SEO for a new website: what to set up first

Ten things, in order

1. Settle your name, address and phone numberChoose one version and use it identically everywhere. Changing it later means correcting it in dozens of places.
2. Plan the pagesA homepage, a page for each service, a page for each place you genuinely serve, an about page and a contact page.
3. Give each page one jobOne search it should answer and one thing the visitor should do next.
4. Write clear titlesWhat the page is about and where: “Kitchen Fitting in Selby”.
5. Make it fast and easy on a phoneMost local searches are made on one.
6. Create your Google Business ProfileDo not wait for the site to be finished. Verification takes time.
7. Set up Search Console and submit a sitemapSo Google finds the site, and so you can see how it is doing.
8. Install analytics and count enquiriesWith consent, or the right to object, handled properly. Calls and forms should be recorded from the first day.
9. Get your first listings and linksThe main directories, your trade body, suppliers and local organisations.
10. Start asking for reviewsFrom your very first customers.

What to expect

New sites are found for their own name first, usually within a few weeks. Searches for what you do take longer, because established competitors have a head start.

This is not a reason for doubt; it is a reason to build properly. A new site with a clear structure overtakes an old, muddled one more often than people expect. Our guide to how long SEO takes has a typical pattern.

Mistakes to avoid at launch

• Going live with indexing switched off.
• One “Services” page instead of a page for each.
• Text inside images, which search engines cannot read.
• A homepage that does not say what the business does or where.
• Copying text from another website, including a manufacturer’s.