SEO for a new website: where to start

The short answer

Start SEO for a new website before the build: choose the searches each page will answer, settle the page addresses and keep the test site private. At launch, remove any block, publish a sitemap and verify Search Console. Then ask Google to index the home page and watch the Page indexing report. Google cannot promise when pages will appear.

SEO for a new website: the order that works

SEO for a new website runs through four stages: decide, build, launch and watch. Most of the damage done to new sites is done in the first two stages, when nobody is thinking about search yet, and most of the fixing is done in the last, when it is harder. Doing a little in each stage costs less than a rescue later.

Nothing here needs special software. It needs someone to own the list and tick it off.

Before the build: decide what the site is for

Begin with the searches your customers would type, written in their words, not yours. List the products, services and questions the site must cover, and give each a page of its own where the topic is big enough. If you are unsure which searches are realistic, look at who already appears for them. The guide to SEO competitor analysis shows how to do that without paid tools.

Decide the page addresses now. Short, readable addresses that describe the page are easier to keep stable than addresses generated later by a template, and every address you change after launch needs a redirect. The same goes for the domain name. Pick one you expect to keep, because moving to another later involves the steps in the domain change SEO checklist, and none of them is quick.

Plan the first set of pages around the actions you want visitors to take. For most small businesses that means a home page, one page per main service or product group, an about page, a contact page and the policy pages the business needs. Add more only when you have something useful to say on each.

What you can do for SEO before launch

The weeks before launch are the cheapest time to do SEO, because nothing is live to break. Use them for the following.

• Write the title and the main heading of every page, and check that each page has one clear subject.
• Write the opening paragraph of each page so it says plainly what the page offers.
• Keep the test site private. A password is the dependable way. A robots.txt rule alone does not keep pages out of search results.
• If the new site replaces an old one, map every old address to its new equivalent so redirects can go live on launch day.
• Check how pages look and work on a phone, since many visitors arrive on one.
• Prepare descriptive text for images and give files sensible names.
• Create the Search Console and Analytics accounts, owned by the business and not by a freelancer.
• Gather the facts that show who is behind the site: real names, qualifications where relevant, a postal address, a working email. The article on author pages and bylines explains how to present them.

The comparison of Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Search Console explains which account does which job, so you can create the right ones.

Launch day: remove blocks, then tell Google where to look

On launch day, go through this list in order.

1. Remove the password and any noindex rule that was used during the build. Check the live page source, because template settings are easy to carry across.
2. Open the robots.txt file and confirm it does not block the whole site or the folders that hold pages and images.
3. Choose one version of the address and send the others to it: with or without www, and secure rather than insecure.
4. Test the main pages, forms and checkout on a phone and a computer.
5. Publish an XML sitemap that lists only the final addresses you want indexed.
6. Verify the site in Search Console and submit the sitemap. Submitting means telling Google where the file is; the file must be reachable without a login.
7. Use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing of the home page, and perhaps a few key pages. There is a quota, and repeating a request for the same address does not speed things up.

Check that a page that does not exist returns a proper not-found response, not a blank page with a success code.

How a new website gets indexed

Indexing is Google's decision, not yours. It finds pages mainly by following links from pages it already knows and by reading sitemaps you submit, then decides what to store. The guide to how search engines work explains the three stages in more detail. For a brand new site with no links pointing to it, the sitemap and the home page request do most of the early work.

Google is clear that it cannot predict or promise when, or whether, a given address will be crawled or indexed. Its help page for the URL Inspection tool speaks of up to a week or two for a request, and its general guidance says it can take a while for Google to notice a new site. Check the current documentation for the latest wording. In the meantime, use the Page indexing report in Search Console to see which pages are indexed and why others are not. Common reasons are a robots.txt block, a noindex tag, and pages that duplicate other pages.

Do not resubmit the same requests daily and do not pay anyone who claims to speed up indexing. If everything is open and reachable and pages still do not appear after a reasonable wait, look at whether the pages offer something that other pages do not.

What to publish first

Put effort into the pages that bring in business before the pages that bring in readers. Service or product pages come first, then the pages that answer the most common pre-sale questions, then supporting guides. A blog is useful but not required on day one; a few good answers to real customer questions are better than a long list of thin posts written to fill a calendar.

Avoid mass production. Many near-identical pages, one for each town or product variation, add maintenance and rarely add value. Each page should earn its place by being the best answer on your site to one question.

Links, mentions and trust on a new site

A new site has no links pointing to it, and that is normal. Earn the first ones from real relationships: suppliers, partners, local associations, organisations you belong to, and people who find your guides useful. Be wary of anyone selling links. Google publishes spam policies that cover link schemes, so read the current version before paying for anything.

Trust signals matter on a new site because visitors cannot judge you by reputation alone. Show who runs the business, how to contact it, and how the work is done. Do this honestly. Invented staff, stock-photo team pages and made-up reviews harm trust, and Google's guidance on showing who created content warns against fabricated profiles and false credentials.

The first weeks: what to watch and what to leave alone

Check Search Console every few days at first for indexing problems and security or manual action messages. Fix errors promptly. Keep a note of what you changed and when.

Then leave the site alone more than feels natural. Google's SEO Starter Guide says changes can take anything from a few hours to several months to appear and suggests waiting a few weeks to see whether a change worked. Data in the first fortnight is thin, so redesigning because of it is a mistake. Look instead for evidence that pages are being indexed, that searches containing your business name show your site, and that early visitors can complete the actions you planned.

When outside help is worth it

A small business can do much of this itself, and Google's own advice for people deciding whether to hire an SEO says as much. It also notes that a good moment to bring someone in is before launching a new site or during a redesign, because mistakes are cheapest to fix then. If you would like a team involved from the start, Liftup Technologies runs SEO, and the search engine optimisation service page explains the work. Ask any provider what they will do in each stage above, how they will measure it and what you will own at the end.

Related guides

• SEO services
• Competitor analysis for seo step by step
• Google analytics vs tag manager vs search console
• Author Page and Byline Guide: Do You Need Them for SEO?
• Website redesign seo checklist
• Ecommerce seo for beginners where to start

Questions and answers

Where should SEO start on a new site?

Before the build. Decide what each page is for and which searches it should answer, settle the page addresses, and keep the test site private. Those decisions are cheap now and expensive to change after launch, when every changed address needs a redirect.

What can I do for SEO before launch?

Write page titles, headings and opening paragraphs, map old addresses to new ones if you are replacing a site, protect the test site with a password, check phone layouts, prepare image text, and create Search Console and Analytics accounts that the business owns.

How do I get a new website indexed?

Remove any password or noindex rule, publish an XML sitemap, verify the site in Search Console, submit the sitemap and request indexing of the home page with the URL Inspection tool. Google cannot promise when pages will be crawled, so check progress in the Page indexing report.

Should I hide my site from search while it is being built?

Yes, keep it private, and use a password rather than relying on a robots.txt rule, which does not reliably keep pages out of results. Then check the live site on launch day for leftover blocks, because a forgotten noindex tag is one of the most common launch mistakes.

Do I need a blog on a new website?

Not on day one. Service or product pages, an about page and a contact page matter first. Add guides when you have real customer questions to answer. A few useful articles beat a long run of thin posts written only to fill a publishing schedule.

Should I buy links to help a new site rank?

No. Google has spam policies that cover link schemes, and paid links can do more harm than good. Earn links from suppliers, partners, associations and readers who find your pages useful, and read the current spam policies before paying anyone for links.