Search engine optimization is a process to get high online visibility on the search engine result pages. Three factors that matter to have good rankings are – domain authority, links, and quality content. If you are a startup and are looking to improve your SEO performance, then here is a comprehensive guide on SEO for Start-ups.
Why SEO Matters for Start-ups?
Start-ups usually have low funding, so spending marketing dollars on Google Ads or other digital marketing channels is not feasible. Hence SEO is an effective channel to get unpaid and targeted traffic. In addition, you will have long-term benefits compared to paid marketing, where you must spend money when you run campaigns. SEO is a slow process but profitable in the long term as a roadmap to your successful start-up journey.
When it comes to sustainability then SEO has a crucial role to play. Suppose you run a social media campaign, then you might get clicks based on curiosity, and the user is not looking to buy. Here SEO is commendable as users may search to buy online and thus complete the transaction. Let’s say you have a small apparel store selling emoji t-shirts so people may type on search engines the following queries –
Emoji shirts online
Buy emoji shirts
Smiley emoji shirts and so on.
The above example shows that users will complete the buying action when searching in Google. This means that the social media campaigns might not be running when users are actively looking to purchase. Because most of the search queries happen from search engines. According to an SEO Statistic 2024,
“68% of online experiences begin with a search engine” (BrightEdge)
Step-by-Step process on SEO for Start-ups
1. Understanding the Basics of SEO

How do search engines work?
Search engines utilize the process of crawling, indexing, rending, and ranking to display the results of the queries typed in it.
Crawling – Crawling is the process in which search engines find new and updated content discoverable by links or URLs from their crawlers or bots.
Indexing – The data is stored and organized by the Search Engine during crawling.
Rendering – It is a process where Google bots retrieve your pages, run your code, and assess your content to understand the layout or structure of your site. The information is then used to rank the quality and value of your site content against others.
Ranking: It is the process of providing the piece of content that will best answer a searcher’s query, which means results are ordered from the highest to lowest.
For start-ups initial indexing and crawling are essential, so ensure you submit an XML sitemap and URL in the Google search console to get indexed fast and timely. Once your domain is old then the bot will crawl automatically.
Some basic Key SEO Terms
Keywords – These are the phrases or queries users type in the search engines they are looking to get information or buy a product.
Backlinks – Inbound links from other authoritative sites to the site pointing to your site.
Organic Traffic – Unpaid traffic in the form of visitors from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yandex.
Domain Authority – This is the authority built by the domain based on link sharing on other referring domains. During link building, citation flow and trust flow of the domain matter. Trust flow is the quality of backlinks whereas citation flow is quantity of backlinks
SERPs – These are the search engine result pages shown by search engines such as Google, and Bing from higher to lower rankings.
2. Setting Up Your Website for SEO
Choosing the right domain name
Selecting a domain name matters a lot while representing your brand worldwide web. You can add your keywords to the domain name to make it more searchable and relevant. For example, a travel site can be getsetgotravel.com
Website Architecture

A well-structured site not only boosts SEO performance but also plays a crucial role in usability, search engine rankings, and overall effectiveness in achieving business goals.
Benefits of Website Structure
- Improved User Experience
- Better SEO Performance
- Increased Engagement
- Improved Accessibility
- Data Organization
- Better Performance Tracking
- Increased Trust and Credibility
- Facilitated Internal Linking
For more details check Type of Website Structures
Mobile Responsiveness
When it comes to SEO for start-ups, then businesses having a mobile-friendly site is crucial in getting more customers. If you are having an e-commerce business then having an app can help you to scale your business. But if you are in the service industry then a mobile-responsive site is enough to get calls or enquiries.
Fast Loading Speed
Ensure to select good hosting with powerful servers to have a fast-loading speed and optimize your site using suggestions from Google pagespeed insights for both desktop and mobile versions. In addition to this, selecting a light and appealing site theme can be helpful in fast-loading speed. You can also add lazy loading to your website.
3. Perform Keyword Research
Keyword research is one of the important steps in SEO for start-ups so identify the target audience and group your keywords based on search intent. Creating a buyer persona can be a key to researching the keywords. Ensure that you target low-hanging fruit keywords to rank well. Target low keyword difficulty with high search volumes to get fast results.
Adding long-tail keywords can deliver high value to your web pages by improving website visibility. They are beneficial in the following ways-
- Low Competition
- Higher Conversion Rates
- Improved Relevance
- Better User Engagement
- Improved Voice Search Optimization
Effective Tools for Keyword Research
SEMrush
Ahrefs
Google Keyword Planner
4. Create powerful On-page SEO Strategies

Add primary and secondary keywords in the title and keep it simple with 60 characters avoiding keyword stuffing. Add city-specific keywords for the locations you serve. You can separate the keywords from the pipeline.
Example– Best Roofing Service in Toronto | Affordable Roofing Company
Keep meta descriptions meaningful that entice clicks. Add the main target keyword once and explain the title in 150-160 characters.
Example – Avail of the best roofing service in Toronto. We are an experienced roofing company with over 20 years of experience in cleaning and repairing. Call us today.
Optimize heading tags with secondary keywords and add the heading tag as follows-
Example – <h1> Professional Roofing Company in Toronto with Proven, Quality Workmanship </h1>
You can similarly write h2 and h3 tags that make sense to your landing page. Try to keep a unique H1 tag but you may repeat the h2 and h3 tag depending on your landing page content. Maintain the structuring and readability while optimizing heading tags.
Content Optimization
Use keyword variations throughout the content. Ensure you add the target keyword in the first 150 words to make users and search engines understand the topic or landing page. Write quality content based on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Trust, and Authoritative) and Helpful content updates to provide value to the users.
Internal Linking
Unlock the power of links through contextual internal linking. This increases the average time spent on the site and reduces exits and bounce rates. Search engines travel through links so if you have optimized your main pages with internal links, your ranking positions will certainly improve.
Image Optimization
Avoid using heavy images and optimize them with your target keyword in the ALT text section. Compress them and use light images to improve the speed and fast loading.
5. Create Effective Off-Page SEO Strategies
Backlinks are the votes that your site is authoritative. Building it on the domains with high trust and citation flow can be key to getting high rankings and driving traffic and conversions. You can use several tools such as SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc to analyze the backlink gap by comparing your and your competitor’s domains.
Backlinks can be built in the following four ways-
- Earn
- Ask
- Add
- Buy (Not recommended)
Earning links through great content is tough but contributes highly to increasing the domain authority. Asking for links through outreach can be tedious but can help if you build backlinks through Influencer Marketing or relationship link building. Adding links to the websites such as adding online directories can be valuable based on domain authority.
You can build the link by following off-page SEO techniques
- Using HARO
- Original research& new data statistics
- Broken link building
- Visual assets from an old viral post
- Link-worthy listicles
- In-depth pillar pages and link them to blogs
- Industry forum participation
- Engage with industry influencers
- Adding profile in online business directories
- Answering on Quora & Reddit
- Skyscraper technique
- Shareable infographics
- Brand Unlinked Mentions
- Guest Posting
Social Media Engagement
Posting a site’s content on social media plays a crucial role in improving its visibility as it drives organic social traffic. In addition, it helps the site to gain trust among the users when they visit pages of your website having social shares. They will likely click the post with more shares. This increases the brand awareness among the visitors and organic social traffic.
Guest Posting
Posting an original article related to your niche website such as Marketing, Technology, Gaming or business helps to build high authority and target the high traffic they receive monthly. You can research the website using backlink analytics tools or researching your competitor’s backlinks where they have published their guest posts. Ensure you post on high citation and trust flow websites. You can check these metrics in the Majestic Tool.
6. Local SEO For Start-ups
Targeting local customers is key when your store has a physical location. You can optimize your website for hyperlocal or local areas in the city to get customers running to your store. Here comes the role of Google My Business profile. Add every detail like Name, address, phone number, website, hours of work, and a little description about your business. You must verify using a call or getting a PIN to your address.
Add geographical keywords in the content and optimize them. You can have separate pages for them such as
- Roofing service in Toronto
- Roofing service in Ontario, etc
You should also add areas you serve in the Footer section of your website or you can add a feature to locate your store. This will help customers reach you do their shopping and promote sales. If you are handling events, then creating structured data for events can help to get visibility on search engines. In addition, you can also promote your sales events. To get the most out of your sales campaign you can add the events schema and bring in more customers to your shop.
Engage your customers to review you when they come to shop. You can also provide a small token of gift to add review. Moreover, you can also allow them for cash back on any of the UPI platforms. This way you can have a better online reputation in the form of ratings and reviews. Don’t forget to reply to negative reviews as this will help you to solve the problem from their feedback. Take it constructively and reply to them with a positive tone.
7. Measuring SEO Success
SEO success depends on myriad SEO ranking factors. When a Google algorithm comes, then there is a need to adjust the SEO strategies and plan accordingly. Regularly auditing the site and keyword position rankings can be beneficial in knowing the ups and downs of your site. Here are some of the Key SEO metrics you should track in SEMrush, Google Analytics 4, and Search Console
- Keyword Ranking positions
- Organic Traffic (Search Engine + Social)
- Average time spent on the site
- Bounce rate
- New VS Returning users
- Key Events in GA4 (Automatic, Enhanced, Custom & Recommended)
- Conversions
- Engaged sessions
- Active Users in GA4
- Click through rate
- Domain Authority
- Link Profile
- Referring Domains
- Citation flow
- Trust flow
I hope this comprehensive guide will help you to implement the SEO techniques and play a major role in growing your startup or small business.
All the Best in your Startup journey!