First off, I would suggest you touch base with John Chow (JohnChow.com). He makes $40k+ a month and at he heart of it all, he says consistency is key. His blog makes $500,000 a year in income. Oh, and he does this in only two hours a day. He spreads the word that “you will be successful if you consistently blog 2 hours a day.” It’s hard to deny his success. His success is made with affiliate marketing in mind. Pushing those thoughts aside, lets concentrate on the heart of the matter: Why Consistency Is Important To Long-Term SEO?

Consistency Is Key

I started First Time Online, a Seattle based web-agency that provides businesses with the services and tools necessary to build up a successful web-presence. I’m known for my ability to use organic methods in an effort to lower overhead costs and keep the budget simple. Building a website using WordPress or incorporating it into your website as a blog makes handling SEO that much easier, but it’s consistency that is key.

For most of my clients, I explain that when they first go live, they will see a short-tail response as a result of their initial marketing efforts via e-mail and social media. The long-term consistency is where SEO comes into play. Without pushing out new and relevant content, websites limit themselves to the amount of keywords they can be found for. My clients always complain how they want to be #1 for a keyword and I explain, “You have two options: Pay an SEO company a lot of money, or realize that as long as you put out relevant and strong content consistently, you will see significant traffic responses.”

I also find it interesting to note that the 80/20 rule is present when it comes to the concept of blog consistency and resulting traffic. You may push out 100 articles over 100 days, but at close examination, most of your SEO will come from 20% of them. Those two articles that made it on to LifeHacker, HuffingtonPost or simply went viral on StumbleUpon or Digg. You never know when it will happen, but consistently putting out content will assist in putting the odds in your favor.

In Conclusion: Be Consistent And Check Your Analytics

Before moving forward with an SEO plan, I leave you with this advice. Referencing Tim Ash (landing page expert), there are 3 keys to reaching your goals in online marketing that define what I call “Gravity”:

1. Acquisition (→) : Getting people to the site
2. Conversion (√) : Persuading them to take/select the desired action(s)
3. Retention (←) : Bringing them back as a client

Each step feeds the other and resemble a funnel. You have to be confident in the sites ability to convert, before dropping dough on SEO and any other acquisition methods available! Consistently pushing out content is key in helping you understand your websites ability to convert traffic and more importantly, to create a strong following.
Good luck!