# SEO Basics for Your First Website

SEO means helping people find your website on Google and other search engines. This guide explains the basics in plain English, with a made-up example, and gives you a request you can send to your AI agent.

Made by [HorizonX](https://horizonx.so/), a library of UI kits, components and templates for people who build with AI.

You can copy the requests, templates and checklists in this guide into your own projects, including client work and paid work. Please do not republish the whole guide. Link to it instead.

## What SEO is, simply

When someone searches "yoga classes in Austin", Google shows a list of pages. SEO is the work of making your page:

1. **Findable:** Google can read your page.
2. **Understandable:** Google knows what your page is about.
3. **Worth clicking:** your result looks clear and useful.

You do not need to be an expert to get the basics right. Most problems on new AI-built sites are simple and easy to fix.

## Our example

A made-up yoga studio called **Northleaf Yoga**, in Austin, Texas. It has four pages: Home, Classes, Teachers and Contact.

## 1. One page, one topic

Each page should be about one main thing. Ask yourself: "What would someone type into Google to find this page?"

- Home: "yoga studio in Austin"
- Classes: "beginner yoga classes Austin"
- Teachers: "Northleaf Yoga teachers"
- Contact: "Northleaf Yoga address"

## 2. Page title

The title is the blue link people see on Google. Every page needs a different one.

- Keep it under about 60 characters.
- Put the most important words first.
- Add your brand at the end.

Example: `Beginner Yoga Classes in Austin | Northleaf Yoga`

## 3. Page description

The short text under the title on Google. It does not change your ranking much, but it helps people decide to click.

- About 150 characters.
- Say what the page offers, and why it is useful.

Example: `Small, friendly yoga classes for beginners in East Austin. See this week's schedule and book your first class online.`

## 4. One main heading

Each page should have one main heading (called H1). It tells people and Google what the page is about.

- Example: "Yoga Classes for Beginners"
- Use smaller headings (H2, H3) for sections inside the page.

## 5. Clean web addresses (URLs)

Short and readable:

- Good: `northleafyoga.com/classes`
- Not good: `northleafyoga.com/page?id=4821`

## 6. Images

- Give each image a short description, called "alt text", for example "Teacher helping a student in a beginner class". It helps blind users and search engines.
- Make images small in file size, so the page loads fast.
- Use clear file names: `beginner-yoga-class.webp`, not `IMG_0042.webp`.

## 7. A sitemap

A sitemap is a file (usually `sitemap.xml`) that lists all your pages for search engines. Most website builders and frameworks can create it for you.

Then submit it in [Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console), a free tool from Google that shows how your site appears in search.

## 8. Redirects when you change addresses

If you move a page, for example from `/our-classes` to `/classes`, add a **redirect**. A redirect sends visitors and Google from the old address to the new one automatically. Without it, old links show an error page, and you lose the search traffic that page had.

Use a "301" (permanent) redirect for pages that moved for good.

## 9. Speed and phones

Google mostly looks at the phone version of your site. Make sure:

- the page works well on a phone;
- it loads fast (compress images, avoid huge videos at the top).

You can test your page with [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/), another free tool from Google.

## 10. Local details

For a local business:

- Write the same name, address and phone number on the site as everywhere else online.
- Create a free Google Business Profile.
- Mention your city and area naturally in your text.

## What not to do

- Do not repeat the same keyword again and again. Write for people.
- Do not copy text from other websites.
- Do not create many almost-identical pages for each city or keyword.
- Do not hide text, or make it the same color as the background.

## Send this to your agent

```text
Check the SEO basics on every page of this site:
- each page has a different title (under 60 characters, brand at the end)
- each page has a description (about 150 characters)
- each page has exactly one H1 heading
- every image has alt text and a clear file name
- URLs are short and readable
- there is a sitemap.xml with all public pages
- any page that changed address has a 301 redirect from the old one

Do not change the design or the visible text without asking.
Give me a list of what you changed, page by page.
```

## After you publish

- Submit your sitemap in Google Search Console.
- Be patient. New sites can take weeks to appear in search results.
- Every few weeks, check Search Console to see which searches bring people to your site.

## Check before you finish

- [ ] Every page has its own title and description.
- [ ] Every page has one main heading.
- [ ] Images have alt text.
- [ ] The sitemap exists and was submitted.
- [ ] Moved pages have redirects.
- [ ] The site works well and fast on a phone.

## Next steps

- [Hand Over a Website to a Client](https://horizonx.so/resources/hand-over-a-website-to-a-client)
- [What Changes on a Phone?](https://horizonx.so/resources/what-changes-on-a-phone)