# Getting started

> What Engado is, and the path from signing up to your first partnership: add a website, verify it, set what you want, and start talking to real sites in your niche.

Engado is a matchmaker for real, verified websites. You tell it what you run and
what you are looking for, it surfaces genuinely relevant sites in your niche, and
you talk to them directly to trade value for value: a guest post, a mention, a
co-marketing push, a link that makes sense for both sides. No cold outreach, no
buying links, no spam.

Here is the whole path. Each step has its own guide.

## 1. Add your website

Sign up, then add the website you want to represent. You can add more than one
later, and run them all from the same account.

## 2. Verify it

Prove the site is yours. This is what keeps the network real: everyone you meet
on Engado has done the same. There are three ways to verify (a meta tag, a DNS
record, or Google Tag Manager), and any one is enough.

See: [Verifying a website](/docs/verifying-a-website/).

## 3. Set what you are looking for

Fill in your website's profile: your niche, your preferences, and, importantly,
what you want out of a connection. The more honestly you describe what a good
partner looks like for you, the better the matches.

## 4. Let the matches come to you

Overnight, Engado surfaces the sites that fit you, using relevance, SEO signals,
and what both sides said they want. You do not have to go hunting. You review the
suggestions, search and filter for more, and decide who is worth a conversation.

See: [How matching works](/docs/how-matching-works/).

## 5. Reach out and trade value for value

When a site looks like a fit, send a connection request with a short, personal
note. If they accept, a chat opens and you work out what you will do together.
The deal is yours to shape: a link, a piece of content, a newsletter mention,
whatever is worth something to both of you.

See: [Connection requests](/docs/connection-requests/).

## What Engado does not do

It does not send outreach for you, write your pitches, or guarantee anyone says
yes. It does the boring part, finding the right sites and proving they are real,
so you spend your time on conversations worth having, not on hunting and vetting
strangers.