People tend to solve problems step by step. Therefore, they first make the site and then think about how to promote it. Why such an approach turns into a waste of time and money, and how to avoid it – let’s figure out.
When you realize that something goes wrong
Sometimes, it happens that enterprise software development is performed by different contractors. Even in full-cycle agencies, teams of developers and optimizers do not always work together. When the site is already launched, it often turns that for successful optimization you need to seriously change the structure and functionality. Meanwhile, the introduction of changes costs about the same as the re-development of the relevant project parts.
Problems also arise when SEO requirements are not taken into account when providing changes: changing structure, CMS, hosting or domain, switching to a secure data transfer protocol (HTTPS). In such cases, traffic may significantly decrease following the customers and orders outflow.
Involve optimizers at the beginning of the project
The best option is to involve optimizers at the start of the project. Then they, together with the developers, will be able to draw up a project implementation plan, in which they will include all the necessary SEO points. SEO team solves several important tasks: development of the structure, comparison of current URLs with new ones, technical optimization, etc.
Website development circle
The overall work plan for creating a website comes down to the following steps:
- Design.
- Development: Front-end (making the interface templates) and Back-end (development of site functionality).
- Filling content.
- Testing.
- Publication.
- Index control.
If SEO requirements are taken into account at all stages, the customer receives a site with full basic optimization.
SEO Maintenance Tasks
At each of the development stages, several tasks are solved that facilitate the upcoming website promotion in search engines.
Choosing a CMS
The development of the project depends on which engine will the site work on – it influences the scaling sections, new functionality development, implementing human-readable URL-addresses, integrating with CRM and other external systems.
Filling content
At this stage, the goal of SEO team is to preserve and increase the effectiveness of the content on the site. The work of optimizers is based on materials prepared at the design stage, and is carried out in two directions:
- File correspondence between current and new URLs
- Semantic core
Testing
After completion of tasks related to the development and content, a full technical analysis of the site is carried out. The tasks of SEO support include:
- Compiling a robots.txt file
- Scanning the site, checking codes, page statuses and eliminating errors associated with incorrect links
- Making page error 404
Conclusion
The development possibilities of the site are almost endless, so a list of priorities should be prepared for the next releases upon the project completion. Make sure that all the stages of website development are negotiated with SEO-team. It will help you to save time and money.
