I'm Rav, and I run JetBlok Studio, a web design and SEO studio in Gosnells, Perth. I build websites for tradies and small businesses across Australia. In an r/tradies thread on unsolicited AI email spam, one owner wrote: "Half of my daily emails now are unsolicited AI emails offering SEO, marketing, social media help etc." A reply: "I've created a rule where anything with 'web presence' in the email gets sent straight to junk." Most of those emails skip web dev SEO: the SEO built into your website while it is being made. Search "web dev SEO" and you mostly find guides for developers. This one is for the person paying for the site. It follows on from my guide to what web dev Reddit gets right. For how I build, see web design Perth and websites for tradies.
What web dev SEO actually means
Google's SEO Starter Guide says SEO "is about helping search engines understand your content, and helping users find your site and make a decision about whether they should visit your site through a search engine." Web dev SEO is the part of that job that lives inside the build.
The technical half your developer controls
Google's developer guide tells developers to make sure a site is "secure, fast, accessible to all, and works on all devices."
The WA Small Business Development Corporation splits the jobs the same way: web development "involves the coding and building of your website behind the scenes", while SEO helps people find you "through search engines, as well as AI tools and summaries."
Developers on Reddit mostly agree. In an r/webdev thread asking is it a web dev's job to do SEO as well, one reply said: "if by SEO you mean the tech part of it (tags, structure, velocity, etc) yes it is".
The half no developer can do for you
In another r/webdev thread, a developer's client asked them to do "the SEO". One reply: "SEO is a blanket term for a variety of things that span content, marketing, and technical aspects." Another wrote: "I usually split this into technical SEO vs growth SEO and make that boundary explicit in the contract."
Content, reviews, links and your Google Business Profile are ongoing work. Google says compelling, useful content "will likely influence your website's presence in search results more than any of the other suggestions in this guide." Good web dev SEO gives that content a fast, clean home. It doesn't write it for you. As the top comment on the "web dev's job" thread put it: "Build it, and they will come!" IS NOT REALITY.
Built in vs bolted on
Web dev SEO is cheapest when it is part of the build. Fixing it later can mean rework, redirects or a full rebuild.
| Area | Built in from day one | Bolted on later |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Images, scripts and layout planned for phones | Trimming plugins and scripts on a live site |
| Page structure | Service and suburb pages mapped before design | Pages squeezed in, URLs changed, redirects needed |
| Indexing | Sitemap, Search Console and one clean address per page at launch | Chasing duplicate pages and errors after launch |
| Schema | Business details marked up to match the page | Added afterwards and checked against the page again |
The web dev SEO checklist your site should pass
Speed and Core Web Vitals
Google's Core Web Vitals measure loading, responsiveness and visual stability. The good thresholds, from web.dev, are LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less, and CLS of 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of page visits. INP replaced First Input Delay as a Core Web Vital on 12 March 2024.
Google's page experience guide says "Core Web Vitals are used by our ranking systems," but good results don't "guarantee that your pages will rank at the top", and "trying to get a perfect score just for SEO reasons may not be the best use of your time." In an r/webdev thread on why so few "SEO optimized" websites score 100, one comment said: "you can be fast without being at 100". Aim to pass on real phones, not to win a trophy.
Mobile first, same content everywhere
Mobile is where web dev SEO starts. "Google uses the mobile version of a site's content, crawled with the smartphone agent, for indexing and ranking," says its mobile-first indexing guide. It recommends responsive design and says: "Make sure that your mobile site contains the same content as your desktop site." Tabs and accordions are fine. Cutting content on phones is not.
Crawlable pages, one address, clean URLs
Google's technical requirements are short: Googlebot isn't blocked, the page returns an HTTP 200, and it has indexable content. A robots.txt file is "not a mechanism for keeping a web page out of Google" (use noindex for that), and submitting a sitemap "is merely a hint".
Pick one home page address (https, with or without www) and redirect the others. Google's canonicalization guide treats redirects and canonical tags as strong signals. Every page needs its own title and description. Google's URL guide says to "use readable words rather than long ID numbers" and "Use hyphens to separate words".
Content that doesn't hide behind JavaScript
Google's JavaScript SEO basics say "server-side or pre-rendering is still a great idea because it makes your website faster for users and crawlers, and not all bots can run JavaScript." Bing says to avoid "Hiding critical content behind client-side rendering". For a small business site, server-rendered or static HTML is the low-risk web dev SEO choice. In an r/SEO thread about rebuilding WordPress in Next.js, one commenter said: "NextJS out of the box is not.. it requires customization to be good for SEO." The framework isn't the SEO. The setup is.
Images, schema and no tricks
Google's image guide says "images are often the largest contributor to overall page size". Use modern formats like WebP or AVIF, real image tags (because "Google doesn't index CSS images"), and clear alt text. For structured data, Google recommends JSON-LD and, for a local business, lists name and address as required on its LocalBusiness guide. Keep it matched to the page.
In r/webdev, a developer said an SEO contractor wanted a near invisible accordion of "50 or so" keyword headings. The top comment: "any 'SEO specialist' that tells you it's a good idea to add a bunch of keywords to an invisible element has no idea what they're doing." Google's spam policies list hidden text as spam, along with "Blocks of text that list cities and regions that a web page is trying to rank for". A few useful suburb pages beat a hidden list.
Rebuilding your site? Don't lose your rankings
Redirects are the part of web dev SEO that goes wrong most often on Reddit. In an r/SEO thread about a bad relaunch, an owner said their site was 10+ years old. On relaunch, the "old URLs were simply dropped", with no 301 redirects. "Result: organic traffic collapsed almost completely and never recovered."
In r/TechSEO, another owner found old URLs redirecting to the homepage, "not to the new service pages. After this, our traffic and leads dropped a lot." One reply: "Best practice is to 301 redirect each individual old page to the equivalent new page, instead of to the homepage."
Google's site move guide lines up with this. Map every old URL to its new URL before launch. Use permanent (301) redirects. Don't send old pages to the home page (Google says that "might be treated as a soft 404 error"). "Keep the redirects for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year." Update internal links, submit a sitemap of the new URLs, and "Expect temporary fluctuation in site ranking during the move." Weighing up platforms? See WordPress vs custom web design.
Beyond Google: Bing, IndexNow and AI search
Web dev SEO isn't only for Google. Bing's Webmaster Guidelines say "SEO best practices that support discovery, indexing accuracy, and content clarity also support eligibility for AI-generated experiences, grounding results, and citations." Bing also supports IndexNow, which tells participating search engines when a URL "has been added, updated, or deleted". Google isn't in the IndexNow list.
What about Google's AI Overviews? Google's AI features guide says "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode". It adds: "You don't need to create new machine readable files, AI text files, or markup to appear in these features." The basics still apply, like allowing crawling "by any CDN or hosting infrastructure". Solid web dev SEO is your AI search foundation. More in my AI SEO guide.
Where developer work ends and local SEO begins
business.gov.au explains search intent with an Aussie example. A customer starts with "leaking tap". Then they search "plumber in Townsville". Then they search the business by name. Web dev SEO gets your site ready for that local search. But local search runs on more than your website.
Google's Business Profile help says "Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity." It adds: "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." Prominence also depends on "how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have." No developer can code those in.
In r/perth, an owner asking for an SEO expert based in Perth or Australia wrote: "After getting two new websites and two SEO experts working on them for a total of four years, we weren't able to see any significant change." New websites alone didn't fix it.
In an r/smallbusiness thread about a local SEO and website offer, one reply listed what moves the needle for a local business: "fixing internal links, optimizing service pages, tightening on-page SEO, and making your Google Business Profile shine." That handoff is what local SEO Perth covers. See also my Google Business Profile guide and local SEO checklist.
Questions to ask your developer before you sign
Use this web dev SEO checklist when you compare quotes. You don't need to read code. You just need clear answers.
| Check | What good looks like | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile speed | Passes Core Web Vitals on mobile: LCP 2.5 seconds or less, INP 200 milliseconds or less, CLS 0.1 or less | web.dev |
| Mobile content | Same content and headings on phone and desktop | Google mobile-first indexing |
| Indexable | Pages return 200, aren't blocked by robots.txt, and have no stray noindex | Google technical requirements |
| One version | HTTPS, one of www or non-www, and the others redirect | Google redirects |
| Sitemap and Search Console | XML sitemap submitted, Search Console set up in your name | Google sitemaps |
| Real HTML | Key text and links in the page HTML, not only after JavaScript runs | Google JavaScript SEO |
| Readable URLs | Words separated by hyphens, no long IDs or underscores | Google URL structure |
| Images | Compressed modern formats (WebP or AVIF), real image tags, alt text | Google Images |
| Schema | LocalBusiness (or similar) with name and address matching the page | Google LocalBusiness |
| Rebuild plan | Old to new URL map, page-to-page 301s, kept at least a year | Google site moves |
| No tricks | No hidden keyword blocks or suburb lists | Google spam policies |
| Ownership and access | You own the domain and hold the logins, including Search Console | WA SBDC |
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has a guide to working with a digital marketing provider. It notes: "Almost three quarters don't stay with the same provider for more than a year." Its contract checklist includes "a clear statement of what you will receive and when" and "handover of assets, access, permissions, passwords, and systems".
Be wary of big promises. The ACCC says business claims should be "true, accurate and based on reasonable grounds". Google's Search Central says: "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google." If a quote says "SEO optimised", ask what that means for web dev SEO. Comparing developers? See choosing a web dev company in Perth.
How JetBlok handles web dev SEO
Every JetBlok site includes SEO foundations (technical SEO, schema, sitemap, Search Console). Growth adds Google Business Profile setup and 3 months of Local SEO. Pro includes 6 months. Ongoing SEO is optional after launch.
My packages are one-time builds, with JetBlok hosting included and no mandatory monthly website fee. Starter is $999, Growth is $1,999 and Pro is $2,999+. All figures AUD, No GST. The Care Plan is optional at $299 per month, and covers ongoing SEO and performance monitoring. It's a 10% deposit (minimum $199) to start. You see your finished site, then pay the balance before it goes live. You own the domain and, once paid in full, the finished site. You can migrate off JetBlok hosting anytime.
No ranking promises. Just clear scope and a site with web dev SEO built in. See pricing, websites for tradies or small business web design.
The bottom line
Web dev SEO is the foundation: speed, mobile, crawlable pages, clean URLs, schema and safe redirects. It won't replace content, reviews or your Google Business Profile, but everything on top depends on it. Ask the questions above before you sign, wherever you are in Australia. If you want a site with web dev SEO built in from day one, get a quote, or see how I work on web design Perth.
Photos via Pexels/Unsplash: Christopher Gower, Christina Morillo, NordWood Themes, CK Seng. Sources: Reddit threads linked above; Google Search Central; web.dev; Bing Webmaster Guidelines; IndexNow; business.gov.au; WA Small Business Development Corporation; ASBFEO; ACCC.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is web dev SEO?
It is the technical SEO built into a website while it is developed: speed, mobile layout, crawlable and indexable pages, clean HTML and URLs, structured data and redirects. Google's developer guide says to make sure a site is "secure, fast, accessible to all, and works on all devices". Content, reviews and Google Business Profile work sit on top.
Is web dev SEO my developer's job?
Yes, the technical part should be. Strategy, content and local SEO are separate unless your quote says otherwise. Ask what is included, and get it in writing.
What are good Core Web Vitals scores?
LCP of 2.5 seconds or less, INP of 200 milliseconds or less and CLS of 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of visits. INP replaced First Input Delay on 12 March 2024. Google says good scores help, but don't guarantee top rankings.
Will a new website hurt my Google rankings?
It can, if URLs change without page-to-page 301 redirects. Google says to expect temporary fluctuation, map old URLs to new ones, avoid sending everything to the home page, and keep redirects generally at least a year.
Do I need special files or schema for AI search?
Not for Google. It says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, and no AI text files or special schema are needed. A page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. Bing says the same SEO basics support Copilot.
Can a developer guarantee I'll rank #1?
No. Google says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google," and the ACCC says business claims need reasonable grounds. JetBlok doesn't promise rankings. Call or WhatsApp 0431 242 326, email [email protected], or get a quote.
