Your first 90 days of keywords: a plan for new websites
New sites can't rank for everything at once. Here's a 90-day keyword plan that builds momentum, wins early traffic, and sets up long-term authority.
October 16, 2025 · 1 min read
The tempting move for a new site is to chase your dream head term. It is also the fastest way to feel invisible. In the first ninety days you should target long-tail keywords that are winnable fast, build clusters, and let compounding do the heavy lifting.
Month 1: win the easy long-tails
Generate long-tail lists from five core topics and pick the terms where the current results are weak or thin. Publish ten to twelve tight posts targeting one keyword each. At this stage speed matters more than volume: a page that ranks at position forty is worthless; a page that ranks top ten is an asset.
Month 2: cluster everything
Start turning the month-one posts into clusters. Write two mid-tail pages per topic that link down to every related post and up to a planned pillar. Fix any page that hasn't moved: rewrite the title, add a section, add an internal link. Refresh, don't abandon.
Month 3: shift from topics to intent
By now you have data from search console. Double down on the intent groups that earn clicks: if questions drive traffic, publish more question posts; if comparisons earn the conversions, build more comparison pages. Add your first buyer-intent pages once the support structure exists.
- •Checklist: 25-30 posts, 5 clusters, 1 pillar page, 1 conversion page
- •Measure: impressions, clicks, and the intent groups behind them