How to Do SEO for Your New Website [10-Step Guide]

If done well, SEO (search motor optimization) tin nonstop thousands of targeted visitors to your website each month.

This turns your tract from an afterthought into an plus that generates leads and sales.

Backlinko started arsenic a elemental idiosyncratic blog successful 2012, publishing 1 oregon 2 posts per month. In the archetypal 2 years, our postulation grew from a fewer 100 monthly visitors to respective thousand.

Now it generates implicit 680K monthly sessions, with 74% coming from integrated searches.

It has taken implicit a decennary to scope this point, but our attack to SEO has remained consistent. It’s ever been astir adjuvant content, thoughtful idiosyncratic experience, beardown branding, and earning prime backlinks.

This nonfiction covers however to bash SEO for your website successful 10 digestible steps. And recommended tools on the mode (some escaped and immoderate paid).

We interviewed Andrew Peluso, proprietor of Bananas Marketing Agency, for his adept proposal connected getting started with SEO. You’ll spot his tips passim this usher to acceptable your tiny concern up for success.

Okay, ready?

Let’s commencement with measurement one.

1. Set Up Your Website

If you haven’t already acceptable up your site, it’s clip to take a platform.

Choose 1 that matches your method accomplishment level and concern needs. For example, galore website builders connection drag-and-drop editors. Making it easier for you to plan and customize sites.

Here are a fewer options:

• WordPress: Best for managing each aspects of your website, including SEO
• Squarespace: Best for showcasing your portfolio and booking appointments
• Shopify: Best for gathering an ecommerce website with a wide scope of merchandise pages, collections, and checkout pages
• Wix: Best for gathering basal sites similar portfolios, blogs, oregon tiny concern websites with zero to minimal ecommerce needs

Consider utilizing WordPress arsenic it gives you much method flexibility to amended your rankings.

While website builders are popular, they whitethorn not beryllium the champion prime due to the fact that they bounds your power implicit the backend of your website.

As your concern grows and your SEO needs go much complex, these limitations mightiness hinder your progress.

WordPress includes galore plugins and themes to heighten your SEO efforts. And marque your tract much user-friendly. Including Elementor, which helps you easy plan your website with templates.

Regardless of the level you choose, travel these cardinal steps erstwhile gathering a caller website:

Get a Domain Name

Your domain sanction is your website’s code connected the internet.

So, take a domain sanction that’s:

• Relevant and reflects your concern oregon marque name
• Easy to retrieve and pronounce
• Concise—avoid agelong and analyzable names. Ideally, don’t transcend 2 to 3 words. And bounds it to 15 characters oregon less truthful it’s casual for customers to type.
• Unique, stands out, and isn’t easy confused with different websites

For example, Backlinko.com is unique, memorable, and concise. It’s besides applicable to our audience—backlinks are a large taxable successful the SEO industry.

Select a Theme

Your website’s taxable determines its wide look and feel. Choose a preset taxable that aligns with your marque individuality and is mobile-responsive.

Then, customize it to marque it your own.

To make a accordant and memorable brand, adhd your:

• Logo
• Brand colors
• Fonts
• Graphics oregon photos

Prioritize Security

Security measures are indispensable for idiosyncratic spot and SEO, arsenic Google prioritizes unafraid websites successful hunt results.

Secure your website with an SSL certificate (HTTPS) to support your visitors’ accusation utilizing information encryption.

Here’s however a information certificate appears connected a website:

Many hosting providers connection escaped SSL certificates with their plans, making it casual to adhd this furniture of information to your website.

Check with your hosting supplier to spot if this is included. If not, look for a plugin. For example, connected WordPress, you tin usage Really Simple SSL.

Optimize for Mobile Screens

More than half of each web postulation comes from mobile devices. So, guarantee your website is mobile-responsive. Meaning it adapts to antithetic surface sizes.

Most modern themes and website templates connection responsive designs. But you tin easy trial however mobile-friendly your tract is by accessing it connected your smartphone oregon tablet.

Here’s what to look for during your mobile test:

• Layout: Does the layout accommodate seamlessly to the smaller surface without elements being chopped disconnected oregon overlapping?
• Navigation: Is the navigation paper casual to usage connected a touchscreen? Are buttons and links ample capable to pat accurately?
• Text: Is substance readable and appropriately sized for mobile screens? Avoid fonts that necessitate a idiosyncratic to zoom in. Aim for font size of 16 to 20 pixels.
• Images: Do images acceptable the surface properly?

2. Conduct Research

Learning however to bash SEO for a website includes researching your customers, competitors, and keywords. So, you tin optimize your tract for your people assemblage and hunt engines.

Research Your Customers

Understanding what your assemblage is searching for online is the instauration of a successful SEO strategy.

First, enactment yourself successful your customers’ shoes and brainstorm questions they mightiness person astir your product, service, oregon industry.

Think astir their:

• Pain points: What problems are your customers facing that your concern tin solve? For example, a instrumentality steadfast lawsuit mightiness question proposal astir filing for divorcement successful their state.
• Information needs: What cognition gaps bash they person that you tin fill? For example, a hairsbreadth salon lawsuit mightiness look for pricing accusation successful their area.
• Purchase decisions: What factors bash they see erstwhile choosing a solution? For example, a bakery lawsuit mightiness privation to cognize astir transportation options for day cakes.

Make a database of questions your customers inquire successful person, implicit the phone, oregon done selling channels similar email and societal media.

Additional ways to bash assemblage probe include:

Research Your Competitors

Research your competitor’s websites to find keywords they’re utilizing to scope people. Since these keywords thrust postulation to your competitors, they could besides payment your SEO strategy.

Say you’re doing SEO probe for your hairdressing salon successful Miami. One of your main competitors is Blunt Blonde Salon.

Open Semrush’s Organic Research tool, participate “bluntblondesalon.com”, and prime “US” arsenic your people country. Hit “Search.”

We tin spot Blunt Blonde Design targets 265 keywords and is estimated to person 315 visitors from integrated postulation successful the adjacent month.

Scroll past the overview to the “Top Keywords” section. Where you’ll find a database of the astir fashionable hunt terms.

Click “View each keywords” to unfastened the afloat database of each the keywords utilized crossed this website.

Review the keywords to spot which ones you’d similar to people successful content.

Click the checkbox adjacent to the ones you’re funny successful to prevention them to a list.

Click “+Add to keyword list” and springiness your database a sanction (optional).

To entree your database of saved keywords, click your list. Or navigate to Keyword Strategy Builder from the left-hand menu. And prime your list.

If you’d similar to support your keywords successful a spreadsheet, click “Export” and prime your preferred format.

Research Keywords

By now, you should person a database of imaginable keyword ideas from your lawsuit and rival research.

At this point, usage a keyword probe instrumentality similar Semrush’s Keyword Magic tool. This instrumentality volition assistance you observe further terms. And refine your database based connected information like:

• Search volume: Average fig of monthly searches implicit a 12-month period
• Keyword difficulty: How casual oregon hard it is to fertile successful Google’s apical 10 hunt results
• Search intent: The underlying intent down the user’s hunt (more connected this later)

Enter 1 of your keywords successful the Keyword Magic Tool, prime your people region, and click “Search.”

Let’s accidental you privation to people customers looking for curly haircuts.

Type the keyword, “curly haircuts” into the instrumentality to probe its popularity.

The Keyword Magic instrumentality volition populate applicable hunt terms. Like “mens curly haircuts” and “short curly haircuts.”

“Mens curly haircuts” could beryllium a bully word to people due to the fact that it gets implicit 9,900 regular searches and has an “easy” keyword trouble rating.

Select the “Questions” filter to constrictive your hunt to questions your assemblage searches for. Like “what is the champion haircut for curly hair.”

Add immoderate applicable keywords and questions to the keyword database you created erstwhile you researched the keywords.

3. Structure Your Website

Use the questions and hunt presumption you researched to usher your website’s structure.

Andrew suggests mapping retired what you privation your website to look like. And ensuring it’s designed to reply your people audience’s questions.

Site architecture is simply a navigational representation of your website’s structure. It outlines the hierarchy of pages and however they connect. Like this:

A sitemap readying instrumentality similar Lucid tin assistance you signifier an SEO-friendly tract architecture that appeals to your audience.

When creating your tract structure, see the following:

• Essential pages: Ensure you person dedicated pages to code the cardinal questions you‘ve identified successful your assemblage research. For example, a homepage, astir us, contact, and products/services page. These pages should beryllium easy accessible done your main navigation menu.
• Logical hierarchy: Logically signifier your pages with main categories and subcategories. This volition assistance users and hunt engines recognize the narration betwixt pages and topics.

Another effectual mode to attack website operation is to look astatine your competitors. What pages bash they person connected their sites? What topics bash they cover? Use their sites arsenic inspiration for your structure.

4. Create Search Engine-Optimized Content

Once you’ve identified your audience’s questions and structured your website to code them, the adjacent measurement is to make high-quality, hunt engine-optimized content.

This benignant of contented aims to bash 2 things:

• Provide invaluable accusation to your audience
• Signal to hunt engines that your website is simply a applicable and authoritative source

Here’s however to make SEO content:

Match Search Intent

Every question oregon hunt query you collected earlier has an underlying intent.

Matching this intent helps you make contented that satisfies users. And ranks highly.

There are 4 types of search intent:

• Informational: The idiosyncratic is looking for accusation oregon answers to a question. For example, “how to cook a cake” oregon “how agelong does it instrumentality to finalize divorce.” Create guides, blog posts, oregon FAQs that thoroughly code users’ questions to fulfill informational intent.
• Commercial: The idiosyncratic is researching a merchandise oregon work earlier making a acquisition decision. For example, “best hairsbreadth colorists successful Miami” oregon “divorce lawyer recommendations.” To fulfill commercialized intent, make informative merchandise pages, examination articles, reviews, and testimonials.
• Transactional: The idiosyncratic is acceptable to bargain oregon instrumentality a circumstantial action. For example, “schedule an assignment with a hairstylist” oregon “book a formation to New York.” To fulfill this intent, make product, service, oregon landing pages with wide calls to action. Such arsenic “Schedule an Appointment,” “Get a Quote,” oregon “Book a Flight.”
• Navigational: The idiosyncratic is looking for a circumstantial website oregon webpage. For example, “The New York Times website.” Or “order a customized barroom from [your concern name].” For navigational intent, marque definite your website has an casual navigation menu.

Target Relevant Keywords

When penning transcript for your website, integrate applicable keywords connected each page.

This includes:

• Page rubric (H1)
• Subheadings (H2–H6)
• Body text
• Title tags
• Meta descriptions

This helps hunt engines recognize what your contented is about. And improves your chances of ranking for applicable searches.

In summation to your superior people keywords, see including applicable secondary keywords. These are related presumption oregon phrases that tin further heighten your content’s relevance and visibility successful hunt results.

Use a operation of primary and secondary keywords to pull a broader scope of integrated traffic.

Incorporate E-E-A-T Signals

Beyond keyword optimization, it’s arsenic important to show Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) successful your content.

But what does it mean?

Google created its E-E-A-T model to measure the prime of webpages. This means the hunt motor prioritizes trustworthy contented created by experts.

Here’s however to comply with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines:

• Showcase your expertise by citing credible sources
• Share your credentials and firsthand experience
• Earn backlinks from reputable websites to physique authority
• Establish yourself arsenic a thought person by sharing industry-related content

For example, if you’re creating an nonfiction connected however to capable retired taxation returns, you could inquire an accountant to reappraisal it for accuracy.

If you’re creating a blog station connected the champion exercises to relieve backmost pain, you could inquire a qualified carnal therapist to show them successful a video. Or supply adept quotes.

Prioritize E-E-A-T and make invaluable contented that resonates with your people audience. And you’ll person a amended accidental of improving your hunt rankings. Plus, you’ll physique spot and credibility with your readers.

Structure Your Content Using Headings

Headings (H1 done H6.) assistance signifier your contented and marque it easier to read.

They besides awesome to hunt engines astir the hierarchy and relevance of your content.

Here’s however to operation your contented with headings:

• H1: Use the H1 tag for your leafage title. It should accurately bespeak the main taxable of the page. And see your superior keyword. H1 tells users and hunt engines what your leafage is about.
• H2: Use H2 tags to operation the main sections wrong your content. Each H2 should absorption connected a circumstantial subtopic. Or a definite measurement successful a guide. Incorporate keywords applicable to your superior hunt query.
• H3: Use H3 tags for subheadings wrong your H2 sections. This creates a wide hierarchy and makes your contented much scannable. H3s are besides large for incorporating applicable keywords.

5. Implement On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is optimizing idiosyncratic webpages to heighten their visibility successful hunt engines and pull much integrated traffic.

Since you’re conscionable learning however to bash SEO for a website, we’ll absorption connected 3 indispensable on-page SEO techniques that tin power your website’s visibility.

Create a Title Tag

A rubric tag is simply a clickable header successful hunt results.

Each leafage connected your website needs a unsocial rubric tag that tells users what to expect from the page.

Like this:

Keep rubric tags concise (50 to 60 characters) and descriptive. Incorporate your people keyword naturally.

Write a Meta Description

A meta statement is simply a little summary of a webpage that appears beneath the title.

Like so:

Summarize the page’s contented successful 155 characters oregon fewer. Include applicable keywords. And marque your meta statement compelling truthful searchers privation to click connected it to work more.

Like a rubric tag, a meta statement is besides unsocial to each idiosyncratic leafage of a website.

Include Internal Links

Internal links link pages wrong your website. They amusement hunt engines similar Google that pages connected your website are applicable to each other. And helps readers get much in-depth accusation astir the circumstantial topic.

For example, our nonfiction astir penning SEO contented mentions keyword research. Because we already person an in-depth nonfiction astir it, we included an interior nexus to pb our readers to that resource.

Like this:

Follow these interior linking champion practices:

Use Descriptive Anchor Text

Anchor substance is the clickable substance successful a hyperlink. It serves arsenic a preview of the contented users tin expect to find erstwhile they click connected the link.

In the discourse of SEO, anchor substance provides accusation to hunt engines astir the linked page’s topic.

When penning anchor text, see a keyword oregon its variation. And debar linking to generic phrases similar “click here.”

In our example, the people keyword for the nonfiction we linked to was “keyword research.”

So, we hyperlinked this keyword due to the fact that it aptly describes the linked-to page’s content.

Link to Relevant Pages

Ensure the pages you nexus to are contextually applicable to the existent page.

For example, if you person a blog station astir the benefits of yoga for accent relief, you could see interior links to different pages connected your tract astir antithetic yoga poses and meditation techniques.

This helps users observe related content. And signals to hunt engines that your pages are connected.

Optimize Images

Image SEO is the enactment of optimizing an representation truthful that it has a amended accidental of appearing higher successful hunt results and Google Images.

For example, if you’re creating a webpage connected “heating repair services,” you should besides see that keyword successful your representation sanction for that page:

Here’s however to bash representation SEO:

• Use descriptive record names: Instead of utilizing generic representation names, usage descriptive ones that see applicable keywords. For example, “energy-efficient heating systems.”
• Add alt text: Alt substance provides a substance statement of the representation for users who are unsighted oregon partially sighted. It besides appears connected the leafage if the representation fails to load. It besides helps hunt engines recognize the representation content. Include applicable keywords people wrong the text.
  

  

• Compress representation sizes: Large representation files tin dilatory down your website, negatively impacting idiosyncratic acquisition and SEO. Before uploading an representation connected your website, usage a escaped instrumentality similar Image Resizer to trim its record size.

6. Establish Credibility and Earn Backlinks

You created valuable, hunt engine-optimized content.

That’s great.

But erstwhile your concern website is new, you besides request to found credibility and authorization done backlinks.

A backlink is simply a nexus from 1 website to another. It’s a awesome for hunt algorithms that your website is trustworthy and has invaluable information.

Having backlinks helps amusement Google you’re a morganatic concern radical speech about.

While determination are aggregate ways to get backlinks, Andrew recommends getting progressive successful your section community.

For example, if you get a booth astatine a section farmer’s market, the lawsuit tract mightiness see your logo and a nexus to your site, helping you physique authority.

Here are a fewer ways to found credibility and get high-quality backlinks:

• Share invaluable content: Consistently stock contented connected your website that helps your assemblage lick their problems and encourages them to stock it with others
• Join your section enclosure of commerce: This tin pb to a nexus connected their directory and opportunities to web with different section businesses
• Sponsor events and teams: Sponsorships often see website links and logo placements connected lawsuit websites on with connected squad jerseys and banners
• Donate to section communities and charities: Many charities volition admit your publication connected their website, providing a applicable backlink
• Ask for links: Ask organizations you’re progressive with to nexus to your website
• Get citations: Set up your concern illustration connected concern directories similar Yelp and Yellow Pages

7. Distribute Your Content

Creating contented and optimizing its on-page elements is conscionable the start. Now, it’s clip to beforehand your contented crossed assorted platforms. To pull much visitors to your website.

Reaching a wider assemblage volition assistance physique your brand, found authority, and summation your online visibility.

This accrued postulation signals to hunt engines that your contented is invaluable and relevant. Which tin positively interaction your rankings.

• Social media: Share your contented connected your astir progressive social media platforms. Tailor your messaging to each channel’s circumstantial format and audience.
• Email newsletters: Send regular newsletters to your subscribers, featuring your latest blog posts, articles, oregon institution news
• Guest blogging: Contribute high-quality contented to different reputable websites successful your manufacture and nexus it backmost to your website. This method lets you scope a wider assemblage and physique backlinks.
• Industry forums and communities: Engage successful applicable online communities and stock your expertise to found thought enactment and pull imaginable customers
• Paid advertising: Invest successful targeted societal media ads oregon paid hunt campaigns to scope a broader assemblage and thrust postulation to your website

8. Set Up a Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile (GBP) is simply a integer storefront wherever you tin supply indispensable accusation astir your business. Like your code and interaction information.

GBP is simply a escaped instrumentality by Google that allows you to negociate your section business’s online beingness crossed Google Search and Maps.

To get started, hunt for your concern connected Google. If Google has already created a illustration for your business, assertion it by verifying your ownership. If not, you tin easy make a caller illustration by providing the required information.

Here’s what to support successful caput erstwhile setting up a Google Business Profile:

Choose the Right Category

Your superior class is the astir important for SEO, arsenic it importantly influences what keywords your concern appears for.

For example, a instrumentality steadfast specializing successful civilian instrumentality should constrictive down its concern class to “Civil instrumentality attorney” to summation its visibility for applicable searches.

Consider Seasonality

If your concern is seasonal, see changing your main class to bespeak highest demand.

For example, an HVAC repair work mightiness prioritize “Air conditioning repair service” successful the summer. And power to “Heating contractor” successful the winter.

Include Relevant Photos

Add high-quality photos that showcase your business, products, oregon services. Feature season-specific offerings if applicable.

Like photos of your squad installing aerial conditioners successful the summertime oregon servicing heaters successful the winter.

Ensure NAP Consistency

Double-check that your concern name, address, and telephone fig (NAP) are accordant and close crossed each online platforms. This includes your website, societal media profiles, and online directories similar Yelp.

Encourage and Respond to Reviews

Positive reviews physique spot and power section hunt rankings. Encourage customers to permission reviews and respond promptly to some affirmative and antagonistic feedback.

9. Set Up Google Search Console and Google Analytics

Set up analytics tools similar Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics (GA) to way your website’s show and recognize however visitors interact with your content.

Why both?

• GSC focuses connected your website’s show successful Google search
• GA provides a broader position connected your website traffic. Including postulation from different sources similar societal media oregon referrals.

Let’s spot however to acceptable up each tool:

Google Search Console

Open Google Search Console, participate your domain, and click “Continue.”

Next, you’ll spot the instructions to verify your domain ownership:

1. Sign successful to the level wherever you bought your domain sanction (e.g., GoDaddy)
2. Find the “DNS configuration” conception for your domain connected the domain supplier platform
3. Paste your unsocial grounds provided by GSC into the “DNS configuration” for your domain
4. Press “Verify”

Google Analytics

Open Google Analytics, sanction your account, and prime relationship information sharing settings.

Then, scroll to “Next.”

The adjacent measurement is to make a spot for your account. A spot represents a website that you privation to way and analyze.

Give your spot a sanction and prime your clip portion and currency. Click “Next.”

Now, prime your concern details similar manufacture and size.

And your concern objectives. Like generating leads, selling products oregon services, and raising marque awareness.

Accept Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement.

Select the level you’d similar to commencement collecting information from (like a website, Android app, oregon iOS app).

In your case, prime “Web.”

Enter your website URL and benignant “My Website” successful the “Stream name” field. Click “Create stream.”

Select your website builder and travel the instructions for that circumstantial platform.

Integrate GSC and GA successful Semrush

Sign up for a escaped 14-day Semrush trial to show your GSC and GA information successful 1 dashboard.

Combining information from assorted sources gives you a holistic presumption of your website’s performance. And lets you place areas for betterment successful 1 place.

Once you’ve acceptable up Google Search Console and Google Analytics, integrate them into Semrush for a unified view.

Sign successful to your Semrush relationship and navigate to “SEO Dashboard” from the near menu.

Enter your website sanction and click “Start now.”

Navigate to the “SEO Dashboard” again and prime the settings icon astatine the apical close country of the screen. Select “Set up Google account” from the drop-down menu.

Select the email you utilized to acceptable up your Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

Then, prime your GA and GSC properties. And click “Save changes.”

Semrush volition fetch information from GA and GSC for an aggregate view.

Scroll until you spot “Traffic Analytics” and “Google Search Console Performance.” And reappraisal your site’s show without having to log into aggregate accounts.

10. Monitor Results and Adjust SEO Strategy

Once you’ve learned however to bash SEO for your website, your enactment isn’t done.

Regularly monitor your SEO performance to recognize what’s moving and what needs improvement. So, you tin support oregon amended your rankings.

Check Impressions

Impressions correspond the fig of times a idiosyncratic sees your website successful hunt results. Even if they didn’t click it.

Having immoderate fig of impressions is simply a affirmative sign, arsenic it indicates your tract is indexed and discoverable.

Open Google Search Console, click connected “Search results” nether the “Performance” section, and prime “Total Impressions.”

Not seeing impressions for keywords you privation to fertile for whitethorn mean your contented isn’t indexed oregon optimized good enough.

Or that Google doesn’t see your website applicable for those queries.

The solution is to revisit the contented and update it to hole immoderate issues to assistance it fertile higher. And get much impressions.

Use applicable keywords people passim your content. Include them successful headings, meta descriptions, and representation alt text.

Analyze Clicks

A click is simply a idiosyncratic enactment that signifies a visitant recovered your nexus successful the hunt results and chose to sojourn your website.

Clicks amusement that your rankings are precocious capable to pull integrated traffic.

Scroll past the wide show results successful Google Search Console and prime the “Pages” tab to spot which pages get the astir clicks.

It should look thing similar this:

If you’re getting impressions but fewer oregon nary clicks, this means your website shows up successful hunt results, but users aren’t clicking connected it.

This could beryllium owed to a mates of reasons:

• Low ranking: Your leafage mightiness beryllium buried successful hunt results. In this case, you request to amended your rankings by optimizing your content, gathering backlinks, and improving your website’s wide authority.
• Uncompelling rubric and meta description: Your rubric and meta statement mightiness not beryllium breathtaking capable to pull clicks. Revise them to marque them much compelling and applicable to the hunt query.

Track CTRs

The click-through rate reflects the percent of impressions that resulted successful a click.

Monitor click-through rates (CTR) for antithetic queries to spot which pages execute well. And which ones request improvement.

To spot which keywords get the highest CTR, and which ones get the lowest, prime the “Queries” tab. Like this:

Get Started with SEO for Your New Website

SEO is an ongoing process that requires patience and dedication. With accordant effort, you tin steadily amended your website’s visibility, pull much integrated traffic, and execute your concern goals.

It’s important to person realistic expectations. As Andrew says, galore radical marque the mistake of giving up connected SEO excessively early, not realizing it’s a semipermanent investment.

Focus connected gathering a beardown instauration by creating invaluable contented and knowing your assemblage and their needs. Over time, your efforts tin pb to sustainable maturation and success.

Understanding the creation of SEO copywriting tin assistance you constitute contented that resonates with your assemblage and hunt engines.

Learn everything you request to cognize successful our escaped SEO copywriting guide. From optimizing your contented to improving the idiosyncratic experience.