SEO Checklists

Ready-to-use checklists for common SEO tasks.

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Site Launch Checklist

Pre-Launch

Domain & Hosting
□ Domain registered (brandable .com)
□ Quality hosting configured
□ SSL certificate installed
□ CDN configured (Cloudflare)

WordPress Setup
□ WordPress installed
□ Fast theme installed (GeneratePress/Astra/Kadence)
□ RankMath or Yoast configured
□ Caching plugin active
□ Image optimization plugin active

Essential Pages
□ Homepage
□ About page (with E-E-A-T signals)
□ Contact page
□ Privacy Policy
□ Terms of Service
□ Affiliate Disclosure

Technical Checks
□ Permalinks set to /post-name/
□ Robots.txt configured
□ XML sitemap generated
□ 404 page customized
□ Mobile responsive verified

Launch Day

□ Google Analytics installed
□ Google Search Console connected
□ Sitemap submitted to GSC
□ Bing Webmaster Tools connected
□ Social media profiles created
□ First 10+ articles published
□ Internal linking complete
□ All images optimized
□ Core Web Vitals passing

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Content Publishing Checklist

Before Writing

□ Keyword researched and selected
□ Search intent analyzed
□ Top 5 competitors reviewed
□ Content brief created
□ Target word count determined
□ Outline approved

During Writing

□ H1 contains primary keyword
□ Keyword in first 100 words
□ Proper H2/H3 hierarchy
□ Short paragraphs (2-4 sentences)
□ Bullet points and lists used
□ Original insights included
□ Specific examples/data provided
□ Images planned for key sections

Before Publishing

On-Page SEO
□ Meta title optimized (50-60 chars)
□ Meta description compelling (150-160 chars)
□ URL slug clean and short
□ Primary keyword in H1
□ Related keywords naturally included
□ Schema markup added (if applicable)

Content Quality
□ Spelling/grammar checked
□ Facts verified
□ E-E-A-T signals present
□ Author bio attached
□ Surfer score 80+ (if using)

Media
□ Featured image set
□ All images compressed
□ Alt text on all images
□ Images have width/height set

Links
□ 3-5 internal links added
□ External links to authoritative sources
□ Affiliate links with disclosure (if applicable)
□ No broken links

Final Checks
□ Mobile preview looks good
□ Page loads fast
□ CTA is clear (for money pages)
□ Related posts linked

After Publishing

□ Share on social media
□ Submit URL to GSC for indexing
□ Add to internal link rotation
□ Schedule content update reminder (6-12 months)

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On-Page SEO Checklist

Title Tag
□ Primary keyword included
□ 50-60 characters
□ Compelling/click-worthy
□ Unique across site

Meta Description
□ Primary keyword included
□ 150-160 characters
□ Includes call-to-action
□ Unique across site

URL
□ Contains primary keyword
□ Short and descriptive
□ No stop words
□ Lowercase with hyphens

Content
□ H1 with primary keyword
□ Proper heading hierarchy (H1→H2→H3)
□ Keyword in first 100 words
□ Related keywords included naturally
□ 2000+ words for competitive topics
□ Unique, valuable content

Images
□ Descriptive file names
□ Alt text with keywords where natural
□ Compressed/optimized
□ Next-gen format (WebP)

Internal Links
□ 3-5 contextual internal links
□ Descriptive anchor text
□ Links to related content
□ Links from related content

User Experience
□ Fast loading (< 3 seconds)
□ Mobile-friendly
□ Easy to read/scan
□ Clear CTAs

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Technical SEO Audit Checklist

Crawlability

□ Robots.txt not blocking important pages
□ XML sitemap exists and is updated
□ No orphan pages (all pages have internal links)
□ Crawl budget not wasted on low-value pages
□ No infinite crawl loops
□ Pagination handled properly

Indexation

□ Important pages are indexed (site:yoursite.com)
□ No accidental noindex tags
□ Canonical tags properly set
□ No duplicate content issues
□ Index bloat addressed (noindex thin pages)
□ GSC shows no indexing errors

Site Speed

□ LCP < 2.5 seconds
□ INP < 200ms
□ CLS < 0.1
□ Images optimized
□ CSS/JS minified
□ Browser caching enabled
□ CDN configured
□ Server response time < 200ms

Mobile

□ Mobile-friendly test passed
□ No content hidden on mobile
□ Touch targets adequate (48px)
□ Text readable without zooming
□ No intrusive interstitials
□ Viewport configured correctly

Security

□ HTTPS enabled site-wide
□ No mixed content warnings
□ Security headers configured
□ No malware/hacked content

Structured Data

□ Organization schema on homepage
□ Article schema on blog posts
□ Product schema on product pages
□ FAQ schema where applicable
□ Breadcrumb schema
□ No schema errors in testing tool

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Link Building Outreach Checklist

Before Outreach

□ Target site has real traffic (check Ahrefs/Similarweb)
□ Domain Rating 30+ (preferably 50+)
□ Site is topically relevant
□ Not a link farm (reasonable # of outbound links)
□ Real editorial standards visible
□ Contact email found
□ Editor/author name identified

Email Checklist

□ Personalized greeting (correct name)
□ Reference to specific article/content
□ Clear value proposition
□ Specific topic/keyword offered
□ Professional signature
□ Working link to your site
□ No spammy language
□ Follow-up scheduled

After Acceptance

□ Content delivered on time
□ Content matches agreed requirements
□ Links included as discussed
□ No over-optimized anchor text
□ Content quality high
□ Images provided if needed
□ Follow-up after publication
□ Link tracked in spreadsheet

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Monthly SEO Maintenance Checklist

Rankings & Traffic
□ Check keyword rankings
□ Review organic traffic trends
□ Identify pages losing traffic
□ Find quick-win opportunities (positions 5-15)

Content
□ Update one outdated article
□ Add internal links to new content
□ Remove/consolidate thin content
□ Check for broken links

Technical
□ Review GSC for errors
□ Check Core Web Vitals
□ Verify new pages indexed
□ Check mobile usability report

Links
□ Review new backlinks
□ Disavow any spam links
□ Track link building progress
□ Update anchor text spreadsheet

Competitive
□ Check competitor traffic changes
□ Note new competitor content
□ Identify content gaps

Revenue (if applicable)
□ Review affiliate earnings by article
□ Optimize underperforming pages
□ Test new monetization opportunities

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Algorithm Update Response Checklist

Immediate (Day 1)
□ Confirm update timing vs traffic drop
□ Document traffic loss (pages, keywords)
□ Check GSC for manual actions
□ Check if site-wide or section-specific

Analysis (Week 1)
□ Identify most affected content
□ Audit content quality (E-E-A-T)
□ Review link profile for issues
□ Compare to competitors' performance

Action Plan (Week 2+)
□ Prioritize fixes by impact
□ Begin content improvements
□ Address technical issues
□ Start brand building if needed

Monitoring (Ongoing)
□ Track changes weekly
□ Document all actions taken
□ Prepare for next update cycle
□ Adjust strategy as needed