Begin with the canonical address
Add the homepage address that you would want search engines to treat as the main version. Swiss Knife SEO normalizes the address and creates a site workspace. A new workspace can start on the free plan, which supports a compact first audit before you commit to a larger crawl.
- Use the final HTTPS hostname.
- Avoid campaign parameters in the starting address.
- Check that the site icon and hostname look correct before the first run.
Bring in first-party evidence
Search Console and GA4 are separate connections. Each can use a different Google identity, which helps when an agency receives access through different client accounts. Choose the property that exactly matches the site, then wait for the usable connection state before relying on its numbers.
Create a baseline you can compare
Use the Standard crawl profile for the first pass. Review coverage before the health score, then open the highest-impact issue and inspect the affected URLs. A saved crawl remains a dated evidence snapshot, so later comparisons can show what changed without rewriting the past.
Close the loop
Track the search queries, buyer prompts, and backlinks that matter, then schedule another audit. The first useful cycle is simple: observe, assign, fix, and recheck. You can skip any setup step and resume it later without losing progress.