If you're in charge of a huge brand's corporate SEO effort, organisation is essential. You'll be working on a variety of initiatives at the same time, including technical SEO, on-page SEO, content planning, keyword research, link building, and more. You'll need to get your ducks in a row with at least a basic SEO checklist if you don't want to get buried in work and miss critical deliverables.
Checklists provide clear, consistent criteria that are readily transferable to all stakeholders and collaborators, whether you're a novice or a seasoned veteran. They also make cross-departmental collaboration easier, ensuring that all teams are on the same page.
Use this step-by-step SEO checklist to manage the most difficult search engine optimization initiatives and maximise website traffic if you need a tutorial.
Do you prefer a simpler version? Below is a link to our free on-page SEO checklist template.
Checklist for SEO software
Because software increases efficiency, it should be a vital component of your SEO approach.
Analytics Google
It's a good idea to set up Google Analytics regardless of which reporting tools and dashboards you use. Install this as soon as feasible on your site to ensure that you have a large amount of historical data. To double-check for faults, run some brief real-time traffic tests. Configure numerous profiles to allow your team to analyse different views of the data more quickly. You can set up profiles to track traffic by source, geography, or URL, for example.
Make sure to set up GA for any microsites or subdomains you create.
Search Console by Google
Google Analytics is like peanut butter to Search Console's jelly. It keeps track of the keywords that lead visitors to your site and checks for 404s and duplicate/missing information. While Google Analytics tracks what users do once they get on your site, such as bounce rate, Google Search Console tracks what happens before they arrive, such as impressions and clicks. Connect the gadget to Google Analytics and use Search Console to upload your sitemap. You can also use Bing Webmaster Tools to get a different perspective.
Tag Manager by Google
Google Tag Manager is a simple and convenient method to keep track of all your Google and third-party tags in one location. Google Tag Manager also allows you to collaborate with your IT team more effectively and effortlessly. It can be used for campaign and event tracking, testing, quality assurance, troubleshooting, and integrating sponsored and organic efforts.
SEO instruments
Any efficient SEO checklist must include tools for search engine optimization. You'll utilise them for things like keyword research, competition analysis, and site crawls, among other things. Consider Moz, Ahrefs, Majestic, or SEMrush, which offer a full array of SEO tools. Here are a few more to aid with video SEO and long tail keyword research.
SEO Plugins
Whether you're using WordPress, Drupal, or Magento, look for SEO plugins that can help your on-page SEO strategy run smoothly. The Yoast SEO plugin, which is available as a free utility with a paid upgrade, is one of my favourites. Yoast allows you to tweak metadata, grade your SEO and readability, and recommend internal links. Furthermore, it makes redirection management a breeze. Check out the plugins detailed in this Magento SEO tutorial if you're using Magento.
What if, like many of our clients, you have a bespoke CMS? Just be sure to include customization so that your staff can quickly address the essential issues on their website SEO checklist.
SEO Checklist (Technical)
Sitemap in XML
An XML sitemap is a list of URLs that point search engines to the parts of your website that they should crawl. If your information is searchable, Google will ultimately discover it and create its own sitemap. However, this takes time and provides you no control over what and when content is crawled. Don't wait for Google to create a sitemap for you. Instead, as part of your SEO checklist, publish your own via Search Console.
Make sure it's well-organized and free of outdated URLs and broken links.
Domains
Websites frequently have a single domain, such as www.example.com, and multiple subdomains, such as blog.example.com or support.example.com. Subfolders are often preferable to subdomains as an SEO recommended practise. However, there are times when subdomains are required.
You might, for example, have a rich careers section that acts as a microsite. A subdomain can aid Google in distinguishing between your primary business content and career-related content in terms of subject relevancy.
Website structure (site structure)
The website architecture is the next item on our SEO to-do list. One of the SEO fundamentals is good site architecture, which gives a logical structure for Google to crawl and prioritise. Poor site architecture makes it difficult for Google to crawl your site, wasting crawl bandwidth and diluting authority among low-priority sites. Maintain as flat and user-friendly a web architecture as feasible. Most material should be three clicks deep, and internal links should be used to reinforce your structure.
Canonicalization of URLs
Faceted navigation, pagination, product variants, in-site search, and other common user-friendly website features might mistakenly produce duplicate versions of a parent page.
And it doesn't end there: there's more duplication. If you operate an older domain, Google's index may contain various versions of your site, including:
- www.example.com
- www.example.com/
- https://example.com
- https://example.com/
- http://example.com
- http://example.com/
Have a mobile-specific subdomain, such as m.example.com? What if your website has various language versions, such as en.example.com and sp.example.com?
To consolidate SEO equity, it's vital that your web pages have only one unique URL. Canonical tags specify which version of your site search engines should index, thus they're crucial to get properly. Improper implementation can eat up your crawl budget and make it impossible to rank well.
Redirects
When you move content, 301 redirects are required in addition to directing visitors to the desired version of your website. An SEO company like stridec, for example, can suggest a new URL format that better expresses your website architecture. A 301 redirect informs search engines that a URL has moved to a new location. It also ensures that any link equity inherited by a page is transferred to the new URL.
However, it's critical to follow Google's instructions and install redirects on a 1:1 basis.
Robots.txt
When you don't want a search engine to crawl a page or area of your site, one of your alternatives is to block it in a Robots.txt file. The Robots.txt file is particularly useful for preventing specific URL parameters from being used, such as session ids or referral tags. This prevents the crawling of redundant information created by dynamic URLs.
It's worth noting that the robots.txt directive isn't meant to prevent URLs from being indexed. A robots meta tag should be used for this.
Page load time and site speed
If all other factors are equal, Google favours pages that load quickly. Because Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, you should make sure your site is quick. Check your page load time with a tool like Google's PageSpeed Insights. To enhance page load times, follow all advice, such as compressing files or pictures and deleting superfluous scripts.
You could also use Google's mobile-friendly test tool to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly.
pages 404
Redirects aren't always required when deleting a page. In fact, a 410 code (page gone) is preferable to a 404 code (not found). What is the explanation for this? When Google encounters a 404 error, it will continue to scan the URL in the hopes that the content will reappear at some point in the future. A 410 code, on the other hand, informs the search engine that the URL is no longer active, so don't try again.
It's also a good idea to update any links on your site that point to URLs that have been deleted or redirected.
Finally, 404 problems are caused by mistyped URLs and other factors beyond your control, so make sure your 404 page reflects your brand's best side when it comes to providing the best user experience. Take a peek at the 404 page for this web hosting site – it's an interactive Space Invaders game!
Errors in the crawl
An SEO audit is a wonderful technique to find problems that can sabotage your search results. Use a programme like DeepCrawl or Screaming Frog to crawl the entire site. Know your error codes and respond quickly to important crawl problems. This is also a good moment to double-check that noindex meta tags aren't being used to keep important pages out of Google's index.
Faulty links
Check the site for broken links using a crawling tool. Internal links are a technique to keep both humans and search engines moving from page to page smoothly, so fix any links that don't help with that.
Any links to third-party websites that break over time should also be handled. After all, you want to provide your site visitors with an amazing user experience. Furthermore, if the number of broken links on your site starts to rise, Google may lose faith in it.
Images that are broken
When the image link within your HTML code is mistyped, poorly written, or the picture itself is moved or renamed, broken images result. This results in a bad front-end experience and a loss of user confidence. It also appears to be extremely unprofessional. Broken image links are simple to find and correct. However, make sure you have a rigorous QA procedure in place to verify that your photos work properly across a variety of devices and browsers.
HTTPS
Website security is critical for both users and search engines. Make sure your site is SSL-encrypted and uses the HTTPS protocol for hosting. Duplicates should be resolved using the HTTPS version of the UR.
Content that is duplicated
Because duplicate content can be created in a variety of ways, it's never safe to assume you've manually captured every case. Use a crawling tool to check for duplicate material across the site, and Copyscape to ensure that none of your new content is too similar to that found on another indexed page. The latter is possible as a result of auto-populated manufacturer descriptions on ecommerce product pages.
Attributes for links
In an effort to combat spam, Google developed the "nofollow" link property about 15 years ago. This characteristic is still useful and widely used today.
Google, on the other hand, implemented two new related link properties in September 2019: rel="sponsored" and rel="ugc" to better address the handling of diverse types of connections. Google's description of how and when to use each characteristic is as follows:
rel=”sponsored”: To identify links on your site that were established as part of adverts, sponsorships, or other compensation agreements, use the sponsored attribute.
rel=”ugc”: The ugc property value is recommended for links within user generated content, such as comments and forum posts. UGC stands for User Generated Content.
rel=”nofollow”: Use this property when you wish to link to a page but don't want to suggest any kind of endorsement, such as giving another page ranking credit.
Data that is organised (schema markup)
Rich snippets help your website stand out in the SERPs by providing Google with additional information to display. There are many different sorts of markup, so pick the ones that are a) most useful for your audience and b) on par with (or better than) what your competitors are using. Structured data is also vital in keyword research: if the top results for your keyword targets utilise a specific markup, you should use it as well.
Mobile-friendliness
A mobile-friendly test is the final technical component to include in your SEO checklist. Google is a mobile-first company, and you should be, too. Mobile-first indexing means that all of the material you want indexed in search should be available on your site's mobile version. (This implies that if you have content on your desktop site that doesn't exist on mobile, it won't be indexed for search results on either desktop or mobile.) Of course, smartphone friendliness across the board is also critical. Double-check that your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate.
Keyword research checklist
Topics are next on our SEO to-do list. The initial stage in keyword research is to develop a list of website seed keywords based on your relevant topic and query suggestions. Your final list will only be as excellent as your seed list, so gather as many ideas as possible. Google's Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs are excellent places to start.
When evaluating new terms to target, keep in mind important data like search traffic and keyword difficulty.
Keywords that should be used as a starting point
Primary keywords are the most important or highest-opportunity keywords for which you want your content to rank. These are typically terms with a high Google search traffic, as well as those that are most directly related to your products/services and your target audience's problems. Your primary keywords should also contain the ones that will bring you the most money.
Keywords with a long tail
Long-tail keywords are highly precise keywords with low search volume and competition. In other words, because the queries are either very narrow keywords or people phrase their searches in a variety of ways, each inquiry is only searched a few times every month. High-quality content that focuses on long-tail keywords gives your site a long-term SEO boost that grows with each new piece of content you create.
According to an Ahrefs analysis, high volume keywords like "shoes" and "laptop" account for only 0.16 percent of all searches. Long-tail keywords account for 99.84 percent of all keyword variations that users actually search for. If you only focus your SEO efforts on the terms with the largest search volume, you'll be missing out on a lot of potential.
Determine the purpose of your search
When it comes to keyword research, don't just rely on query volume! Based on the stats, you could believe you've discovered the ideal high-opportunity keyword. However, if your landing page does not match the search intent of the phrase, you are unlikely to rank for it.
Even if you were to rank, your page would not correspond to the visitors' objective. As a result of the bad experience, they'll go as soon as the website loads.
A category page will not meet the search intent if you're conducting ecommerce SEO and the top-ranking sites for a certain target term are all informational blog entries. Check the search engine results page (SERP) for all of your goal keywords, and make sure the results on page one are relevant to your target page.
Analyze keywords in relation to the buyer's trip
Make sure your SEO strategy includes ToFu, MoFu, and BoFu, as well as the complete buying funnel. You can segment your audience into the conversion funnel's Awareness, Consideration, and Decision stages. As your audience progresses down the funnel, their needs will shift, and what they're looking for will shift as well. Make a keyword map for each step. The Awareness phase includes search queries relating to general interests, pain spots, and questions. As you move closer to the bottom of the funnel, the keywords will get more brand and product specific.
Analysis of competitor keyword gaps
What keywords do your competitors' sites rank for that yours does not? To uncover these keywords, conduct a competitive keyword gap study and incorporate them into your plan. Your gap analysis can also assist you in identifying opportunities to rank for valuable keywords that your competitors aren't pursuing.
Trends in Search
In addition to checking monthly search traffic numbers, use a tool like Google Trends to see how searches for your target keywords change over time.
You should also be aware of how your keyword research tool presents its findings. Does the tool average out a year's worth of data from month to month? Or are they displaying data from the previous 30 days? The latter can have a significant influence on the keywords you choose. Seasonality has a significant impact on search trends. As a result, it's critical that you consider the trends data in this light. For example, in the winter, the volume of searches for "pool floats" will be lower than in the summer.
Checklist for on-page SEO
In SEO, on-page optimization is critical to dominating the SERPs and gaining organic traffic.
Keyword-to-Page Relationship
Make sure that each of your website's pages is linked to a single target keyword. The more concentrated a page is, the better its chances of ranking in search engine results are. For any search, Google's algorithm is seeking to discover the most relevant and authoritative sites. If your website is unfocused or tries to cover too much area, Google will have a harder time figuring out what it is about and why it is the best result for a specific search.
URLs
Use clear, concise, and easy-to-follow URLs that are SEO-friendly. Maintain a logical framework by keeping them as brief and page-descriptive as feasible. Set the target keyword as far to the left as feasible in the URL.
- www.example.com/category/product is a good example.
- www.example.com/product.aspx?ID=58493&IT=5f7d3d is a bad URL.
- www.example.com/category/sub-category
Titles of pages
Optimize your title tags by prioritising your most important keywords. The title tags are a significant ranking component. Furthermore, keyword optimization is critical. But don't forget to write for clicks. The title tag is the first piece of information a user sees about your site when it appears in the SERPs.
Description of the meta
The meta description of a page is also used to introduce the page in the SERPs. The meta description, much more than the title tag, should be written for clicks. Describe what the page has to offer and include a call to action, such as free delivery. Make your meta description as engaging as possible, much like an advertisement. Although meta tags aren't a direct ranking element, intriguing descriptions that enhance SERP click-through rate can have an impact on your ranks.
Headings
Use header tags to structure your page's content around important keywords. Where possible, incorporate your target term in your H1 tag, as well as multiple H2 and H3 tags. But don't overdo it. Use natural-sounding and easy-to-understand language.
Body text
By naturally scattering keywords throughout the content, you may optimise your body copy. You should include your main phrase, long-tail alternatives, and synonyms as a best practise. However, don't overdo it with keyword stuffing. Instead, duplicate the optimum keyword density of what's already on Google's first page.
Also, don't get caught up in keywords to the point where you forget to convey a tale. Consider how you can add value to your visitors' experience and develop copy that is worth reading. The ultimate goal is to provide a wonderful user experience, not just keyword-infused body text.
On-Page SEO: A Comprehensive Guide on On-Page SEO (2022)
Analysis of competitor content gaps
A content gap analysis is the process of researching a topic in order to learn about the existing content and discover what is lacking. Do you have any unanswered questions, or is the top-ranking information unclear, obsolete, or missing in substance? During a competitor content gap study, you'll use the identical procedure but on the websites of your competitors. What are the topics that your competitors don't go into detail about? What are the needs of your target audience that aren't being met? With your own content strategy, you may fill in the blanks.
Content that has been optimised
Among all the other on-page SEO elements, your body content is simply the tip of the iceberg. A plan for providing consistent, helpful, and shareable content in a variety of media is part of a solid SEO strategy. This increases the amount of opportunities for your content to rank in search engines (e.g., blog post, YouTube video, SlideShare, podcast, infographic, news, etc.). It also takes into account your audience's various learning styles.
With each item you generate, your content strategy should cover the full buying funnel, allowing you to have ongoing discussions with your audience and expanding your net of visitors.
Pillar pages and topic groupings
Using pillar and cluster pages, establish content clusters around a few priority subjects. We go over just what subject clusters are in this section.
In a nutshell, they consist of a large pillar page that provides a high-level overview of a topic and touches on several subtopics. Each subtopic in the post has a link to a cluster page, which is a more in-depth article on the subject. The cluster page then links back to its parent pillar page, as you might expect.
Additional information related to the main issue will increase your site's overall authority on the subject.
Optimized blog
Do you have a blog SEO plan in place? A blog is a dynamic platform that may host a variety of information, including posts, videos, tips, and infographics, as well as quick company updates. Maintain yours by knowing the target keyword for each post and creating content that outperforms the top-ranking material for that keyword. Use categories and tags judiciously for organisational purposes while also improving your optimization linked with such tags.
When you write in-depth content every week, it's easy to overlook important tasks. To keep organised, use a blog post seo checklist.
Check for thin content
Crawl your site with a tool like Moz or Screaming Frog to identify pages with less than 150 words of content. Then carefully review the material to see if it fulfils the user's requirements. It's time to enhance, delete, or condense thin content that lacks depth or substance.
Internal linking is a term that refers to a link between two
Internal linking makes your site architecture more SEO-friendly by allowing crawlers and people to explore adjacent pages.
Rather than jamming links into your body copy, place them where they will be naturally beneficial to the user. Make sure to provide meaningful anchor text and that the links are followed. Internal links come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so learn how each one benefits both your users and search engines.
Optimization of images
Use keywords in the file names and alt tags of your images. Alt text explains what visual information is about to search engines and vision-impaired users, and it can help them rank in Google Image search. However, don't overdo it with keyword stuffing. Try to be as descriptive as possible while also using keywords and synonyms.
Large image assets that can slow down a page must also be optimised.
Backlinks are only a small part of off-page SEO. It's also about using digital PR and social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn to raise brand awareness. Unlinked mentions aren't as useful as backlinks, but they do give Google information about your brand's trustworthiness.
Creation of links
The goal of Google is to have the best, most authoritative, relevant, and trustworthy material on the first page. Backlinks are one method it assesses whether material is authoritative and trustworthy. Backlinks from high-quality websites indicate Google that your content is popular and valuable, and that it is deserving of a spot on Google's first page.
So, how can you get other websites to talk about you, connect to you, and build vital trust signals in order to improve your SEO? In your link-building strategy, prioritise both quality and quantity. However, if you must choose one, make sure it is of high quality. Link building should be a key component of your SEO strategy because it can significantly improve your PageRank, especially for new pages.
Recovery of links
Check your website's backlink profile for broken inbound links using a service like Ahrefs or Majestic. These arise when the linked website shares the incorrect URL, or when you move or delete pages on your site over time. Because a direct link is more valuable than a redirect, reach out to the referring website and ask if they can fix the broken link. They will frequently do so gladly. Redirect the link if you can't connect with anyone at the connected website.
PR
Work together with your PR team to get the most out of their efforts in terms of SEO. Coach them on link-building best practises and show them how to use SEO tools to make their job easier. The SEO team can also handle link prospecting and forward the data to the PR team for strategy and outreach.
Bylines
To establish thought leadership, publish byline articles and guest posts on relevant blogs and industry resources. The links to your website from the articles' bylines will help you build a stronger backlink profile and increase the authority of your website. If the newspaper allows it, you can even insert a backlink to your site in the article's body material if it's contextually appropriate.
Choose a few people from your company to be the face of this type of work. Keep the strategy scalable by delegating the actual writing and outreach for busy company players to the content and PR teams. Simply have your CEO approve and sign off on the work if she is the face of your byline articles, for example.
Social networking
Individually, social media links do not have the same weight as traditional inbound links. Nonetheless, they send out critical trust signals. Include alternatives for social sharing in your material.
Meet your audience on their preferred channels and give them a reason to interact with and share your content. Respond to all comments and participate in the dialogues your audience is having as much as possible.
Partnerships with influencers
Collaborate with micro-influencers who can help you reach your target audience. Examine the level of engagement on an influencer's posts before agreeing to work with them to ensure that their other stats aren't inflated by bought bots. Make a list of your KPIs ahead of time. Also, decide whether you want to increase awareness, conversions, or both.
Partnerships in business
Make use of your existing strategic ties to establish links. On your partner's blog, guest post or conduct a Q&A, run a cross-promotion, or co-produce shareable content with your partner. Educate your business development staff (or whoever interacts with your company's partners) on SEO best practises so they can notice these chances.
Partnerships in digital marketing
Your company partners aren't your sole choice for co-producing content. Collaborate with any firm with whom you'd be pleased to share the spotlight by hosting a webinar or creating a large piece of content. During outreach, you'll be able to exchange production resources and gain access to one other's audiences. Think about your company's digital marketing objectives and ideals. And just look at brands that are similar to yours.
Business directories
Get listed in industry directories, resources, and vertical search engines that are relevant to you. List your physical locations on local review sites if you have them. Use the websites that people actually read and use, and aim for high-quality, engaged traffic rather than just a link. Avoid directories that are spammy, low-quality, or irrelevant.
Reviews
Respond to each review that your company receives on third-party platforms. Express gratitude for favourable feedback and thoughtfully reply to any bad feedback. Confirm the customer's complaints. And kindly dispel any misunderstandings or explain what you'll be doing to remedy the issue in the future.
Reputation management – evaluate the results of a brand search
When it comes to reviews, how do the search results for your brand seem when you Google it? Plan your online reputation management approach if your brand's top search inquiries return poor press and negative reviews. Improve the SERPs' voice and opinion balance, and move those bad results off page one.
Disavow external links
Shady link-building techniques won't cut it any longer: purchased links, link farms, low-quality blogs, and directories are all bad for your SEO. Start cleaning up and removing links from spammy (or terrifying) websites from your backlink profile. If at all feasible, contact the connecting website and request that the link be removed manually. Then, in a disavow list that you'll submit to Google, add the remaining harmful links.
Rank tracking SEO reporting checklist
Tracking and reporting should be the final components of a reliable SEO checklist. This keeps your team informed about your work and allows you to immediately resolve any issues that occur. It also aids in the development of a common language among your various divisions and senior executives.
Track your priority keyword rankings in search engines to get a better idea of how your site is performing in the SERPs. When you're just on the border of page one for a high-volume keyword, rankings can also help you spot chances for further page optimization.
Link surveillance
On a monthly basis, keep track of new, lost, and regained links. Take note of the links that are delivering the most traffic to your site so that you may incorporate similar websites into your outreach campaign.
SEO dashboards and metrics
Reporting dashboards are a terrific method to keep track of your most important SEO indicators in one location. Using Google Data Studio, Domo, DashThis, Klipfolio, or TapClicks, create a marketing dashboard. You should also construct customised dashboards for individual stakeholders based on the data they require.
Establish your KPIs early on, and make sure that each dashboard contains all of the indicators you'll use to assess your progress.