Where to Start SEO for New Websites - 30 Things to Do

By +Mina Adly Younan
You plan to create a new website for your business? Everybody is talking about SEO and you want to employ it but you do not know where to start from?

Here is a Checklist of 30 things you should think of when you start a new website to make it Search Engine Optimized as well as User Friendly and Engaging.

1. If it is a Local Business website buy a local TLD (.ca) and direct the (.com) to it
2. Homepage and inner pages' titles are the identity of the site and they should be a well selected combination of the targeted message and Keywords  
3. Meta Description, and Headers should reflect each page’s message and value proposed
4. The URLs has to be readable
5. The Content has to be engaging, trending, well-designed, Tightly themed on all pages, and user friendly
6. The 404 page has to be customized, navigable, and engaging
7. Create Robots.txt
8. Create Sitemap.xml
9. Submit the site to Google Webmasters
10. Submit the Site to Bing Webmasters
11. Create an analytics account
12. Link Analytics with Webmasters tool
13. Index the pages to Google and Bing
14. If it is a WordPress Site, install SEO plugins (like Yoast)
15. Make sure that the Domain is purchased for more than 2 years (10 years is the Best)
16. If it is a Local business, submit to Google Places
17. Create a French Version for a Luxury Canadian Brand
18. Create a Mobile Version
19. IP canonicalization and www resolve
20. Create Social Media Pages (FB, Twitter, YT, LinkedIn) and link them to the site
21. Submit to DMOZ
22. Submit to Local Directories
23. Create and Publish a PR on the new website launch (it is recommended if it is a paid PR like on PRweb or MediaWire)
24. Submit to Industry/Business-related Directories (The higher their PR the better ranking the site will get)
25. Submit RSS Feeds and Ping related networks and search engines
26. Invest in targeted PPC campaigns to reveal the brand to the fans
27. Invest in a Social Media Marketing to start with social media fans base to create the buzz
28. Start a blog and share its content on Social Media
29. Monitor and Optimize
30. Design and Content A/B Testing