SEO Checklist for New Websites

Note: The links in this post DO NOT contain affiliate links. Just direct links to the respective landing pages. This note will be updated should that ever change.

You just launched your brand new website and you’re beyond excited. The only problem now is deciding how you are going to drive traffic to your site. You can share it on social media, run some paid advertisement campaigns or, our favorite, drive organic traffic using Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

From a tl;dr point of view SEO has two primary considerations: on-page and off-page SEO. Basically, on-page is the factors that you can control with your server and your website. Off-page involves curating content and collecting backlinks (i.e. endorsements) from other reputable websites. 

The following is a brief checklist to help you get started with driving traffic to your brand new website.

SEO Tools and Basics 

• Configure Google Analytics (GA) – This is where you can analyze your traffic sources and figure out how to optimize your site overtime.
• Configure Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools – Search Console (GSC) will help you identify keywords and positions which will help you optimize for specific keywords as well as identify new opportunities.
• Install and configure an SEO plugin (If using WordPress) – Yoast SEO and RankMath are arguably the two most popular. You DON’T need the paid versions. Basically, these are just there to help with some of your Schema Markup, sitemap and to easily change Title & Meta Descriptions. They don’t really do much for your actual SEO.
• Create and submit a sitemap to GSC and Bing – If you install the Yoast SEO or RankMath WordPress Plugins, they will create the Sitemap.xml file for you. You will then upload this to your Google Search Console as it will help the Google Crawlers understand the architecture of your website.
• Create a Robots.txt – A Robots.txt file tells web crawlers what to crawl and what to ignore. Although some bots will dismiss it, it’s important to follow best practices. This includes adding a link to your sitemap in this file.
• Check Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console for any manual actions/penalty’s – As a new site you should be in the clear; however, when you start creating content and building links it’s important to not use duplicate content or use spammy/low-quality links. These practices can trigger penalties and get you on Google’s naughty list.
• Verify that the site is being indexed – A new site can take weeks to get out of the “Google Sandbox” but it is important to begin checking after you’ve submitted your Sitemap.xml file to GSC. You can see which pages are being crawled by using the operator: site:yoursiteurlhere.com into a Google Search Bar.

Technical SEO​

• Ensure the site is using HTTPS – This can be done with a plugin but we try to avoid doing it like that. You can look for broken SSL items by searching your site on whynopadlock.com.
• Check for duplicate versions of your site – There can be different versions of your site that you’re not aware of including:
  http://crowleymediagroup.com/
  http://www.crowleymediagroup.com/
  https://crowleymediagroup.com/
  https://www.crowleymediagroup.com/
  While they all look similar, they are actually different versions of the same site. It’s important to be sure that they are all directed to a single place. Personally we always use the third option but if you like the “www” that’s ok. Note: Be ABSOLUTELY SURE you set up the correct version in Google Analytics.
• Check for crawl errors and broken links – Screaming Frog is a great tool to identify broken links and check for redirects (301, 301, etc.). It’s important to continually check as your site grows, as well as redirect older lower-value pages to newer and more informative pages.
• Improve site speed – Site speed is important, especially for e-Commerce. Customers want instant load times and will happily go elsewhere if they’re waiting too long. You can check your website’s loading times at https://gtmetrix.com/ or with Google’s Page Speed Insights.
• Use SEO-friendly URL structure – This one kind of depends on your industry and your strategy but we try to follow the “/post-name” or “/resources/post-name” permalink structure. For larger organizations with multiple locations we try to follow the “/city/service-a” architecture. Make it readable and keep it user friendly.
• Add schema markup – This is often overlooked but this is the secret to getting featured snippets and really helping the crawlers understand what that webpage is all about. Schema markup is basically JSON code that defines variables across all major search engines. You can check out a URL’s schema with Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
• Check the page depth – Best practices suggest that all webpages on a website be no more than two-clicks away from the homepage. As your site grows Google will start implementing a “Crawl Budget” so it’s important to do everything you can to make things clear and consistent for both the search engine bots and most importantly, your customers.

On-Site SEO and Content

• Optimize duplicate or missing title tags – Title tags should be concise and contain your keyword. They should also help encourage people searching to click on your page. Having properly set up title tags will improve your click through rate (CTR).
• Optimize duplicate or missing meta descriptions – Similar to the title tag, the meta description is displayed in a Search engine Results Page (SERP). This should begin to answer the searchers intent. Try not to make them too long as you don’t want them to be cut off mid sentence when people are scanning the SERPs. Proper and cleverly written meta descriptions also help improve CTR.
• Proper H-tags – Page structure is important and each page should primarily focus on only one or two keywords. There should only be one H1 tag per page and it should contain your primary keyword. If your post or page has subheading, they should be H2’s or possibly H3’s. This helps the crawlers understand the structure of your web page. Note: Sometimes theme’s and page builders can both import page titles causing a duplicate H1 tag; be sure to disable one source from automatically importing the page title.
• Improve page content – Proper page content doesn’t just involve proper Title, Meta and Heading tags; it also includes internal linking, keyword density, varying keywords and phrases, readability and lots of shiny graphics (especially infographics, people love those). It takes a little practice to properly optimize an article or a post but once you get the rhythm it becomes second nature. Just remember to always put the reader first

“Google rewards those that can BEST answer the searchers intent.”

• Add alt tags to images – Alt tags are important for images as they improve accessibility. This is often overlooked and it can be relatively easy to rank your images in the search engines.
• Improve internal linking – Internal linking is important as it takes one primary topic and allows you to create subsequent and supplemental content that focuses on similar keywords and phrases. When you link from one relevant topic to the next you’re signaling to the crawlers and to your readers that you have authority on the subject. Note: If you plan to get aggressive with your content marketing strategy and SEO, come up with a game plan in the beginning and begin planning out your pillar content and your supporting articles.
• Check for keyword cannibalisation – Keyword cannibalisation is when you have multiple articles ranking (fighting) for the same keywords. It’s more advantageous to improve and leverage one money article and figure out how to repurpose the content on the rest in order to rank for different keywords.

“Keywords equal Market Share; the more you rank for the more you can control.”

Keyword Research

There’s a lot to unpack here but the formula is simple. To start, we use a tool like SEMrush in order to run a Gap Analysis on what our clients and competitors are ranking for. From here we can identify the terms we can go back and optimize for, as well as look for new opportunities. From there it more or less looks like this:

• Identify the competitors – They’re not always as obvious as your clients think. More often than not, clients don’t even know who their top competitors are. You may think that the guys across the street are getting all of the attention but they aren’t really ranking for any competitive keywords.
• Find the main keywords – Main keywords are your money keywords but they’re not going to be easy to rank for. Use articles and posts that target these keywords as “pillar content”. Over time as you build authority, you can link your supporting articles and create a solid foundation.
• Find long-tail keyword variations – Long-tail keywords are easier to rank for because they are much more specific. It’s important to rank for the proper variations and not just try to rank for any random long-tail keyword. Look for ones with commercial value as posts with these keywords can be used to augment the main money keywords that you really want to rank for.
• Create a keyword map – Mapping out your keywords and visualizing how you’d like to display them can be very helpful in making sure you’re sticking to your content strategy. Mapping keywords to current pages and outlining prospective keywords will help you identify unrealized opportunities for supporting posts.
• Analyze the page intent of ranked results – When people search for terms like “Rockstar”, are they looking for a definition or are they trying to purchase a case of energy drinks? It’s important, especially in the e-Commerce space, to identify the exact intent of a user’s search and to be sure you’re best equipped to answer their query.
• Make a list of questions being asked – A great way to capture long-tail keywords and collect some Featured Snippets is to answer questions. Tools like Answer the Public and Google Trends are an excellent way to identify what people are really asking. Look for keywords relevant to your niche and provide a meaningful and precise answer; pair that with some crafty Schema Markup and you may even wind up with a coveted Featured Snippet.

Off-Site SEO​

Keyword research and content is a major factor in an Off-Site SEO strategy; but to really drive quality traffic, we need to build and create backlinks. These links are basically endorsements from other relevant (and ideally more authoritative websites in our space). 

• Audit competitor backlinks – The best way to get started with your link building campaign is to identify who’s already ranking and what’s already working. This is best done using a Backlink Analysis tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs. At this stage we’re trying to identify where our competitors are getting their backlinks from as well as any potential opportunities that they haven’t found yet.
• Find and reach out to unlinked mentions – Unlinked mentions are great opportunities for newer sites that have started gaining traction with other publications. Essentially, an unlinked mention is a mention of your business or brand without an actual link back to you. These are generally resolved by simply reaching out to the publisher; most people who willingly discuss your business will be supportive and happy to oblige.
• Look for new link building opportunities – Quality is always more important than quantity when it comes to building your backlink profile. Sometimes a missed opportunity for a link occurs because that site was new and had no authority in your niche at that time, revisiting months later may help you discover a ton of potential opportunities. Additionally, building links and reaching out is a great way to build relationships in this industry.
• Optimize Google My Business listing (GMB) – Google My Business, which is now known as Google Business Profile (GBP) is your best weapon when it comes to Local SEO. This profile is what you see when you search for a local business and you see the results in the Google Map Pack, which is exactly where you want to be. Start by creating your account on Google Business Profile Manager and properly filling out as much information about your business as possible (don’t forget to upload images!). Note: We will be releasing a comprehensive GBP guide shortly, be sure to check back regularly.

Hopefully this guide has given you a starting point and foundational knowledge into getting your new website the traffic and attention that it deserves. Pushing traffic is challenging and trying to convert it into sales is even harder; but once you understand the mechanics you’ll realize it’s importance. We’ve seen a lot of great businesses go unnoticed and their sub-par competitors dominate the search engines. If you’re not actively growing your site and building it’s authority, your competitors definitely are.

“The second page of Google is where websites go to die…”

Cheers.