cycles that keep winners fresh
Internal links that pass juice where it matters
A content cadence you can do tired on a Tuesday

What “slow” really means (calibrate your clock)

New domains: 3–6 months for movement, 6–12 for steady rankings
Competitive terms: 6–18 months unless you’ve got authority already
Evergreen posts: small lifts monthly, big lifts quarterly

Not a law. Just the vibe of the internet. Expectation-setting keeps you sane.

What to publish (and why)

Problem pages: “How to X without Y” — captures early intent
Comparison pages: “X vs Y” — catches shoppers mid-decision
Alternatives pages: “Best alternatives to X” — high-intent, low patience
Integrations/connectors: tiny pages, sneaky strong
Case notes: one-page writeups with screenshots, not PR fluff

Some will flop. That’s fine. You only need a few compounding pieces to carry the rest.

Mid-game: juice your flywheel

Refresh top performers every 60–90 days (new examples, FAQs, screenshots)
Add 2–3 internal links from older posts whenever you publish something new
Ship a lightweight tool or calculator to earn natural links over time
Use descriptive anchors, not “click here” (your future self thanks you)

And if you’re chasing the scary terms, understand how to actually rank competitive keywords. It’s not hacks. It’s patience, updates, and a few solid backlinks.

How to survive the first 90 days

Set weekly inputs (2 pages, 5 internal links, 1 refresh). Ignore the scoreboard for a while.
Track leading indicators: impressions, position trend, SERP coverage. Not just clicks.
Keep shipping distribution: 1 partner, 1 post, 1 email. Don’t starve the project while SEO warms up.

When to double down vs. pivot

Doubling down: impressions up, average position rising, a few keywords breaking onto page one
Pivoting: no movement after 90 days on multiple pages in the same cluster — try a new cluster or narrower intent
Killing: a page that never gets impressions after 6 months — fold it into a stronger sibling

Final note

If you want SEO that compounds while you build the rest of your business, pace yourself and pick your battles. We share bite-sized playbooks and keep you honest on the inputs at Indie10k. Come for the tactics; stay for the momentum.