The Top SEO Challenges Facing New Websites – And How to Beat Them

Getting Indexed in the Search Engines

New websites don't receive any traffic from the search engines until the website content has been added to the search engine indexes. It's important to get indexed as quickly as possible so that searchers can find you and because search engines trust older sites more than newer ones.

What to Do: Visit the major search engines as soon as possible after your website is online and follow their submission instructions to the letter. Your website does not need to be fully complete, but make sure you have some solid content online to index and that you have no broken links or "under construction" placeholders remaining.

What to Avoid: Don't deluge the search engines with repeat submissions - repeat submissions could get your site banned. Don't pay so-called submission services that offer to submit you thousands of times for a fee, there aren't that many search engines worth submitting to.

Handling the New Site Penalty

Although it's not official, there is speculation that Google uses a "sandbox" filter to screen new websites. The theory is that the sandbox helps Google avoid having their rankings taken over by fly-by-night spammers. New sites appear more slowly for competitive search terms, sometimes taking a year or more to be ranked.

What to Do: Be sure that you are following Google best practices carefully (more information about best practices can be found on the Google website). Build your content at a steady pace and concentrate on good SEO practices. Target niche search phrases, since new websites often appear in the results for less competitive terms.

What to Avoid: Don't get desperate. Your site will be removed from the sandbox in time, and following good SEO practices will help to position your information well when the sandbox filter is removed. Plus, you will still be bringing in traffic from other search engines; only Google uses the sandbox filter.

Attracting Inbound Links with No Reputation

Inbound links are an important part of getting ranked well in the search engines, yet it's difficult to get links you when no one knows you exist yet.

What to Do: Contact related websites and suggest linking to relevant articles. Promote your site by using signature links in blogs forums, by writing content for article directories, and by using social media to encourage linking to your site.

What to Avoid: Put a heavy emphasis on link quality over quantity. Make sure that your site content is truly relevant and helpful before asking for a link. Don't just purchase links; Google devalues paid links, especially from new websites.

It is a good idea to use an SEO expert as soon as possible when planning a new website. SEO guidance can help you start receiving valuable search engine traffic as quickly as possible after your site goes online, and can help prevent you from making costly mistakes. Call 08452 579 606 for a no-obligation consultation.