SEO for a New Website: FREE CHECKLIST

As you put together a new website and prepare for launch, obviously you’ll focus on design, graphics, content, features, and other aspects that will help you attract visitors, build relationships, and ultimately drive sales.

However, while you focus on these key pieces of the puzzle, it’s important not to lose sight of SEO strategies and tactics. Otherwise, your brilliant website could wind up being the best kept secret in your marketplace — which will force you to spend time and money down the road.

And so, to point you in the right direction, we’re pleased to provide you with this free checklist that covers the basics of SEO for a new website:

RESPONSIVE DESIGN

While a few years ago responsive design (i.e. optimization for mobile devices) was a smart idea, these days it’s a fundamental requirement. Google has clearly signaled that websites with responsive design rank higher than those that are only set up for conventional screens (PCs and laptops).

WEBSITE SPEED

It may seem strange that website speed is #2 in our SEO for a new website checklist, but it earns this premium spot because it’s so important – and because, frankly, too many websites still violate this key requirement. Remember: slow-loading websites have high bounce rates, and Google pays attention to this metric when evaluating quality and handing out rank-related love.

OPTIMIZE CONTENT

It’s hardly surprising that keyword optimized content has a place on our SEO for a new website checklist — in fact, you may be wondering why it’s even here, since it is such an obvious “no brainer” element.

Well, here’s why: a great deal of content out there is NOT optimized. And much of the stuff that IS optimized is done poorly. Keywords are overused and incorrectly deployed, content itself is too short or too long, there are no images or alt-tags, there’s no internal linking to other web pages (or if so, then it is done incorrectly or arbitrarily), and so on.

And of course, it goes without saying – but we’ll say it anyway – that content has to be first and foremost about human beings, and not algorithms. In other words, it really doesn’t matter if Google loves a website or web page. If the content itself is irrelevant, incomprehensible or irritating, then it won’t work. In fact, it’s not even content at that point. It’s just words.

INDEX PAGES

It’s also necessary to index and re-index pages for Google to use a sitemap to give the web-crawling robots a hand in deciding which pages to index and prioritize (i.e. you don’t want your least-important page out-ranking your home page, flagship product/service page, etc.).

ALGORITHM STANDARDIZATION

You certainly want to ensure that your website aligns with Google’s search engine algorithm, in the sense that it clearly and accurately tells Google what your website and company are about, who you want to reach, and what you have to offer.

Remember: while Google makes its money from businesses through AdWords and selling subscriptions to various tools (e.g. Google Drive, etc.), it’s fundamentally about surfers. Relevance is everything, and if you don’t tell Google something, it’ll guess – and sometimes it guesses wrong!

HOUSEKEEPING

The last item on SEO for a new website checklist is a catch-all “housekeeping” reminder. This includes: making sure that your 404 error page is updated and helps lost visitors find their way somewhere safe (instead of heading to another website), making sure that internal links and external redirects are working, and so on.

Learn More

At Leap Clixx, we help our customers build SEO-friendly websites from the ground up, or we work with their existing website and cost-effectively target areas where they need the most help – such as adding new keyword-optimized content, ensuring that the design is responsive and optimized for mobile devices, and so on. To learn more, contact us today and schedule your free consultation.