There’s nary amended clip to marque definite your website is SEO-friendly than erstwhile you’re gathering it.

Here are each the steps you should take:

It’s casual to overcomplicate the process of choosing a domain. But choosing a branded domain that is abbreviated and memorable works amended successful astir cases than trying to shoehorn definite keywords into your domain name.

So if you already person one, spell up with it. Or if you’re mounting 1 up for your business, your concern sanction works fine too.

When it comes to the top-level domain (TLD), for example, .com, Google has said that the TLD makes no quality for SEO. 

So we dainty each of the New Top-level Domains similar immoderate different generic top-level domain.

There’s nary request to rack your encephalon implicit this. .com works good successful astir cases, arsenic it’s internationally recognizable. 

Once you’ve decided connected a domain name, caput implicit to a domain registrar—like Google Domains oregon Namecheap—to spot if it’s available. If it isn’t available, you volition request to repetition the process until you find a sanction that is some disposable and works for your business.

Website platforms fto you make and negociate a website easily. There are two types:

1. Hosted platforms – They big the site, springiness you ready-made designs, and fto you adhd and edit contented without touching code. Examples are Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify.
2. Self-hosted platforms – These let you to adhd and edit contented with oregon without code. However, you’ll person to big and instal them yourself. Examples are WordPress and Ghost. 

Most SEOs urge WordPress—a self-hosted, open-source platform. SEOs similar it due to the fact that it’s customizable—you tin edit the codification nevertheless you like. 

But that doesn’t mean you person to beryllium method to usage WordPress. There are millions of plugins you tin instal that bash each sorts of tasks for you. These see SEO plugins too. 

You don’t person to cognize however to codification successful bid to usage WordPress.

If you’re utilizing a self-hosted solution, similar WordPress.org, you’ll request a web host. We don’t person a peculiar 1 to recommend. But arsenic you’re considering your options, look retired for the 3 S’s:

• Security – Hosts should supply you with a escaped SSL/TLS certificate. 
• Server location – It takes clip for information to question betwixt the server and visitor. So it’s champion to take a big with servers successful the aforesaid state arsenic astir of your traffic.
• Support – You’ll privation 24/7 support. Consider checking retired their reviews successful forums similar Reddit oregon trial their enactment retired earlier you sign up.

You present person a basal website you tin configure to go SEO-friendly. Here’s what you should do next:

Set up Google Search Console and Ahrefs Webmaster Tools

You’ll request GSC to bash a clump of important SEO tasks, similar uncovering method errors connected your website, submitting sitemaps, and more.

Setting it up is beauteous easy. Sign successful to GSC with your Google account. You should spot this “welcome” screen:

Choose Domain and participate your domain. You’ll past beryllium prompted to verify your domain. Google has explicit step-by-step instructions connected however to do this:

Verifying domain ownership via TXT in GSC.

Verifying domain ownership via CNAME in GSC.

If you’re stuck oregon unsure, you tin cheque retired Google’s assistance article.

Once that is done, you’ll beryllium capable to usage GSC and spot your hunt analytics. (You won’t person immoderate information for present since it’s new.)

While GSC is irreplaceable for anyone superior astir SEO, it is inactive lacking successful immoderate areas. For example, it lone offers immoderate information astir the keywords your website ranks for and the sites that nexus to you.

To compensate for the lacking areas, you should acceptable up Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT). It’s escaped and allows you to:

• Audit your website for 100+ SEO issues (and explicate however to fix them).
• See the websites that are linking to you.
• See the integrated keywords your tract is ranking for.
• See the magnitude of integrated postulation your tract is receiving.

And more.

To usage AWT, make a escaped account. Then adhd and verify your website. You tin usage your GSC relationship to verify too.

Create a logical tract structure

It should beryllium casual for visitors and hunt engines to find contented connected your site. You’ll request a logical hierarchy for your content, which you tin sketch retired utilizing a mind map:

Each marque connected the caput representation represents an interior link, which is simply a nexus from 1 leafage connected a website to different page. 

Internal links are important for your website because:

• This is however Google and different hunt engines find new pages.
• This is besides however Google and different hunt engines recognize what your leafage is about. They bash this by looking astatine the clickable words successful the link, known arsenic anchor text.
• Internal links assistance walk PageRank, which is an important Google ranking factor.

Use a logical URL structure

Our proposal is to spell for thing that’s wide and descriptive, truthful thing similar website.com/seo-for-new-website/.

Other method considerations

A affirmative idiosyncratic acquisition is important for your concern and Google too. You’ll privation to marque definite you person these things covered:

Use HTTPS

Nobody wants their idiosyncratic information leaked to hackers. You’ll privation to encrypt your tract with SSL/TLS. Most decent web hosts should beryllium capable to connection this service, oregon you should beryllium capable to alteration it yourself with one click.

After that, you should spot the padlock connected your URLs.

Here’s what it looks similar successful Google Chrome:

Make definite your tract is mobile-friendly

Most radical search connected mobile these days. Your website should beryllium responsive and enactment connected each devices.

You tin cheque this easy utilizing Developer Tools connected Google Chrome:

1. Click connected the “…” dropdown successful the apical close country of the browser
2. Select More Tools
3. Select Developer Tools
4. Click connected the mobile fastener successful the apical near corner

From here, you’ll beryllium capable to prime the nonstop instrumentality you privation to test for:

Avoid intrusive interstitials

Interstitials are full-screen ads that look earlier a webpage’s contented is loaded. Nobody likes them. Neither does Google. If there’s nary request for specified pop-ups connected your website, avoid them.

Make definite your tract loads fast

Page speed is simply a Google ranking factor. So it’s decidedly important to walk immoderate clip making definite your tract loads quickly. You tin usage a instrumentality similar PageSpeed Insights to cheque your page’s performance.

You can’t get integrated postulation if nary one’s searching for a peculiar topic. That’s wherefore the archetypal measurement of immoderate SEO strategy is to find retired what your people assemblage is searching for. 

This is known arsenic keyword research. 

The easiest mode to statesman is to usage a keyword probe tool. Keyword tools are databases of words and phrases with SEO metrics. They amusement you a database of ideas based connected the effect keyword thought you’ve entered. 

For example, you tin get started with a escaped keyword probe instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keyword Generator. 

Enter a azygous applicable taxable and you’ll get up to a 100 keywords back:

If you’re looking for much keywords, you tin usage a nonrecreational keyword instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. You’ll beryllium capable to spot the afloat scope of imaginable topics, plus:

• Important keyword metrics to assistance you marque amended decisions.
• Filters to constrictive down your hunt to the best, astir applicable keywords.

For example, utilizing the aforesaid effect keyword arsenic above, “coffee,” Keywords Explorer shows america implicit 3 cardinal keywords.

But that’s excessively many. So, let’s drill down by focusing connected keywords that we tin actually compete with. We tin bash this by adding a Keyword Difficulty (KD) filter. We’ll besides privation to marque definite these keywords tin nonstop america hunt traffic, truthful we’ll privation to adhd a Traffic Potential (TP) filter.

Here’s what that looks like:

From here, you’ll privation to look done the list, prime retired those keywords that are relevant, and adhd them to a keyword database that you tin reference. (This tin beryllium a elemental Google Sheet.)

Just similar however merchandise managers plan products for their people users, we privation to bash the aforesaid for our contented too. In this case, we privation to make contented that appeals to radical searching for our topic.

Here’s however to do it:

Analyze hunt intent

Search intent is the why behind a hunt query. In different words, wherefore is the searcher looking for that peculiar topic?

Knowing hunt intent is important because:

• Knowing wherefore the searcher is searching means you tin make the right portion of contented for them.
• Google besides wants to cognize truthful it tin service the astir applicable results.

As a result, by aligning your contented with hunt intent, you tin fertile higher connected Google.

We tin place hunt intent by looking astatine the top-ranking pages for your taxable and figuring retired the three Cs:

• Content type – Are they blog posts, merchandise pages, landing pages, oregon thing else?
• Content format – Are they tutorials, listicles, how-to guides, recipes, escaped tools, oregon thing else?
• Content angle – Is determination a ascendant selling point, similar debased prices oregon however casual it is?

For example, let’s accidental we’re targeting the keyword “how to cleanable java maker.” If we instrumentality a look astatine the SERP overview successful Ahrefs…

… we tin see these:

• Content type – They’re mostly blog posts.
• Content format – They’re mostly how-to guides.
• Content angle – There are a fewer angles here: “with vinegar,” “better-tasting coffee,” “any kind,” and “in conscionable 30 minutes.”

If we privation to fertile for this keyword, we’ll person to make a how-to usher connected cleaning a java maker, with a circumstantial space targeting a unsocial know-how we have.

Cover important subtopics

A merchandise manager whitethorn person an thought of what their people users privation to see, but they won’t privation to presume that they cognize everything. 

The aforesaid goes for your contented too—you won’t privation to miss imaginable subtopics that searchers expect successful a portion of contented tackling that topic. In this case, we tin really find that retired by looking for communal keyword rankings among top-ranking pages.

Here’s how:

1. Enter your keyword (e.g., “earned media”) into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
2. Scroll down to the SERP overview
3. Select 3 to 5 top-ranking articles (make definite they’re similar)
4. Click Open in and take Content gap

This opens up the Content Gap report, which shows each the keywords these pages are ranking for. We’ll privation to prime the Intersection dropdown and take the highest 2 targets (in this example, 4 and 5).

You tin spot that galore of these keywords representation to subtopics too. For example, searchers privation to know:

• What earned media is. 
• Examples of earned media.
• Earned media strategies.
• Other types similar paid and owned media.

Make it unique

While you privation to beryllium inspired by the existent top-ranking pages, your extremity is not to “copy” everything that’s already connected there. After all, if your contented is precisely similar everyone else’s, there’s nary crushed to devour yours particularly. 

So you’ll privation to springiness your assemblage a crushed to read, share, oregon nexus to your content. The champion mode to bash this is to marque definite your contented is unique. 

Here’s however you tin make thing unique:

• Write astir thing from your idiosyncratic experience – I wrote astir my ain travel successful this post connected becoming a contented creator.
• Interview experts successful your field – We interviewed SEO adept Kevin Indig successful this post.
• Crowdsource opinions, expertise, oregon ideas from aggregate experts – We interviewed 4 nexus gathering experts successful our post connected planetary nexus building.
• Create archetypal probe from moving studies oregon surveys – We surveyed 439 radical for our post connected SEO pricing.
• Offer a contrarian opinion – We did this erstwhile Joshua argued wherefore Google doesn’t attraction astir AI content.

Make your contented casual to read

Your contented should beryllium an effortless speechmaking acquisition for your readers. Follow these tips:

• Use descriptive subheadings (H2–H6) for hierarchy
• Use bullets to assistance with skimming
• Use images and GIFs (where needed) to interruption up the text
• Use short sentences and paragraphs to debar “walls of text”
• Use simple words that everyone tin understand
• Write arsenic you speak to marque things conversational
• Read your transcript retired loud (when editing) to creaseless the flow

Add your on-page SEO

On-page SEO focuses connected helping Google and searchers amended recognize and digest your content. 

Follow these basics:

• Use the keyword successful the rubric (if possible)
• Write a compelling meta statement that sells your nonfiction connected the SERPs
• Add concise and close alt substance to your images

Just due to the fact that you’ve created your website doesn’t mean radical magically observe it. You person to archer others astir your caller website.

Here are immoderate starting tips for promoting your website:

• Don’t beryllium shy and archer your friends and family – They’ll beryllium supportive. 😄
• Start building an email list – This volition travel successful useful successful the aboriginal whenever you people caller content.
• Reach retired to radical you’ve mentioned successful your content – If you’ve linked to and mentioned immoderate assets successful your article, archer the authors! Find their interaction details and email oregon DM them.
• Join and enactment successful applicable niche communities – Whether it’s connected Reddit, Slack, Circle, oregon Discord, go an progressive subordinate successful these communities and stock your contented erstwhile applicable (don’t spam!).

The supra tips look deceptively simple, but they volition assistance to get the connection retired astir your website. 

There are much ideas to try, of course, but making definite you’re actually promoting your website is much important than the shiny caller tactics you can find.

You’ll privation to show your results truthful you tin fig retired what went close or wrong. 

The easiest mode to bash this is to adhd the keywords you’re targeting to Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker.

The instrumentality volition way your website’s ranking positions for each the keywords you’ve added. This way, you tin easy spot however good you’re performing crossed aggregate keywords, and whether you request to marque immoderate adjustments to your content.

Final thoughts 

SEO isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it task. But if you travel the supra process, you’ll commencement to get a accordant travel of integrated postulation to your site.

Any questions oregon comments? Let maine cognize on Twitter.