If you're new to running a website, a few SEO basics can save you months of wasted effort. Some problems look like content issues or optimization mistakes, but sometimes the real cause is much more basic: the domain, the site structure, or the lack of external signals.
Here are the main areas worth paying attention to early on:
- Choosing a domain name
- What to do if your site has no sitemap feature
- What to do when pages are indexed too slowly
- How to create a large number of backlinks
- Other practical details
Choosing the right domain matters more than beginners think
A lot of people run into the same situation: they keep publishing original content, but Baidu still does not index the site. Or they try to optimize the site in different ways, yet major webmaster tools still do not recognize it.
One month passes and even the homepage is not indexed.
Two months pass.
Then seven months go by.
At that point, it may not be your writing and it may not be your SEO skills. The domain itself can be the problem.
If you do not understand SEO very well yet, it is safer to choose a .com domain. Do not pick another extension just because it is cheaper.
Many beginners think they are only experimenting, so buying a .com feels unnecessary. But once you have invested a lot of time and energy into a weak domain, switching later becomes troublesome. In many cases, people delay the move simply because they do not want to redo everything.
This is especially common with people who bought domains like xyz or top. After months of work, they realize the domain may be holding the site back, but by then they are reluctant to replace it because so much effort has already gone into the project.
That kind of compromise often becomes a long-term problem. If you want to build a site seriously, start with a stronger domain choice.
No sitemap feature on the site? There are still simple solutions
A sitemap helps search engines discover your pages, so if your site does not generate one automatically, you should add it as soon as possible.
1. Use a third-party sitemap generator
Open this in your browser:
https://help.bj.cn/
After generating the sitemap, upload the file to your site’s root directory. Then access it using your domain plus the sitemap file path, and the sitemap should open normally.
2. Use built-in plugins
Some systems already have plugin support for this, such as WordPress or emlog. Search the plugin marketplace for terms like 网站地图 or sitemap, then install one of the available tools.
What to do when indexing is too slow
Slow indexing is one of the most frustrating problems for new sites. There are several practical steps you can take.
- Regularly submit your sitemap and homepage in the Baidu webmaster backend, and make sure the Baidu push API is configured properly.
- Add the 360 auto-indexing code. If 360 still does not index your site for a long time, you can report the issue in the 360 webmaster forum.
- Buy backlinks or exchange links with sites in the same niche. The goal is to attract crawlers from time to time so search engines discover the site more actively.
How to generate a large number of backlinks
One approach is to use backlink tools that can publish large numbers of external links automatically and in batches.
Some examples mentioned are:
- http://www.78901.net/seolink/
- https://tool.lusongsong.com/seo/
- You can also look for other backlink tools
- When submitting the website address, do not add
http://orhttps://, and do not add/at the end
These tools are mainly for increasing backlink volume.
Other details that are easy to overlook
Content alone is not enough, and backlinks alone are not enough either
People often say content is king and backlinks are kingmakers. In practice, relying on only one side usually does not work well.
If you know nothing about SEO, publishing original articles alone is not enough. But building only backlinks is not enough either. For a website, understanding at least a little SEO is definitely useful.
A simple way to think about it is:
Original content + light optimization + some backlinks = authority
Backlink tools do not bring traffic by themselves
They can help increase the number of external links, but they do not directly increase visits. If you want both backlinks and traffic, submit your site manually to navigation directories one by one. That way you can gain links and potentially bring in visitors too.
Slow indexing or slow authority growth is not always the domain’s fault
Sometimes the site template also matters. If a site is being indexed slowly or ranking growth is weak, trying a different template may be worth it.
Be careful when buying domains or servers
Try not to choose third-party operators casually. Some disappear without warning, and that can create unnecessary risk for your site.
Keep learning and pay attention to why experienced people do things a certain way
Do not just copy actions mechanically. Think about why those methods are used, what benefits they bring, and how you should apply them to your own site.