LLaunching a new website is exciting, but it’s also when SEO plays a crucial role in ensuring long-term success.

New website coming SOON

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how I approach SEO for new websites:

Understand the Purpose and Audience

Before diving into technical SEO, I focus on understanding the website’s purpose and target audience.

Define objectives: Is the website meant to generate leads, sell products, or provide information?

Identify the audience: Who will visit the website? Their preferences, problems, and search behaviour guide my strategy.

Keyword Research

Effective keyword research is the backbone of SEO. For a new website.

• Use tools like SEMRush, Ahrefs, or Google Keyword Planner.
• Target low-competition, long-tail keywords to quickly gain traction.
• Analyze competitor keywords and gaps.
• Create a seed list of primary, secondary, and LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords.

Structure the Website

Site structure impacts SEO and user experience.

My process includes:

• Flat structure: Ensures every page is accessible within 3 clicks.
• Logical hierarchy: Groups pages into categories for clarity.
• SEO-friendly URLs: Keep them short, descriptive, and keyword-optimized.
• Internal linking: Helps Google understand relationships between pages.

Technical SEO Setup

The technical foundation is essential for search engines to crawl and index the site. I focus on:

• Installing Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
• Submitting an XML Sitemap to Search Console.
• Setting up a robots.txt file to control crawling.
• Ensuring the website is mobile-friendly with responsive design.
• Improving Core Web Vitals: Optimize load time, interactivity, and visual stability.
• Enabling HTTPS for a secure browsing experience.

Content Creation

Content drives organic traffic, so I prioritise:

• Writing SEO-optimized blog posts targeting keywords.
• Creating cornerstone content that answers key user queries.
• Ensuring content is informative, actionable, and engaging.
• Using multimedia (images, videos, infographics) to boost user interaction.

On-Page SEO Optimization

Every page is optimized to rank effectively. My on-page checklist includes:

• Crafting compelling title tags and meta descriptions.
• Using header tags (H1, H2, H3) for better readability and keyword placement.
• Optimizing images with alt tags and compressed file sizes.
• Adding internal and external links to boost authority.

Building Backlinks

Backlinks signal authority to search engines. For a new website

• Build citations and directory links for local businesses.
• Leverage guest blogging on niche-relevant sites.
• Conduct outreach campaigns for high-quality backlinks.
• Avoid spammy or black-hat link-building practices.

Regular Monitoring and Optimization

SEO is a continuous process. Post-launch

• Track performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Ahrefs to measure organic traffic and keyword rankings.
• Analyze user behavior to identify bounce rates, exit pages, and session durations.
• Update content regularly to stay relevant.
• Fix crawl errors, broken links, or duplicate content to maintain site health.

Local SEO (If Applicable)

For businesses targeting specific locations

• Set up Google My Business and optimise the profile.
• Add NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) consistency across citations.
• Encourage customer reviews for credibility.

Remember

SEO for a new website requires a strong foundation, strategic planning, and consistent effort.

From technical optimizations to creating valuable content and building backlinks, I ensure every step aligns with the website’s goals and audience needs.

SSEO strategies sound great on paper. In reality, growth comes from fixing boring problems, making small improvements consistently, and learning from real data.

This 90-day SEO plan is built around what actually works in 2026, with examples and insights you’ll recognize if you’ve ever worked on a real website.

Days 0 – 30: Fix What’s Broken Before Trying to Grow

Most SEO failures happen because teams skip the basics and jump straight to content production.

Every SEO win I’ve seen started with fixing technical issues no one wanted to look at.” SEO Consultant, B2B SaaS

Run a Full SEO Audit

A proper audit often reveals surprising problems.

Real example: A SaaS website publishing weekly blogs saw no traffic growth. The audit revealed 40% of its pages weren’t indexed due to incorrect canonical tags. Fixing that alone led to a 22% increase in organic traffic within a month.

Fix Crawl Errors and Broken Links

Broken links don’t just hurt SEO, they frustrate users.

Real example: An education platform fixed over 300 broken internal links after a site migration. Within weeks, crawl stats improved and several previously “lost” pages started ranking again.

If Google struggles to move through your site, users probably do too.

Set Up Search Console and Analytics

Without clean data, SEO decisions become guesswork.

Real example: After properly setting up GA4 events, a hiring tech company realized its highest-traffic page had the lowest conversion rate, leading to a content rewrite that doubled demo sign-ups.

Do Keyword Research Based on Intent

High-volume keywords often bring the wrong audience.

Real example: A recruitment SaaS stopped targeting “video interview software” alone and created content around long-tail queries like “one-way video interview for universities”. Result: fewer visits, but higher-quality leads.

Intent beats volume every single time.

Days 31 – 60: Improve Content and Build Trust

Once the foundation is solid, content starts doing the heavy lifting.

Update Old Content Before Writing New Posts

Refreshing content is faster, and often more effective.

Real example: A healthcare blog updated 15 older posts with new data, FAQs, and better formatting. No new content was published for a month, yet organic traffic grew 18%.

SEO isn’t always about creating more—it’s about improving what already exists.

Write Long-Tail, Problem-Focused Content

Long-tail keywords attract users who are closer to action.

Real example: Instead of generic blogs, a B2B brand published content answering very specific questions like “How to reduce interview drop-offs in campus hiring.” These pages didn’t go viral, but they converted.

Start Backlink Outreach the Right Way

Link building works best when it feels natural.

Real example: A SaaS company earned backlinks by contributing expert quotes to industry articles instead of cold pitching guest posts. Fewer emails, better links.

One contextual link from the right site is worth more than ten generic guest posts.

Optimize for Featured Snippets and Rich Results

Clear answers help both users and search engines.

Real example: Adding short Q&A sections helped multiple blog posts earn featured snippets, increasing click-through rates without ranking #1.

Days 61- 90: Scale, Optimize, and Convert

At this stage, SEO shifts from traffic to business impact.

Scale What’s Already Working

Not all content deserves scaling, only what performs.

Real example: After noticing high engagement on “how-to” guides, a SaaS brand doubled down on that format. Those guides became their top organic lead drivers.

SEO growth accelerates when you stop experimenting and start repeating success.

Improve Landing Pages and Conversions

SEO traffic only matters if it converts.

Real example: Changing a CTA from “Book a Demo” to “See How It Works for Your Hiring Team” increased conversions by 27%, with no traffic increase.

Review Results and Plan the Next Cycle

SEO is iterative.

Real example: One team found that pages ranking in positions 5–10 were the fastest wins. They focused solely on improving those pages during the next 90 days—and saw quicker results than chasing new keywords.

The second 90-day SEO plan always performs better than the first—because now you have real data

Final Thoughts

SEO in 2026 isn’t about hacks or shortcuts. It’s about:

• Fixing real problems
• Writing content for real users
• Measuring real outcomes

A 90-day SEO plan gives you direction—but the results come from execution, iteration, and patience.

LLaunching a website is cool, but honestly, just putting a site live doesn’t do anything. If you want traffic, rankings, or even basic visibility, you need some SEO setup from day one. Here’s the simple version of what actually matters.

1. Pre-Launch SEO Setup

Before you make the site public, get these basics done:

• Domain Name: Keep it short and easy. If it fits your niche, even better.
• Hosting: Don’t cheap out here. Pick something stable so the site doesn’t lag.
• SSL Certificate: Make sure the site is HTTPS. Google doesn’t like non-secure sites.

A few more things before launch:

• Mobile-Friendly: Your site should work properly on phone, tablet, laptop – everything.
• Robots.txt: Tell search engines what they can and can’t crawl.
• XML Sitemap: Upload it in Search Console so Google understands your site layout.

2. Keyword Research: Build the Base

This part decides what you’ll rank for.

• Primary Keywords: Use tools like Keyword Planner to find keywords with good volume.
• Long-Tail Keywords: These get fewer searches but convert way better.
• Competitor Research: Look at what your top competitors rank for and figure out the gaps.

3. On-Page SEO: Basic Page Optimization

• Title Tags: Keep them short and use the main keyword.
• Meta Descriptions: Write simple, clear descriptions so people know what the page is about.
• Heading Structure: Use H1 for the main topic, H2/H3 for sections. Keep it clean.

More on-page stuff:

• URLs: Short, clean URLs. No weird numbers or random strings.
• Images: Compress them and add alt text.
• Internal Links: Link related pages so users and Google can navigate your site better.

4. Technical SEO: Fix the Backend Stuff

• Speed: Use PageSpeed Insights and fix whatever slows your site.
• Mobile-First: Google checks mobile performance first, so don’t ignore it.
• Schema: Add structured data so your content is easier for Google to understand.
• Canonical Tags: Avoid duplicate content issues with proper canonicals.

5. Content Strategy: Don’t Just Publish for the Sake of It

• Quality Content: Write something useful. Not fluff. Not filler. Something that actually helps.
• E-A-T: Show expertise. Link credible sources. Prove you know your stuff.
• Blog/Resources: Publish content regularly – consistency is what works.

Content tips:

• Longer content (1000+ words) usually performs better because it covers topics in detail.
• User Intent: Understand what people actually want when they search – then write for that.

6. Off-Page SEO: Build Authority Slowly

• Backlinks: Earn good links through outreach, guest posts, PR, etc.
• Social Presence: Share your content so at least someone sees it at the start.
• Brand Mentions: Track unlinked mentions and turn them into backlinks when you can.

7. Local SEO (If your business serves a local area)

• Google Business Profile: Keep your info updated and consistent.
• Local Citations: Same NAP (name, address, phone) everywhere.
• Reviews: Get real customer reviews – they help with rankings and trust.

8. Analytics & Tracking

• Google Analytics: Check traffic and user behavior.
• Search Console: Look at indexing, search queries, and any errors.
• Monthly Audits: Clean up issues regularly so they don’t pile up.

9. Post-Launch SEO

• Indexing: Make sure Google actually indexes your pages.
• Broken Links: Fix them using tools like Screaming Frog.
• Content Refresh: Keep updating old content – it matters more than people think.

10. Stay Updated

• Follow new Google updates – things change often.
• Stay connected with SEO communities.
• Don’t stick to old strategies; update your approach when needed.

Final Thoughts

If you follow this checklist properly, your website won’t just “exist”, it’ll actually start performing. SEO isn’t a one-time thing. You build it slowly, you fix things regularly, and over time, the site grows.

So the real question is: Are you planning for a launch or planning for long-term growth?

Related blog: How I Do SEO for New Websites

WWhen we hear the word SEO, most of us think about just optimizing websites with keywords or building backlinks. But SEO is so much more than that. In fact, it has grown into dozens of specialized practices-each with its own goals, techniques, and tools.

If you’re a marketer, recruiter, business owner, or content creator, understanding the different types of SEO can help you choose the right strategy for your goals. Let’s break down the 51 types of SEO into categories.

General SEO

These are the foundations of search engine optimization:

1. On-page SEO: Optimizing page content, meta tags, titles, and internal linking.
2. Off-page SEO: Building backlinks, brand mentions, and authority outside your website.
3. Technical SEO: Making sure your website’s backend is search-engine friendly (site speed, indexing, crawlability, etc.).

Technical SEO Variations

Technology shapes how search engines crawl and understand websites. Here are some specialized branches:

4. Mobile SEO: Ensuring websites are mobile-friendly.
5. Accessibility SEO: Optimizing for users with disabilities (e.g., screen readers).
6. Edge SEO: Using server-side optimizations and edge computing.
7. JavaScript SEO: Making JS-heavy websites crawlable.
8. React SEO / Next.js SEO / Headless SEO: SEO for modern frameworks and headless CMS platforms.

Content SEO

Content is still king, but SEO helps it shine:

9. Landing Page SEO: Optimizing pages designed to convert.
10. Blog SEO: Structuring blog content for both readers and search engines.
11. Content SEO: Overall content strategy for keyword ratio relevance.
12. Semantic SEO: Targeting search intent and meaning behind queries.
13. Multimedia SEO: Optimizing images, videos, and infographics.

Local & International SEO

Businesses with physical locations or global reach need specialized strategies:

14. Local SEO: Getting found in Google Maps and “near me” searches.
15. International SEO: Targeting global markets.
16. Multi-lingual SEO: Optimizing websites in multiple languages.

Platform-Specific SEO

Different platforms need different strategies:

17. eCommerce SEO: Optimizing online stores.
18. YouTube SEO: Ranking videos on YouTube and Google.
19. App Store SEO (ASO): Making apps visible in app stores.
20. Amazon SEO / Etsy SEO / Shopify SEO / Squarespace SEO / WordPress SEO / Wix SEO: Tailoring strategies to specific platforms.
21. Social Media SEO: Boosting visibility of social content.
22. News SEO / Google Discover SEO: Getting content featured in news and discovery feeds.
23. Yep SEO : A fun nod to Ahrefs’ own search engine!

Specialized SEO Types

These focus on unique use cases:

24. Image SEO / Video SEO:Optimizing media for search.
25. Programmatic SEO: Scaling SEO with automation.
26. Holiday SEO: Seasonal campaigns (Black Friday, Christmas, etc.).
27. Featured Snippet SEO: Winning position zero.
28. Long-tail SEO: Targeting niche queries with lower competition.
29. SaaS SEO / Enterprise SEO / Niche SEO: Tailored to business models.
30. Voice SEO: Preparing for voice search queries.
31. AI SEO: Leveraging artificial intelligence tools.
32. Taxonomy SEO: Structuring site categories and tags.

SEO Philosophies

Finally, SEO isn’t just about tactics—it’s also about approach:

33. White Hat SEO: Ethical, long-term strategies.
34. Black Hat SEO: Aggressive, often risky tactics.
35. Grey Hat SEO: A mix of both worlds.
36. Negative SEO: Harmful tactics used against competitors.
37. Sustainable SEO: Eco-conscious, long-term strategies.
38. Continuous SEO: Ongoing optimization.
39. DIY SEO: Do-it-yourself SEO for small businesses.
40. Holistic SEO: Looking at SEO as part of a bigger digital ecosystem.

Final Thoughts

SEO is no longer a “one-size-fits-all” discipline. Whether you’re running an online store, growing a SaaS company, or just trying to get more visibility for your blog, there’s a specific type of SEO that can help.

The key is to choose the right mix of strategies, stay updated with trends, and always focus on adding value to your audience.

Introduction

IIf your website isn’t ranking the way it should, it’s probably time for an SEO audit. Think of it like a health check-up for your site—it helps you uncover what’s working, what’s broken, and what’s holding you back in the search results. Whether you’re trying to boost organic traffic, fix indexing issues, or just get a clearer picture of your site’s performance, a thorough SEO audit can uncover powerful opportunities for growth. In this guide, I’ll walk you through 18 essential steps to perform a complete SEO audit—tools included—so you can take action right away.

The tool you need

• Audit tool like Semrush Site Audit
• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Google PageSpeed Insights
• Google Schema Markup Testing Tool

Basics — The Things You 100% Must Check

• Benchmark your rankings and understand your competitors
• Check for duplicate versions of your site in Google’s Index
• Check your site’s indexed URLs
• Check for manual actions
• Analyze your site’s speed
• Confirm that your site uses HTTPS
• Check for mobile-friendliness issues
• Analyze and resolve further indexation issues
• Understand your site’s page experience
• Audit your on-page SEO

SEO Audit Quick Wins

• Fix broken internal links
• Clean up your sitemap
• Check your redirects

Auditing Content

• Find and fix duplicate content issues
• Identify thin content pages
• Fix issues with orphan pages
• Compare your content to top ranking pages & analyze searcher intent
• Run a Backlink Audit

Conclusion

Doing an SEO audit doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Once you break it into steps—like we’ve done here—it’s really just about getting a clear picture of how your site’s performing and spotting areas where you can improve. Some fixes might be quick wins, others might take more time, but all of them move you in the right direction.

The key is consistency. Don’t just audit once and forget about it—make it part of your regular website maintenance. Over time, you’ll catch issues early, stay ahead of algorithm changes, and keep your content in line with what your audience (and Google) actually wants.

If you’ve got any questions or tips from your own audits, feel free to share—always happy to swap notes.

Crawlability & Indexability

AAchieving strong visibility in search engines starts with a technically sound, content-rich, and user-friendly website. In this comprehensive guide, we walk you through a detailed SEO audit framework that covers everything from crawlability and site structure to content optimization, mobile readiness, and international SEO. Whether you’re uncovering hidden issues in your robots.txt file or fine-tuning your hreflang implementation, this roadmap highlights the most critical technical and on-page SEO elements that can make or break your organic performance.

Robots.txt

• Format errors in robots.txt
• Invalid structured data items
• Issues with blocked internal resources in robots.txt
• Issues with blocked external resources in robots.txt
• Robots.txt not found
• Pages blocked by X-Robots-Tag: noindex HTTP header
• Pages were blocked from crawling

URL Structure

• Malformed links
• Underscores in the URL
• Too many parameters in URLs
• URL is too long
• User-friendly first, then search engine-friendly
• Concise
• Punctuated correctly
• Consistent
• Avoid repeating keywords

Links

• Broken internal links
• Pages with only one incoming internal link source
• Pages that need more than 3 clicks to be reached

Internal Linking

• Identify Orphan Pages
• Fix Redirected / Broken Links
• Relevance
• Anchor Text
• Remove Internal Links to Unimportant Pages
• Internal Link Position

Redirects

• Pages returning 4XX status code
• Pages returning 5XX status code
• WWW domain configured incorrectly
• Redirect chains and loops
• Pages with a meta refresh redirect tag
• Broken canonical link
• Multiple canonical URLs
• Pages with temporary redirects
• Internal links with nofollow attributes
• Too many on-page links
• Broken external links
• External links with nofollow attributes
• URLs with a permanent redirect

Sitemap

• Format errors in sitemap.xml
• Wrong pages found in sitemap.xml
• Sitemap.xml files are too large
• Sitemap.xml not found
• Sitemap.xml not indicated in robots.txt
• Orphaned pages in sitemap
• Orphaned pages from Google Analytics

On-Page SEO

Page Title Optimization

• Compelling and engaging
• Short, sweet, and descriptive
• Unique
• Not too long
• Optimized for your primary keyword
• Add your primary keyword towards the front

Content

• Missing or empty title tags
• Issues with duplicate title tags
• Duplicate H1 and title tags
• Title tag is too long
• Title tag is too short
• Write As You Talk
• Target Your Audience Pain Point
• Analyze the Heading
• Use Sub Headings and Bullet Points
• Use Table of Content
• Avoid Plagiarism
• Write for Content Salesy
• Avoid Keyword Stuffing
• Add Relevant CTA
• Keep the Vocabulary Simple
• Remove Duplicate Content

Heading Optimization

H1 Heading

• Missing H1 heading
• Duplicate H1 and title tags
• You only have one H1 tag
• Your heading describes what your page is about
• They aren’t too long
• They aren’t too short either
• They grab the user’s attention
• Try to include the primary keyword you want to target

H2-H6 Heading

• Are meaningful
• Include long-tail keywords
• Answer subtopics required to answer the main search query
• Accurately summarizes your content
• Are optimized with your primary keyword
• Are engaging
• Aren’t too long

Meta Description

• Duplicate meta descriptions
• Missing meta descriptions

Image

• Broken internal images
• Broken external images
• Images missing alt attribute
• Resources formatted as page link
• Descriptive
• Not too long
• Optimized for your keywords

Technical SEO

Page Speed

• Large HTML size
• Slow page load speed
• Uncompressed pages
• Issues with uncompressed JavaScript and CSS files
• Pages have a JavaScript and CSS total size that is too large
• Pages use too many JavaScript and CSS files
• Issues with unminified JavaScript and CSS files
• Issues with uncached JavaScript and CSS files
• Issues with broken external JavaScript and CSS files

Core Web Vitals

• Pages that take more than 1 second to become interactive

Old Technology

• Frames used
• Doctype not declared
• Incompatible plugin content

Mobile

• Missing viewport tag
• Missing the viewport width value
• AMP pages with HTML issues
• AMP pages with style and layout issues
• AMP pages with templating issues
• AMP pages have no canonical tag
• Issues with broken internal JavaScript and CSS files

HTTP Implementation

• Mixed content
• Non-secure pages
• No redirects or canonicals to HTTPS URLs from HTTP version
• SSL certificate registered to an incorrect domain name
• Old security protocol version
• Expiring or expired SSL certificate
• Subdomains don’t support secure encryption algorithms
• HTTPS pages lead to HTTP page
• Homepage doesn’t use HTTPS encryption
• HTTP URLs in sitemap.xml for HTTPS site
• Subdomains don’t support SNI
• Subdomains don’t support HSTS

International SEO

• Hreflang implementation issue
• Hreflang conflicts within page source code
• Incorrect hreflang links
• Pages with no hreflang and lang attributes
• Pages without character encoding declared
• Hreflang language mismatch issues

A successful SEO strategy starts with a solid foundation. By regularly auditing key areas like crawlability, content, page speed, and mobile performance, you’ll stay ahead of issues that could hurt your rankings. Use this roadmap as your guide, fix what matters most, and keep your site search-engine friendly and user-focused.