SEO Checklist

Nothing else on this list matters while a search engine cannot reach the page or is being told to ignore it.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Important pages return 200 and are not noindex

  A noindex tag left over from staging removes a page from search entirely, and it is invisible to everyone except a crawler.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for Important pages return 200 and are not noindex
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  robots.txt does not block anything you want found

  A blanket Disallow blocks the crawl, and a blocked page cannot show its canonical, its redirect or its noindex.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for robots.txt does not block anything you want found
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  CSS and JavaScript are crawlable

  Blocking them makes the rendered page look different to a crawler than it does to a visitor.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for CSS and JavaScript are crawlable
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  An XML sitemap lists only canonical, indexable, 200 pages

  Listing redirects, 404s or noindex pages teaches a crawler that the sitemap is unreliable.

  Note for An XML sitemap lists only canonical, indexable, 200 pages
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The sitemap is declared in robots.txt and submitted in Search Console

  Submission is how you find out which URLs were accepted and which were not.

  Note for The sitemap is declared in robots.txt and submitted in Search Console
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Every page has a self-referencing canonical

  Without one, query strings and trailing-slash variants can compete with each other for the same content.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for Every page has a self-referencing canonical
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  One host wins: www or non-www, HTTP redirects to HTTPS

  Four reachable versions of a homepage split every signal that page earns.

  Note for One host wins: www or non-www, HTTP redirects to HTTPS
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Redirects are single hops, not chains

  Each extra hop costs time and gives another chance for the chain to break.

  Note for Redirects are single hops, not chains
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Removed pages return 404 or 410, not a redirect to the homepage

  Redirecting a retired page to something unrelated is treated as a soft 404 and keeps the URL alive longer, not shorter.

  Note for Removed pages return 404 or 410, not a redirect to the homepage

The parts a browser and a crawler both depend on, and that tend to break quietly after a migration.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  HTTPS is valid, current, and covers every hostname in use

  An expired or mismatched certificate stops visitors before the page loads.

  Check it with the DNS & Email Health Checker ↗Note for HTTPS is valid, current, and covers every hostname in use
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  DNS resolves consistently and mail authentication is configured

  It does not affect ranking, but a site whose forms silently fail to deliver has a bigger problem than ranking.

  Check it with the DNS & Email Health Checker ↗Note for DNS resolves consistently and mail authentication is configured
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The page works on a phone, not just a narrow window

  Mobile is what most people actually see, and it is what indexing is based on.

  Note for The page works on a phone, not just a narrow window
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  No horizontal scrolling at common phone widths

  A page that scrolls sideways usually means content is cut off, not that it is wide.

  Note for No horizontal scrolling at common phone widths
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Internal links do not point at redirects or 404s

  Every broken internal link is a path you meant a visitor to take and they cannot.

  Check it with the Full Site Audit ↗Note for Internal links do not point at redirects or 404s
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The page renders without console errors that break content

  Content that only appears after a failed script does not exist for anyone.

  Note for The page renders without console errors that break content

What a specific page says it is about, in the places a search engine reads first.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  One title per page, unique across the site, written for the query

  Two pages sharing a title usually means two pages competing for the same search.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for One title per page, unique across the site, written for the query
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  A meta description that describes the page in about 150 characters

  Past roughly 155 characters the end is cut off, so the useful part should come first.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for A meta description that describes the page in about 150 characters
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Exactly one H1, and it matches what the page is actually about

  Two H1s usually mean a template heading and a content heading are both claiming the page.

  Note for Exactly one H1, and it matches what the page is actually about
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Headings describe sections in order, without skipping levels for styling

  Heading order is how both a screen reader and a crawler follow the structure.

  Note for Headings describe sections in order, without skipping levels for styling
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The URL is readable and stable

  A URL that changes loses everything the old one earned unless the redirect is kept forever.

  Note for The URL is readable and stable
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The page answers the search it targets in the first screen

  A visitor who has to scroll to find out whether they are in the right place usually leaves instead.

  Note for The page answers the search it targets in the first screen
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The page links to the next useful page, with descriptive anchor text

  Internal links are the only part of link building you fully control.

  Note for The page links to the next useful page, with descriptive anchor text
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Content images have descriptive alt text and explicit width and height

  Alt text is the content for anyone who cannot see the image; dimensions stop the page jumping while it loads.

  Note for Content images have descriptive alt text and explicit width and height

The part no tool can score for you, and the part that decides whether any of the rest pays off.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  One page per genuine topic, not several near-duplicates

  Pages targeting the same query take turns ranking instead of one of them ranking well.

  Note for One page per genuine topic, not several near-duplicates
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Claims are specific and true, and numbers have a source

  Invented statistics are the fastest way to lose a reader who knows the subject.

  Note for Claims are specific and true, and numbers have a source
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The page contains something only you could have written

  Restating what is already on the first page of results gives nobody a reason to prefer yours.

  Note for The page contains something only you could have written
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Anything time-sensitive is either current or dated honestly

  An undated stale page is worse than a dated one, because the reader cannot tell.

  Note for Anything time-sensitive is either current or dated honestly
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  It is clear who wrote it and why they would know

  For advice with consequences, the reader is judging the source as much as the text.

  Note for It is clear who wrote it and why they would know
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  No padding written to reach a word count

  Length is a symptom of a thorough answer, never a cause of one.

  Note for No padding written to reach a word count

Machine-readable statements about the page. Useful when true, actively harmful when not.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  JSON-LD parses and uses types that match the page

  A block that fails to parse is ignored entirely, and nothing warns you.

  Check it with the SEO Audit ↗Note for JSON-LD parses and uses types that match the page
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Structured data only states what is visible on the page

  Marking up content a visitor cannot see is what most manual actions for structured data are about.

  Note for Structured data only states what is visible on the page
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  BreadcrumbList reflects the real hierarchy

  It is the one enhancement that changes how the URL itself is displayed in results.

  Note for BreadcrumbList reflects the real hierarchy
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  One consistent Organization or Person, with real sameAs profiles

  Conflicting identity blocks across pages make the entity harder to resolve, not easier.

  Note for One consistent Organization or Person, with real sameAs profiles
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  No review, rating or FAQ markup that is not genuinely on the page

  Fabricated ratings are a policy violation, not a shortcut.

  Note for No review, rating or FAQ markup that is not genuinely on the page

How the page behaves while it loads. Measure it before changing anything.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The main content appears quickly on a mid-range phone

  Lab numbers on a fast laptop hide almost every real loading problem.

  Note for The main content appears quickly on a mid-range phone
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Nothing moves after the page appears

  Late-loading images without dimensions, and scripts that inject content above the fold, are the usual causes.

  Note for Nothing moves after the page appears
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The first tap responds without a visible delay

  Long tasks during load are what make an interface feel broken rather than slow.

  Note for The first tap responds without a visible delay
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Images are sized and compressed for how they are actually displayed

  A hero image served at three times its display size is usually the single largest download on a page.

  Note for Images are sized and compressed for how they are actually displayed
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Web fonts do not hide or reflow text while they load

  font-display controls whether a visitor waits for text or reads it immediately.

  Note for Web fonts do not hide or reflow text while they load

Without this you cannot tell whether anything on this list worked.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Search Console is verified and the sitemap is submitted

  It is the only source that shows the queries you actually appeared for.

  Note for Search Console is verified and the sitemap is submitted
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Analytics is installed once, fires on the right pages, and respects consent

  Two tags on one page double every number you are about to make decisions with.

  Check it with the GA4 / GTM Tracking Checker ↗Note for Analytics is installed once, fires on the right pages, and respects consent
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  The action that matters is tracked as a conversion

  Sessions rise and fall for reasons nobody controls; enquiries are the number worth defending.

  Check it with the Landing Page Conversion Auditor ↗Note for The action that matters is tracked as a conversion
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  A baseline is recorded before changes ship

  Without one, every later movement gets attributed to whatever you happened to do most recently.

  Note for A baseline is recorded before changes ship
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Queries and pages are reviewed on a schedule, not after a panic

  Position data is noisy week to week and only becomes readable over a longer window.

  Note for Queries and pages are reviewed on a schedule, not after a panic

The parts other people control. Included because leaving them out makes the rest look more decisive than it is.

• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Business name, address and phone are consistent wherever they appear

  Conflicting details across profiles make an entity harder to confirm.

  Note for Business name, address and phone are consistent wherever they appear
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Real profiles you control are linked from the site and link back

  This is identity confirmation, not link building.

  Note for Real profiles you control are linked from the site and link back
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  Links are earned through work worth citing, not bought

  Paid link schemes are a policy violation, and the cheap ones are the easiest to detect.

  Note for Links are earned through work worth citing, not bought
• Mark done—Mark not applicable

  People can find you by name

  Brand demand is the one search signal a competitor cannot outbid you for.

  Note for People can find you by name