If done well, SEO (search engine optimization) can send thousands of targeted visitors to your website every month.

This turns your site from an afterthought into an asset that generates leads and sales.

Backlinko started as a simple personal blog in 2012, publishing one or two posts per month. In the first two years, our traffic grew from a few hundred monthly visitors to several thousand.

Now it generates over 680K monthly sessions, with 74% coming from organic searches.

It has taken over a decade to reach this point, but our approach to SEO has remained consistent. It’s always been about helpful content, thoughtful user experience, strong branding, and earning quality backlinks.

This article covers how to do SEO for your website in 10 digestible steps. And recommended tools along the way (some free and some paid).

We interviewed Andrew Peluso, owner of Bananas Marketing Agency, for his expert advice on getting started with SEO. You’ll see his tips throughout this guide to set your small business up for success.

Okay, ready?

Let’s start with step one.

1. Set Up Your Website

If you haven’t already set up your site, it’s time to choose a platform.

Choose one that matches your technical skill level and business needs. For example, many website builders offer drag-and-drop editors. Making it easier for you to design and customize sites.

Here are a few options:

• WordPress: Best for managing all aspects of your website, including SEO
• Squarespace: Best for showcasing your portfolio and booking appointments
• Shopify: Best for building an ecommerce website with a wide range of product pages, collections, and checkout pages
• Wix: Best for building basic sites like portfolios, blogs, or small business websites with zero to minimal ecommerce needs

Consider using WordPress as it gives you more technical flexibility to improve your rankings.

While website builders are popular, they may not be the best choice because they limit your control over the backend of your website.

As your business grows and your SEO needs become more complex, these limitations might hinder your progress.

WordPress includes many plugins and themes to enhance your SEO efforts. And make your site more user-friendly. Including Elementor, which helps you easily design your website with templates.

Regardless of the platform you choose, follow these key steps when building a new website:

Get a Domain Name

Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet.

So, choose a domain name that’s:

• Relevant and reflects your business or brand name
• Easy to remember and pronounce
• Concise—avoid long and complex names. Ideally, don’t exceed two to three words. And limit it to 15 characters or fewer so it’s easy for customers to type.
• Unique, stands out, and isn’t easily confused with other websites

For example, Backlinko.com is unique, memorable, and concise. It’s also relevant to our audience—backlinks are a major topic in the SEO industry.

Select a Theme

Your website’s theme determines its overall look and feel. Choose a preset theme that aligns with your brand identity and is mobile-responsive.

Then, customize it to make it your own.

To create a consistent and memorable brand, add your:

• Logo
• Brand colors
• Fonts
• Graphics or photos

Prioritize Security

Security measures are essential for user trust and SEO, as Google prioritizes secure websites in search results.

Secure your website with an SSL certificate (HTTPS) to protect your visitors’ information using data encryption.

Here’s how a security certificate appears on a website:

Many hosting providers offer free SSL certificates with their plans, making it easy to add this layer of security to your website.

Check with your hosting provider to see if this is included. If not, look for a plugin. For example, on WordPress, you can use Really Simple SSL.

Optimize for Mobile Screens

More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. So, ensure your website is mobile-responsive. Meaning it adapts to different screen sizes.

Most modern themes and website templates offer responsive designs. But you can easily test how mobile-friendly your site is by accessing it on your smartphone or tablet.

Here’s what to look for during your mobile test:

• Layout: Does the layout adapt seamlessly to the smaller screen without elements being cut off or overlapping?
• Navigation: Is the navigation menu easy to use on a touchscreen? Are buttons and links large enough to tap accurately?
• Text: Is text readable and appropriately sized for mobile screens? Avoid fonts that require a user to zoom in. Aim for font size of 16 to 20 pixels.
• Images: Do images fit the screen properly?

2. Conduct Research

Learning how to do SEO for a website includes researching your customers, competitors, and keywords. So, you can optimize your site for your target audience and search engines.

Research Your Customers

Understanding what your audience is searching for online is the foundation of a successful SEO strategy.

First, put yourself in your customers’ shoes and brainstorm questions they might have about your product, service, or industry.

Think about their:

• Pain points: What problems are your customers facing that your business can solve? For example, a law firm client might seek advice about filing for divorce in their state.
• Information needs: What knowledge gaps do they have that you can fill? For example, a hair salon customer might look for pricing information in their area.
• Purchase decisions: What factors do they consider when choosing a solution? For example, a bakery customer might want to know about delivery options for birthday cakes.

Make a list of questions your customers ask in person, over the phone, or through marketing channels like email and social media.

Additional ways to do audience research include:

• Forums and social media groups: Explore relevant Facebook groups, Reddit, Quora, and industry-specific forums. See what questions people ask and what topics they discuss related to your industry.
• Answer The Public: This tool generates a visual map of people’s questions about a particular topic. Enter your product or service, and the tool will list question-based keywords.
  

  

• Google Keyword Planner: This tool is primarily used for paid search. However, it can also be helpful for organic keyword research.
• Interview your customers: If possible, conduct interviews or surveys with your current or potential customers to gather firsthand insights into their needs and challenges. Use a tool like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, or Typeform to collect your customers’ answers.
• Google autocomplete: As you type a query into Google, it will suggest related searches based on search popularity. This can give you an insight into what people are looking for.
  

  

Research Your Competitors

Research your competitor’s websites to find keywords they’re using to reach people. Since these keywords drive traffic to your competitors, they could also benefit your SEO strategy.

Say you’re doing SEO research for your hairdressing salon in Miami. One of your main competitors is Blunt Blonde Salon.

Open Semrush’s Organic Research tool, enter “bluntblondesalon.com”, and select “US” as your target country. Hit “Search.”

We can see Blunt Blonde Design targets 265 keywords and is estimated to receive 315 visitors from organic traffic in the next month.

Scroll past the overview to the “Top Keywords” section. Where you’ll find a list of the most popular search terms.

Click “View all keywords” to open the full list of all the keywords used across this website.

Review the keywords to see which ones you’d like to target in content.

Click the checkbox next to the ones you’re interested in to save them to a list.

Click “+Add to keyword list” and give your list a name (optional).

To access your list of saved keywords, click your list. Or navigate to Keyword Strategy Builder from the left-hand menu. And select your list.

If you’d like to keep your keywords in a spreadsheet, click “Export” and select your preferred format.

Research Keywords

By now, you should have a list of potential keyword ideas from your customer and competitor research.

At this point, use a keyword research tool like Semrush’s Keyword Magic tool. This tool will help you discover additional terms. And refine your list based on data like:

• Search volume: Average number of monthly searches over a 12-month period
• Keyword difficulty: How easy or hard it is to rank in Google’s top 10 search results
• Search intent: The underlying purpose behind the user’s search (more on this later)

Enter one of your keywords in the Keyword Magic Tool, select your target region, and click “Search.”

Let’s say you want to target customers looking for curly haircuts.

Type the keyword, “curly haircuts” into the tool to research its popularity.

The Keyword Magic tool will populate relevant search terms. Like “mens curly haircuts” and “short curly haircuts.”

“Mens curly haircuts” could be a good term to target because it gets over 9,900 daily searches and has an “easy” keyword difficulty rating.

Select the “Questions” filter to narrow your search to questions your audience searches for. Like “what is the best haircut for curly hair.”

Add any relevant keywords and questions to the keyword list you created when you researched the keywords.

3. Structure Your Website

Use the questions and search terms you researched to guide your website’s structure.

Andrew suggests mapping out what you want your website to look like. And ensuring it’s designed to answer your target audience’s questions.

Site architecture is a navigational map of your website’s structure. It outlines the hierarchy of pages and how they connect. Like this:

A sitemap planning tool like Lucid can help you organize an SEO-friendly site architecture that appeals to your audience.

When creating your site structure, consider the following:

• Essential pages: Ensure you have dedicated pages to address the key questions you‘ve identified in your audience research. For example, a homepage, about us, contact, and products/services page. These pages should be easily accessible through your main navigation menu.
• Logical hierarchy: Logically organize your pages with main categories and subcategories. This will help users and search engines understand the relationship between pages and topics.

Another effective way to approach website structure is to look at your competitors. What pages do they have on their sites? What topics do they cover? Use their sites as inspiration for your structure.

4. Create Search Engine-Optimized Content

Once you’ve identified your audience’s questions and structured your website to address them, the next step is to create high-quality, search engine-optimized content.

This kind of content aims to do two things:

• Provide valuable information to your audience
• Signal to search engines that your website is a relevant and authoritative source

Here’s how to create SEO content:

Match Search Intent

Every question or search query you collected earlier has an underlying intent.

Matching this intent helps you create content that satisfies users. And ranks highly.

There are four types of search intent:

• Informational: The user is looking for information or answers to a question. For example, “how to bake a cake” or “how long does it take to finalize divorce.” Create guides, blog posts, or FAQs that thoroughly address users’ questions to satisfy informational intent.
• Commercial: The user is researching a product or service before making a purchase decision. For example, “best hair colorists in Miami” or “divorce lawyer recommendations.” To satisfy commercial intent, create informative product pages, comparison articles, reviews, and testimonials.
• Transactional: The user is ready to buy or take a specific action. For example, “schedule an appointment with a hairstylist” or “book a flight to New York.” To satisfy this intent, create product, service, or landing pages with clear calls to action. Such as “Schedule an Appointment,” “Get a Quote,” or “Book a Flight.”
• Navigational: The user is looking for a specific website or webpage. For example, “The New York Times website.” Or “order a custom cake from [your business name].” For navigational intent, make sure your website has an easy navigation menu.

Target Relevant Keywords

When writing copy for your website, integrate relevant keywords on each page.

This includes:

This helps search engines understand what your content is about. And improves your chances of ranking for relevant searches.

In addition to your primary target keywords, consider including relevant secondary keywords. These are related terms or phrases that can further enhance your content’s relevance and visibility in search results.

Use a combination of primary and secondary keywords to attract a broader range of organic traffic.

Incorporate E-E-A-T Signals

Beyond keyword optimization, it’s equally important to demonstrate Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) in your content.

But what does it mean?

Google created its E-E-A-T framework to evaluate the quality of webpages. This means the search engine prioritizes trustworthy content created by experts.

Here’s how to comply with Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines:

• Showcase your expertise by citing credible sources
• Share your credentials and firsthand experience
• Earn backlinks from reputable websites to build authority
• Establish yourself as a thought leader by sharing industry-related content

For example, if you’re creating an article on how to fill out tax returns, you could ask an accountant to review it for accuracy.

If you’re creating a blog post on the best exercises to relieve back pain, you could ask a qualified physical therapist to demonstrate them in a video. Or provide expert quotes.

Prioritize E-E-A-T and create valuable content that resonates with your target audience. And you’ll have a better chance of improving your search rankings. Plus, you’ll build trust and credibility with your readers.

Structure Your Content Using Headings

Headings (H1 through H6.) help organize your content and make it easier to read.

They also signal to search engines about the hierarchy and relevance of your content.

Here’s how to structure your content with headings:

• H1: Use the H1 tag for your page title. It should accurately reflect the main topic of the page. And include your primary keyword. H1 tells users and search engines what your page is about.
• H2: Use H2 tags to structure the main sections within your content. Each H2 should focus on a specific subtopic. Or a certain step in a guide. Incorporate keywords relevant to your primary search query.
• H3: Use H3 tags for subheadings within your H2 sections. This creates a clear hierarchy and makes your content more scannable. H3s are also great for incorporating relevant keywords.

5. Implement On-Page SEO

On-page SEO is optimizing individual webpages to enhance their visibility in search engines and attract more organic traffic.

Since you’re just learning how to do SEO for a website, we’ll focus on three essential on-page SEO techniques that can influence your website’s visibility.

Create a Title Tag

A title tag is a clickable headline in search results.

Each page on your website needs a unique title tag that tells users what to expect from the page.

Like this:

Keep title tags concise (50 to 60 characters) and descriptive. Incorporate your target keyword naturally.

Write a Meta Description

A meta description is a brief summary of a webpage that appears below the title.

Like so:

Summarize the page’s content in 155 characters or fewer. Include relevant keywords. And make your meta description compelling so searchers want to click on it to read more.

Like a title tag, a meta description is also unique to each individual page of a website.

Include Internal Links

Internal links connect pages within your website. They show search engines like Google that pages on your website are relevant to each other. And helps readers get more in-depth information about the specific topic.

For example, our article about writing SEO content mentions keyword research. Because we already have an in-depth article about it, we included an internal link to lead our readers to that resource.

Like this:

Follow these internal linking best practices:

Use Descriptive Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. It serves as a preview of the content users can expect to find when they click on the link.

In the context of SEO, anchor text provides information to search engines about the linked page’s topic.

When writing anchor text, include a keyword or its variation. And avoid linking to generic phrases like “click here.”

In our example, the target keyword for the article we linked to was “keyword research.”

So, we hyperlinked this keyword because it aptly describes the linked-to page’s content.

Link to Relevant Pages

Ensure the pages you link to are contextually relevant to the current page.

For example, if you have a blog post about the benefits of yoga for stress relief, you could include internal links to other pages on your site about different yoga poses and meditation techniques.

This helps users discover related content. And signals to search engines that your pages are connected.

Optimize Images

Image SEO is the act of optimizing an image so that it has a better chance of appearing higher in search results and Google Images.

For example, if you’re creating a webpage on “heating repair services,” you should also include that keyword in your image name for that page:

Here’s how to do image SEO:

• Use descriptive file names: Instead of using generic image names, use descriptive ones that include relevant keywords. For example, “energy-efficient heating systems.”
• Add alt text: Alt text provides a text description of the image for users who are blind or partially sighted. It also appears on the page if the image fails to load. It also helps search engines understand the image content. Include relevant keywords naturally within the text.
  

  

• Compress image sizes: Large image files can slow down your website, negatively impacting user experience and SEO. Before uploading an image on your website, use a free tool like Image Resizer to reduce its file size.

6. Establish Credibility and Earn Backlinks

You created valuable, search engine-optimized content.

That’s great.

But when your business website is new, you also need to establish credibility and authority through backlinks.

A backlink is a link from one website to another. It’s a signal for search algorithms that your website is trustworthy and has valuable information.

Having backlinks helps show Google you’re a legitimate business people talk about.

While there are multiple ways to acquire backlinks, Andrew recommends getting involved in your local community.

For example, if you get a booth at a local farmer’s market, the event site might include your logo and a link to your site, helping you build authority.

Here are a few ways to establish credibility and get high-quality backlinks:

• Share valuable content: Consistently share content on your website that helps your audience solve their problems and encourages them to share it with others
• Join your local chamber of commerce: This can lead to a link on their directory and opportunities to network with other local businesses
• Sponsor events and teams: Sponsorships often include website links and logo placements on event websites along with on team jerseys and banners
• Donate to local communities and charities: Many charities will acknowledge your contribution on their website, providing a relevant backlink
• Ask for links: Ask organizations you’re involved with to link to your website
• Get citations: Set up your business profile on business directories like Yelp and Yellow Pages

7. Distribute Your Content

Creating content and optimizing its on-page elements is just the start. Now, it’s time to promote your content across various platforms. To attract more visitors to your website.

Reaching a wider audience will help build your brand, establish authority, and increase your online visibility.

This increased traffic signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. Which can positively impact your rankings.

• Social media: Share your content on your most active social media platforms. Tailor your messaging to each channel’s specific format and audience.
• Email newsletters: Send regular newsletters to your subscribers, featuring your latest blog posts, articles, or company news
• Guest blogging: Contribute high-quality content to other reputable websites in your industry and link it back to your website. This method lets you reach a wider audience and build backlinks.
• Industry forums and communities: Engage in relevant online communities and share your expertise to establish thought leadership and attract potential customers
• Paid advertising: Invest in targeted social media ads or paid search campaigns to reach a broader audience and drive traffic to your website

8. Set Up a Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile (GBP) is a digital storefront where you can provide essential information about your business. Like your address and contact information.

GBP is a free tool by Google that allows you to manage your local business’s online presence across Google Search and Maps.

To get started, search for your business on Google. If Google has already created a profile for your business, claim it by verifying your ownership. If not, you can easily create a new profile by providing the required information.

Here’s what to keep in mind when setting up a Google Business Profile:

Choose the Right Category

Your primary category is the most important for SEO, as it significantly influences what keywords your business appears for.

For example, a law firm specializing in civil law should narrow down its business category to “Civil law attorney” to increase its visibility for relevant searches.

Consider Seasonality

If your business is seasonal, consider changing your main category to reflect peak demand.

For example, an HVAC repair service might prioritize “Air conditioning repair service” in the summer. And switch to “Heating contractor” in the winter.

Include Relevant Photos

Add high-quality photos that showcase your business, products, or services. Feature season-specific offerings if applicable.

Like photos of your team installing air conditioners in the summer or servicing heaters in the winter.

Ensure NAP Consistency

Double-check that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent and accurate across all online platforms. This includes your website, social media profiles, and online directories like Yelp.

Encourage and Respond to Reviews

Positive reviews build trust and influence local search rankings. Encourage customers to leave reviews and respond promptly to both positive and negative feedback.

9. Set Up Google Search Console and Google Analytics

Set up analytics tools like Google Search Console (GSC) and Google Analytics (GA) to track your website’s performance and understand how visitors interact with your content.

Why both?

• GSC focuses on your website’s performance in Google search
• GA provides a broader perspective on your website traffic. Including traffic from other sources like social media or referrals.

Let’s see how to set up each tool:

Google Search Console

Open Google Search Console, enter your domain, and click “Continue.”

Next, you’ll see the instructions to verify your domain ownership:

1. Sign in to the platform where you bought your domain name (e.g., GoDaddy)
2. Find the “DNS configuration” section for your domain on the domain provider platform
3. Paste your unique record provided by GSC into the “DNS configuration” for your domain
4. Press “Verify”

Google Analytics

Open Google Analytics, name your account, and select account data sharing settings.

Then, scroll to “Next.”

The next step is to create a property for your account. A property represents a website that you want to track and analyze.

Give your property a name and select your time zone and currency. Click “Next.”

Now, select your business details like industry and size.

And your business objectives. Like generating leads, selling products or services, and raising brand awareness.

Accept Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement.

Select the platform you’d like to start collecting data from (like a website, Android app, or iOS app).

In your case, select “Web.”

Enter your website URL and type “My Website” in the “Stream name” field. Click “Create stream.”

Select your website builder and follow the instructions for that specific platform.

Integrate GSC and GA in Semrush

Sign up for a free 14-day Semrush trial to monitor your GSC and GA data in one dashboard.

Combining data from various sources gives you a holistic view of your website’s performance. And lets you identify areas for improvement in one place.

Once you’ve set up Google Search Console and Google Analytics, integrate them into Semrush for a unified view.

Sign in to your Semrush account and navigate to “SEO Dashboard” from the left menu.

Enter your website name and click “Start now.”

Navigate to the “SEO Dashboard” again and select the settings icon at the top right corner of the screen. Select “Set up Google account” from the drop-down menu.

Select the email you used to set up your Google Search Console and Google Analytics.

Then, select your GA and GSC properties. And click “Save changes.”

Semrush will fetch data from GA and GSC for an aggregate view.

Scroll until you see “Traffic Analytics” and “Google Search Console Performance.” And review your site’s performance without having to log into multiple accounts.

10. Monitor Results and Adjust SEO Strategy

Once you’ve learned how to do SEO for your website, your work isn’t done.

Regularly monitor your SEO performance to understand what’s working and what needs improvement. So, you can maintain or improve your rankings.

Check Impressions

Impressions represent the number of times a user sees your website in search results. Even if they didn’t click it.

Having any number of impressions is a positive sign, as it indicates your site is indexed and discoverable.

Open Google Search Console, click on “Search results” under the “Performance” section, and select “Total Impressions.”

Not seeing impressions for keywords you want to rank for may mean your content isn’t indexed or optimized well enough.

Or that Google doesn’t consider your website relevant for those queries.

The solution is to revisit the content and update it to fix any issues to help it rank higher. And get more impressions.

Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your content. Include them in headings, meta descriptions, and image alt text.

Analyze Clicks

A click is a user action that signifies a visitor found your link in the search results and chose to visit your website.

Clicks show that your rankings are high enough to attract organic traffic.

Scroll past the general performance results in Google Search Console and select the “Pages” tab to see which pages get the most clicks.

It should look something like this:

If you’re getting impressions but few or no clicks, this means your website shows up in search results, but users aren’t clicking on it.

This could be due to a couple of reasons:

• Low ranking: Your page might be buried in search results. In this case, you need to improve your rankings by optimizing your content, building backlinks, and improving your website’s overall authority.
• Uncompelling title and meta description: Your title and meta description might not be exciting enough to attract clicks. Revise them to make them more compelling and relevant to the search query.

Track CTRs

The click-through rate reflects the percentage of impressions that resulted in a click.

Monitor click-through rates (CTR) for different queries to see which pages perform well. And which ones need improvement.

To see which keywords get the highest CTR, and which ones get the lowest, select the “Queries” tab. Like this:

Get Started with SEO for Your New Website

SEO is an ongoing process that requires patience and dedication. With consistent effort, you can steadily improve your website’s visibility, attract more organic traffic, and achieve your business goals.

It’s important to have realistic expectations. As Andrew says, many people make the mistake of giving up on SEO too early, not realizing it’s a long-term investment.

Focus on building a strong foundation by creating valuable content and understanding your audience and their needs. Over time, your efforts can lead to sustainable growth and success.

Understanding the art of SEO copywriting can help you write content that resonates with your audience and search engines.

Learn everything you need to know in our free SEO copywriting guide. From optimizing your content to improving the user experience.