How to Build a Website with Good SEO: Step-by-Step

A Practical Guide for Edmonton Small Businesses

As a small business owner, having a website that looks great is important. But what really brings in visitors and turns them into customers is how well your site is optimized for search engines like Google and Bing. With AI-generated summaries becoming more common in search results, it’s more important than ever to build your website using solid SEO basics. These AI-powered results still depend on clear site structure, relevant keywords, and trustworthy content—just like traditional search rankings.

Whether you're a local business in Edmonton serving one community or operate across Canada, optimizing your website for both standard search and AI-driven overviews can be a game-changer for your online visibility.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through how to create a website that not only looks good but is also optimized for search and AI results, using best practices from Google’s SEO Starter Guide, tailored for Canadian entrepreneurs.

Illustration of website design planning

Step 1: Plan Your Website Around Your Audience and Goals

Before choosing a theme or building your homepage, take time to define three key elements:

• Your business goals – What do you want your website to do? (e.g., generate leads, sell products, promote services)

• Your target audience – Who are you trying to reach? (e.g., Edmonton homeowners, Canadian online shoppers, local contractors, etc.)

• The keywords they’re searching for – What would someone type into Google to find a business like yours?

  • For example:

    • “Edmonton plumbing services” – if you’re a plumber serving Edmonton

    • “Custom furniture in Alberta” – if you design and sell handmade furniture across the province.

      
      

🎯 Tip: Use tools like Google’s “People also ask” feature to find popular related search terms. Just type a phrase like “Edmonton plumbing services” into Google and look at the follow-up questions.

Example of how to use Google's feature "People also Ask" to find popular keywords for Plumbing services in Edmonton.

You can also use free or affordable tools like Ubersuggest to uncover high-traffic, relevant keywords in your niche.

Ubersuggest used to perform keyword research.

Once you have your goals, audience, and keyword list, begin planning your website’s structure—like your main pages and navigation—around those terms. This ensures your content aligns with what real users (and search engines) are looking for from the start.

Step 2: Understand & Implement Key Elements of Effective Website Design and SEO

A well-designed website isn’t just about looks, it’s about functionality, user experience, and search performance. Great design supports both SEO and your customers’ journey. To stand out, focus on these five core elements:

1. Mobile Responsiveness

Over 60% of web traffic in Canada—and globally—comes from mobile devices. That's why our website must look and function flawlessly on all screen sizes. Google also uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily evaluates the mobile version of your site when determining rankings.

2. Fast Loading Speeds

Speed matters. A 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%—and it can affect your search rankings too.

 Optimize load time by:

• Compressing and serving images in next-gen formats like WebP (an image file format developed by Google)

• Using lazy loading for large images and videos

• Hosting on reliable Canadian servers or using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Cloudflare

🎯 Tip: Use Google’s Page Speed Insights Tool tool to test your site during development and catch critical technical issues that aren’t visible at first glance.

3. Clear Navigation Structure

A clear, intuitive navigation system improves usability and helps search engines crawl and index your content.

These best practices can really make a difference:

• Use a simple main menu with 5–7 top-level items

• Group similar content under logical categories (e.g., Services > Emergency Plumbing, Furnace Repair, Heating Solutions)

• Add breadcrumb trails and internal links to support both user experience and Google's understanding of your site hierarchy

  
  

  4. Engaging Visuals and Content

  Visual storytelling builds trust and helps retain attention, especially on mobile.

  
  

   To stand out:

• Use original photos and avoid generic stock images

• Showcase local visuals when possible (e.g., your team, storefront, or product in a local setting)

• Add explainer videos, customer testimonials, or reviews to increase trust and drive engagement on your website.

  
  

  5. Use strong Calls-to-Action (CTAs)

  Guide your visitors toward specific actions that support your business goals.

  
  

  🎯 Tips:

• Place CTAs above the fold (the section of a webpage that is visible without scrolling) and throughout your pages

• Use clear, action-oriented language (e.g., “Get a Free Quote in Edmonton”, “Book Your Free Consultation”)

• Make them visually distinct with colour contrast and whitespace

• Each page should lead users to take action, like submitting a contact form, exploring a product, or requesting a quote.

  
  

  Step 3: Follow These SEO Best Practices to Boost Your Edmonton Business Online

  SEO ensures your beautiful site is actually found by your target audience. Here's how to implement SEO effectively:

  1. Keyword Optimization

• Do local keyword research. Instead of broad terms like “plumber,” target, for instance:

  • “Emergency plumber in Edmonton”

  • “Best plumbing service West Edmonton”

• Next, target the terms your audience is searching for, but naturally. Again, you could take advantage of the people also search for feat mentioned above or search for key terms with Google autocomplete. What Is Google Autocomplete? When you start typing a search query into Google and suggestions instantly appear, you're experiencing Google Autocomplete in action. While it might seem like a simple time-saving feature, it's actually a powerful tool for SEO and keyword research—especially for small businesses trying to understand what their customers are searching for.

For example, when searching for "emergency plumber", Google starts suggesting other options:

How to use Google Autocomplete feature to find new keywords.

While it might seem like a simple time-saving feature, it's actually a powerful tool for SEO and keyword research, especially for small businesses trying to understand what their customers are searching for.

• You can also use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, Moz or Semrush to identify what people are searching for in your region.

  🎯 Tip: Include keywords in title tags, meta descriptions, headers (H1–H3), and naturally throughout the page content, and in the URL slug (e.g., /Edmonton-plumbing-service). For example, Using Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool, you can discover new terms your audience is actively searching for, along with their search volume (how popular the term is), keyword difficulty ( how competitive the keyword is), and related variations to help you build a strong SEO strategy.

  

  How to use Semrush Keyword Magic tool to discover new keywords.

  2. Quality Content Creation

  Great content drives traffic and builds trust.

  So, when building a website, make it a priority to:

  
  

• Answer common customer questions (e.g., “How to prepare the pipes in your home for a harsh Edmonton winter”)

• Showcase your expertise by providing expert advise and insights on topics of interest related to the service or product offered

• Provide local relevance

• Aim for clarity, accuracy, and value — as recommended by Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework.

  3. Local SEO

  Help nearby customers find you through local search optimization.

  That process involves:

  
  

• Set up and verify a Google Business Profile

• Include NAP info (Name, Address, Phone) consistently across your site and directories

• Add location-based pages (e.g., “Serving Sherwood Park, St. Albert, and Leduc”)

• Embedding a Google Map on your contact page

• Collecting reviews from happy local customers

  🎯Pro Tip: Add localized schema markup to your website to help Google understand your geographic relevance.

  
  

  4. Backlink Building

  Backlinks from trusted websites signal credibility to Google. To earn quality backlinks:

  
  

• Partner with local directories (e.g., Edmonton Chamber of Commerce or other similar organizations)

• Guest post on relevant Canadian blogs

• Get featured in local news or business listings

• Share valuable content on LinkedIn or Facebook groups serving Edmonton area.

• 
  

  5. Technical SEO

  Google can’t rank what it can’t crawl. So, make sure your website is technically sound:

  
  

• Use HTTPS for security.

• Use clean, crawlable URL structures

• Submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console.

• Fix broken links.

• Add alt text to all images.

• Ensure proper use of header tags (H1 for page titles, H2/H3 for subheadings).

  
  

  Step 4: Test and Monitor

  
  

  Launching your website is just the beginning. To keep it fast, functional, and aligned with your goals, you need to continuously test and monitor its performance.

  
  

• Use Google Analytics and Search Console to track traffic and performance

• Track keyword rankings over time

• Audit your site regularly for technical issues (tools like Screaming Frog or Semrush)

• Use heatmaps (like Hotjar or Microsoft Clarity) to see where users engage.

• Keep content fresh—add blog posts, update service pages, and optimize based on what’s working.

  
  

Step 5: Work with Local Experts (If You Need Help)

If you're unsure where to start or want a professionally designed SEO-ready website, consider partnering with a local digital marketing agency that understands the unique needs of Edmonton’s market.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a small business in Edmonton or serving customers across Canada, following these SEO best practices during the website design process will set you up for long-term success, both in traditional rankings and in AI-driven results.

Use this guide as your roadmap to building a site that doesn’t just look good, but gets found, ranks well, and helps your business grow.

But, if you're not sure where to start, don't hesitate to reach out to a local SEO expert who understands your market, and how search is changing.