The SEO Foundation Your Website Needs Before Anything Else
You’ve heard you need to “do SEO.” Maybe someone told you to add keywords, or start a blog, or get on Google Search Console. And you nodded, smiled, and quietly thought, “I have no idea where to start, and honestly, the whole thing makes me want to lie down.”
You’re not alone in that feeling. Not even close.
A lot of the women I work with are brilliant at what they do. They’ve built real businesses, changed real lives, cultivated real expertise over decades. But when someone says “SEO,” their eyes glaze over and a little voice whispers, “I should probably know this by now.” So they either ignore it completely or throw spaghetti at the wall, hoping something sticks.
Here’s what I want you to hear: you’re not behind. You haven’t failed at SEO. You just haven’t had someone explain it in a way that actually makes sense for your business. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do right now.
Because SEO isn’t some mysterious dark art. It’s a foundation. And like any foundation, if you get the basics right, everything you build on top of it works better. If you skip the basics, no amount of blogging or keyword stuffing or paying someone to “optimize” things will matter.
So let’s talk about what that foundation actually looks like, in plain language, with zero jargon-induced headaches.
First, Let’s Get Honest About What SEO Actually Is
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Which sounds very technical, but all it really means is this: making it easy for Google to understand what your website is about and who it’s for.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Google is essentially a matchmaker. Someone types a question or a need into that little search bar, and Google tries to find the best answer. Your job, with SEO, is to help Google understand that YOU might be that best answer for the people you serve.
You’re not trying to trick Google. You’re not trying to game a system. You’re simply making sure your website clearly communicates what you do, who you help, and where you are (if location matters to your business).
When I say “SEO foundation,” I mean the structural, behind-the-scenes elements of your website that need to be in place before any fancy strategy will work. Think of it like building a house. You can pick out gorgeous curtains and beautiful paint colors all day long, but if there’s no foundation under the house, those curtains are going to end up on the ground.
This connects to something I believe deeply: marketing first, beauty second. A stunning website that Google can’t read or understand is just expensive digital art. Pretty, but not working for you.
The Foundation Pieces (In Order of Priority)
Let me walk you through the SEO foundation elements your website needs. I’m going in order of importance, so if you can only tackle one or two things this month, start at the top.
1. Page Titles That Actually Say Something
Every page on your website has a title tag. It’s the text that shows up in the browser tab when someone visits your site, and more importantly, it’s the clickable headline that appears in Google search results.
A lot of the websites I look at have page titles like “Home” or “Services” or, my personal favorite, “Untitled.” Which tells Google absolutely nothing about what’s on that page.
Your page titles are one of the strongest signals you can send to Google about what each page is about. Here’s what a good page title looks like:
- Homepage: “Beth Riegger | Website Design for Women Solopreneurs” (not just “Home”)
- Services page: “Website Design & Tech Support for Coaches and Consultants” (not just “Services”)
- About page: “About Beth | 30 Years of Marketing + Web Design Experience” (not just “About”)
See the difference? One version tells Google (and real humans) exactly what to expect. The other version says nothing.
Quick tips for page titles:
– Keep them under 60 characters so they don’t get cut off in search results
– Put the most important words near the beginning
– Make each page title unique, don’t use the same one across your whole site
– Include your name or business name on at least your homepage title
2. Meta Descriptions That Invite the Click
Right below your page title in Google’s search results, there’s a little snippet of text. That’s your meta description. It’s your chance to give someone a reason to click on YOUR result instead of the ten others on the page.
If you don’t write one, Google will just grab random text from your page. Sometimes it pulls something that makes sense. Sometimes it pulls your copyright notice from the footer. Not ideal.
A good meta description is like a mini invitation. It should:
– Be about 150-160 characters
– Clearly state what the person will find on that page
– Sound like a human wrote it (because a human, you, did)
Here’s an example. Instead of leaving it blank and letting Google grab “© 2024 All Rights Reserved,” you could write: “I design websites for women solopreneurs who’ve outgrown their current site. Marketing-first approach, zero tech headaches. Let’s talk.”
That’s warm. It’s clear. It tells someone exactly what they’re going to get. And it sounds like a real person.
3. Heading Structure That Makes Sense
This one is sneaky important, and it’s where I see a lot of opportunities for improvement on the websites I review.
Your website has a heading hierarchy: H1, H2, H3, and so on. These headings aren’t just about making text bigger or bolder (though they do that too). They tell Google how your content is organized and what the main topics are on each page.
The rules are simple:
– Every page should have exactly one H1. This is the main headline of the page. Think of it as the title of the chapter.
– H2s are your main sections under that. Think of them as subheadings in the chapter.
– H3s go under H2s for more detailed points.
– Don’t skip levels (like jumping from H1 to H4).
The mistake I see most often? Using heading tags just because they look good. Someone wants big, bold text, so they slap an H2 on something that’s really just a decorative element. Or they use five H1s on one page because they liked how the font looked.
Google reads those headings to understand the structure and meaning of your content. When the heading structure is messy, Google gets confused. And a confused Google doesn’t rank your page well.
4. Image Alt Text (Yes, Every Single Image)
Alt text is the text description attached to every image on your website. It was originally designed for accessibility, so screen readers can describe images to people who are visually impaired. But it also helps Google understand what your images are about, since Google can’t “see” pictures the way we do.
A lot of websites I look at have images with alt text that says things like “IMG_4752.jpg” or “screenshot” or, again, nothing at all.
Every image on your site should have alt text that describes what’s in the image in plain, simple language. If it’s a photo of you speaking at a conference, the alt text might be: “Beth speaking at a marketing conference for women entrepreneurs.”
You don’t need to stuff keywords in there. Just describe the image like you’re telling a friend what’s in the picture. Natural, simple, honest.
This is one of those things that takes maybe ten minutes per page to fix, and it makes a real difference for both accessibility and SEO.
5. Your Google Business Profile (Even If You Work From Home)
If you’re a service provider who works with clients in a specific area, or even if you serve clients virtually but want to show up in local searches, having a Google Business Profile is a foundational piece of your SEO.
This is the free listing that shows up on the right side of Google when someone searches for a business. It includes your business name, hours, reviews, photos, and a link to your website.
A lot of women I talk to don’t realize they can have a Google Business Profile without a physical storefront. You absolutely can. You can set it up as a service-area business and hide your home address while still showing up in searches.
Setting this up and keeping it current, with accurate information, a few good photos, and some reviews, sends strong signals to Google that you’re a real, active, legitimate business.
6. A Clean URL Structure
This is a small thing that makes a bigger difference than you’d think.
Your URLs (the web addresses for each page) should be clean, readable, and descriptive. Here’s what I mean:
- Good: fairygodmotheroftech.com/website-design
- Not as helpful: fairygodmotheroftech.com/page?id=47382&ref=nav
The first one tells both Google and humans what to expect on that page. The second one tells nobody anything.
When you create new pages on your website, take a second to customize the URL slug (that’s the part after the slash). Keep it short, use real words, separate words with hyphens, and make it descriptive.
7. Mobile-Friendliness (This One Is Non-Negotiable)
Google uses mobile-first indexing, which means it looks at the mobile version of your website first when deciding how to rank you. Not the desktop version. The mobile version.
In my experience, a lot of business owners design their website on a laptop and never check what it looks like on a phone. And then they’re surprised when Google isn’t showing them love.
Pull up your website on your phone right now. Seriously, right now. Is the text readable without pinching and zooming? Do the buttons work with a thumb? Does the navigation make sense on a small screen? Can you find your contact information easily?
If the answer to any of those is no, that’s a big opportunity. Mobile-friendliness isn’t a bonus anymore. It’s a baseline requirement.
What You Can Skip (For Now)
I want to give you permission to let some things go, at least for now. Because SEO advice on the internet can feel like a never-ending to-do list, and I don’t want you drowning in things that don’t matter yet.
You can skip these until your foundation is solid:
- Obsessing over keywords. Yes, keywords matter. But if your page titles say “Untitled” and your images have no alt text, keywords aren’t your priority yet.
- Starting a blog just because someone said you should. Blogging can be wonderful for SEO, but only if your foundational elements are in place first. A blog built on a shaky foundation is just more content for Google to be confused by.
- Paying for SEO tools. Free tools like Google Search Console give you plenty to work with at this stage. Don’t spend money on fancy SEO software until you’ve nailed the basics.
- Worrying about backlinks. Backlinks (other websites linking to yours) do help with SEO, but they’re an advanced strategy. Foundation first.
How to Know If Your Foundation Needs Work
Here’s a quick, no-stress way to check where you stand. You don’t need any special tools for this.
- Google your business name. Does your website come up? What does the listing look like? Is the page title clear? Is the description helpful or weird?
- Open your website on your phone. Does it look good? Is it easy to use?
- Check your page titles. Open each page of your site in a browser and look at the text in the tab at the top. Does it say something meaningful?
- Right-click on a few images and check the alt text. Is there any? Does it describe the image?
- Look at your URLs. Are they clean and readable, or a jumble of numbers and characters?
If you found a few opportunities in that little exercise, that’s completely normal. Most websites have room for improvement in these areas. And the good news is, none of this is hard to fix. It just needs to be done with intention.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Here’s the thing about SEO foundations. They’re not glamorous. Nobody is going to look at your website and say, “Wow, your meta descriptions are incredible!” Nobody throws a party for clean URL structures.
But these foundational elements are what allow everything else to work. They’re what help Google understand you, trust you, and show you to the right people at the right time. Without them, you could write the best blog post in the world, share the most valuable content, and Google would still struggle to know what to do with it.
And I know, I know, the idea of diving into this stuff might feel overwhelming. But you don’t have to do it all at once. Pick one thing from this list, the one that feels most doable, and start there. Page titles are a great first step because they’re quick to update and have a big impact.
If you want someone to look at your site and tell you exactly what your biggest opportunities are, that’s literally what I do. No judgment, no jargon, no making you feel like you should have known this already. Just a clear, warm, honest conversation about where your site is and where it could be. You can book a free call with me right here.
The Bigger Picture
SEO isn’t separate from your website. It IS your website, working the way it should. When your pages clearly say what they’re about, when your images are properly described, when your site works beautifully on a phone, when Google can read and understand every corner of what you’ve built, that’s SEO.
You don’t need to become an SEO expert. You don’t need to learn a whole new language. You just need someone to show you what matters, in words that make sense, so you can make smart decisions about your own website.
Because it is YOUR website. And it should be working as hard as you do.
I make it easy. That’s literally what I do. I’m the biggest geek who speaks human, and nothing makes me happier than watching a woman finally feel confident about her website, foundation and all.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for SEO changes to show up in Google?
Google isn’t instant. After you make foundational changes like updating page titles and meta descriptions, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for Google to re-crawl your site and reflect those changes. Be patient with the process and know that you’re building something that compounds over time.
Do I need to hire someone to do SEO, or can I handle the basics myself?
You can absolutely handle the foundational elements yourself. Things like page titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and clean URLs are all things you can update in your website editor. If you get stuck or want someone to look things over, that’s where a conversation with someone like me can help, but you don’t need to outsource the basics.
Is SEO a one-time thing, or do I need to keep doing it?
The foundation is mostly a one-time setup, but SEO does benefit from ongoing attention. Every time you add a new page, write a blog post, or upload new images, you’ll want to apply these same principles. Think of it less like a project with a finish line and more like a good habit you build into how you maintain your site.
What’s the single most important SEO thing I should do first?
Start with your page titles. They’re the fastest to fix and they send one of the strongest signals to Google about what your site is about. If every page on your site currently says “Home” or “Untitled” in the browser tab, updating those titles alone can make a meaningful difference in how Google sees you.
If your website no longer feels like you, let’s talk about it – Book a Free Website Clarity Call with Beth →