- For beginners
- 8 minutes
- No SEO knowledge needed
SEO for web designers: start here
You build websites, and now you're also expected to get them found on Google? This guide explains what SEO really means, which four jobs Crawl Foundry helps with, and where to start.
Let's startIn a nutshell
SEO means Google can read your page, understand it and show it for the right searches.
Think of Google as a librarian. First it has to reach and read every page. Then it files each page under the questions people type in. For you, that means two things: the website has to be technically clean, and the copy has to use the words your client's customers actually search for.
Why it matters: A beautiful website nobody finds brings in no inquiries. SEO is the part of the work that makes it findable for the right people.
Want to try something right away? Use the free AI Crawler Checker to see whether AI crawlers may read your page, or collect your first search terms with Keyword Discovery.
First things first
What to look out for first
1.Technology before text: Google has to be able to read the page
Do thisEvery important page loads, has its own page title and isn't blocked for Google.
Not thisThe site goes live and nobody notices that the “noindex” setting from staging is still switched on.
2.One page, one topic
Do this“Built-in closets” gets its own page, and so does “custom kitchens”.
Not thisEvery service sits together on one page called “Services”.
3.Write in your customers' words
Do thisCustomers search “stair renovation cost”, so the page answers exactly that question.
Not thisThe page is called “Step Refresh Concept” because that's what the client calls it internally.
Step by step
How to do it in Crawl Foundry
1Step 1 of 4
Have the website checked
Enter the website's address in Site Audit. Crawl Foundry then visits every page the way Google does and lists what's technically wrong.
Done when: You see a list of problems, sorted by importance.
Full guide: SEO auditSimplified sketch with sample data 2Step 2 of 4
Find search terms
In Keyword Research, enter two or three words that describe the offer. Crawl Foundry suggests hundreds of real search terms, each with how often people search for it.
Done when: You have a handful of terms that really fit the offer.
Full guide: Keyword researchSimplified sketch with sample data 3Step 3 of 4
Match terms to pages
In the Keyword Database, create a list for each important page and sort the matching terms into it. When you write the copy, you know exactly which words belong on which page.
Done when: Every important page has its own small list of search terms.
Full guide: Organizing keywordsSimplified sketch with sample data 4Step 4 of 4
Keep an eye on it
Set Crawl Foundry to check the website regularly. If something breaks after an update, for example a page suddenly gets blocked, you get an email.
Done when: A weekly audit is scheduled and notifications are on.
Full guide: SEO monitoringSimplified sketch with sample data
Your next step
Where do you start?
- The website is already liveStart with the SEO auditFix first, then build. The audit shows you what stops Google from reading the site today.Go to the SEO audit guide
- You're planning a new website or pageStart with keyword researchFirst find out what customers search for. Then plan the pages and copy around it.Go to the keyword research guide
Common mistakes
Mistakes that happen a lot at the start
Thinking about SEO only after launch.
Better: Plan page structure and search terms in the concept phase. Rebuilding later takes more time.
Trying to fix everything at once.
Better: The problem list is sorted by importance. Work through it from the top down.
Writing for words nobody searches for.
Better: Check the search volume of each term, meaning how often it is searched per month.
Mini glossary
Terms you need here
- SEO
- Search engine optimization. Everything that helps a page show up on Google for matching searches.
- Keyword
- A search term people type into Google, for example “carpenter denver”.
- Crawl
- A program visits every page of a website and reads it, just like Google does.
- Search volume
- How often a keyword is searched per month. More searches means more potential visitors.
Done
Try it on a real website.
Take the website from your last project and run a Quick Check. Afterwards you can see in black and white where it stands.
Where to look next
- SEO audit: find and fix technical problems on your websiteCrawl Foundry checks every page of your website and shows you what gets in Google's way. Here you learn to read the list, fix the most important problems and check that the fix worked.
- Keyword research: find the words your customers search forPeople type very specific words into Google. If your page contains exactly those words, it can be found for them. Here you learn how to find them in three steps.
- Crawl Foundry platformSee how research, keyword decisions, site audits and prioritized work connect in one SEO workflow.