We live in an “I-want-it-now” world. Instant gratification is the expected norm. But in the affiliate marketing world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) “instant” isn’t even a remote possibility.

There just simply are no quick-fixes for SEO. Patience is a virtue and it’s one you must apply to your affiliate marketing SEO efforts.

If you approach SEO with the idea that you can just do all the little tricks, take all of the SEO steps recommended by every SEO guru out there and tomorrow (at the latest) your website will appear in the number one position in natural search results, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. You might even decide to quit … a lot of new affiliate marketers do.

But remember, patience is a virtue for affiliates … especially in SEO!

There are lots of reasons why it takes time for your SEO efforts to bear fruit, Here are three main reasons why we recommend that you continue to work on your SEO month after month and year after year:

1. Search engines put a lot of value on the AGE of a site when determining page ranking. You can’t make your site age faster, no matter how bad you’d like to. You just have to wait for time to pass as it always does. As your site ages, your page ranking will improve.

2. Search engines put a lot of value on LINKS when determining page ranking. You simply are not going to build up a good relevant link portfolio over night no matter how hard you try. Link portfolios are built over time. You’re going to have to spend lots of time finding the right links and the right mix of links.

3. Search engines consider CONTENT (and a lot of it) as an important factor when ranking pages. A single page of content doesn’t cut it. You might be able to get ten pages of content up and running in just a few days. While that’s a good start, it’s just a start.

Add to your site content on a regular basis, and over time you’ll notice your search engine results improving. As the search engines see your site as increasingly valuable, your SEO efforts will pay off.

We say this all the time, but we’ll say it again: SEO is more of a journey than a destination. As long as you’re an affiliate marketer, you’re going to work at SEO!

The cliché is right. Patience is a virtue!

• NOTE: Even though Lurn, Inc. receives compensation for products and services promoted in our blog posts, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences about those products and services.