# SEO for a new website: what to do in the first 90 days

> A practical SEO plan for a new website: getting indexed, Search Console and sitemaps, redirects from an old site, local signals and realistic expectations.

- Source: https://nerdsharks.com/blog/seo-for-a-new-website
- Publisher: Nerdsharks (Exeter, Devon, UK)
- Updated: 2026-09-26

**Short answer:** SEO for a new website starts before launch: clear pages for each service, good titles and headings, no leftover noindex tags, and redirects from any old site. At launch, verify Google Search Console, submit a sitemap and link your Google Business Profile. Then add reviews, links and useful content steadily. Expect months, not days, for rankings to settle.

Published 2026-09-26. 10 min read. Category: Local SEO.

SEO for a new website is mostly about not making avoidable mistakes at launch and then being patient. A brand-new site has no history with Google, few links and no track record, so it is unlikely to outrank established competitors in its first weeks. But a well-built site with the right foundations can start appearing for your business name and specific local searches quite quickly.

This guide gives you a checklist for before launch, launch day and the first 90 days, whether you are launching your first website or replacing an old one.

## Before launch: the foundations

- One page per main service, with a clear heading saying what it is and where you offer it.
- A unique page title and meta description for every page, written for people, such as 'Dog Grooming in Taunton | Muddy Paws'.
- Your business name, phone number and area or address in plain text on every page, usually in the footer.
- A contact page with a form, phone number and, if customers visit, a map and directions.
- Fast loading on mobile, with images compressed and sized properly.
- Descriptive image file names and alt text, so images are understandable to search engines and screen readers.
- Internal links between related pages, such as service pages linking to the relevant area pages and back.
- LocalBusiness structured data with your name, address or area, phone and hours.

## The launch-day mistake that hides whole websites

Many sites are built on a staging address with a 'noindex' setting, or a robots.txt rule, to stop the unfinished version appearing on Google. If that setting is not removed at launch, the finished site stays invisible. It is one of the most common reasons a new website does not appear on Google at all.

On launch day, check the page source of your home page for 'noindex', and check yoursite.co.uk/robots.txt for a line that says 'Disallow: /'. If either is present and you want to be found, remove it.

> Google's URL Inspection tool in Search Console will tell you whether a page is allowed to be indexed and whether Google can fetch it. Use it on your home page on launch day.

## Replacing an old website: redirects matter

If you are replacing an existing site, your old pages may already rank and have links pointing to them. If their addresses change and you do not redirect them, those visitors hit error pages and the value built up in the old pages is lost.

- Before launch, list every page on the old site. Search Console's Pages report and a site: search on Google both help.
- Match each old page to the closest new page.
- Set up permanent (301) redirects from each old address to its new one.
- Keep the same domain if you can. Changing domain at the same time as redesigning adds risk.
- After launch, check Search Console for new 404 errors and fix any missed redirects.

## Launch day: tell Google you exist

- Add your site to Google Search Console. A domain property, verified through your domain's DNS settings, covers every version of your site.
- Submit your XML sitemap in Search Console under Sitemaps. Most website platforms generate one automatically.
- Use URL Inspection on your home page and main service pages, and request indexing.
- Update your Google Business Profile with the new website address, and do the same on Bing Places and Apple Maps.
- Update the website link on your social profiles, directories and email signature.
- Add the site to Bing Webmaster Tools too; it can import your settings from Search Console.

## Writing clear pages and connecting your local presence

A new site has no reputation to lean on, so clarity does a lot of the work. Each service page should answer, near the top and in plain words, what the service is, where you offer it, who it is for and how to get in touch. Then go deeper: what is included, how long it takes, what it costs or what affects the price, what customers should expect, and the questions people usually ask.

Write the way customers speak. A physiotherapy clinic's page titled 'Musculoskeletal Services' gives Google and customers less to go on than 'Back and neck pain treatment in Exeter'. The second version is also more likely to be quoted by AI assistants, which favour pages that state things directly.

Aim for pages that are useful rather than long. Three hundred specific words beat a thousand generic ones. What matters is that each page could only have been written about your business.

- Your Google Business Profile links to the website, and the website shows the same name, phone and area.
- Bing Places and Apple Maps listings updated with the new website address.
- Social profiles, email signature, invoices and directory listings updated too.
- Your review link placed on the website's thank-you page and in follow-up emails.
- Any supplier, association or partner that already links to your old address asked to update the link.

## The first 90 days

**A realistic 90-day plan for a new local website**

| When | What to do | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Search Console, sitemap, indexing requests, profile links updated | Home page and key pages start being indexed |
| Weeks 2 to 4 | Ask recent customers for reviews; claim association and supplier links | Site appears for your business name; a few impressions for services |
| Month 2 | Add or improve one service or area page; write one useful guide or FAQ | More impressions in Search Console for specific local searches |
| Month 3 | Review queries in Search Console; improve titles of pages with impressions but few clicks | Clearer picture of what is working and what needs more content |

## Why new sites take time, and what not to do

Google's SEO Starter Guide notes that changes can take anywhere from several hours to several months to be reflected in search results, and that some changes take effect sooner than others. Google's guidance on hiring an SEO says it commonly takes four months to a year to implement improvements and see potential benefit.

There is no official 'sandbox' holding new sites back. The practical reality is simply that a new site has no reviews, few links and no history of satisfying searchers, and those take time to build. Your Google Business Profile often starts bringing enquiries sooner than your website's organic rankings, which is one reason to get both right at the same time.

- Buy links or sign up to hundreds of directories in week one.
- Publish dozens of near-identical town pages to rank everywhere at once.
- Change page titles every few days because rankings have not moved.
- Pay anyone who guarantees page one by a date. Google says no one can guarantee a number one ranking.
- Launch without checking every form and phone link works on a phone.

Every Nerdsharks website launches with on-page SEO, Search Console set up, a sitemap submitted and your Google Business Profile connected, so the foundations in this guide are done for you. Plans start at £299 to set up plus £99/month, and you approve the design before anything goes live.

## Questions

### How long does it take for a new website to show on Google?

A new website's pages can be indexed within days of submitting a sitemap and requesting indexing in Search Console, though Google does not guarantee it. Ranking well for competitive searches usually takes months.

### Do I need to submit my new website to Google?

Google can find sites without being told, but verifying Search Console, submitting a sitemap and requesting indexing for key pages speeds up discovery and lets you spot problems early. It takes about half an hour.

### Will I lose rankings when I replace my old website?

You can keep most of your existing rankings if you set up permanent 301 redirects from every old page address to its closest new page. Missing redirects are the most common cause of lost traffic after a redesign.

### Is there a Google sandbox for new websites?

Google has not described any sandbox period for new sites. New sites rank slowly because they lack links, reviews and history, not because of a deliberate delay.

### What is the first SEO task for a new website?

Check that the site is not blocked from indexing by a leftover noindex tag or robots.txt rule, then verify Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. Everything else depends on Google being able to index the site.

## Sources

- SEO Starter Guide, Google Search Central, 2026: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
- Do you need an SEO?, Google Search Central, 2026: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo
- URL Inspection tool, Search Console Help, 2026: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289
- Learn about sitemaps, Google Search Central, 2026: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/overview
- Add a website property to Search Console, Search Console Help, 2026: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/34592