From Zero To #1 In A Month: 5 SEO Steps For New Sites

In just five SEO steps, you can build a site that will lead the search results for its keyword by the end of its first month. The key is good preparation—so although you’ll see results quickly, you’ll still have to work hard for them.Keyword Research for SEO

Lately I have been writing about different methods I use to create websites built on solid foundations. It is a huge step when you first open your blog to the world and preparation is the key. The blood, sweat and tears I mention in this article will pay off handsomely in the end.

SEO Step #1—Find A Keyword

By far the most important SEO step is to find a good keyword. I think even a bad keyword is better than no keyword because anything you learn about keyword optimization with the bad keyword can be applied to your next site.

To choose a good keyword, start with a pen and some paper and think of subjects you want to write about. For each of those subjects, guess what people search for when they have questions.

For example, if you decide you want to write about dogs, think of the last few things you searched for about dogs. My most common dog-related searches all involve possible health issues for my dog.

When you have an idea of what people might search for, visit Google Search and run a few searches. Are there any results for those keywords? If not, try a different search query. Are there more than 10,000 results? If not, beware—you might be entering unprofitable territory.

After you have a list of quality search terms, log into Google AdWords (it’s free if you don’t run ads) and open the keyword research tool. Enter your search term and see how many monthly searches there are in Google for that term. Also note down related terms.

Those terms will be your main site keywords. Your goal will be to capture 10% to 50% of that monthly traffic.

SEO Steps #2—Write The Initial Content

For most people, this will either the hardest or most expensive step. You need to write (or hire someone to write) the initial site content. I think a new site should launch with 100,000 words of content in these four categories:

  1. A free report about 10,000 words log to give away as a reward for taking specific actions (signing up for a newsletter, filling out a survey, buying an ebook).
  2. A Blog with twenty 1,000-word posts or forty 500-word posts pre-entered and backdated.
  3. About twenty 1,000-word pre-written Guest Blog Posts to quickly build your backlinks.
  4. 52 weekly 1,000-word Fundamental or **Evergreen Posts to pre-schedule for posting every week. This way your blog stays active even when you get too busy to write (and you will!).

A hundred thousand words sounds like a lot—and it is—but remember that all these blog posts will cover the same subject and the same set of keywords. Writing a block of related posts can double or triple your writing speed by cutting down on repeat research.

I know people will be moaning right now saying “how can I afford to do that” or ” I can't write that much content”.  Well do you want to start a business or a hobby? This is serious and you will be amazed at what this preparation can do for a blog.

SEO Steps #3—Domain Name & Publication

Most people suggest buying a domain name when you choose your keyword, but I suggest that you avoid paying a single penny for anything until you have your content ready for publication. This is not just to avoid the cost of an idle domain (which is pretty cheap). You also get a chance to change your mind about your keyword as you write.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discovered a new angle on something only after I put a few hours into writing about it. You might start out writing about dog health problems and realize there’s a unrealized market for advice specifically about older and less active dogs. If you already bought a domain, you’ve possibly wasted your money, so wait until you finish writing before you buy the domain.

After you buy the domain, find some Hostgator coupon codes to get a discount on your hosting and load your initial content. Publish everything, test on several different Web browsers to make sure everything is working correctly, and submit your site to Google’s index.

Google will discover on your site the 20,000 words of unique content you pre-wrote. Google loves unique content, so you might start ranking well for less popular keywords even without incoming links. (That’s if you wrote real unique content—not spun or PLR content.)

SEO Steps #4—Guest Blog

You’ve already written 20 feature-length (1,000-word) blog posts. Now go find sites in or related to your niche that will accept them as guest posts.

Guest blogging is easy. For each site you want to guest blog for, see if the site has guest blogging guidelines. If it does, follow them. If not, send the blog operator a short email including the full text of your post. Introduce yourself and your site briefly, include the HTML of your post, attach any small images, and make sure your post ends with a short author bio and a backlink to your site.

If the blog operator rejects your post, then try submitting it to another site. If it gets rejected too many times, consider rewriting it or adding it to your own blog’s queue.

But if the blog operator decides to publish it, you have a little extra work to do:

First, thank the blog operator for publishing it in a quick email.

Then promote your guest post on your websites, social media accounts, newsletters, and other promotion tools. You want to make the post successful to maximize the amount of traffic and links that get made back to your site.

When twenty top sites in your niche publish your guest posts with the backlinks to your site, it will firmly cement your authority to Google. Almost overnight you’ll go from a nobody to an authority within your niche. Here are some of my tips for choosing the right blog to guest post on.

SEO Steps #5—Blog Often

There’s only one step left—prove to Google that you’re not a one-hit wonder. The easiest way to do this is by hosting a blog. That’s true even if you’re a retail outfit or other site that doesn’t require a blog. I have even added a blog in the background of a simple product sales website. This bought me traffic I did not expect and Google loved it by giving me a PR 4 for having relevant content pumping through and not just a stagnant sales page.

Blogs ensure that there is always fresh content on your site. Google loves fresh unique content, especially high-quality stuff. And fresh content will get read by readers who will click your ads, buy from you, or sign up for your newsletter.

You’ve already written fifty-two 1,000-word blogs. Schedule these to be posted automatically every week to guarantee a supply of fresh blogs.

I suggest you don’t write any more blogs until you see how well your site performs. Although the techniques in this article can help you reach #1 in Google, they can’t ensure profitability, which is what really matters.

Profitability requires pleasing your readers or customers, and that’s something beyond the SEO steps described in this article.

109 thoughts on “From Zero To #1 In A Month: 5 SEO Steps For New Sites”

  1. Great advice, Mitz. Interesting that you suggest waiting till you have the content to buy the domain. I guess that at least proves whether you are committed enough the topic to do the groundwork. 🙂

    1. Yes I thought it was a great way to change your mind. I often buy a domain name and while creating I stumble on a minor change in a domain name and change focus. It always works out well, the after thought, so I stopped jumping in and buying names on impulse.

      I used to own too many names and most of them I knew I would never use…:)

    2. that I must Admit is one killer piece of information because the amount of money I’ve wasted on domains and then changed my mind when writing content Is just ridiculous.

      This is how I deal with my clients that asks me to build a website the first thing I say to them is “have you got any content” if they say no I say come back we have some
      ( in a nice way)

  2. Very useful post Mitz.

    To me 50% of the SEO battle is won by finding the RIGHT keyword term and buying a kw domain name based on that. I am still researching if .org or .com or even .net is better but personally I got good results with .org.

    The only point I would say missing is link diversification. Only guest posts and writing blogs will not help the long run. We do need to diversify the link building 🙂

  3. Thanks Mitz for the advises, I agree about having the content before buying the domain and everything because by having it you already know your audience. About what Saikat
    said I believe it is really a great point we need to diversify link building specially the anchor text.

  4. Where did you take 1000 words from?? Isn’t 300-500 enough for one article???

    1. No not really…You can if you like but 1000 words gets you into the serious rankings even when there is competition.

      Over the years I have tested different lengths and 500 words does not do it for me… If I am going to create content it must be great and rarely do I see a 500 word article that is great! There is just not enough information.

  5. Truly a great share Mitz …

    You’ve provided some awesome tips in writing the initial content, I agree that this is the hardest step for most of the people

    1. It is an amazing feeling having all the content ready to go to where ever you choose to publish… 🙂

  6. Hello Mitz! This is another great post from your! I feel that guest blogging is indeed the secret of building a popular website. Your tips in this article really helped me figured out some areas that I was a little confused about.

  7. This post is very helpful especially for those who are planning to build their own buisness and are looking for ways to optimize. To me, consistency is one of the key factors in SEO. That is, blogging regularly can help a lot in optimizing the site. Consistent blogging means consistent readers.

    1. I agree about consistency and this is really easy to do if you have your content ready to back you up.

  8. Hi Mitz,
    I think this post just highlights how serious blogging is and what you have to do in order to get to the top and stay there.
    Thanks
    James

  9. Hi Mitz, you know it’s funny or ironic but this is the second post I read today that doesn’t only share tips to products more SEO but it’s also great tips for an overall better and more interactive blog.

    The title in fact I think does this post less as it would be an excellent introductory post to blogging in general and some of the steps you should take to ensure online visibility.

    Specifically Step 4 and 5. Writing guest posts like you are here today helps generate traffic back to your blog and when you combine that with consistency it’s the real ingredients for a successful blog.

    1. Yes I guess it could make a good introductory to blogging.. A friend of mine builds blogs like this but she does not open them until she has 300 articles. It is amazing and she is raking in the money. Way more than me, I am jealous! 🙂

  10. All you need to spread your fresh content all around the web and link back to you, it certainly increase your ranking in SERP. Google is getting strict on duplicate content and Panda is result of it.

  11. It’s always important to have proper planning before starting your sites, these are some important tips but it clearly shows the importance of interesting and unique content. Google is really working hard to remove spam around the web.

  12. What can I say. Totally agree that the initial stages are indeed the most important part of SEO. Planning and preparation are key factors as this will form the foundation of your sites structure to which it will built for. While I am not so sure about 100.000 words, 99K will certainly be a good fit 🙂 BTW, as with Sharon’s comment, I also find it interesting the domain name comes after the initial content. I am guessing that this has something to do with getting everything else sorted out first before registering a name, to ensure that one picks the “right” name?

    1. People think that domain names are rare and that they are going to miss out on something…. I always find the one I want… I usually add one dash or change the .com to .net or something like that…

      I have often changed my mind when writing content and changed angels mid stream. When you are engrossed in a subject you see things more clearly.

      I guess its not for everyone…

  13. Mitz,

    Preparation is a key component. I can never stress keyword research enough to people I talk to. Many people are starting to get it (as I know you do from your step #1) but still not enough, understanding what is involved with ranking is essential for any niche.

    I also like your idea about 1 “killer” evergreeen post per week. Though I do it on a weekly basis rather than “up front” I just make sure every site has 10-12 pieces of content “in the bag” before It goes live, then I just build in tandem.

    But that is just personal preference. The important thing is that the content is there, and you have a system that works FOR YOU.

    1. Hi Steve
      I also do what you are saying but I really enjoy blogging more when I have the content ready and I am not stressed when I do not have time to post…

      If you can follow this method above it just frees up so much time and that is what I am working for…time..

    1. The link in the post shows you how to use the coupons. The most you can get is 25% off which is great anyway.

  14. Wow, i could have used this about a month ago when i launched a new site. Fresh content and lots of it is definitely a must. Internal linking and on-site SEO are also important. Also, relevant back links will give your new site a little boost.

  15. Hi Mitz,

    Some great points, Guest blog is really a quick way to get quality backlinks from a reputed blog, this trends is getting pace now and many small businesses are working on this technique. They publish their post on reputed niche blog and get targeted traffic plus relevant backlinks.

  16. Reading SEO guide is very essential to those who want to enter the blogging world, every bit of information need to be established to have an effective blog. Thanks for this post.

  17. Love your best point: BLOG OFTEN, because the more often you blog, the more you not only sharpen your writing skills but gain understanding about the whole blogosphere journey!

    BLOG ON ILEANE!

    1. Yeah blogging often is great…Not too often though…:) You must give yourself time to promote each article.. 🙂

  18. Yup! Blood, sweat and tears is what is needed to make a blog work. I love how you’re not sugar-coating it here, newbie bloggers must know from the start that it is NOT an easy alternative to making quick money, on the contrary it’s a tough and very competitive industry and only hard work makes it come together.

    1. Yep no sugar coating here. I am a full time blogger and it is a crazy amount of work until you can outsource it ALL..

  19. Obaidul Haque

    1> Writing some content in advance is definitely a good piece of advice. Not posting consistently is the biggest problem with most of the bloggers. If you want to start a blog, you should create a sitemap in advance. Initial planning can help you start your blog successfully and make you a good competitor in the blogosphere.

    2> It’s important to make sure that you don’t ruin the quality of your blog posts by trying to write ‘too long’ articles. At the end of the day, all that matters to Google is the quality of content.

    Thanks for the share, Mitz!

    1. Nice tips Obaidul !!
      I have found long posts are great but when you waffle on about junk just to make a long post or go off topic it is not good… Just write a post that gives the information clearly, without fillers. You are right that quality is the only thing that counts.

  20. Basic, but very effective tips. So many times marketers (myself included) get so hung up on advanced smarty link building and such techniques/strategies that we forget the basics that are most effective. So yeah, thanks for the reminders.

    1. You right there Anish…People often get caught up with the wrong things…This way if you have content ready you can have a clear mind and focus better! 🙂

  21. You know Mitzi, I have never thought about writing all that content first but I bet it would sure make sure that you were committed before you launch the blog. In fact, I’ve been thinking of another blog I would like to do so I think I’ll try this!

    1. You can thank me later when you are sitting back and choosing which post to publish next.. You can even set out an internal linking plan if you have the content ready. You have time for so much more..

      I actually have two websites on the go now…I am sorting out the foundations and I am getting the content written. I am using the money earned form other websites to fund this. By the time I have posted 20 articles I usually have PR 4 and a good amount of traffic when it is all organized and I can concentrate on only promoting…

  22. This is great startup advice for anyone with a new website. I like to take my keyword research a step further and categorise the keywords based on whether it is a keyword that is just searching for information or a keyword where someone is ready to take action. The action keywords/searches are the ones I like to focus on.

    I also find with my sites that once they are up and running you can find keywords from your Google Analytics info that are generating good traffic that your site is not yet optimise for. Creating content around these terms will then bring even more traffic to your site.

      1. Hi Danielle
        To a certain degree the basic principle I use is the more specific the query the closer someone will be to taking action. So for example someone that does a search for “Britney Spears” could be researching a project, looking for celebrity gossip, or looking for an image etc, whereas someone that searches for “Britney Spears Poster” would be potentially looking to purchase a poster of Britney Spears.

        So if I had a Britney Spears website (I don’t and am never likely to by the way) that sold posters I would optimise my site for the more specific term. For starters there will be less competition for the specific term, and people are more likely to be ready to buy something.

  23. Nice tips!
    It is quite helpful for me to manage my blog on high ranking in the search, thanks for your kindness!!!

  24. Finding the right keyword is the best first step. Then you do need to practice your onesite and offsite seo so that you are linking to yourself. If you can find a low competition keyword then it’s possible to get ranked high quickly, but be prepared to in most cases to take a bit longer and to put in the work to get there.

    1. Just remeber that this method presumes you have the content ready to go so you are only concentrating on promotion…That is exactly why you can rank faster… Imagine just promoting your posts all the time…You can have loads of traffic and great rankings…

  25. Hey Mitz,
    Interesting post and lots of great tips. However, I achieving #1 in one month may be a little misleading to many especially newbies. I mean, most keywords take way longer than that, unless your keyword is something that nobody uses to search for and so there is no competition.

    The reason I think that may be misleading is that I think many newbies will take these words literally and if they don’t see the results after one month, they may give up and think its not working.

    Of course, over all your article is a very detailed and informative guide for anyone to get started in creating a blog. Thanks.

    1. We are taking about a real business here not a hobby. If people get scared off that easily then they are not meant to do this…It is just that simple. Getting to number one this way is not hard at all.

      Of course it depends on the keywords but you do not go into direct competition with the big boys.

      Also the fact of having that much original content under your belt gives you a massive advantage. This will get you ranking for more than one keyword…

      Its all about preparation and if you have done the hard yards you are guaranteed to take the world by storm.. You really need to try it to see how it works. 🙂

  26. Hi Mitz,
    I couldn’t write that much content in a year so I focus on keywords that have less competition. I write 3 blog posts of 750 words, do some social bookmarking, on page SEO, exact match domain name and a lot of commenting on commentluv blogs and I can get to first page in 30-45 days.
    Thanks,
    Jim

    1. Thats great Jim…
      I use the exact domain name too. I do not do too much commenting though as I guest post and comment on those articles..that keeps me busy.

  27. I so wish I had created my content before starting my blog! This is an excellent suggestion and I hope aspiring bloggers read this before they start.

  28. Interesting advice, but I must disagree with the length of the articles. 1,000 words (and even 500 in some cases) is too much and number of words should not be a priority: indeed, Google likes 300+ word articles more and you can SEO write better, but just writing 1,000 words that are not actually required will result in a boring article that offers less value than, let’s say, a 300 word article.

    I think actually that in my entire career I wrote less than 20 1,000 word articles and I am doing pretty well. So, even though your tips are good, I must disagree completely with the number of words!

    1. I like to take every post to the top if I can and 1000 words of fantastic content will always outdo 300 words… If I wrote two blogs, one with 300 word articles and one with 1000 word articles, the later would win hands down..

      If you try and make every post an authority post and not just a post for the sake of publishing something, your blog will be far more successful..

  29. It’s nice to read these amazing tips, and I like the honest twist in this article about having to work hard for your growth. There are a lot of sites out there that promise you the world if you follow these simple steps which can be done in only 1 hour…

    This one is the real deal, I appreciate it way more than those empty promises.

    Keep up the good work

  30. Great tips, Mitz. SEO is definitely the biggest hurdle any blogger needs to deal with first and foremost. I admire that you’re able to write so many posts. Given that, I’m curious to know if there is an ideal number of posts that should be posted in a day? A friend of mine (whose also a blogger) told me that one post a day is okay. Is that true?

    1. Yes one post is ok but I really like one post every two days… It gives you time to promote the post correctly…If I posted everyday I would have to hire more people to help with the promotion side, as publishing great content is only half the story..

  31. Good tips you’ve given here. Just one thing though, for me the newsletter is a must have. Sure there is twitter, facebook, Google + (I still don’t know how this work), rss and all, but I don’t think those can replace the emails. Plus beside guest blogging, I always find the time to comment on other blogs in my niche.

    Franck

  32. Excellent article Mitz and I like the idea of pre-writing the content for coming next 2-3 months as I actually see that most newcomers only write a few posts and that’s not sufficient for long term objective.

    1. Yes I love having an endless amount of content at my fingertips… At the moment I have 70 posts lined up in one of my blogs …It is a great feeling because I do not have to worry about that blog… I have others with around 10 to 20 but I am working on getting more…

  33. Great post as always Mitz.
    For step 1 when using the google adwords keywords tool I suggest to put the search on [exact] and not [broad] This way you get more accurate results on what you can expect for that exact keyword.

    1. Couldn’t agree more Danny. I know for a while I looked at broad and got so excited about the number of people searching. Then got hip to the fact that not many people were coming to the site and then started digging into exact, much better metrics.

  34. Hi Ileane
    Another great article! When I first started my website, I bought an HTML. I didn’t really understand or know how much better a blog website. These tips are really helpful because I just bought a blog website and transferring everything over. Keep up with all the good tips Ileane!

  35. As a SEO expert and an online entrepreneur myself, I would divide a SEO strategy of an online resource into 3 important stages – keyword research, onsite-optimization and link development. When it comes to a SEO strategy of a blog I would also add another important stage – content writing.

  36. This is an awesome concept. I’ve never thought about building a site in this manner. Certainly it’s a lot of content to write, however, to not have to focus so much on the site for that first year is great. You can focus on other things, like running a business. Great advice Mitz!

    1. Yes focusing on running the business is the thing that gets you ranking…People spend too much time wondering what content they are going to create and then doing it.. The promotion side gets neglected and then they end up with a blog with no action.

      1. Well running the business won’t help with the rankings but it will help with the money :). The preloaded blog post should help with the rankings. I just love the concept, I was bragging about you and your concept today with a co worker.

  37. Fully agree. I usually use article writing services to keep up with the publishing schedule. The article writing service I know of also do researches before producing the article. That way, I save a considerable amount of time to research.
    And if I may add, shorter articles to be submitted to article directories help too.

    1. Yes you are right…the shorter articles go to the articles directories…I like about 500 words for them..But I have submitted longer articles and they have done an amazing job at pulling traffic. 🙂

  38. Interesting way of looking at it, I think a good chunk of time needs to be spent optimsing your on page SEO though to see some decent traffic by the end of month one.

  39. WOW! You have been all over the place contributing guest posts and I must commend you on this post for newbies or for new sites.

    You made some excellent points here! I am now making sure my articles are well optimized. Thanks for the further knowledge. 🙂 Keep up the good work.

  40. I’ve heard about all those steps your mentioned above but it is really not easy to reach the success. I’ve failed many times with my new micro niche sites as I couldn’t make keyword research properly and provide content regularly to the sites.

    1. With micro niche sites I would use PLR content if I got desperate..Just to keep the freshness going…

      Unfortunately I think the keyword research is extremely easy so I have to stop myself from going forward with new ideas…But it wasn’t always like that…It took me a good 4 years to understand keywords entirely and how to manipulate them to my advantage… If you keep trying you will see success.

  41. I think the focus should be given to the keyword research and quality of posts. Excellent and easy ranking keyword followed by unqiue and quality posts are important for the success.

    1. Yes I think we all try to focus on the keywords and the quality of the content. That is the only way to success. 🙂

  42. This is a really helpful post. We have never really thought about guestblogging before but when you think about it it does make a lot of sense. Not only will you get links to your site from a quality guest blogging article, you will also create links to the article itself, which increases it’s prominence on the web making your inbound links from it even more powerful… question; how do you go about finding sites to guest blog on?

    1. Find websites in your niche by going to Google. Some have usually mention “write for us” or “guest post”. Include this in your search. You can also see if the blog has a lot of different authors and simply contact the owner and ask to guest post.

  43. Great tips! Specially keeping the content ready before starting with the posting. But regarding the length of the article, will people have the patience to read a 1000 word article?

    1. If you have the information that people want then they will read it… Longer articles give you better conversions.. The small articles I have written over the years have been a waste of time as they do not last.

      If webmasters think people are not reading your articles because they are long then they might need to find another reason. ??

  44. Hi
    wow superb this is another great article, you have shared with us. These tips are really helpful because I just bought a blog website and transferring everything over. Thanks for sharing.

  45. Excellent SEO tips. I have several domain names which I feel I’ve wasted. Wish I had read this article before I invested!

  46. Perfect tips… I should try your tips on my blog since my since my blog is new… Thank you so much Mitz…

  47. I have never thought of writing the content before having the actual site, but it does make sense, you do not keep an empty site there, but have something valuable on it instantly. What a great idea!

    1. Yes it is a big task but it will allow you to sit back and concentrate on the best promotion methods!!! Not having to stress over creating content!

  48. there is nothing more inspiring than reading these “humble tips for blogging success from the great people here basic blog tips”. For the past few years, I struggled with mastering blogging, and learning how internet marketing works. Today, although I don’t know everything still, I’m grateful for the [online education] that I do have about search engine optimization, blogging, and positively using the power of the internet to earn a full-time living. It is a lot of work to build oneself up online from blogging and staying up-to-date on producing unique content for people to read as well search engines to index. However, over the course of time, it transitions into being a “beautiful labor of love”, as anyone who’s dedicated to the internet & blogging looks forward to waking up each day & eagerly turning on their computer to share the content of their heart away with everyone online. Amen? 🙂

  49. Excellent blog post! Honestly I think 100,000 words is way too much to prepare for the launch of a blog – but would definitely be worth it in the long run.

  50. Your right 100,000 words seems like a lot of writing but it isn’t really when you think about the whole picture here. Imagine how much it would cost to setup a real life business that made the same money a successful blog can?

    1. hi Noel
      I agree that promoting your blog is very important.. That is why I use some articles for the blogs and the rest for promotion. 🙂

  51. very nice tips my blog is totally new only 4 days old. i have done all the steps now i am only looking for good sites to guest posts. I am not looking for PR sites yet want to get traffic from their readers 🙂

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