I am currently in the process of builfing two websites, both based around niche business advice and they both currently have static index pages saying that the sites being developed (the pages still have relevant titles, keywords & descriptions etc). I plan to launch the sites in a few weeks and whilst I understand that Google will look for quality content - could anybody clarify whether or not it would be worth paying for some basic SEO to get it in SERPS, even if it is on page 123 for now? Any advice really would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
This is the PERFECT time to optimize your Web sites. If you've done your keyword research, you'll be able to proceed with setting up your site's structure (aka information architecture) and configuring your server to prevent canonical URI issues. You'll also know what pages to inter-link to each other with the keywords of your choosing, and what content will go on each page. Not to mention where on the pages as well. Once the sites go live, you'll be able to begin building those sites' unique link profiles by acquiring links from sites related to your own.
I would work on getting content up on at least the home page, many directories won't even approve a site with a 'holding' page. Also you want the search engines to have some fodder to connect your SEO efforts with the target page.
Once you have enough content to fill up your homepage (this differs from site to site) then it makes sense to start rounding up your baseline of links. This includes but is not limited to Social Bookmarking links, Directory Submissions, 3-Way Linking systems, and article marketing/distribution.
If you are still developing, this is THE BEST time to plan your onsite SEO. I wouldnt do much off-site marketing until you are ready with something valuable for visitors. You certainly dont want to start getting loads of traffic you are not ready to convert. While developing, you should put up a content page on the root, but avoid having broken links, links under contstruction pages, or links to pages that are under development. Start your SEO adventure by choosing the most important keyword phrase and using it in both your title tag and your H1 in the document. (it helps if it is in your domain name as well) If you put some good content on your landing page- And i mean content that you think would be truely valuable to users - then you can go ahead and start some link building. But you should really save the bulk of your SEO strategy for when your site is developed. The main reason you want to wait is because most of your best SEO strategies depend on you having some truely valuble resource and content on your site. If you want to attract links, it is more likely to happen naturally if your site is something that people would actually use - and this will only happen once your site is developed. So the main thing is to focus on development with SEO on your site. Think proper logical directory structure. Think appropriate file names, titles and headers. Think like someone who is trying to orginaze all your information and try to do it well. But do not go out on a link finding campaign while your site has absolutely no value! If you want to link now, put up some useful information about your topic and get some links just to put you on the map.
If you are still developing, this is THE BEST time to plan your onsite SEO. I wouldnt do much off-site marketing until you are ready with something valuable for visitors. You certainly dont want to start getting loads of traffic you are not ready to convert. While developing, you should put up a content page on the root, but avoid having broken links, links under contstruction pages, or links to pages that are under development. Start your SEO adventure by choosing the most important keyword phrase and using it in both your title tag and your H1 in the document. (it helps if it is in your domain name as well) If you put some good content on your landing page- And i mean content that you think would be truely valuable to users - then you can go ahead and start some link building. But you should really save the bulk of your SEO strategy for when your site is developed. The main reason you want to wait is because most of your best SEO strategies depend on you having some truely valuble resource and content on your site. If you want to attract links, it is more likely to happen naturally if your site is something that people would actually use - and this will only happen once your site is developed. So the main thing is to focus on development with SEO on your site. Think proper logical directory structure. Think appropriate file names, titles and headers. Think like someone who is trying to orginaze all your information and try to do it well. But do not go out on a link finding campaign while your site has absolutely no value! If you want to link now, put up some useful information about your topic and get some links just to put you on the map.
There is a common misconception surrounding the term “SEO†where some think of it as pure link building while some smart buckaroos wont even consider link building as a part of SEO at all. To them, link building is all about promotion. In my view, if link building helps a site to get ranked, then it has to do with optimizing a site for search engines. Therefore there are two types of optimization: on-page and off-page. In your situation, you can focus on on-page optimization as this would be the time when you look at your on-page factors. Once the site is fully developed, you can focus on link building.
The moment that your site is up then you should be doing some SEO. nothing will happen if you will just keep updating it without proper SEO.
As others have pointed out, SEO is an integral part of development. It includes server issues, information (site) architecture, layout and markup - pretty much the whole ball of wax. Design your site right and everything else is so much easier. Think of SEO as the on-site stuff. Everything else is marketing your site.