At the top of Google. Recommended by AI.

Short answer: no. We also perform SEO and GEO on other systems — but not on every system.

We only begin a project on a system that we expect to function reasonably well. Some packages do not technically allow what is necessary to rank: you cannot enter proper page titles, loading times cannot be influenced, the URL structure is fixed, or the generated code is not easily readable for search engines and AI assistants.

If that is the case, we will say so in advance and we will not start. Pushing against a foundation that does not cooperate for years costs more than a new base and yields less.

What this means for your lead time:

• Healthy existing system — we can start immediately; standard timeframes apply.
• Maintenance backlog — repair first, expect one to three months of cleaning up. The clock for results only starts after that.
• Technically unsuitable system — there is no lead time because we do not start. First a new foundation, then we talk about marketing.

Why we most often recommend WordPress ourselves: you hold the key. No subscription where your content is locked in, full control over technology and structure, and the freedom to switch to another provider without starting over.

Unpleasant news to hear, but better than having to explain a year later why no progress is being made.

Short answer: the first visible improvements usually occur between six and twelve weeks. Structural growth is built over six to twelve months. This is an average—and an average says little about your specific situation.

How quickly it progresses for you depends mainly on three things:

• Is there a maintenance backlog? A site that hasn’t been maintained for years often has outdated plugins, slow loading times, broken links, and security risks. In such cases, the work doesn’t start with growth, but with restoration: expect one to three months of cleanup. The good news is that catching up often yields quick wins because low-hanging fruit has been left behind.
• What is the current status of your site? A healthy existing site gains traction faster because the foundation is solid. A new domain must first build trust with Google and simply needs time for that.
• How high is the competition? This makes the difference between weeks and years. Locally and specifically (“heat pump installer Zaandam”), you can compete within a few months. Nationally and commercially (“refinancing a mortgage”), twelve to eighteen months is normal.

Roughly, per situation:

• Healthy existing site, local: first signs after 4–8 weeks, serious growth after 3–6 months.
• Existing site with a backlog: first signs after 2–4 months (after the restoration work), serious growth after 6–9 months.
• Completely new site or new domain: first signs after 3–6 months, serious growth after 9–18 months.

The type of improvement also determines the pace. Technical fixes such as speed and indexing often take effect within days to a few weeks. Content and structure take weeks to months. Building authority—mentions, links, brand awareness—takes months to years, and is simultaneously the most sustainable layer.

What you won’t get from me is a guarantee in the form of “position 1 within three months.” That certainty does not exist: your competitors are not standing still either, and Google adjusts its algorithm several times a year. What you will get: a monthly report in plain language detailing what has been done, what has changed in the figures, and what is scheduled for next month—including what was disappointing. And if the measurable signals are not moving in the right direction after about three months, I will sound the alarm myself.

Short answer: a great deal. Competition makes the difference between a few weeks and a year and a half.

SEO is not an exam with a fixed standard, but a comparison. Google places your page alongside all other pages targeting the same keyword. The tougher that company is, the longer it takes before you can compete.

• Local and specific — “hairdresser Amsterdam East”, “heat pump installer Zaandam”: here you can truly compete within a few months. Often, the competitors are small businesses that do little with their websites.
• Regional or niche-oriented: count on six to nine months before the trend becomes structural.
• National and commercial — “refinance mortgage”, “business car lease”: these involve parties with large budgets, dedicated editorial teams, and years of authority. Twelve to eighteen months is normal in these cases.

In that last category, a frontal attack is rarely the smartest move. A more specific entry point — a subtopic, a region, a target group — usually generates customers faster and more affordably than hammering away at a single expensive keyword for years.

That is why I always first look at who is currently at the top and what weight that party brings to the table. If the conclusion is that a certain keyword is currently out of reach, I will tell you — and provide a more realistic alternative.

Linkbuilding is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. Such a link acts as a digital recommendation – as if another party is saying: “This source is trustworthy.” Search engines like Google use this signal to determine how relevant and valuable your website is. However, it hasn’t been about getting as many links as possible for a long time. It is about quality, relevance, and authority.

Why is linkbuilding still important?

A good backlink – for example, from a professional blog, partner company, or industry association – shows search engines that you matter in your sector. This strengthens both your online visibility and your credibility. Furthermore, it often generates direct traffic from people who are actively looking for your services.

What actually works (and what no longer does)?

• ✅ Quality over quantity: Better to have one strong link from a relevant website than ten from unknown or irrelevant sources.
• ✅ Relevant context: A link must make sense to the reader and align with the content of your offering.
• ✅ Creating link-worthy content: Think of practical guides, industry insights, or, for example, your own research.
• ❌ Avoid shortcuts: Buying links, link directories full of spam, or large-scale link exchanges? Don’t do it. Google sees right through them effortlessly.

How do you approach linkbuilding smartly?

It starts with strong content: something people want to share. A clear explanation, a current white paper, or a well-founded article often earns links naturally. Subsequently, you can actively approach relevant websites. For instance, with a personal message or a guest blog proposal.

🎯 Get started smarter with seo.eqwise.nl

Of course, you can do your best manually, but why make it difficult for yourself? With seo.eqwise.nl, you gain access to a professional SEO platform that allows you to:

• 🔗 Map out your own link profile: which backlinks do you have, what is their value, and where are the risks?
• 🕵️ Analyze your competitors’ link profiles: discover why they rank better than you – and learn from it.
• 📈 Plan targeted actions: from identifying link opportunities to following up on your linkbuilding campaigns in clear reports.

With seo.eqwise.nl, you can see at a glance what is happening, where you are falling behind, and where your growth opportunities lie. And the best part? You don’t have to be an SEO specialist to work with it.

💡 Try it for free?

Curious about the state of your link profile? Request a free trial period via the contact form on our website. We are happy to help you get started.

Finally: is linkbuilding still worth it?

Absolutely. But it is no longer about “just collecting many links.” Linkbuilding is a strategic game of building trust, projecting authority, and offering value. Focus on content, relationships, and quality. With the right tools and approach, linkbuilding becomes a powerful part of your SEO strategy once again.

CTR stands for Click-Through Rate and is the ratio between the number of times an advertisement or search result is displayed and the number of times it is clicked. The average CTR for Google Ads (formerly AdWords) and organic search results provides an indication of how many people click on search terms and which results they select.

Below are several studies describing the average CTR for Google Ads and organic search results:

• A 2018 study by WordStream shows that the average CTR for Google Ads in the United States is 3.17% for search ads and 0.46% for display ads. The study is based on data from more than 14,000 WordStream clients. Source: wordstream.com
• Another study by Ignite Visibility from 2020 shows that the average CTR for organic search results is 43% for the first position, 37% for the second position, 30% for the third position, and 3% for the tenth position. Source: ignitevisibility.com

It is important to note that these figures are averages and that the CTR can vary depending on the specific search query and industry. It is also essential to optimize both organic search and Google Ads to achieve the best results and create a balanced online marketing strategy.

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing a website’s content and technical aspects to improve search engine rankings. This includes using relevant keywords in the content, optimizing meta tags, improving website usability, and reducing page load times.

Other on-page SEO factors include website structure, internal linking, and content quality. By optimizing these factors, a website can achieve higher rankings in search results.

Off-page SEO is less controllable. Off-page SEO is the practice of optimizing a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) by improving external factors that influence search engine algorithms. This includes building backlinks from other websites to yours, increasing brand awareness and social media engagement, and improving the website’s overall online presence and authority. These activities aim to increase the number and quality of links to a website, which search engines use as a signal of the website’s authority and relevance.

It is difficult to provide a specific percentage of users who refuse to click on AdWords advertisements, as this depends on various factors such as the industry, the keyword, and the ad position. However, various studies show that a portion of users avoids advertisements and prefers organic search results.

Below are three studies from recent years that show how many users avoid AdWords advertisements:

• In 2019, SEO tool provider Moz published a study showing that approximately 24% of users clicked on AdWords advertisements in the United States. The study was based on data from approximately 1,000 searches.
• A 2018 study by marketing agency Clutch found that approximately 46% of people do not click on an advertisement when searching on a search engine. The study was based on a survey of 506 people in the United States.
• According to a 2017 study by Nielsen Norman Group, approximately 10% of users clicked on advertisements in search engines, while the remaining 90% clicked on organic search results. The study was based on eye-tracking data from 471 searches.

It is important to note that these percentages provide a general overview and can vary depending on the specific search query and industry. However, AdWords remains an effective way to generate traffic to a website, especially as part of a balanced online marketing strategy.

However, click-through rates fluctuate regularly. For those who would like more insight into this: read this article by Moz.

Short answer: overdue maintenance. In practice, this is the biggest bottleneck and, at the same time, the most underestimated.

A WordPress site that hasn’t been maintained for two or three years often has outdated plugins, slow loading times, broken links, security risks, and a theme that no longer aligns with modern standards. Optimizing on such a foundation is like mopping the floor with the tap running: Google has more difficulty reading the site, visitors drop off sooner, and every improvement you implement is partially undermined by the underlying issues.

That is why, in such a situation, the work does not begin with growth, but with restoration. Expect one to three months of cleaning up before optimization can have any effect at all. It is unpleasant news, but better than hearing afterwards why progress is stalling.

The good news: catching up often yields quick wins. There is usually years of low-hanging fruit waiting—pages without titles, three-megabyte images, and pages that Google doesn’t see at all. Repairing these can sometimes make a measurable difference within weeks.

Other common delays: a brand-new domain that still needs to build trust, heavy competition in your market, and texts or decisions that remain pending for weeks. The latter is the only one you have complete control over.

Majestic is a leading web-based SEO tool that is indispensable for analyzing website link profiles. It provides detailed information about a website’s inbound links, including Trust Flow and Citation Flow scores, the anchor texts used, and the domains that send the most links to the site. This makes Majestic essential for anyone involved in search engine optimization. By providing valuable insights, Majestic helps website owners and SEO professionals understand the quality and relevance of their inbound links. This is crucial, as inbound links play a significant role in determining search engine rankings.

Identifying link spam or “bad” links is another key benefit Majestic offers. Removing these harmful links can significantly improve a website’s link profile and thus contribute to higher search engine rankings. All of this demonstrates how valuable Majestic can be for enhancing a website’s SEO performance. For more information, see majestic.com.

However, we understand that the cost of a Majestic subscription can be perceived as high. That is why we offer an excellent alternative. If you find a Majestic subscription too expensive, we offer you the opportunity to take out a free trial subscription with us for an initial simple link analysis. This is possible because we have an API connection with Majestic, among others, for our SEO tool at seo.eqwise.nl. Our offer allows you to experience the benefits of link analysis at no cost and see how it can improve your SEO performance.

So, why not seize the opportunity to improve your website’s SEO with our free trial? It is an excellent way to get acquainted with the powerful capabilities of link analysis, supported by Majestic’s expertise, but made accessible to everyone. Start optimizing your link profile today at seo.eqwise.nl and discover how you can take your search engine rankings to the next level.

There are several reasons why it is unwise to spend time and budget only on AdWords and not on SEO within internet marketing:

• Costs: AdWords can be expensive, especially if you target competitive keywords. You may have to spend a lot of money to stand out from the competition, and click costs can add up. With SEO, you can attract organic traffic to your website without paying for every click.
• Temporary: With AdWords, you only receive traffic to your website as long as you pay for advertisements. As soon as you stop advertising, the traffic also stops. SEO can have a long-lasting impact, even after you have stopped investing in optimization.
• Authority and trust: Search engine users often have more trust in organic search results than in paid advertisements. By investing time and resources in SEO, you can work on building authority and trust with your target audience.
• Diversity: It is not wise to put all your eggs in one basket. By relying only on AdWords, you miss opportunities to attract traffic to your website in other ways. SEO can help you attract organic traffic through various search terms and channels.
• User experience: A good user experience is an important part of SEO. By investing in SEO, you can work on improving the user experience of your website, which can lead to more traffic and higher conversions in the long term.

In general, it is wise to invest in both AdWords and SEO to create a balanced and effective online marketing strategy.