SEO for a startup without a marketer: the first 90 days

Most startup SEO fails for one of two reasons. Nobody fixes the basics, so search engines cannot read the site properly. Or the content targets searches that bring visitors who will never buy. Neither takes a large team to avoid. It takes an order of work.

Days 1 to 15: let search engines read you

• Check what is indexed. Google Search Console shows which pages Google has found, and why others are left out.
• Fix the blockers: pages that need JavaScript to show their text, missing or duplicate titles, broken links, pages that are slow on a phone.
• Give every page one clear title, one H1 and a description written as the answer to its search.
• Submit a sitemap, and make sure every important page is linked from at least one other page.

Days 15 to 45: choose the searches that lead to a sale

Start from your buyers, not from a keyword tool. Write down the problems they have before they buy, the words they use for them, and the alternatives they compare you with. Then check which of those phrases people actually search for.

• Service searches, such as “performance marketing for startups” or “customer service for small companies”: high intent, usually fewer searches.
• Problem searches, such as “how to get more leads from our website”: earlier in the journey, more volume.
• Comparison searches, such as “agency or in-house marketing”: buyers close to a decision.

Give each important search one page. Two pages chasing the same search compete with each other, and often neither wins.

Days 45 to 90: write pages that deserve to rank

1. 01Answer the search in the first two sentences.
2. 02Show you understand the buyer: who it is for, what is included, how it works, and what drives the cost.
3. 03Add the questions buyers ask next, with short, direct answers.
4. 04Link to the related pages on your site, and from them back.
5. 05Earn links where they make sense: partners, directories, clients, guest articles. Never buy them.

What to measure

Rankings are a means, not the goal. Track three things every month: which target searches are moving, organic visits to the pages that matter, and the leads those visits produce. If traffic grows and leads do not, the pages are answering the wrong searches.

When to get help

If after 90 days you still cannot say which searches bring buyers, or nobody has the time to write, installing the system is usually cheaper than improvising. That is what GrowDigital does: SEO run as part of one plan with content, paid media and conversion, reported against qualified leads.