SEO for startups: a 100-day plan

SEO is slow, which is why startups skip it and why it's valuable: once it works, it keeps working. A new site can't win competitive terms in three months, but it can lay foundations and start capturing specific, low-competition searches. Here's a practical order of operations.

Days 1 to 14: foundations

Get the basics right.

• Make sure the site is indexable: no accidental noindex, robots.txt is sane, pages return 200.
• Submit a sitemap in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Set up analytics and connect Search Console.
• Use clean, readable URLs, and a single canonical version (with or without www, https).
• Make pages fast and mobile-friendly.
• Give every page a unique title and meta description.

Clarify your homepage. Say who it's for and what it does in plain language. This helps both people and search engines.

Days 15 to 40: find the searches worth targeting

Talk to customers. Note the exact words they use for their problem.

Build a keyword list. Sources: Search Console (once data arrives), autocomplete, "People also ask", competitors' pages, forums and Reddit threads.

Pick the right targets. For a new site, prefer:

• Specific, long queries ("invoice software for freelance designers") over broad ones ("invoice software").
• Clear buying or problem intent.
• Searches where the top results are weak, thin or out of date.

Map keywords to pages. One main topic per page. Avoid multiple pages competing for the same query.

Days 41 to 70: build the pages that matter

Prioritise, in this order:

1. Core product/solution pages for your main use cases.
2. Comparison and alternatives pages ("X vs Y", "alternatives to Z"), written fairly.
3. How-to and problem pages that answer real questions in depth.
4. A pricing page with clear information; pricing searches are high intent.
5. A FAQ answering objections, using real questions.

Write for the reader first. Answer the question early, use headings, examples and images, and be more useful than the current top results. Link related pages together.

Days 71 to 90: authority

Search engines trust sites others reference.

• Earn links by publishing useful data, tools or templates, contributing to communities, and getting listed in relevant directories.
• Get featured in roundups, podcasts and newsletters in your niche.
• Be present where people talk: answer questions on forums and Q&A sites with real help (how, without spamming).
• Avoid buying links or link schemes.

Days 91 to 100: measure and adjust

• Which pages are indexed? Which get impressions but few clicks (rewrite the title and description)?
• Which queries are you ranking 8 to 20 for? Improve those pages; they're closest to page one.
• Which pages convert? Double down on similar ones.
• Note what to build next quarter.

Common mistakes

• Publishing dozens of thin AI-written pages with no real value.
• Targeting broad head terms you can't win yet.
• Ignoring search intent (a page that doesn't match what people expect won't rank).
• Never updating content.
• Neglecting titles and meta descriptions.

Connecting to AI search

The same fundamentals feed visibility in AI assistants: clear positioning, useful pages and third-party mentions. See getting recommended by ChatGPT.

Expectations

Expect to see impressions in weeks and meaningful traffic in months. Track progress with the leading indicators (indexed pages, impressions, average position) before clicks catch up. Measure conversion with UTM tagging for other channels and Search Console for organic.