You probably started your website to make profits. You should treat it as a real business after pouring hundreds or thousands of dollars and time into building it.
As a new website owner, you need to gain your audience’s and search engines’ trust. SEO can help you achieve these. It will guide you in creating web content that answers questions people are searching for.
An effective SEO strategy can jumpstart visits to your site and increase lead generation and sales.
If you’d like these, stick around until this quick guide’s end. We will reveal comprehensive details on SEO for new website so you can start on the best foot.
Summary
- Chapter 1: Comprehensive Research
- Chapter 2: Plan Your Content Strategy
- Chapter 3: On-page SEO Best Practices
- Chapter 4: Technical SEO Checklist
- Chapter 5: Off-page Optimization Strategies
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Chapter 1: Comprehensive Research
The bedrock of any successful SEO campaign is research. Educated guesses are not enough to know what your customers want and how they find it on search engines.
It’s best to rely on facts, and here’s how to go about your research:
Know your Customers
You probably already knew your target audience before launching your website. Their needs and pain points will determine the type of content to create.
But you can still get it right if you didn’t correctly capture who your web is for.
Create your Ideal Customer Profile
Who is your ideal audience or customer? What are their desires, values, challenges, and objections? Knowing the answers to these questions gives you an edge in meeting their needs.
You will also need more information like demographics, income level, location, etc.
It’s a lot of information to process, but you can break it into bits. You can get this information by:
- Interviewing your current and past audience/ customers.
- Take note of the questions across all channels of communication.
- Find out more about what people say about your niche on social media and user-generated groups like Reddit and Amazon.
Use the information you have gotten to create your ideal customer profile (ICP). This will guide every website detail, from your pages to your content.
Carryout Keyword Research
With your ideal customer profile, you can find the right keywords for your site. Several SEO tools, such as Niche Empire, Semrush, Ahrefs, and Moz, are available. They will provide data that reveals the volume of searches for each keyword and their difficulty and intent.
Here’s how you can get started:
- Run a keyword analysis with the topics, phrases, or questions you got from your customer research.
- Filter your results according to search volume and keyword difficulty. High-volume keywords with high search volumes and long-tail keywords rank faster on search engines.
- Spread your keywords across your audience’s knowledge of your product or services. Aware(top of the funnel), considering(middle of the funnel), and decision stage(bottom of the funnel). This will also determine your content marketing strategy.
- Export your keywords to a spreadsheet and group them under a parent topic or theme.
- Also, Google’s autocomplete, “People also ask,” and “People also search for” can be used to get more keywords.
These keywords will be included in your product or service pages, blog posts, and articles.
Learn more about simple DIY SEO steps for your website.
Seek Inspiration from Your Successful Competitors
You can get inspiration from your high-performing competitors. Do this by entering a topic or keyword from your customer research on Google for top-ranking sites.
They must also have similar products or services and serve your target audience.
Check the topics they cover and the keywords they rank by typing them into SEO tools like Niche Empire and Ahrefs. Filter and export these keywords to your spreadsheet for further analysis.
A quick scan of your competitor’s site can help you find gaps and opportunities for yours.
Chapter 2: Plan Your Content Strategy
Having gotten a list of relevant keywords that suit your audience, it’s time to map out your content strategy.
Build Topical Clusters
Topical clusters are groups of related topics or content ideas under a parent topic. For instance, cold emails and email sequences are topical clusters under email marketing.
- Topical clusters can help you build authority on specific topics relevant to your business. It signals to search engines that you have expertise in your field.
As a new website owner, developing topic clusters around the keywords or topics is best. They provide direction, guide your content strategy, and can bring in more leads and sales.
After creating your topical cluster, create a pillar or central page and link all the content in the related clusters to the pillar page.
- Pillar pages are comprehensive pages that cover a broad topic and link to related topic clusters or subtopics.
These pages can drive organic traffic through the roof and attract many backlinks. That is because you’ve built a content hub that provides robust information on a topic.
Turn your Keywords into Content Ideas
Keywords are phrases and terms that must be converted into content ideas.
First, you must understand the searchers’ intention when they type these keywords on search engines. This will let you know the type of content to create.
There are four types of search intent:
- Informational intent: Those looking for information about a topic or want to learn more about a matter online. For example, “How to build backlinks for SEO.”
Information content types include articles, guides, videos, and infographics.
- Navigational intent: This is when a person is looking for a specific page or website. For example, “LinkedIn login”.
- Commercial intent: Searchers compare products or services to make an informed choice. For example, “Writesonic vs Jasper AI.”
Content types for commercial intent include product reviews, buying guides, and case studies.
- Transactional intent: This search intent is for those wanting to take action, such as buying a product or service. For example, “pizza near me.”
Transactional content types include product or service pages, landing pages, and subscription forms.
Search intents determine the kind of content to create for every target keyword.
For instance, if you search for a “local SEO guide” on Google, the search results will show you comprehensive guides.
So, to create content for that keyword, you have to create a guide to rank in search engines. The same applies to each keyword, and then choose an appropriate topic for your content.
Craft your Content Calendar
It’s time to create your content calendar since you already know the content you are creating. You can set up your content calendar using project management tools like Asana or Trello.
Also, Google Sheets is a decent free tool instead of a paid project management tool.
Next, categorize your ideas into columns like focus keyword, topic, type of content, objectives (e.g., marketing), content status, publish date, etc.
Your content calendar helps to streamline your content strategy, manage content creation, and keep you consistent with new content months ahead.
That way, you don’t have to conduct keyword research every time or bother with creating content ideas.
You can tell published or in-progress content at a glance, track your performance, and identify content gaps.
Whether you have an in-house content team or freelance writers, a content calendar is essential for your new website.
Chapter 3: On-page SEO Best Practices
On-page search engine optimization(SEO) is a strategy that improves the quality of your content and pushes it to the top of search engine result pages(SERPs).
Quality SEO Content
Your web content is vital for your website visitors and search engines. Before you begin drafting, consider the published content of your keyword.
Are they guides, listicles, or product reviews? Find gaps and opportunities you can improve on and provide more value.
The aim is not to copy but to boost your creativity to create better content. Your experiences and research can also guide the context of your content.
Finally, include your primary and secondary keywords in every part of your content. Make your sentences and paragraphs short and easy to follow with headers.
SEO tools like Surfer SEO or Neuron Writer can also help you optimize content.
Get all the help you need for SEO writing.
Optimize your Title Tag and Meta Description
Title tags or meta titles appear as the bolded blue heading, while the meta description appears as the text under it. They give users a quick summary of your web page, encouraging them to click to see more.
The title tag should be 50-60 characters, and your meta description should be under 160.
Add your keywords to your titles, and make your headlines appealing or thought-provoking to drive more clicks. It also applies to meta descriptions, but you could add secondary keywords.
Insert Keywords in your Headers(H1-H6)
Headers structure your content, enabling readers and search bots to understand your topic. So, placing your primary keyword in the H1 and variations of the keyword in other headers is ideal.
H1 is your page title and should focus on benefit; H2s are the sub-sections, while H3 sub-headers under H2s. And it goes on and on like this.
Depending on your topic and content, you might not be required to use up to H6.
Add Complementary Visuals
Visuals increase the appeal of your web content. They make it easier for readers to read, and they can complement your message or break down complex topics.
The longer your content, the more images, videos, or infographics you should include to make it more engaging and digestible.
Here are some best practices for creating excellent visuals for your content:
- Use tools like Canva or Adobe Photoshop to create original and branded images.
- Write descriptive Alt text (a brief image description) and add a keyword to the image file name.
- Where required, use screenshots and charts to illustrate parts of your content.
- Create sharable infographics that summarize posts like listicles.
- Compress your visuals but retain high quality to improve your website speed.
- Give GIFs a shot if it suits your brand personality.
Visuals shouldn’t be an afterthought; they influence your ranking on Google and bring more traffic to your website.
Place Relevant Internal Links
Another on-page SEO strategy is using internal links. Internal links can increase visitors’ time on your site by directing them to related content.
They also aid search crawlers in indexing more pages and distributing PageRank. So ensure there are no orphan pages(i.e., pages without internal links) on your site.
And your link anchor text should hint at the topic it is linking to. It encourages more clicks and helps search bots understand your website content.
For instance, linking your article on YouTube SEO to others on video marketing and content creation is ideal. They are related, and a person interested in YouTube SEO will likely be interested in the others. You get the idea.
Check out our on-page SEO checklist.
Use Descriptive URLs
Your page URLs tell your audience and search engines what your page or content is about. The gold standard is to include your focus keyword in it. Keep it short and easy to remember, and avoid numbers or symbols in your URLs.
However, many content management systems(CMS) like WordPress can easily adjust your URL without any backend change.
Here’s what a descriptive URL structure should look like:www.site.com./seo-for-new-website
Integrate Structured Data
This data format enables search engines to understand the content of your website. Structured data(or Schema Markup) provides more information about your site, making it easier for search engines to display your web content in search results.
They include local businesses (e.g., restaurants), articles, videos, reviews, software, breadcrumbs and FAQs.
The structured data type will depend on your content and business objective. For instance, an e-commerce site needs to integrate review-structured data on product pages to display ratings and reviews on search engines.
You might find our article on local SEO for small businesses helpful.
Bonus Tip
Promote your Website Content
When done with on-page optimization, distribute your content to other channels for more traffic and engagement.
Here are some ways you can effectively promote your content:
- Publish your content on your website and send it as a newsletter to your list of subscribers.
- Share your content with your friends and family.
- Share your content with persons or businesses you featured in your write-up; you might get a backlink from them.
- Create social media pages for your website and share your web content.
Chapter 4: Technical SEO Checklist
SEO gets a bit complicated here. But don’t worry; we’ll simplify each step for you, even if you’re a newbie.
Implement Mobile SEO
Mobile devices accounted for 58.67% of website traffic in the last quarter of 2023; this doesn’t include tablets(Statista).
The numbers are bound to go higher, which makes mobile SEO mandatory for every website.
To optimize your site for mobile devices, do these:
- Make sure your site is responsive and accessible on different screen sizes.
- Boost your site speed using content delivery networks(CDN), minifying your page code, and enabling browser caching.
- Use short paragraphs, readable fonts, bullet points, and headers to break down your content.
- Avoid intrusive pop-ups or full-screen ads.
- Always check your site on different mobile devices like smartphones and iPads
- Analyze your mobile site rankings using Niche Empire, Google Analytics, or Semrush.
Add an XML SiteMap
An XML sitemap contains all the pages of your website that you want to be indexed by search engines like Google and Bing.
It provides a road map that helps search engines crawl your entire site and add your content to its database. Then, your pages will appear in the search results.
You can submit your XML sitemap to Google by logging into your Google Search Console account, selecting sitemaps from the menu, and submitting your sitemap file.
Page Indexing
Google and other search engines index new pages or content using external and internal links. To increase the discoverability of your web pages by search engines, you have to acquire some backlinks from related high-quality websites.
This will not apply to some of your web pages, such as terms and conditions, checkout, privacy policy, and disclaimer pages.
You can stop search bots from indexing a page by adding a robot txt file to the root directory of your domain.
Ensure your Site is Secured
Your visitors need to trust your website so that they keep coming back. Check if your web host provided an SSL/TLS certificate to secure your users’ data from cyber hackers.
This is shown by having “HTTPS” in your page URL and a padlock icon in your web browser.
If your page runs on HTTP, you will see a red alert on your browser URL, and you’ll probably get a warning from your browser indicating that your page is not secure.
Insecure web pages can hurt your search rankings.
Audit your Website
As you implement your SEO strategies, audit your site regularly, at least once a month.
You can use free tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console and paid tools like Niche Empire, Screaming SEO Spider, Semrush, and Ahrefs.
But you’ll have to define the goal and scope of your site audit. Generate an audit analysis by entering your website domain using SEO tools. Then, take action to resolve any reported issues on your website.
Remember your goals, ideal customer, and SEO objective when you audit your website.
Regular site audits will help you to evaluate your overall performance on search engines and the user experience of your website.
Don’t miss our guide on Technical SEO for WordPress.
Chapter 5: Off-page Optimization Strategies
Off-page SEO is a strategy you use outside of your website. Off-page SEO is often only associated with backlinks, but there is more to it than that.
Acquire Quality Backlinks
Let’s start with backlinks. Yes—it’s an essential search ranking factor. Getting natural backlinks might be challenging for a new and unknown website with low or no domain authority.
As a result, you will need to create loads of content resources on your site, like blog posts, guides, product reviews, etc. Your content type will depend on your niche, business goals, and the content strategy we discussed earlier.
Follow these tips to get backlinks for your new website:
- Contact friends and associates with related businesses and request they link to your site.
- Create linkable content like progressive ideas, ultimate guides, and data studies to reach out to reputable sites.
- Answer journalist queries on websites like Source of Sources, Featured, and Help a B2B Writer.
- Set up your Google Business Profile and get citations from general and niche online directories.
- Guest posts on reputable websites with a decent domain rating or authority in your niche.
Here’s what you need to know about SEO backlinks.
Promote your Website on Social Media
Social media is excellent for cross-promoting your website. However, you must identify the social media platforms where your customer persona is most active.
Share snippets of your website content on your social media page to get more traffic, engagement, and boost on search engines.
It’s best to start on one platform before spreading to others; this will reduce burnout and maximize results.
If you are targeting businesses, LinkedIn is a good place to start; for individuals, others will do. Your platform of choice will depend on your audience and their preference. Use these steps to promote your new website on social media:
- Create a business page on social media and optimize your profile by adding your business details. This includes a branded profile photo, business description, and contact information.
- Generate social media content ideas and create a social media contact calendar that will complement your web content.
- Set a posting schedule. Your consistency is most important, whether once a day or thrice a week.
- Share your newly published website content on social media and include a captivating highlight.
- Create various content types- informational, promotional, etc. with videos, carousels, and posts to capture a wider audience.
- Review your social media insights to know your best-performing content. Double down on these and improve on the low-performing ones.
- Get inspiration from your competitors regarding their best-performing content type and format.
- Engage with your audience by responding to their comments. Also, connect with similar businesses in your niche with your private profile.
Find out how social signals impact SEO.
Engage in Forums
Forums like Reddit and Quora are great for promoting websites and brands. Join subreddits and groups where your target audience might be.
Provide practical and helpful solutions to questions to gain authority and post often to build your business awareness.
However, limit how often you post your website links to avoid spamming and getting banned. Share more nonpromotional comments than promotional ones.
Your links and websites will get more views and organic traffic by consistently providing value.
On-page and Off-Page SEO: What’s the Difference?
Make Your Website SEO Ready
Don’t leave your website to chance. SEO for a new website is crucial to maximize your reach and rank high on search engines.
Understand your target audience, find keywords that match their desires, create relevant content, and enhance your web experience.
If this is too much to do by yourself, hire an SEO agency to have a good start.
Implement these SEO strategies and watch your new website grow.
FAQs
How Can I Improve SEO on My New Website?
You can improve SEO on your new website by:
- Researching your customers and competitors
- Carrying out keyword research
- Creating high-quality and relevant content
- Performing on-page SEO
- Getting backlinks to your site
- Carrying out technical SEO
How Long Does It Take For SEO to Work for My New Website?
SEO can take a few months or even a year to show results on a new website. It depends on the amount of quality content, backlinks, and other factors.
However, SEO is a gradual process, and your efforts will compound over time if you stay consistent.
How Do I Make My Website Searchable on Google?
You can increase the visibility of your website on Google by:
- Submitting your XML sitemap to Google Search Console
- Ensuring your site structure is accurate and every page on your site is interlinked to the home page
- Submit a request to Google to index your website or page. This could take a few days or weeks.
- Make sure your page URLs don’t include numbers and symbols.
- Inspect a page URL using Google’s URL Inspection tool to determine if it has been indexed.
- Check if your site was penalized by Google.
How Can I Boost My Google Search Ranking?
You can boost your rankings on search engines by applying these strategies:
- Find relevant keywords that match search intent.
- Target keyword variations that you’re already ranking for.
- Search for keywords for which your competitors are ranking.
- Craft long-form SEO content that satisfies search intent.
- Add long-tail and question keywords in your content.
- Add related visuals to complement your content.
- Use short paragraphs and add white space.
- Optimize your content and website for mobile devices.
- Get backlinks from reputable sites in your niche.
- Promote your website on social media and other sites.
How Much Does SEO Cost?
The cost of SEO for websites can range from $300 to thousands of dollars. It varies and depends on the SEO tools, agency, or freelancer you hire for your SEO strategies.
