Getting on Google
Sunday, 4 August 2024In my last post, I wrote that my next step would be to register with Google⸬, the first step of which is to submit the page to the Google Search Console.
The process is pretty straightforward. After visting the above link, you will need to + Add property. You can add a property as either a Domain, or as a URL prefix. Both require verifcation of ownership, but using the URL prefix method allows for multiple methods of verification (whereas the former only allows for DNS verification). I had issues with Cloudflare this time, so I went with the URL prefix method.
Either way, once verified, your website will be indexed by Google. It'll take a for processing to complete, but once it's down you'll be able to find your site immediately by searching site:https://yourdomain.here.
And then what?
I will probably go through the guides at Google Search Central. It's somewhat astounding that I only came across this page by accident yesterday⸬, but it seems quite comprehensive and probably is assumed knowledge for any podcast, video or whatever on SEO. I will definitely place it as the first item on my resources list.
Due to the limited experience I have with SEO as a web developer, I have already implemented some of their recommendations:
- site is mobile friendly (though not mobile first - I much prefer building for desktop first)
JSON-LDmetadata and use of other<meta>tags- semantic HTML
If I had images I would have optimised those as well, but currently, this blog is text only (aside from the little SVGs that I really enjoy making).