Starting a new website is exciting, but without the right steps, it might not get noticed. To get noticed, the website must rank on search engine result page and that can only be done by applying SEO practices. To do SEO for new websites, first you must understand what is SEO. Well, it is all about making sure your site can be found easily when people search for topics related to it on Google or other search engines. Think of SEO like setting up signposts that guide visitors to your website.
In this blog, we’ll go over everything you need to know to get started. From understanding who your audience is to figuring out what content will help them the most, we’ll break down step by step process about how to do seo for a website. You’ll also learn about keywords, which help search engines know what your website is about, and how to do on-page, off-page and technical seo, how to organize your site so it’s easy to navigate. By the end, you’ll be ready to improve your web page visibility of your new site!
Setting-up your website for SEO
When creating a new website, picking the right domain name, platform, and hosting is really important for its success.
First of all, you have to choose a domain name that must be short and simple to spell. And anyone can easily remember it. It should match your brand or business so people know what your site is about right away. Adding relevant keywords can help with website seo, but don’t make it too complicated.
Pick a domain extension that fits your business. “.com” is best to choose as it is most trusted among other domain extensions. However, you can also go for “.net” or “.co”. But make sure, the name isn’t already taken by anyone or already trademarked, so that you don’t run into legal trouble.
Next, choose a website platform based on your needs and how much technical knowledge you have. WordPress is a popular option because it’s flexible and can be customized a lot, making it great for search engine optimization of blogs, online stores, and complex websites.
If you’re new to this or want something easy to use, platforms like Wix or Squarespace might be better. They offer drag-and-drop features that let you build a good-looking site without much technical work, and they also include hosting and support.
If you’re planning to sell products online, Shopify is a great platform that comes with strong tools for e-commerce seo.
Lastly, pick the right hosting for your website. Think about the type of site you’re building and how much traffic you expect. Shared hosting is a budget-friendly option and works well for small sites. Companies like Bluehost and HostGator offer reliable shared hosting services.
Understanding Website’s Goals and Audience
Understanding your website’s goals and knowing your target audience is the first steps for creating a successful SEO strategy. By which you can easily make decisions that fulfills your business goals. So that you can connect with the exact people you want to reach. Here’s how to get started:
Define Your Business Goals:
- Know Your Purpose: Figure out what your website is mainly for. Is it meant to sell products, attract new customers, build brand awareness, or to provide useful information?
- Set Clear Goals: Make your goals specific and measurable, like increasing the number of visitors from search engines, improving how many visitors become customers, or getting people to spend more time on your site.
- Track Your Success: Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor how well your strategic SEO practices are working. This can include things like your website’s search engine ranking, the amount of traffic it gets, or how many leads it generates.
Understand Your Target Audience:
- Know Who They Are: To do website seo, you must learn about the demographics like age, gender, location, income, and education level of the people you want to reach. So that you can create the content that directly communicate with them.
- Understand Their Behavior: Analyze how your audience behaves online. What do they search for? What devices do they use? Knowing these details helps you shape your content and SEO strategy.
- Figure Out Their Search Intent: Understand why your audience is searching for certain keywords. Are they looking for information, ready to buy something, or trying to solve a problem? Make sure your content matches what they’re looking for to attract the right visitors.
Focus on User Experience:
- Cater to Their Content Preferences: Find out what type of content your audience likes—whether it’s blogs, videos, infographics, or podcasts—and create content that meets these preferences.
- Guide Their Journey: Plan out the path you want your users to take from the moment they visit your website to when they complete a goal, like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Make sure your site’s layout, navigation, and content help guide them smoothly through this process.
Top Tools and Techniques for Conducting Competitor Research
Identifying your competitors is a key step in any SEO strategy, especially when using the skyscraper technique. This method involves finding out which websites or businesses are ranking well for the keywords or topics you want to target. Here’s how you can do it:
- Keyword Search: Start by searching for the main keywords related to your industry or niche. For example, if your website is about digital marketing, you might search for terms like “best SEO tips” or “digital marketing strategies.” Look at the top search results to see which websites consistently appear at the top. These are likely your main competitors.
- SEO Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, or Ubersuggest to help identify your competitors by analyzing your target keywords. These tools show you who ranks for these keywords and provide insights into their SEO performance. For instance, Ahrefs has a feature called “Site Explorer” that shows the top competitors for any keyword or domain.
- Industry Research: Do some research on your industry to find out who the big players are. Check out industry blogs, forums, and directories to identify well-known websites and businesses that are relevant to your niche.
- Competitor Analysis: After you’ve compiled a list of potential competitors, analyze them in detail. Look at factors like their Domain Authority (DA), Page Authority (PA) of the pages ranking for specific keywords, domain age, the number of pages on their website, backlink profile, content quality, and user engagement. This will help you understand their strengths and weaknesses to use appropriate seo techniques.
| Competitor’s Website URL | DA | PA | Domain Age | Page Count |
| URL 1 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 2 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 3 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 4 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 5 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 6 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 7 | – | – | – | – |
By accurately finding out your competitors, you can exactly understand what’s working well in your industry. With this knowledge, you can create better content that stands out among others.
How to Conduct Content Research: Best Practices for Quality Content Creation ?
Analyzing your competitors’ content is crucial for understanding why their pages are ranking well and how you can create even better content to boost your SEO ranking. Here’s how to do it effectively:
- Evaluate Content Quality: Start by looking at the quality of the content on your competitors’ top-ranking pages. Check how deeply they cover the topic. High-quality content should be well-researched, informative, and genuinely helpful to readers. See if the content answers common questions and provides solutions in a thorough way.
- Content Structure and Format: Analyze how the content is organized. Good content usually has clear headings and subheadings that is essential in context of on-page SEO. Look for the use of bullet points, numbered lists, and other formatting techniques that improve readability. Also, check if they include multimedia elements like images, infographics, or videos that make the content more engaging and visually appealing.
- Engagement Metrics: Use tools like BuzzSumo or social media platforms to see how well the content is performing in terms of user engagement. Look at metrics such as social shares, comments, and likes. High engagement usually means the content is of high quality or highly relevant to the audience.
- Keyword Usage: Examine how your competitors use keywords in their content. Identify the main keywords, related keywords, and variations they use. Pay attention to how they incorporate these keywords into titles, headings, and the body of the text. This can give you ideas for improving your own keyword strategy and optimizing your content. Keyword usage is an important step to improve SEO of a website.
- Content Gaps: Look for areas where your competitors’ content might be lacking. Identify missing information, outdated data, or topics that haven’t been fully explored. These gaps present opportunities for you to create content that fills these voids and offers additional value.
| Competitor’s Website URL | Word Count | Number of Internal Links | Number of Alt Text | Number of H2 |
| URL 1 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 2 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 3 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 4 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 5 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 6 | – | – | – | – |
| URL 7 | – | – | – | – |
By carefully analyzing your competitors’ content, you can understand what makes their content successful and find ways to make your content even better. This approach will help you create strategic SEO friendly content that not only competes but stands out, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Advanced Keyword Research Tips to Boost Your Website’s Visibility
Using SEO tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs makes it easy to research your competitor’s keywords in just a few clicks. Here’s a simple guide to help you get started:
Use Site Explorer:
- Go to the Site Explorer tool in Ahrefs.
- Enter your competitor’s website URL. This tool will show you the keywords that your competitor is ranking for.
- Review the list of keywords to see which ones your competitor is targeting.
Use Keyword Explorer:
- Go to the Keyword Explorer tool in Ahrefs.
- Enter a main keyword or topic related to your business. For example, if you sell hiking gear, you might start with “hiking boots.”
- Ahrefs will generate a list of related keyword ideas based on your input. These could include similar terms, synonyms, or related topics.
- Explore different keyword options to see how they’re used in different contexts to improve your website SEO.
Analyze and Filter Keywords:
- User Intent: Think about what the users are looking for when they search a query. Are they looking for information, trying to make a purchase, or navigating to a specific site? Always match your content to the intent behind the keywords, so that you can better meet the user’s needs.
- Search Volume: Look at how many people search for a keyword each month. This gives you an idea of how much traffic you could get if you rank for that keyword. This is very important for SEO of a new website.
- Keyword Difficulty (KD): This shows how hard it is to rank for a keyword. A higher KD means more competition. If you’re just starting out, focus on keywords with lower difficulty to boost your SEO ranking.
- Clicks: Check the estimated number of clicks a keyword gets. This tells you how often people click on search results for that keyword. Focus on keywords with higher click potential.
- Include/Exclude Keywords: Use can include or exclude specific words or phrases by using filters. For example, you might want to exclude terms that aren’t relevant to your business.
Create a Keyword List:
- Organize Keywords: Gather your selected keywords into a list or spreadsheet. Group them by difficulty, and search volume.
- Assign Keywords: Decide which keywords will be used on specific pages or content pieces. Plan how to incorporate them into your website structure, blog posts, landing pages, and so on.
This SEO practice will help you build a strong keyword strategy that can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results.
| List of Keywords | Search Volume | Keyword Difficulty |
| Keyword 1 | – | – |
| Keyword 2 | – | – |
| Keyword 3 | – | – |
| Keyword 4 | – | – |
| Keyword 5 | – | – |
| Keyword 6 | – | – |
| Keyword 7 | – | – |
Analyse And Develop Your Own Keyword Strategy
Improving your website’s SEO involves both optimizing existing content and creating new content. Below is a basic overview about how to develop your own keyword strategy:
- Competitive Analysis:
- Check out what your competitors are doing. Look at the topics and keywords they’re using that you might have missed. Find areas where you can offer more detailed or unique information than they do.
- Keyword Research:
- Look for new keywords and longer phrases related to your industry that match what your audience is searching for. Use these keywords naturally in your content. Don’t overuse them, as that can make your content hard to read and hurt your SEO.
- Content Types:
- Based on your research, create different types of content like blog posts, how-to guides, case studies, infographics, videos, and FAQs. Ea ch type of content should address different user needs and intents.
- Value and Depth:
- Make sure your content offers more than just basic information. Provide detailed, actionable insights that help solve your audience’s problems or answer their questions.
By focusing on these SEO steps, you’ll create content that not only meets your audience’s needs but also improves your website’s visibility on search engines.
How to Build a Strong Website Structure for Better SEO ?
Setting up a new website properly is essential for making sure it’s easy to use, good for SEO, and helps you achieve your business goals. Here’s a simple guide about how to structure your website:
- Define the Purpose and Goals:
- Figure out the main purpose of your website. Is it for selling products, sharing blog posts, showcasing a portfolio, or providing information?
- Set clear goals for what you want visitors to do, like making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing to a newsletter.
- Understand Your Audience:
- Research your target audience to learn about their needs, preferences, and behaviors.
- Create user profiles (personas) to help design your website in a way that meets their expectations.
- Organize Content into a Hierarchy:
- Main Pages: Decide on the main pages you need, such as Home, About, Services, Blog, and Contact.
- Subpages: Organize related content under these main pages.
- Navigation: Design an easy-to-use menu that reflects this structure.
- Design a Clear Navigation System to boost SEO:
- Top Navigation Bar: Include the most important pages here.
- Footer Navigation: Add links to secondary pages like Privacy Policy or Terms of Service.
- Breadcrumbs: Use breadcrumbs to help users easily go back to previous pages.
- Include Essential Pages:
- Home: A general overview of what your website offers.
- About Us: Information about your business, mission, and team.
- Services/Products: Details about what you offer.
- Contact: Easy ways for users to reach you, like forms, maps, or phone numbers.
- Blog/Resources: A section for articles and other content that helps with SEO.
- Privacy Policy and Disclaimer: Important legal pages to include.
By following these steps, you’ll create a website that’s easy to navigate, optimized for search engines, and aligned with your business objectives.
How to write a well-structured Website Content?
Creating a well-organized blog post involves planning, structuring, and clear writing. Here’s a simple guide to help you write an effective blog that helps to boost SEO:
- Choose a Clear Topic:
- Know Your Audience: Think about who will read your blog and what interests them.
- Focus Narrowly: Instead of covering a broad subject, zoom in on a specific aspect to make your blog more impactful.
- Research Thoroughly:
- Gather Information: Collect data, facts, quotes, and statistics to support your points.
- Check Sources: Make sure your sources are trustworthy and up-to-date.
- Create an Outline:
- Introduction: Start with a catchy opening like a question, quote, or interesting fact. Introduce the topic and its importance. It helps to hold the user that will indirectly improve the SEO.
- Body:
- Main Points: Divide your topic into clear sections, each covering one main idea.
- Subheadings: Organize your content by using subheadings. It helps the user easy to read
- Supporting Details: Add evidence, examples, and explanations for each point that gains user trust that will help in SEO.
- Conclusion:
- Summarize: Review the main points you discussed.
- Call to Action (CTA): Encourage readers to take the next step, like commenting, sharing, or trying something you suggested.
- Write Clearly:
- Simple Language: Use straightforward language and avoid complicated terms unless necessary.
- Active Voice: Write in an active voice to make your content more engaging.
- Short Paragraphs: Write the content in short paragraphs in 2-4 sentences to increase its readability.
- Include Visuals:
- Images and Infographics: Add relevant visuals like images, infographics, or charts to make the content more engaging.
- Alt Text: Provide descriptive text for images to improve accessibility.
- Optimize for SEO:
- Keywords: Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your post, including in the title, headers, and meta description.
- Links: Link to other posts on your blog and to reputable external sources.
- Meta Description: Write a brief summary of your post that includes your main keyword.
- Edit and Proofread:
- Check for Errors: Look for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes.
- Read Aloud: Reading your post out loud can help you spot awkward phrasing or repetitive words.
- Peer Review: If possible, ask someone else to read your post and give feedback.
- Format for Readability:
- Bullet Points and Lists: Use bullet points or numbered lists to organize information clearly.
- Bold and Italics: Highlight key points with bold or italicized text.
- White Space: Leave space between paragraphs and sections to make the content less overwhelming.
- Engage Your Audience:
- Ask Questions: Invite readers to share their thoughts by asking questions.
- Invite Interaction: Encourage comments, shares, or feedback at the end of your post.
By following these steps, you’ll create a blog post that is easy to read, engaging, and well-structured, helping you connect better with your audience.
How to Optimize On-Page SEO for Better Search Engine Visibility ?
On-page SEO is all about making individual web pages better so they show up higher in search engine results and attract more visitors. For a new website, getting on-page SEO right from the start is really important. Here’s an easy guide to help you with on-page SEO.
- Keyword Placement:
- Title Tag: Put your main keyword near the beginning of the title tag. This is what search engines and users see first, so having a keyword here helps your page get noticed.
- URL: Add the primary keyword in your page’s URL. So that search engines can understand the content of your page. It also makes the URL more attractive to users.
- Meta Description: While it doesn’t directly affect rankings, having your keyword in the meta description can encourage people to click on your page because it shows your content is relevant to their search.
- Headings: Use your keyword in headings like H1, H2, and H3. The H1 tag usually represents the main topic of the page, so it’s important to include your keyword there. Subheadings (H2, H3) should have related keywords to show the page’s structure.
- Opening Paragraph: Mention the keyword in the first 100 words of your content. This helps search engines quickly understand what your page is about and sets the stage for your readers.
- Body Content: Spread your keywords naturally throughout the content. Avoid using them too much, as this can make your content hard to read and hurt your SEO. Use related terms and synonyms to support your main keyword.
- Alt Text for Images: Place your keywords in the alt text of images. This helps search engines understand what the images are about, adding to the page’s relevance.
- Anchor Text: When linking to other pages (internal links) or external sites, use keywords as anchor text. This helps improve the SEO value of the link and the pages it connects to.
- Title Tags and Meta Descriptions:
- Title Tags: Every page on your website needs a unique title tag that includes the main keyword you’re targeting. Make sure the title is less than 60 characters long so it shows up completely in search results.
- Meta Descriptions: Write a short and catchy meta description (150-160 characters) that also includes your target keyword. Even though meta descriptions don’t directly affect your ranking, a good one can encourage more people to click on your link when they see it in search results.
- Image Optimization:
- Alt Text: Add a brief description to each image using alt text. If possible, include your main keyword. It helps the search engines to better understand the image.
- File Names: Give your image files descriptive names with keywords before uploading them. For example, instead of “image1.jpg,” use “black-leather-jacket.jpg.”
- Image Size: Make sure the image file is small in size without losing its quality. This helps your website load faster, which is better for both users and search engines.
- Schema Markup:
- Structured Data: Use schema markup lime reviews, star ratings, etc to give search engines more details about your content. It makes your search results look richer.
- Common Schema Types: Choose the right type of schema for your content, like “Article,” “Product,” or “Local Business,” to help search engines understand what your page is about.
- Keyword Density:
- Keyword Density: This is the percentage of times a keyword appears in your blog compared to the total number of words. Create your content as per keyword density of 1% to 2%. For a 1,000-word blog, this means your main keyword should appear 10 to 20 times.
- Natural Use: Make sure to use the keywords naturally in the content. Don’t just insert the keywords to maintain the keyword density. Include related terms, synonyms, and long-tail keywords to make your blog more helpful and interesting for readers. This approach improves both user experience and SEO.
- Below you can find how much keyword density you should maintain as per the difficulty levels of the keyword:
- Keyword Proximity:
- Keyword proximity is about how close keywords are to each other in a piece of writing. When the keywords are near each other, especially in the same sentence, search engines see the content as more relevant to what people are searching for. Placing keywords closer together can help your content rank better in search results because it aligns more with what users are looking for.
- LSI Keywords:
- LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words that are related to your main keyword. These help search engines understand the topic and meaning of your content better. By using LSI keywords, your content becomes more detailed and can appear in search results for a wider range of related topics.
- Internal Linking:
- Linking to other pages on your website that are related to your content is called internal linking. This helps search engines figure out how your website is organized and also makes it easier for visitors to explore your site.
When you link to other pages, use anchor text that describes what the link is about and includes important keywords related to the page.
- Linking to other pages on your website that are related to your content is called internal linking. This helps search engines figure out how your website is organized and also makes it easier for visitors to explore your site.
Top Off-Page SEO Techniques to Build Your Website’s Credibility
Off-page SEO is about making your website more popular and higher ranked by getting links from other websites, getting attention on social media, and using other outside factors.. One useful tool for this is Ahrefs, which can help you manage and improve your off-page SEO. Here’s a simple guide to using Ahrefs for a new website:
- Find Your Competitors
Make a list of websites that are similar to your website. These could be sites that show up when people search for the same topics or keywords you’re targeting. - Use Ahrefs Site Explorer
Log in to Ahrefs and go to Site Explorer. Enter the website URL of one of your competitor and click Search. - Look at Their Backlinks
Click on the Backlinks section. Here, you’ll see a list of all the websites that are linked to your competitor’s website. You’ll also see useful information like how strong the linking website is (Domain Rating and URL Rating) and what text is used in the link. - Filter the Backlinks
Use filters to focus on specific backlinks:- One link per domain: So you don’t see the same site multiple times.
- Dofollow links: To find only the websites where your competitor has created dofollow backlink.
- Language: If you want to target websites in a particular language.
- Check Referring Domains
Go to the Referring Domains to see a list of all the websites that are linked to your competitor’s website. Check their authority to see if they are good sites for you to also get links from. - Find Link Opportunities
Look for trends in where your competitors are getting their links from—like blogs, news sites, or forums. Figure out which of these high-quality sites might be good places for you to get a backlink too. - Study Anchor Text and Top Pages
Check the Anchors section to see what text is used in the links to your competitor’s site. Then, check the Top Pages section to see which pages on their site are getting the most links. These might give you ideas for your own content. - Broken Link Building
Use Ahrefs’ Broken Links report to find broken links on other websites. You can then contact the site owner and suggest replacing the broken link with one that points to your content. - Export the Data
If you want to take a closer look at the data or share it with others, you can click the Export button to download the information. - Start Outreach
Once you have a list of potential sites to get links from, plan how you’ll reach out to them. You might do this through guest posting, partnerships, or fixing broken links. - Set Up Backlink Alerts
Set alerts in Ahrefs so you’ll get a notification whenever you gain or lose a backlink. This helps you stay on top of changes quickly. - Remove Bad Links
Use Ahrefs to find any bad or spammy backlinks. If necessary, use Google’s Disavow Tool to block these harmful links from affecting your SEO. - Keep Monitoring and Adjusting
Keep an eye on your competitors’ backlinks to stay updated on new strategies and opportunities. - Focus on Quality Links
It’s better to get a few high-quality, relevant backlinks than to have lots of low-quality ones.
How Technical SEO Can Enhance Your Website’s Search Rankings ?
Technical SEO is all about making sure that search engines like Google can easily find, understand, and rank your website. It focuses on fixing and improving the technical parts of your site so it shows up better in search results. Here’s how you can do technical SEO for a new website:
- Create a Sitemap
A sitemap is like a map of your website that shows all the pages. It helps search engines like Google find and organize your content.- This makes sure that all your important pages get noticed and indexed by search engines.
- You can create a sitemap using tools like XML-sitemaps.com or plugins like Yoast SEO for WordPress.
- Upload your sitemap to your website and submit it to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Update your sitemap regularly when you add new pages or make changes to your site.
- Robots.txt File
The robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your website they should or shouldn’t look at.- Create this file with a simple text editor and place it in the root directory of your website.
- Use tools like Google Search Console’s “Robots.txt Tester” to check that it works properly.
- As your website grows, update the file to make sure search engines know what to crawl and what to skip, but be careful not to block important pages by mistake.
- Speed Up Your Website
Making sure your website loads quickly is important for both visitors and search engines.- Optimize Images: Compress large images so they load faster without losing quality. You can use tools like TinyPNG or you can compress it using online tools like Image Resizer.
- Browser Caching: Save parts of your site in the visitor’s browser so it loads faster the next time they visit.
- Mobile Optimization
More and more people use their phones to browse the web, so your website needs to work well on mobile devices.- Make sure your site adjusts to different screen sizes using responsive design.
- Your website should load quickly on mobile devices because Google now focuses on how mobile-friendly a site is when ranking it.
- Use HTTPS for Security
HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, and it helps protect users’ data when they browse your site.- Install an SSL certificate to secure your site and make it more trustworthy (Google also gives a ranking boost to HTTPS sites).
- Redirect all your HTTP urls to HTTPS. It makes your urls secure and consistent.
- Fix Duplicate Content
Having the same content in multiple places on your site can confuse search engines.- Use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of the page is the main one.
- Keep your content unique to avoid any penalties for duplicates.
- Handle 404 Errors and Redirects
Sometimes pages on your site may get moved or deleted, which can cause broken links.- Create a custom 404 error page to help users find their way back to important parts of your site.
- Set up 301 redirects for pages you move or delete so visitors and search engines are directed to the correct location.
- Choose Reliable Hosting
Your website should be hosted on a fast and secure server to keep it running smoothly.- Pick a hosting provider that guarantees high uptime (so your site is always online), fast response times, and strong security.
- Aim for a server response time of less than 200 milliseconds for better performance.
- Keep Your Website Secure
Protect your site from hackers by keeping your software (like CMS, plugins, and themes) updated.- Use security plugins and firewalls to block attacks.
- Regularly back up your website so you can recover it quickly if anything goes wrong.
- Regular SEO Audits and Monitoring
Keep track of how well your website is performing by doing regular SEO checks.- Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, or SEMrush to look for any technical problems.
- Make sure all your important pages are being indexed by search engines.
- Fix any issues that come up as soon as possible to keep your site running smoothly.
How to Use Google Search Console to Fix SEO Issues ?
Setting up Google Search Console for your website is important to track how well your site is doing and make improvements. Below are the steps to help you set it up and fix any broken links:
Setting Up Google Search Console
- Create or Sign In to Your Google Account
Setup a Google Search Console using a Google account. If you don’t have any Google account, then you’ll need to create it first. - Go to Google Search Console
Sign in to Google Search Console website with your Google account. - Add Your Website (Property)
- Click on the “Add Property” button.
- You can either add a “domain” (which covers everything on your site) or a “URL prefix” (which only covers the specific URL you enter).
- Verify Ownership
You have to prove that the website is yours. There are different ways by which you can do this:- HTML File Upload: Download a file from Google and upload it to your website’s main folder.
- HTML Tag: Add a special tag from Google to the <head> part of your homepage.
- Google Analytics: Use your Google Analytics account if it’s already connected to your site.
- Google Tag Manager: Verify through Google Tag Manager if you’re using it.
- DNS Record: Add a code (TXT record) to your website’s domain settings.
- Submit Your Sitemap
After verifying your site, submit your sitemap. Go to the “Sitemaps” section and enter the URL for your sitemap (abc.com/sitemap.xml) and click “Submit.” - Configure Additional Settings
Set up preferences like choosing your domain with or without “www” and any other settings.
Important Metrics to Monitor
- Performance Report:
- Clicks: How many times people clicked on your site from Google search.
- Impressions: How often your site shows up in Google search results.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of impressions that turned into clicks.
- Average Position: Where your site ranks on average in search results.
- Coverage Report:
This report shows which pages are being indexed and highlights any issues that stop Google from indexing them. - Mobile Usability:
Shows if your site has any problems when viewed on mobile devices. - Core Web Vitals:
Measures how fast your site loads, how easy it is to interact with, and how stable it is visually. - Enhancements:
Reports on special features like structured data, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), and more.
Finding and Fixing Broken Links
- Finding Broken Links:
- Google Search Console: Go to the “Coverage” report to spot errors like 404 pages (broken links).
- Crawl Tools: Use tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to scan your site and find broken links.
- Online Tools: You can also use free tools like Broken Link Checker or W3C Link Checker.
- Fixing Broken Links:
- Update Internal Links: Fix or remove any links on your site that lead to non-existent pages.
- Redirects: Use 301 redirects to send visitors from a broken link to a working page.
- Fix External Links: If a link to your site is broken on another website, contact that site’s owner and ask them to update the link.
- Regular Monitoring:
Keep an eye on your site regularly for broken links and check Google Search Console for any new problems that pop up.
Conclusion
To sum up, doing SEO for a new website involves a series of important steps that help search engines like Google find and rank your site. First, you need to know what your website is about and who your audience is. By studying your competitors and researching content, you get an idea of what works well. Keyword research helps you find the right words people are searching for, and building a smart keyword strategy makes sure your site gets noticed.
Organizing your website properly and writing clear, helpful content improves how search engines see your site. On-page SEO focuses on things you can control on your site, while off-page SEO helps you build trust with links from other sites. Technical SEO makes sure your site loads quickly, is secure, and can be easily read by search engines.
Finally, using tools like Google Search Console allows you to monitor your site’s performance, spot issues like broken links, and fix them. By following these steps and regularly updating your SEO, your website will have a better chance of ranking higher and attracting more visitors.
