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SEO for a new website

A one-time setup for a new or rebuilt WordPress site, so a search engine can find it from the first day and nothing built up by the old site is lost. Indexing, sitemap, Search Console and Bing, and redirects, each checked.

In short

  • For a WordPress site that is about to launch, has just launched, or has been rebuilt.
  • We make sure search engines can reach it, and check that from outside.
  • Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are set up in your name, with the sitemap given to both.
  • On a rebuilt site, old addresses are redirected to the new ones and each is checked.
  • It gets a new site found. Where it ranks is not something anyone can promise.

This is a one-time job for a WordPress site that is new, about to launch, or just rebuilt. A new site has one job in search before any other: to be found. Most new sites that are not found have nothing wrong with their content. They have one setting left as it was during the build, or an old site's addresses that now lead nowhere.

We set up what a search engine needs, check each part from outside, and leave you with the two free accounts that tell you what Google and Bing are doing with your site.

What we do

  • Switch indexing on, and check it. While a site is being built it is usually told to keep search engines away. We make sure that is off at launch, and then ask for your pages the way a crawler would to confirm nothing still says noindex. See what that box does.
  • Make sure the staging copy stays out. A copy of the site left open to search engines competes with the real one.
  • One site, one address. http, https, www and the bare name all end at the same place, in one hop.
  • The sitemap. Checked that it answers, that robots.txt names it, and that it lists the pages you want found.
  • Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. Set up in your name, with you as the owner and us added as a user. The sitemap is given to both.
  • On a rebuilt site, the old addresses. Every address the old site answered at is matched to its new one and redirected, and each redirect is checked. This is the step that decides whether a rebuild keeps what the old site had earned. Our redirect map builder is the same method, free.
  • A first-month list. What to look at in Search Console in the weeks after launch, and what each thing means.

The price is on this page.

How it works

  1. Step 1: Tell us about the site

    Send its address, or the address it will have, through the free diagnosis form, and say whether it is new or a rebuild. For a rebuild, tell us where the old site is.

  2. Step 2: Before launch

    We check the settings, the sitemap and the addresses on the site as built, and for a rebuild we prepare the redirects.

  3. Step 3: At launch

    Indexing goes on, the redirects go in, the accounts are set up and the sitemap is submitted.

  4. Step 4: After launch

    We check from outside that pages answer, are not blocked and name themselves, and send you the list for the first month.

What it does not cover

  • A ranking. This gets a site found. Where it appears for a search is decided by the search engine, page by page. Google's own advice on hiring help is that nobody can guarantee a place.
  • Writing the site's pages.
  • Submitting the site "to search engines" in bulk. There is nothing to submit to beyond the two accounts above. Google's guidance calls that kind of offer typically useless.
  • Ongoing work. If there is more to do after launch, it can go on a monthly plan.
  • Sites that are not on WordPress.

What it costs

  • SEO setup for a new site

    $299

    For a new or rebuilt WordPress site: everything a search engine needs to find it, set up and checked before and after launch.

    • Indexing switched on and checked from outside
    • The sitemap checked and given to Google and Bing
    • Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools set up in your name
    • Old addresses redirected, on a rebuilt site
    • A written list of what to watch in the first month
    Start with a free diagnosis

  • SEO plan, 4 hours

    $199 a month, per site

    Four hours of search work on one site each month, against a written list, with a report of what was done.

    • 4 hours of search work a month
    • A written list of what the hours go to, agreed first
    • A monthly report of what was done and tested
    • What Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show, read each month
    Start with a free diagnosis

Common questions

How long until a new site shows up on Google?

Google's own documentation says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and that asking for a crawl does not mean a page will be included. What this job does is make sure nothing on your side is adding to the wait.

Is this for startups?

Yes, if the site is on WordPress. A startup's site is a new site with the same first problem: being found at all, under its own name, before anything else.

My site launched months ago and still is not on Google. Is this the right job?

Probably not. That is a fault to find, and it starts with the checks, in order or a free diagnosis. If the cause is one setting, it is a small fix.

I am redesigning an existing site. What do you need from me?

The old site still reachable, or a list of its addresses, before the new one replaces it. Once the old site is gone, its addresses can only be recovered from Search Console or from memory.

Do I need this if my developer is launching the site?

Ask them whether the old addresses are redirected and whether indexing will be switched on. If the answer to both is yes and you have Search Console, you may not. The WordPress launch checklist covers the rest.

SEO setup for a new site, done for you

SEO setup for a new site is $299. Indexing, sitemap, Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools set up and checked on a new or rebuilt site. It starts with a free diagnosis.

Get a free diagnosis