You’re building a new website. And you want it to rank high in Google search results.

But how do you make sure your site is SEO-friendly from the start?

That’s what this guide is all about.

We’ll walk you through the exact steps you need to take to improve SEO for a new website.

Tip: Create a free Semrush account to follow along with the steps in this guide. 

How to Do SEO for a New Website

Check out our top nine SEO tips for your new website:

1. Choose a Concise and Effective Domain Name

The first thing your new website needs is a domain name.

A domain name is your website’s address on the internet. It’s what people type in their browsers to find your site.

For example, “semrush.com” is Semrush’s domain name.

And having a concise and effective domain name is really important. It can help you attract more traffic and build your brand.

Here are a few tips for choosing a good domain name:

• Use words that describe your niche or topic, such as “seotips.com” or “seohacks.com”
• Keep it short and simple, no longer than 15 characters and easy to pronounce
• Avoid numbers, hyphens, and other symbols that can confuse your visitors and look spammy
• Be unique and memorable like “backlinko.com,” which winks to one of the main SEO topics: backlinks

Choosing a concise and effective domain name can take serious time and thought. But it’s worth the effort.

2. Outline Your Site Structure and Architecture

Site structure is how you organize and link your webpages. It’s important for user experience. And a way to boost SEO for your new site.

Here are the main benefits of having a solid site structure:

• It helps Google find and index the pages on your site
• It helps visitors find what they’re looking for
• It helps you avoid duplicate content issues and keyword cannibalization

So, where do you start?

First, sketch out a “skeleton” of the pages your site needs.

For example, you could start with a homepage, an about page, a services page, a contact page, and a blog.

Then, each of those could have subpages.

Like this:

When your site is up and running, run a quick audit to make sure there aren’t any crawlability issues.

To get started, sign up for a free Semrush account.

Click the blue “+ Create project” button in the “My Projects” section.

Then, add your domain, and click “Create project.”

Like so:

You’ll see a project dashboard. Find Site Audit and click “Set up.”

Then, select the number of pages you want to crawl and “Website” as the crawl source.

And click “Start Site Audit.”

Like this:

Now, head to the “Issues” tab and select “Crawlability” from the “Category” drop-down menu.

You’ll see a list of your site’s crawlability errors, warnings, and notices.

Conduct an audit like this at least monthly. And fix any issues that come up.