SEO When Building a Website: How Essex Businesses Can Get It Right From Day One

Most people think SEO is something you worry about after building a website.

That’s the quickest way to end up with a beautiful site that doesn’t rank.

If you’re a small business in Essex - Wickford, South Woodham, Billericay, Basildon, Chelmsford - and you’re building (or rebuilding) a website, SEO needs to happen before, during, and after the design stage.

Here’s how to do it properly.

The #1 SEO Mistake People Make When Building a Website

They design first… and plan later.

Before you touch Wix, choose a layout, or think about colours, you need a site map. Google needs structure from day one.

At minimum, your site should launch with:

• Homepage

• Services page

• Individual Service Pages (one page per service - never bundle them)

• Contact page

• Blog page (no posts needed at launch)

Example:If you’re a Wickford-based plumber, “boiler repair,” “boiler installation,” and “emergency plumbing” must each be their own page. Google only ranks one topic per page.

SEO Should Start Before Design

Think of SEO as your blueprint.

Before you design a single section, you should already know:

• What pages you’re building

• The keyword each page targets

• The H1 for each page

• The meta title and description

• A rough content outline

Example for a South Woodham business:If your service is “Garden Design South Woodham Ferrers,” your page must be built around that keyword from the beginning.

This prevents you from designing a site that can’t rank later.

Non-Negotiables for SEO When Building a Wix Site

✔ Speed first

Wix automatically serves your images in optimised formats like WebP where supported - but you should still upload compressed, correctly sized images.

Oversized photos, heavy PNGs and large sections slow your site before Wix optimises them.

✔ One H1 tag per page

Your H1 tells Google exactly what the page is about.

You only get one - and it must contain your main keyword.

✔ Mobile-first experience

Most traffic in Essex is mobile.

Wix designs can look great on desktop but break on mobile - always design mobile alongside desktop.

✔ Clean URLs

Use:

/boiler-repair-wickford

Not:

/services/xyz123/boiler-repair-wickford-local-plumbing

Short, clear, readable URLs help both users and Google.

Case Study: How SEO Built a Local Business From Scratch

A local Wickford business I worked with had:

• No site

• No rankings

• No traffic

We built a clean structure:

• Service pages

• Local keywords

• Fast-loading layout

• Internal linking

Within 12 months:

• 40+ keywords on page 1

• More enquiries

• More customers

• No ads needed

SEO became their main lead source.

This is what happens when you build with SEO first.

A Horror Story: What Happens When You Redesign Without SEO

A South Essex business redesigned their site without SEO in mind. They changed:

• All URLs

• All headings

• All content

Rankings disappeared almost overnight.

If you redesign:

• Keep URLs the same

• Keep core content similar

• Redirect old URLs only when necessary

Changing URLs is like changing your business address without telling anyone.

How Many Pages Should You Launch With?

Anywhere from 5 to 30 works - as long as you have:

• Homepage

• Contact

• Blog page

• Services overview

• Each service on its own page

• Fully optimised H1 + meta titles

You don’t need blog posts immediately - but you DO need the structure.

How I Do Keyword Research for New Websites

I keep it simple:

✔ Your services

✔ Your location

✔ Low-competition, easy-win keywords

✔ Long-tail keywords people actually search in Essex

If someone Googles:

➡️ “Dog groomer Wickford”

➡️ “Tennis lessons Essex”

➡️ “Boiler repair South Woodham Ferrers”

Your page must:

• Use the keyword

• Have strong headings

• Have structured content

• Include internal links

• Be supported by blogs later

After launch, aim for 1 blog per week.

A Controversial Opinion: Most Designers Don’t Understand SEO

Designers often use heading tags for styling - not meaning.

10 X H1s on a page?

H2s used as body text?

Buttons styled as headings?

This destroys SEO.

Headings aren’t decoration - they’re Google’s roadmap.

• H1 = main topic

• H2 = key sections

• H3/H4 = subtopics

  
  

If your headings are a mess, your rankings will be too.

What Every Business Owner Should Understand Before Launching

A brand-new site takes 6–12 months to rank properly.

That’s normal.

Google doesn’t trust new sites instantly. You earn trust by:

• Publishing useful content

• Building internal links

• Being consistent

• Giving Google time

Start SEO the moment you start building - not after.

Need Help With Your Wix SEO?

If you’re building a Wix website - or rebuilding one - and want to avoid expensive mistakes, we can help.

Get Your Wix SEO Plan