There’s an ever-growing list of items on my “to-do” list as I get this website ready for launch, one of which is to remove the “Hello World” blog post that came by default with the site template.
It should literally have been a one-minute job, but as my mouse hovered over the “Delete” button, I paused, and then got to thinking.
Now, thinking has often been my Achilles heel when it comes to turning a simple task into a late night. But something in those two simple words struck a chord…this really is my debut into the world, with a new business, a new website, and a whole world of people I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.
So…Hello! Nice to meet you!
Is anyone even there..?
The view from zero
It’s apt in a way – from my lofty perch as an SEO specialist over the last 15 years, I’ve written countless articles for clients that have gone on to accrue millions of page-views (and – it should be said, lest you think I’m bragging – a few duds that have bummed, too). But I’ve never been here before, not on a personal level: starting from zero.
Search engines have no idea that I exist yet. ChatGPT is getting to know me, I must admit – unfortunately, though, not as the SEO guru whose pithy guidance and encyclopaedic knowledge it cites to users seeking expert advice. Not yet, anyway. At the moment it just knows me as the mildly frazzled human having a crack at building their own website, asking deeply unglamorous questions about margins, padding and why the thing that looked perfect five minutes ago has suddenly wandered off to the left. If I could see into ChatGPT’s inner workings, I’ve a sneaking suspicion it would be rolling its eyes and sniggering behind that polite, officious interface.
I digress. The point is, as I know all too well from telling clients over the years, when you launch a brand-spanking new website, it’s like a tiny speck of dust adrift in the universe. No one can see or hear you, no one knows you’re there yet; it’s unlikely anyone will stumble across you accidentally. Just floatin’ in the void, humming a little tune while you wait for Google to find you…
Sharing the same road as you
And like every other new site, this one has to earn its place in the digital world, earn that visibility in Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity…wherever people are hanging out these days, looking for help with their SEO questions. And I’ll be competing against all those sites that have been on their SEO journey for years.
It’s kinda scary. It feels overwhelming. It feels…humbling.
It puts me in your shoes.
Whether you’ve already got a website that’s under-performing, or like me, you’re starting out from scratch with something completely new, this is what it feels like.
I know the way. I can show you, too.
The good news is that I happen to know a thing or two about SEO. Despite the fact that I’m starting out with nothing more than a few scratchy Service pages and a cute picture of my dog on the About page, I know what needs doing.
It’s bloody hard work, and it takes time, but I’m on the same journey as you – and alongside the jagged nerves there’s also excitement thrumming through my veins! Why? Because I know where this journey is going, and how to get there. I know how to get Google to find me. I know how to reach the audience that doesn’t know I exist yet.
It’s the same thrill I get when I open a client’s GA4 account and see their site’s performance has improved, or that an article I wrote ten years ago is still one of the most visited pages on their site…
That’s all in the future at the moment for this site, but hopefully, if you’re trying to navigate the digital universe too, we’ll find each other in the near future. I’d love to help you guide your site to solid ground.
In the meantime, I’m just humming a little tune…and floatin’…just floatin’.
See you soon!
If your own site is feeling a little lost in the void, my SEO Audit & Troubleshooting service is designed to help you work out what’s holding it back and what to do next.