If you’re trying to launch a new website, SEO is essential for success. Unfortunately, optimizing your website for SEO can be a bit confusing, and you may be struggling to rank in search engines as a result.
When you are working on SEO, you need to know that technical SEO and holistic content SEO are two different beasts that, if you want to rank in search engines, you’ll need to conquer both.
Technical SEO is all about the nuts and bolts of how your website is built: optimizing titles, metatags, images, and so on. Holistic content SEO is about creating valuable, engaging content that will keep people coming back for more. While technical SEO is important for making sure your website is technically sound and Google-friendly, holistic content SEO is key for earning those top spots in the search engine results pages. Check out our blog to learn all about hiring a technical SEO agency.
If you’re looking to build your SEO strategy from the ground up, this blog is a great resource. Here, you’ll find tips and tricks for optimizing your website and creating valuable, engaging content that will keep people coming back for more. By following the advice here, you’ll be on your way to establishing yourself as an industry authority.
Why is it important to do SEO for a new website?
SEO (or search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing web pages so that they rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher your website ranks, the more likely people are to find it when they search for relevant keywords.
SEO is important because it determines how visible your website is to search engines. If you want people to find your site, you need to make sure it ranks high in SERPs for relevant keywords.
SEO is also important for a new website because it helps you build authority and credibility. If your website ranks high in SERPs, people will see it as more credible and trustworthy. This can help you attract more visitors and customers, and ultimately grow your business.
Whether you are creating a new website or have just launched a new website, but haven’t built up any authority in your sphere, read on to learn SEO tips to help your website be successful. There are several types of SEO, so it is important to implement best practices for all of them to give your website the best chance to rank.
Step 1: Create a Topical Roadmap
The first step to creating an SEO strategy is to create a roadmap of the topics you want to cover on your website. This will help you determine the keywords you need to target.
What is a topical roadmap?
A topical roadmap is a list of topics you want to cover on your website. It’s essentially a table of contents for your website.
Creating a topical roadmap will help you determine the keywords you need to target because it will give you an overview of the topics you want to cover. Once you know the topics you want to cover, you can research which keywords are most relevant to those topics.
How to create a topical roadmap for SEO
To create a topical roadmap, start by brainstorming all of the topics you want to cover on your website. Then, organize those topics into categories. For example, if you’re a web design company, your categories might be “Web Design,” “Web Development,” and “SEO.”
Once you have a list of keywords, you can start creating content around those topics. Make sure to include the SEO keywords in your content so that search engines can index it and rank it accordingly.
Step 2: Do your keyword research
Keyword research is essential for SEO success. You need to find keywords that are relevant to your business and that people are actually searching for. But how do you choose the right keywords for your business?
There are a few different ways to choose the right keywords for your SEO strategy including:
Use a keyword research tool
There are quite a few different keyword research tools available online, such as Google Keyword Planner and Ahrefs. These tools will help you find keywords that are relevant to your business and that people are actually searching for. For more information, check out our blog on the best keyword research tools.
Research your competitors
Another way to choose the right keywords for your SEO strategy is to analyze your competitors. Use a tool like SEMrush or SpyFu to see which keywords your competitors are ranking for in their web pages. You can then use those same keywords in your SEO strategy.
For example, if you’re a web design company, you might want to look at your competitors’ websites to see which keywords they’re targeting in their SEO strategy. This can give you some ideas about which keywords you might want to target in your own strategy.
Use Google Suggest
Another way to find relevant keywords is to use Google Suggest. To do this, simply start typing a keyword into Google and see what suggestions Google gives you. These suggestions are based on what people are actually searching for, so they’re a great way to find relevant keywords.
Step 3: Define your pillars and clusters
The best way to organize your SEO strategy is to separate your keywords into pillars and clusters. Your pillars are your main topics, and your clusters are subtopics of those pillars.
Why do you need to organize your keywords into pillars and clusters?
By organizing your SEO strategy into pillars and clusters, you signal to search engines that you are an authority on those topics. If you can show Google that you have a wealth of holistic knowledge on broader topics, you will have an easier time ranking for keywords within those topic clusters.
Clustering your SEO keywords also makes it easier to track their performance. By seeing which keywords are performing the best, you can focus on developing content around those keywords. And by tracking the performance of your SEO keywords, you can see which strategies are working best for you and continue to improve your SEO strategy over time.
How to organize keywords into pillars and clusters
There are a few different ways to organize your SEO keywords into pillars and clusters. The most common way is to use a tool like Google Sheets or Excel.
Start by creating a list of all of your keywords. Then, create columns for each keyword and assign a pillar to each keyword. For example, if you have the keyword “web design,” you would assign it to the pillar “Web Design.”
Once you have assigned each keyword to a pillar, you can then start clustering your keywords. To do this, simply group together similar keywords. For example, if you write content on IT-related topics, one of your pillars might be “workstation technology.” One cluster within that pillar might be “routers,” whereas another might be “computer monitors.” Once you have your clusters, you can write several pieces of content within each cluster to target long-tail keywords like “How long does a router last” or “Best wifi router for home office.”
Organizing your keywords into pillars and clusters will help you create a more targeted SEO strategy. It will also help you create better content that is more relevant to your audience.
Step 4: Map out each blog and a publishing cadence
Now that you have your keywords organized, it’s time to start creating content. Begin by mapping out each blog post and what SEO keywords you want to target. Then, determine a publishing cadence for your blog. This will ensure that you’re regularly publishing new content and that your website is always fresh.
What blogs should I publish first?
The best way to determine which blogs to publish first is to look at your keywords and prioritize the ones that your business has the most authority on. Begin by targeting keywords that have a high monthly search volume but also aren’t terribly difficult to rank for. This is another area where your keyword research tool comes in handy.
Ahrefs, for example, will tell you the search volume and difficulty for any keyword. You want the keywords with difficulty between around zero and 30, but don’t completely ignore the keywords above that range. Remember, you want to present yourself as an authority in your topic clusters, so while you’ll want to focus on lower difficulty keywords overall, don’t be afraid to target the tougher keywords too every now and then! These are the keywords that people are searching for the most and will be more likely to bring traffic to your website.
And remember, even if a keyword has a low monthly search volume, it could still be very valuable to your business. For example, if you’re a local business, you may want to target keywords with low monthly search volume but high local search volume. These are keywords that people in your area are searching for but not many people outside of your area.
What is a good blog publishing cadence?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The best publishing cadence for your blog will depend on your business and your audience.
There are a few different factors to consider when determining your blog’s publishing cadence.
First, consider how often you can realistically publish new content. If you can only publish once a week, that’s perfectly fine. Just be sure to stick to your schedule so that your website remains fresh.
Second, consider your audience. If you’re targeting a business audience, you’ll want to publish more frequently than if you’re targeting a general audience. Businesses are always looking for new content, so they’ll appreciate a steady stream of new blog posts.
Finally, consider your SEO goals. If you’re trying to rank for certain keywords, you’ll need to publish more content so that you can target those keywords more frequently.
Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you should have a good idea of how often you need to publish new content. Just be sure to stick to your schedule and you’ll see results in no time.
Step 5: Build backlinks
One of the most important SEO strategies is to build backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They show search engines that your website is popular and that it has valuable content. Luckily, there are a few easy ways to build backlinks.
Build backlinks through guest posting
One of the best ways to build backlinks is through guest posting. Guest posting is when you write a blog post for another website in exchange for a link back to your own website. This is a great way to get high-quality backlinks and improve your SEO.
To find guest posting opportunities, simply Google “your niche + guest post.” For example, if you’re in the fitness niche, you would Google “fitness guest post.” This will bring up a list of websites that accept guest posts in your niche.
When you find a website that you want to guest post for, simply reach out and pitch them your idea. If they accept your guest post, be sure to include a link back to your website in the post.
Guest posting is a great way to improve your SEO and get more traffic to your website. So if you’re not already doing it, be sure to start today!
Build backlinks through citations
Another great way to build backlinks is through citations. Citations are simply mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites. These citations help improve your SEO by showing search engines that your business is popular and that it has a presence online.
To get started with citations, simply create a listing for your business on popular directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and Foursquare. Be sure to include all of your business information, such as your name, address, and phone number.
Once you’ve created these listings, be sure to claim them and verify them. This will help improve your SEO and ensure that your listings are accurate.
Citations are a great way to improve your SEO and get your business more visibility online. So if you’re not already doing them, be sure to start today!
Step 6: Establish domain authority
Domain authority is a metric that measures how well a website will rank in search engines. It is based on a number of factors, including age, popularity, and size.
Domain authority is important because it shows you how well your website will perform on search engine results pages (SERPs). If you have a high domain authority, your website is more likely to rank well in SERPs.
There are a few different ways to improve your domain authority. One way is to build backlinks. As we mentioned before, backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They show search engines that your website is popular and that it has valuable content.
Some other ways to establish domain authority include creating high-quality content, optimizing your website for search engines, and having a strong social media presence.
High-quality content
The best way to improve your domain authority is to publish high-quality content. This content should be well-researched, well-written, and relevant to your niche.
If you can consistently publish high-quality content, you will see your domain authority start to rise. This is because search engines will recognize your website as a valuable resource and rank it higher in SERPs.
Ensure your site is mobile-friendly
Finally, you can also improve your domain authority by ensuring that your website is mobile-friendly. This is important because more and more people are using their phones to access the internet. If your website is not mobile-friendly, it will hurt your SEO.
Domain authority is an important metric to consider when trying to improve your SEO. By taking steps to improve your domain authority, you can increase your chances of ranking well in SERPs.
Step 7: Research your competitors
One of the best ways to learn how to improve your SEO is to research your competitors. We discussed competitor research as a part of keyword research, but you should also look into your competitors’ strategies to better inform your strategy overall. Simply enter your keywords into a search engine and see who comes up first. These will be some of your main competitors that are succeeding at SEO.
Once you’ve identified your main competitors, take a look at their websites and see what they’re doing right. Are they writing great blog posts? Do they have a lot of backlinks? Are they active on social media?
Once you’ve determined what they’re doing right, try to replicate their success. This doesn’t mean that you should copy their entire website, but it does mean that you should implement some of their SEO strategies on your own website.
Researching your competitors is a great way to learn how to improve your sear engine optimization.
Consider tools like Ahrefs for competitor research
There are a number of SEO tools that you can use to research your competitors and find out what they’re doing right. One of the best SEO tools is Ahrefs.
Ahrefs is a keyword research tool that offers insights into many different aspects of SEO where keywords are concerned. Check out our blog for a full rundown of what Ahrefs and other keyword research tools can do.
To get started with Ahrefs, simply create an account and enter your competitor’s website. Once you’re in, click on “Backlinks” on the left-hand side. This will show you all of the backlinks that your competitor has.
Once you have this information, you can start to build backlinks from the same websites. This is a great way to improve your SEO and get ahead of your competitors.
Ahrefs is an incredible tool for gaining insights into your competitor’s websites. You can see what keywords they’re ranking for, their authority, and their backlink profile. This information can help you to determine what tactics your competitor is using to succeed online, and then you can adapt and improve your own strategy accordingly.
Conclusion
SEO for a new website can be daunting, but by following the steps in this blog post and researching your competitors, you can give yourself the best chance to rank well in SERPs. All of these tips have one common goal: to improve your domain authority. Domain authority is an important metric that SEOs use to determine how well a website will rank in search engine results pages. By taking steps to improve your domain authority, you put yourself in a better position to achieve better SEO rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SEO web design?
There is no one answer to this question because SEO web design can mean different things to different people. Generally speaking, SEO web design is the process of designing a website with SEO in mind. This means that the website should be designed in a way that makes it easy for search engines to index and rank the site. For some practical ways to do this, check out our 10 Tips to Build an SEO Friendly Website blog.
If you are in the market for a new website with SEO, make sure you are considering web design companies that specialize in search engine optimization. SEO web design companies will have the experience and expertise necessary to design a website that is optimized for SEO.
What’s the difference between SEO and SEM?
The main difference between SEO and search engine marketing (SEM) is that SEO is focused on improving the organic visibility of a website in search engine results pages, while SEM is focused on paid visibility.
SEO is a long-term strategy that focuses on improving the ranking of a website in search engines. SEM is a short-term strategy that focuses on paid advertising to improve the visibility of a website in SERPs.
Both SEO and SEM are important pieces of any digital marketing campaign. However, if you’re just starting out, you may want to focus your efforts on SEO first and then move on to SEM once you’ve built up your SEO rankings.
What is Google Search Console?
Google Search Console is a free tool that allows you to see how your website is performing in Google search results. It also allows you to submit your website to Google for indexing, and it provides valuable insights into how Google sees your site.
If you’re serious about SEO, then you should use Google Search Console. It’s an essential tool that will help you track your SEO progress and make necessary changes to improve your rankings.
To get started with Google Search Console, simply sign up for a free account and add your website. Once you’re in, click on “Search Traffic” and then “Search Analytics.” This will show you valuable information about how your site is performing in Google search results.
What is a meta description?
A meta description is a short description of a webpage that appears in a search engine. Meta descriptions are important because they give searchers an idea of what the page is about before they click on it.
Meta descriptions should be clear and concise, and they should include the main keyword or phrase for the page. If you’re not sure how to write a good meta description, then you can use a tool like Yoast SEO to help you.
To edit your meta descriptions, simply go to your WordPress dashboard and click on “SEO.” From there, you can click on “Search Appearance” and then “Meta Descriptions.” This will allow you to edit the meta descriptions for each page on your website.
What does having an SEO-friendly website mean?
An SEO-friendly website is a website that has been designed in a way that makes it easy for search engines to index and rank. An SEO-friendly web page is typically well-organized and has high-quality content.
If you’re serious about SEO, then you need to make sure your website is SEO-friendly. Fortunately, there are many SEO plugins and tools available that can help you make your website more SEO friendly.
One of the best things you can do to make your website more SEO-friendly is to install an SEO plugin like Rank Math SEO. Rank Math SEO is a popular WordPress plugin that helps you optimize your website for SEO. It provides features like keyword optimization, sitemaps, and social media integration.
