SEO strategy for startups
This guide is for founders, marketers, or business owners seeking an actionable SEO strategy they can implement independently or delegate to an agency.
There are plenty of SEO guides online, but most cater to e-commerce or services like “wedding photographer in Toronto.” Startup websites, however, often prioritize signups and sales leads (user or customer acquisition). This guide focuses on that goal.
When not to use SEO
SEO may not be suitable if:
You want an automated solution for signups or sales. SEO requires high-quality, useful content, which takes significant effort. Search engines can no longer be gamed.
You need fast results. SEO builds authority over months or years, requiring ongoing investment and careful monitoring. If speed is a priority, consider paid acquisition instead.
Why is SEO important?
A great site converts visitors into signups, sales, or bookings. To maximize results, you need to increase traffic (acquisition). While some visitors come via links or directly entering your URL, 30–70% often arrive through search.
Search traffic includes two types:
Branded: Visitors who search for your company name (e.g., “Framer”).
Non-branded: Visitors who search for broader terms (e.g., “how to make a custom site”). Ranking in non-branded search results brings high traffic volume and conversions.
What to measure and expect?
Acquisition channels categorize how visitors find your site. Despite modern analytics, tracking is often incomplete due to improved browser privacy and security. Using Google Analytics → Acquisition → All Traffic → Channels, you’ll see a breakdown like this:
Our SEO efforts focus on Organic Search (non-branded). Results depend on your resources and execution:
Small startup (Series A–B): With a small marketing team dedicating 20% of their time to SEO and content, expect non-branded search to match branded search over time. This can yield 1.5–2x more visitors but requires excellent SEO execution.
Large enterprise (e.g., 1-800-FLOWERS): With a dedicated SEO team, non-branded search can reach >10x branded, significantly boosting visitor numbers. SEO becomes a core business driver.
How does SEO work?
SEO revolves around ranking in search results. Higher rankings yield more clicks, while lower ones (e.g., result 10,756) generate little traffic. To improve ranking, focus on key factors:
Backlinks
In the early days of the internet, there were many search engines (remember AltaVista or Excite?), but they faded away when two smart innovators introduced a game-changing concept. They invented PageRank, a method that revolutionized search rankings and led to the creation of a $1T company.
Their trick? Counting the links to a page from other pages. The logic was simple: if many pages link to the same page, it must be valuable and useful. This system made search results far more relevant and reliable. It was also hard to manipulate since you can’t control links from other people's websites.
Even today, backlinks remain the single most important ranking factor for search engines.
Authority
Domain authority aggregates the importance of all pages within a domain. High-authority domains (e.g., Apple.com) contribute more valuable backlinks than low-authority domains.
Keywords
Keywords are the words or phrases on your page that match user searches. Specific phrases (e.g., “minivan camping California”) make searches more targeted. SEO often prioritizes keywords in a hierarchy, from broader terms to specific long-tail keywords.
Crawlers
Search engines use crawlers (or spiders) to scan pages, index content, and track links and keywords. Crawlers discover new sites through links or sitemaps (lists of pages provided by site owners).
Scoring
Search engines score pages to rank them in results. Backlinks are the most important factor, but other variables include:
Penalties: Pages are penalized for keyword stuffing, duplicate content, slow loading times, or poor mobile optimization.
Engagement: Google evaluates how long visitors stay on your page. If users quickly leave to visit another result, your page may rank lower. Tools like Google Analytics help Google track this engagement.
Framework
To create an effective SEO strategy, focus on three core areas:
Use a professional site builder with advanced SEO features like Framer.
Produce high-quality content tailored to your audience.
Obtain backlinks from reputable sites to improve authority.
Plan your approach and execute systematically.
Key trade-offs
Quality
Creating high-quality content is challenging, especially without professional resources. While bulk content creators, interns, or AI tools can help, low-quality content may harm your brand’s perception. Choose an approach aligned with your brand’s goals and maintain consistency.
Audience and positioning
Clear audience and positioning simplify keyword research and backlink opportunities. Validate your audience definition to ensure your efforts focus on relevant keywords and partnerships.
Brand vs. experimentation
To discover what works, experiment often and measure results. However, excessive experimentation can detract from quality. Define a minimum quality bar by setting clear guidelines, assigning approval responsibilities, or limiting the exposure of low-quality experiments.
If you encounter any issues or need further assistance, feel free to contact Framer's support team through our contact page.