Introducing a new website stands as one of a company’s most thrilling endeavours. Throughout these ventures, every participant becomes consumed by even the tiniest intricacies, as if their very existence hinged upon them. The hues, the logos, the typefaces, the images – no element remains unexamined, except for the one concealing the realm of SEO. Frequently, SEO is the guest excluded from the gathering.
Subsequent to the grand inauguration, there’s an anticipation for a miraculous surge in traffic. Yet, when this anticipation falters, resources are channelled into rectifying an SEO predicament.
Embedding SEO into a website’s core during its construction phase proves to be not only more economical but also delivers expedited outcomes, as opposed to taking it on as an afterthought.
This piece will elucidate the three stages of a website launch and delineate how SEO should assume a role in each of these phases:
- The strategic phase
- The developmental phase
- The launch phase
If your enterprise is on the verge of unveiling a new website and you aspire to champion the cause of SEO throughout this journey, read on.
The Strategy Phase
During the strategic phase, teams engage in discussions regarding the visual and functional aspects of the website. As you deliberate over the choice between black and white or colour photos for the website, your responsibility lies in establishing the bedrock for SEO.
Achieving this is best accomplished through the execution of the following pivotal tasks, which will influence the approach taken by designers and developers in constructing the site:
- Conducting keyword research
- Implementing SEO siloing
Keyword research
Keyword research serves as the compass to align your website’s content with the exact queries your intended audience employs when seeking what you provide.
How does this factor into the new website’s framework?
The keyword research conducted during the planning phase wields a profound influence over the content that will grace the website upon its launch. This influence extends to constructing the site’s navigation and shaping the chosen topics.
In this phase, you’ll have the opportunity to involve the team by posing inquiries that help construct your initial set of keywords. These inquiries may include:
- What are the core subjects your website needs to be pertinent to?
- If you were in search of what we offer, what terms would you input into a search engine?
- How does our audience depict our offerings?
- What predicaments do our products or services resolve? What might someone search for when facing such issues?
Exploring these questions, and possibly more, should yield a comprehensive list. Subsequently, refining this list using suitable SEO tools becomes the next substantial undertaking. Following the refinement process, a clearer depiction of the primary navigation structure will emerge. The subsequent discussion will touch upon the logical steps to take in relation to SEO siloing.
SEO siloing
SEO siloing serves as an organizational framework for both content and links within a website. The aims of SEO siloing encompass:
- Enhancing user navigation by simplifying website exploration.
- Amplifying the site’s relevance for pivotal keywords, thereby bolstering the ranking potential of individual pages.
- Cultivating the site’s proficiency and authority in a specific subject area.
Your keyword research can be harnessed to draft a site structure that seamlessly aligns with these keywords through content integration. Let’s delve into the “how” using an imaginary example of a power tools website to illustrate the site architecture formulation via keyword research.
Imagine you oversee a power tools company that markets lamps, electric, and gas-powered tools. Your keyword research likely pinpoints high-priority terms like “rechargeable lamp tools,” “electric lamp tools,” and “solar lamp tools,” among others.
As you collaborate on crafting the site’s navigation with the designers and developers, you will showcase how this navigation and content strategy harmoniously bolsters those identified keywords.
The graphic below visually outlines the proposed landing pages and their corresponding subpages for the rechargeable lamp tools website. These pages will feature content designed to reinforce the core keywords. Rechargeable Lamp Tools Architecture like https://example.com/rechargeable-lamp-tools.png)
SEO siloing goes beyond this by delineating how these pages should be interconnected.
The Development Phase
Transitioning beyond the strategy phase and stepping into the development phase involves the actual construction of the site by designers and developers.
Typically constituting the most time-intensive stage of a website launch, this phase is another critical juncture for you to instil a comprehensive SEO perspective.
Three key focal points come into play:
- The technical aspect of the website.
- The crafting of content throughout the site.
- The optimization of on-page elements on the site.
Technical Aspects
A significant number of website designers and developers may lack comprehensive knowledge of SEO. Consequently, they might inadvertently construct websites that hinder a search engine’s capability to efficiently navigate and comprehend the site’s content.
Moreover, the risk exists of creating pages that do not provide an optimal user experience. Given the importance of Google’s page experience updates, many website publishers are inclined to factor these considerations into their page optimization efforts.
Before embarking on their tasks, it’s imperative to ensure that your designers and developers share a harmonious perspective on SEO-friendly web design.
Engage in discussions concerning how the website will:
- Guarantee easy accessibility and crawlability for search engines.
- Ensure a seamless experience across diverse devices for users.
- Create webpages that facilitate effortless interaction (links, buttons, pop-ups, etc.).
- Deliver swiftness and security.
The individuals overseeing the site’s construction should adhere to the subsequent SEO-friendly design principles:
- Employ clean code.
- Optimize for speed.
- Prioritize mobile-friendliness.
- Address core web vitals.
- Avoid intrusive pop-ups.
- Implement HTTPS.
For additional insights on these matters, Google provides valuable information for developers on their platform.
The Content
In the landscape of a website launch, content emerges as one of the utmost SEO priorities. Within Google’s search engines, the aspiration is to elevate the finest calibre of content to the highest ranks. Given the colossal competition from millions of other websites, this facet gains paramount significance.
As the advocate for SEO, your responsibility lies in ensuring that each landing page and subpage brims with valuable, superior content.
While engaged in content creation, consider inquiries such as:
- Will the content be fashioned with the requisite experience and expertise relevant to the topic?
- Does your website or brand position itself as an authority on the subject?
- Is your credibility trustworthy?
- Does your content offer superior answers compared to your competitors?
- Are you incorporating insights from search result features like “People Also Ask” and “Searches Related to,” alongside addressing common FAQs?
- Does your content involve original research, data, opinions, and imagery?
- Are you rigorously fact-checking and referencing reputable, pertinent sources?
- Are you maintaining a high level of accuracy while discussing topics related to “Your Money or Your Life”?
For additional guidance, consult Google’s:
- Search Quality Rater Guidelines
- Resources on creating valuable, user-centric content
Optimization
Once the pages have been constructed and the content is in place, the subsequent stride involves optimizing each page to the best of your abilities.
While there isn’t a universal checklist, several critical on-page strategies warrant consideration:
- Readability: Is your content composed at a comprehension level suited to your audience and the topic at hand?
- Meta tags: Have you endowed each webpage with unique, compelling title tags and meta descriptions of optimal character length, incorporating relevant keywords?
- Heading tags: Are the heading tags on webpages suitably formatted in the correct hierarchy? (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.)
- Keyword optimization: Can you subtly tweak the content with keywords to enhance the page’s relevance even further?
- Image optimization: Have you optimized the images to increase the potential for driving traffic through image-based search results?
- Alt text: Have you included alt text for images to cater to individuals with visual impairments?
- Schema: How can you capitalize on opportunities to elucidate the page’s content to search engines, while simultaneously enhancing your search engine result listings? Refer to Schema.org for further insights.
- Other structured data: Have you formatted the page to simplify content comprehension for both search engines and users? (Examples: table of contents, tables, bulleted lists)
- Links: Are your links fully qualified? While absolute links may entail more upfront effort, they are generally easier to manage in the long term.
The Launch Phase
The moment of truth has arrived, and the pressure is palpable.
Assuming meticulous groundwork was laid leading up to this point, the launch phase should ideally unfold seamlessly. Nonetheless, crucial SEO tasks still demand attention in both the pre-launch and launch stages.
Pre-launch:
Prior to the site’s official unveiling, execute the subsequent tasks:
- Accessibility: Utilize an SEO tool to conduct a website crawl, identifying and rectifying any errors.
- Analytics: Confirm that Google Analytics and Google Search Console are accurately configured.
- Technical: Ensure proper setup of elements such as the XML sitemap, HTML site map, and robots.txt file.
Launch:
The launch day embodies a time of excitement for all stakeholders. In the context of SEO, this phase centers on vigilant observation and responsive action.
Vigilantly watch out for:
- Technical glitches: Employ SEO tools to consistently monitor the website for any technical malfunctions.
- Indexing challenges: While the site’s complete indexing may take a few days or weeks, stay attentive to any potential indexing hurdles.
Post-launch, bear in mind that the journey of SEO is an ongoing progression, continuously evolving.
As long as competition persists and Google enacts changes in its Search mechanisms, a coherent SEO strategy for your website remains imperative.
Design a Good SEO Strategy Before Starting a New Website
In the current landscape, where search results are more fiercely contested than ever due to heightened competition, embedding SEO from the very foundation of a new website significantly enhances your prospects for success.
The urgency of initiating traffic generation is paramount – every single day contributes to your advantage in outpacing rivals. For those contributing to a website launch team, it’s essential to ingrain an SEO mindset throughout every phase – be it strategy, construction, or launch. Embrace the advice provided in this article to guide your endeavours.
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