Zero-knowledge step guide

Arts Marketing Skills Workshop, Cited x Culture Sheffield. This version is written for people with no SEO or analytics background. Use it yourself, or send one step to the person who manages your website.

Step 1

Set up Google Search Console

ELI5: This is the free Google dashboard that tells you whether Google can see your website.

You need: a Google account, your website address, and either domain/DNS access or website-builder access.
  1. Go to search.google.com/search-console.
  2. Add a property. Choose Domain if you can edit DNS. Choose URL prefix if you only have website-builder access.
  3. Verify ownership using DNS, HTML meta tag, HTML file upload, or Google Analytics.
  4. Submit the sitemap if you know it. Try yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml.
  5. Wait 24 to 48 hours for reports to fill.
Ask someone else: "Please verify our website in Search Console, submit the sitemap, and give this Google account owner access: [email]."
Step 2

Set up Google Analytics 4

ELI5: GA4 tells you what people do after they arrive on your site.

You need: the same Google account if possible, website-builder access, and a list of actions that matter.
  1. Go to analytics.google.com.
  2. Create a GA4 property and a web data stream.
  3. Copy the measurement ID that starts with G-.
  4. Paste it into your website platform's analytics field, or ask someone to add the Google tag to the head code.
  5. Visit your site and check Realtime to confirm your visit appears.
Ask someone else: "Please add GA4 once, confirm Realtime works, and tell me how we can track bookings, enquiries, donations or downloads."
Step 3

Run PageSpeed Insights

ELI5: This checks whether your site is slow or awkward on a phone.

  1. Go to pagespeed.web.dev.
  2. Paste your homepage URL.
  3. Read the mobile result first.
  4. Write down the top two issues only.
  5. Repeat for your most important event, booking or service page.
Ask someone else: "Please run PageSpeed on mobile and tell me the top two fixes, especially image size, scripts, plugins and fonts."
Step 4

Claim Google Business Profile

ELI5: This is the listing that can show up on Google Maps and in the information box beside search results.

  1. Search your organisation, venue or artist name in Google Maps.
  2. If a listing exists, claim it. Do not create a duplicate.
  3. If none exists, add one through Google Business Profile.
  4. Add accurate category, website, contact details, area/address, opening hours if relevant, and real photos.
  5. Complete Google's verification method.
Ask someone else: "Please check Maps first, claim the existing listing if there is one, complete it, and verify it. Please do not create a duplicate."
Step 5

Install browser tools

ELI5: These are quick inspection tools for checking titles, headings, speed and what a website is built with.

  1. Install Detailed SEO Extension.
  2. Use it on your homepage and key pages to check title, description, headings and indexability.
  3. Run Lighthouse from Chrome DevTools. It is built into Chrome.
  4. Install Wappalyzer if you need to identify a site's platform.
  5. Set up Bing Webmaster Tools later if you have capacity, ideally by importing from Search Console.
Ask someone else: "Please check title, meta description, H1, indexability, Lighthouse mobile issues, and what platform the site is built on."
Step 6

Check the free tier before you pay

ELI5: Some registered nonprofits can get tools for free or at a discount.

  1. Write down your legal structure.
  2. Gather proof: charity number, company number, governing document, website and your role.
  3. Check Google for Nonprofits, Google Ad Grants, Microsoft Nonprofits and Canva for Nonprofits.
  4. Make a simple list: eligible, maybe eligible, not eligible, documents needed, owner.
Ask someone else: "Please check which nonprofit software offers we qualify for and what evidence each application needs."
Step 7

Run the site: search check

ELI5: This asks Google which pages it currently knows from your website.

  1. Open Google.
  2. Type site:yourdomain.com.
  3. No results means Google may not be able to find you yet.
  4. Wrong page first means Google may not understand your most important page.
  5. Old or private pages appearing means you may need updates, redirects or removals.
Ask someone else: "Please run a site: search, screenshot the first page, and tell me what looks missing, outdated or wrong."
Step 8

The five-minute visibility check

ELI5: This is a tiny monthly health check.

  1. Indexed? Run site:yourdomain.com.
  2. Fast on mobile? Run PageSpeed.
  3. Clear in 3 seconds? Ask someone what the homepage says you do.
  4. Local presence? Search in Google Maps.
  5. Trusted links? Check whether venues, funders, press, universities or collaborators link to you.
Ask someone else: "Please run this as a green/amber/red check and give me one next action for each amber or red item."
Step 9

The 3-second homepage test

ELI5: A stranger should understand your homepage before they scroll.

  1. Open the homepage on a phone.
  2. Before scrolling, ask: what do we do?
  3. Ask: who is it for?
  4. Ask: where are we?
  5. Ask: what should someone do next?
  6. Fix the headline, intro, location line or main button if any answer is missing.
Ask someone else: "Please look at this page for three seconds and answer those four questions honestly."