[skelley711]

Hey guys, I’m starting a new SEO experiment and thought it would be interesting to document the entire journey publicly for the next six months.

The website is starting from scratch, so I’m not expecting overnight traffic or rankings. Instead, I want to see what happens when I focus on the basics, publish useful content consistently, and make decisions based on actual data rather than constantly jumping between new SEO tactics.

Month 1: Building the Foundation​

For the first month, the focus will mainly be on getting the basics right:

• Keyword research and search intent
• Website structure and categories
• Technical SEO setup
• Internal linking structure
• Initial content strategy
• Publishing the first batch of articles

I want to build a proper foundation before worrying too much about traffic or rankings.

Months 2–3: Consistent Publishing​

Once the foundation is in place, the main priority will be publishing useful content consistently.

I’ll also start watching how Google responds to the new pages. Some articles may get impressions quickly, while others may sit quietly for a while.

Rather than deleting or changing everything immediately, I want to give the content enough time to collect meaningful data.

Months 4–5: Improving What Shows Potential​

This is where things should get more interesting.

I’ll look at which pages are gaining impressions, which keywords are moving, and where articles are getting visibility but not enough clicks.

Based on that data, I’ll experiment with things such as titles, content updates, internal links, search intent, and other on-page improvements.

I’m also interested in seeing whether some pages completely fail despite following the initial strategy.

What I’ll Track​

For every major update, I’ll try to share the numbers rather than just saying “traffic is growing.”

Things I’ll track include:

• Published articles
• Search impressions
• Organic clicks
• Keyword rankings
• Organic traffic
• New backlinks
• Pages gaining visibility
• Pages losing or failing to gain visibility
• SEO experiments
• Revenue, if monetization starts

The Main Goal​

I’m deliberately trying not to judge the website too early.

A new website needs time to build content, authority, and search visibility. So instead of only sharing screenshots when something goes well, I want to document the good results, disappointing pages, failed experiments, and unexpected changes too.

At the end of six months, the goal is to have enough data to answer a simple question:

What actually worked for this website, and what didn’t?

I’ll share the progress along the way. Hopefully, the numbers will tell a more useful story than another “10 SEO tricks that worked for me” post.

 

[dbrown]

I like this approach because you're not expecting instant results. Six months is a much better time frame for a new SEO project. I'd be interested to see how the traffic changes month by month.

 

[Juliahilles]

The first month is often the most boring part of SEO, but it's also important. Getting the site structure, indexing and keywords sorted out early can save a lot of problems later.

 

[jchristian481]

I tried a similar experiment once. During the first two months, it felt like nothing was happening. Then some of the older articles started getting impressions. I learned that patience is probably one of the biggest parts of SEO.

 

[vlutz731]

I really like the idea of sharing failed experiments too. Most SEO case studies only show the things that worked. Knowing what didn't work can actually be more useful for someone starting a new site.

 

[StephanieSmith]

Internal linking is something I ignored on my first website. Later I realized I had lots of related articles that weren't connected properly. Building that structure from the beginning makes much more sense.

 

[rhalkfg]

Keyword research would probably be my main focus at the beginning. I've written articles before that sounded useful but had almost no search demand. It was a good lesson to check what people are actually searching for first.

 

[jtaylor]

Six months should give you some interesting data. I'm especially curious about months four and five. That's when you'll have enough content and search data to start making better decisions.

 

[azimmerman]

I like that you're not planning to change everything immediately when a page doesn't rank. I used to do that all the time. I'd rewrite an article after only a couple of weeks and never gave Google enough time to evaluate it.

 

[ataylor763]

I'm interested in seeing which pages get impressions first. Sometimes the pages you
expect to perform well aren't the ones Google picks up quickly. Those unexpected
results can give you some good ideas for future content.

 

[jmeyer]

Tracking clicks and impressions separately is important. I've had pages with lots of impressions but very few clicks. Improving the title and making the search intent clearer helped in some cases.

 

[LisaRobertson]

I've built new websites before, and the early stage always feels slow. You spend hours researching, writing and fixing small technical things while the traffic stays tiny. Then eventually you start seeing a few pages move. I think your six-month experiment will be valuable because it captures that entire process instead of only showing the final result.

 

[alindsey385]

I've learned that consistency is harder than it looks. I once planned to publish every week but eventually fell behind. Having a clear content schedule makes it easier to stay focused.

 

[epalmer602]

I like that you're planning to share actual numbers. “Traffic increased” doesn't tell us much. Seeing the starting point, monthly impressions, clicks and number of pages would make the experiment much more useful.

 

[tjohnson]

I think your goal is realistic. A new website usually needs time before you can make good conclusions. Looking at six months of data should give you a much clearer picture than judging the site after a few weeks.

 

[NicholasCox5]

My biggest SEO mistake was trying too many strategies at the same time. I changed content, backlinks, titles and technical settings all together. When traffic changed, I had no idea what caused it. Testing things separately makes much more sense.

 

[ErinMorrison]

I like the idea of tracking pages that fail too. Sometimes a page that doesn't perform can teach you more than a successful one. It can show you that the keyword, content format or search intent wasn't right.

 

[trodriguez374]

I would definitely keep an eye on long-tail keywords. They may not bring huge traffic individually, but several small keywords can add up. Some of my best traffic came from terms I wasn't originally targeting.

 

[bsawyer581]

The foundation stage sounds very important. I've seen people rush into link building before their website was properly organized. It seems better to make sure the site is technically sound and useful first.

 

[skelley711]

I like the idea of tracking pages that fail too. Sometimes a page that doesn't perform can teach you more than a successful one. It can show you that the keyword, content format or search intent wasn't right.

Yeah, I’ve made that mistake before too. When you change content, backlinks, titles, and technical stuff all at once, it’s almost impossible to tell what actually made a difference. I’m trying to keep this experiment more controlled and change one or two things at a time so the results are easier to understand. It should make the six-month data much more useful.

I would definitely keep an eye on long-tail keywords. They may not bring huge traffic individually, but several small keywords can add up. Some of my best traffic came from terms I wasn't originally targeting.

Yeah, exactly. I’m trying to change one thing at a time now, otherwise it’s hard to know what’s actually working. Still figuring it out as I go.

The foundation stage sounds very important. I've seen people rush into link building before their website was properly organized. It seems better to make sure the site is technically sound and useful first.

Yeah, exactly. I’m trying to change one thing at a time now, otherwise it’s hard to know what’s actually working. Still figuring it out as I go.

I think your goal is realistic. A new website usually needs time before you can make good conclusions. Looking at six months of data should give you a much clearer picture than judging the site after a few weeks.

Yeah, I’ve made that mistake before too. When you change content, backlinks, titles, and technical stuff all at once, it’s almost impossible to tell what actually made a difference. I’m trying to keep this experiment more controlled and change one or two things at a time so the results are easier to understand. It should make the six-month data much more useful.

I've built new websites before, and the early stage always feels slow. You spend hours researching, writing and fixing small technical things while the traffic stays tiny. Then eventually you start seeing a few pages move. I think your six-month experiment will be valuable because it captures that entire process instead of only showing the final result.

You are right

Tracking clicks and impressions separately is important. I've had pages with lots of impressions but very few clicks. Improving the title and making the search intent clearer helped in some cases.

Yeah, exactly. I’m trying to change one thing at a time now, otherwise it’s hard to know what’s actually working. Still figuring it out as I go.

Six months should give you some interesting data. I'm especially curious about months four and five. That's when you'll have enough content and search data to start making better decisions.

Yeah, I’ve made that mistake before too. When you change content, backlinks, titles, and technical stuff all at once, it’s almost impossible to tell what actually made a difference. I’m trying to keep this experiment more controlled and change one or two things at a time so the results are easier to understand. It should make the six-month data much more useful.