Setup and foundations
- Verify your site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Install and confirm analytics is recording organic traffic.
- Submit an up-to-date XML sitemap to search engines.
- Check your robots.txt is not blocking important pages.
- Confirm the site uses HTTPS with a valid certificate.
Keyword research and intent
- Build a keyword list around the questions your audience asks.
- Assign one primary keyword and a few related terms to each page.
- Match each keyword to the right search intent and page type.
- Identify keyword gaps your competitors rank for and you do not.
- Map keywords to pages so two pages do not compete for the same term.
On-page SEO
- Write a unique, compelling title tag under about 60 characters.
- Write a meta description that earns clicks and includes the keyword.
- Use one H1 and a logical heading structure on each page.
- Place the primary keyword naturally in the title, intro and a heading.
- Create a short, descriptive, keyword-rich URL slug.
- Add descriptive alt text to every meaningful image.
- Add internal links to and from related, relevant pages.
Technical SEO
- Test and improve Core Web Vitals and page load speed.
- Confirm the site is mobile-friendly and responsive.
- Find and fix broken links and redirect chains.
- Set canonical tags to prevent duplicate content issues.
- Add relevant structured data, such as article or product schema.
- Check crawl errors in Search Console and resolve them.
Content quality
- Ensure each page fully answers the searcher's question.
- Make content more thorough and useful than the top results.
- Keep paragraphs short and use lists and subheadings for scanning.
- Update outdated facts, statistics and screenshots.
- Add original value such as examples, data or expert insight.
- Refresh underperforming pages and improve or merge thin content.
Off-page SEO
- Build links from relevant, reputable websites in your niche.
- Earn mentions through guest posts, partnerships or original research.
- Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile if you serve locally.
- Keep your name, address and phone consistent across directories.
- Monitor your backlink profile and disavow toxic links if needed.
Track and maintain
- Track keyword rankings for your priority pages.
- Monitor organic traffic and clicks in Search Console.
- Watch for indexing issues and manual actions.
- Review which pages gain or lose traffic each month.
- Schedule a recurring audit using this checklist.
0 / 39 done
