Set up a website for SEO
The setup chain in order — connect Google, run the setup check, crawl the site, fill the brief, create a research target and set a budget.
Setup is a chain, not a checklist you can do out of order. Each link feeds the next: Google supplies the performance data, the crawl lets the AI read the site, the brief says what the business sells, the research target says which market to measure, and the budget decides whether paid research may run at all.
Work top to bottom once and the rest of the Command Center stops arguing with you.
Before you start
You need the website's URL on its Builder project, a Google account with access to the site's Search Console property and Google Analytics 4 property, and owner or admin rights to set the monthly budget.
Run the setup
Connect Google
Connect Search Console and Google Analytics 4, and select the properties, in Analytics settings. The Command Center only reports their state — it is not where you pick them.
Run the setup check
Select the website, open the kebab menu (More website actions) in the workspace header and click Setup check. It audits everything the Command Center needs and refreshes the readiness signals. The tooltip says No-spend setup check — it never charges research budget.
Read connection readiness top to bottom
SettingsData & trackingConnection readiness. Work down the list until every dot is green, using each row's own button.
Crawl the website
Open StrategyResearch, find the Site knowledge lane in the workspace bar and click Crawl website. This is free. It turns the site's pages into knowledge sources the AI can read.
Fill the Research brief
StrategyResearchBrief. At minimum, set Niche and Primary services. Draft from the website fills only the still-empty fields from the crawl, so run the crawl first.
Set the country
SettingsContent & page rules, then set Country. A non-country location code stored here blocks research-target creation, so fix it before the next step.
Create the research target
Open any research surface. The empty state reads Research <host> with
DataForSEO and names the market it will use. Click Create research target
for <host>. Creating it is free.
Set the monthly SEO budget
SettingsAutomation & budget. Enter a positive number. A blank budget means paid research is paused everywhere.
Capture the reporting baseline
SettingsData & tracking, then set the Baseline start date and click Capture baseline. Do this against the month you are about to report on.
A blank monthly budget pauses everything paid
Blank does not mean unlimited. With no monthly SEO budget set, paid research is blocked entirely and the readiness checklist says so. Enter a positive number before you plan any research.
Connection readiness reference
Every row has a coloured dot, a plain-English detail line and a fix button.
| Row | Green means | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Search Console | A property is selected and returning data | Pick the property in Analytics settings |
| Google Analytics 4 | A GA4 property is selected and returning data | Pick the property in Analytics settings |
| DataForSEO evidence | The platform research credential is available to this workspace | Nothing you can change — it is platform-provided |
| Google connection | Connected, including the sitemap-submission scope | Reconnect Google and re-consent |
| Research brief | Niche and primary services are set and read as terms | Open Research brief and fix the fields |
| Site knowledge | The crawl read the site and stored a usable profile | Retry site crawl, or add sources by hand |
| Reporting baseline | A baseline date is locked | Capture baseline |
| AI provider keys (Advanced) | The writer and review providers are configured | Platform-level; ask support |
Two rows deserve a longer explanation.
Property does not match this website's host. This is a warning, not a block.
Many sites verify only the www variant, or only the bare domain. Data still
flows. Pick the matching property when you can.
Search Console write access needs attention. The Google connection was made before the sitemap-submission scope existed, so article submission to Search Console will fail. Click Reconnect Google on that row and re-consent.
The AI may not be able to read the site at all
If Site knowledge is amber, either the crawl was truncated or the site is a client-rendered shell with nothing for the crawler to read. A truncation is fixed by Retry site crawl on the Research brief. A client-rendered shell is not — no number of re-crawls will help, and the fix is server-side rendering or adding knowledge sources manually.
The Data menu
Once setup is done, the header's Data button is where you refresh anything by hand. Each lane shows its own Data as of line.
| Setting | What it changes | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Google evidence | Pulls Analytics and Search Console for the evidence window. Free, but uses your Google quota. | Free |
| Historical monthly totals | Re-pulls up to 12 closed months of Search Console and Analytics history and rebuilds monthly totals. Reports you already delivered stay frozen. Owner only. | Free |
| Deep Search Console pull | A one-off export at raised caps — 1,000 queries, 400 pages, 1,000 page-query pairs. Free but heavy on Google quota. Owner only. | Free |
| Free sources | Site probe, schema audit and sitemap check, plus a Search Console and Analytics re-pull. PageSpeed runs on its own cadence. | Free |
| Search evidence | Paid DataForSEO pull of keyword rankings, search research and authority. Owner only, and it needs a second confirming click. | About $2 |
A lane reports its oldest clock, and says some sources never pulled when part of the lane has no data at all. Never pulled means exactly that. Running one lane temporarily disables the siblings that share its action family.
What good looks like
- Every connection readiness dot is green, or amber only on the host-mismatch warning.
- Site knowledge was crawled in the last 35 days. Older than that and the freshness pill turns into a stale badge.
- The Research brief reads as terms, not sentences, and nothing is flagged as auto-filled.
- A research target exists, with the right country and a sensible monthly ceiling.
- The monthly SEO budget is a positive number.
- A baseline is captured.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
A research tab says Research <host> with DataForSEO | The website has no research target yet | Click Create research target for <host> — it is free |
| Target creation fails with a market error | Settings stores a non-country location code | Set a Country in Settings → Content & page rules first |
| Readiness says paid research is blocked until a positive budget is set | The monthly SEO budget is blank | Set a positive number in Settings → Automation & budget |
| The Search Console row warns about a host mismatch | The selected property is the other www variant | Pick the matching property; data still flows meanwhile |
| The Google row asks you to reconnect | The connection predates the sitemap-submission scope | Reconnect Google and re-consent |
| Site knowledge is amber after a re-crawl | The site is a client-rendered shell | Add knowledge sources by hand, or render the site server-side |
| Capture baseline will not take a date | The date is in the future | Baselines cannot start in the future — pick today or earlier |