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How to kick-start SEO for your new website (in 4 easy steps)

Dual heritage female business owner using her phone to update her website's SEO. She is casually dressed standing in her kitchen wearing glasses and drinking coffee

If you’ve recently completed building a website for your business, or you’re thinking about doing so, you might be asking “how do I start SEO for my website?” Search Engine Optimisation isn’t an easy (or fast) task, but there are things you can do to give yourself the best chance for success. Here are 4 steps to help you kick-start your SEO strategy.

Step 1: Perform thorough keyword research

Before you can start optimising your website for search, you need to know which keywords you’re targeting. Just ask yourself which word or phrase best describes your business, then use Google (or even the free Google Keyword Planner) to discover related key terms you could target at the same time.

Step 2: Optimise your text content for SEO

Now that you know which terms you’ll be targeting, how do you get your site to appear higher in the rankings? Well, a lot of it is down to your website’s text content. You need to write it in such a way that it appeals to your website visitors, but also to search engines. It can be a bit of a fine art, but it always pays off. You should also ensure your page titles and header tags are optimised, too. With a bit of practice, you’ll have this down in no time.

Step 3: Submit your website for indexing via the Google Search Console

Once you’re happy with the on-page SEO changes you’ve started with, you’ll want to make sure Google actually knows about your website. To do this, you’ll need to request indexing directly from Google. It will eventually find the site on its own, but registering your website can speed things up. Just sign up for the free Google Search Console tool and submit your website from there.

Step 4: Plan out your content strategy for long-term success

As we’ve discussed, much of SEO relies upon your website’s content — and lots of it. Content marketing isn’t just a buzzword, it’s fuel for the SEO engine. For this reason, it’s a very smart idea to develop and deploy a content strategy, or content calendar. This is essentially a roadmap you can follow to ensure your website is always publishing fresh content — which is something Google really loves!

These steps will form a great foundation for search engine success, but if you’re yet to build a website and you really want to make a splash, try out Go Sitebuilder free for 14-days. With SEO tools built right in, it’s the best way to get a running start for your business.

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Important first steps to make a new website SEO-friendly

Female small business owner sat on her sofa at home with a hot coffee planning her SEO strategy on her laptop. She is casually dressed and smiling

If you’re a new website owner, the whole world of SEO can feel intimidating. You don’t want to get lost in the buzzwords, conflicting advice, and confusing link-building strategies – it doesn’t have to be that hard! With a little bit of advice and planning, you’ll be an SEO in no time. We’ve put together a few simple key points to make your new website is SEO friendly, and we promise it’s easier than you think!

1. Produce good quality, highly relevant content

Your visitors are probably coming to your site to learn or buy something. You’re the expert at what you do after all. You have to make sure that what they see when they visit your site solves their problem. Google rewards relevant, information-filled content. So, produce plenty of highly relevant content such as blogs and articles, and you’ll see the SEO benefits quickly!

2. Keep images as small as possible

Site speed is a key feature of how well a website performs in an SEO audit. If the images on your site are too big (in terms of file size), it can slow a site down and see it rank lower than a faster site. Try to avoid uploading large file sizes, or shrink the images where possible – make sure they are still good quality, but keep them as small as you can get away with.

3. Keep the site design minimal

Websites are becoming more minimalist in design. Minimal design means the content stands out, the site will be easier to read for the visitor and more importantly, the site will load quickly, which is a big SEO benefit. The temptation could be to over-complicate your website design. Keep things clean and simple and your visitors will benefit. Our powerful website builder allows you to create simple, beautiful sites without the need for an expensive web designer or any technical skills.

4. Link strategically

Do you have friends in your industry who could provide a backlink to your site? Relevant backlinks are a big SEO boost, so speak to customers, friends, industry colleagues, etc and see if they’d be willing to give your new website a helping hand with a backlink from their site to yours! If a site has backlinks from relevant sources, it’s a big help.

5. Use relevant keywords in your content

This is very important – you have to write about what you want to be found for. An example could be an electrician wanting to be found by potential customers. They’d make sure they write about the services they offer and the locations they offer them in. Writing articles on previous jobs they’ve done or and where the jobs took place are relevant, keyword-dense content.

You don’t need to be perfect from the start, but it’s important to be consistent. Plenty of content, plenty of information and a few helpful links will all help! If you’re at the start of your website and SEO journey, why not take a look at a 14-day free trial with Go Sitebuilder? Our expert team are always on-hand if you have any questions – so, what’s stopping you from getting your business online?