How To Get A New Site Ready For Ranking In Search Engines

SEO can be overwhelming. The simplest of concepts can be highly complex in reality and even take years until they are mastered.

When you launch a new site, it takes a long time for it to gain traction. In order for it to rank in search engines, you have to optimize it properly, which is so much more complicated than it might initially think.

Before you launch a new site, make sure you go through the checklist below. This will help you to rank much faster in search engines.

Plan The Architecture Of Your Site

Even very small websites that only have under 10 pages need to use a completely logical architecture. Usually, the structure of a site is a pyramid. This starts with the homepage and then moves on towards the most important pages. A navigation bar is needed, then categories, sub-categories, product pages, articles, etc.

When the website has a logical, solid structure, Google better understands the most valuable content. This leads to faster indexing. At the same time, when the site is organized properly, visitors will enjoy using it more. Nowadays, offering a very good user experience is vital for rankings since Google takes the actions of the visitors into account in order to understand if the content present on a page is high quality or not.

Perform Thorough Keyword Research

Always create a good list of the relevant search terms describing services and products. You have to put yourself in the shoes of the target buyers. What would he/she look for to find your content?
A very simple way to figure out what keywords to use is to write those phrases you think the target audience would use in the Google search bar. The autocomplete feature will offer extra suggestions. Also, you can always use several SEO tools to discover more.

Optimize Site Platform

In SEO, a very important ranking factor is page speed. This is because visitors are very impatient. They do expect that a site loads in seconds. If this does not happen, they just leave.

Increasing page speed can be done in many different ways. However, it is a very good idea to choose a hosting provider that is reputable and a very good CMS (content management system).
Remember that the average web page only takes around 15 seconds to completely load. But, the amount you should aim for is 3 seconds or less. Even with the larger pages, you still need to have them load in under 5 seconds.

Use Mobile-Friendly Designs

Because over 50% of web traffic is done with the use of a mobile device, it is more important than ever to have a mobile-friendly design. This practically means the website needs to look perfect on any device the visitor would use.
The difficulty is that many variables have to be considered. But, because Google is now using mobile-first indexing, it is a necessity. Audit the page’s mobile-friendliness with these tips:
The site text needs to be properly laid out and readable on all mobile devices.

A viewport tag should be included.

Make sure the website loads as fast as possible.
Reduce image sizes.
Improve server response time.
Minify code.

Choose The Domain Name

The domain name is not a major factor when it comes to ranking but it is important to get it right for the users. Generally, the advice in the past was that you should keep a domain name that has the main keyword in it. Since Google does not care about anymore, now you can choose whatever you want and make it rank.

The trick with the domain name is to choose something that is easily brandable and easy-to-memorize. Generally speaking, the shorter the better. You have to focus on the branding aspect, not on something else.

Optimize URLs

Customize URLs so that you can quickly communicate exactly what the page is about. You can target the relevant keywords while you do this and you can also properly organize your website based on a pyramid structure.

As an example, instead of having an URL like “domain.com/product1.html”, it is better to have it “domain.com/dog-products/white-leash.html”. The second example clearly describes the content on the page. Also, “dog-products” would be the category so you create a good structure.

The good news is that most CMS options on the market automatically optimize URLs. So, if you use something like WordPress, it can be automatically done.

Join Google Search Console

Every single website you own needs to be listed in the Google Search Console. This free webmaster resource helps you to monitor the performance of your site and offers important advice about what changes have to be made.

For a new site, Google Search Console is also useful for optimization purposes since it can help you understand rankings. All you need to do is to sign up and then verify site ownership. After that, you just need to add the site’s sitemap to the system. This makes it easy for your new and old articles to be indexed in Google. For a new site, these are the only things that need to be done. Then, just respond to all the notices you get.
Create Meta Descriptions And Title Tags
The page’s title tag is very important. It tells the search engine what the content is about and should be short, around 50 to 60 characters. Then, the meta descriptions should highlight exactly what the content is all about and provide a CTA.
In search results, users see the title and the description of a page. So, they need to be attractive and descriptive at the same time. Also, make sure these are unique for every single page.

Optimize your Content

You need to place text on every single web page. This is a fundamental part of search engine optimization. The problem is it is quite complicated to get it right. However, in time, you do surely easily get the hang of it.
The most important things to remember when you optimize your content as a new website owner are the following:

Do not use keyword stuffing (the practice of adding keywords just to make Google think the content is about them).
Write for the user first.
Use proper formatting with the use of H tags and lists.
Add images or videos to easily break down content.

After the content is ready, link to other website pages whenever they add more information that is relevant to the topic covered. Then, add external backlinks to articles that would expand everything.

Time To Get Backlinks

Now that everything above was taken care of, it is time to keep creating content and to get relevant backlinks. Contrary to what many may tell you, everything mentioned above is practically all needed to be known when a site is launched.
Obviously, this is all a simplification of search engine optimization. Even still, it will help you get your site ready.

Need more help? Get in touch at: https://www.seocompanycanberra.com.au/

SEOCompanyCanberra
15 Ringrose crescent Isaacs ACT 2607
https://www.seocompanycanberra.com.au/
Press contact: https://www.seocompanycanberra.com.au/contact-us

SEOCompanyCanberra
SEO optimisation and marketing services

This release was published on openPR.