Complete SEO Checklist

Ensure robots.txt is present and correctly disallows sensitive directories.

Submit XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Verify site is fully secure (HTTPS) and redirects HTTP traffic.

Achieve 90+ score on Google PageSpeed Insights for desktop.

Achieve 80+ score on Google PageSpeed Insights for mobile.

Ensure all pages have self-referencing canonical tags to prevent duplicate content.

Implement Schema.org markup (Organization, Website, Breadcrumb).

Create a helpful 404 page with navigation links.

Add hreflang tags for multilingual content or self-referencing hreflang for single-language sites.

Use GSC URL Inspection tool to confirm Googlebot can fully render JavaScript-heavy pages.

Identify and fix 3xx → 3xx redirect chains. Each hop wastes crawl budget and dilutes link equity.

Noindex thin pages, block faceted navigation, and consolidate parameters to maximize crawl efficiency.

Analyze server logs to understand Googlebot crawl patterns, frequency, and wasted crawl budget.

Implement IndexNow API to instantly notify Bing and Yandex when pages are created or updated.

Largest Contentful Paint must load within 2.5 seconds. Optimize images, server response, and render-blocking resources.

Interaction to Next Paint must be under 200ms. Optimize event handlers, reduce main thread blocking, and defer non-critical JS.

Cumulative Layout Shift must stay below 0.1. Set image dimensions, avoid dynamic content injection above the fold.

Implement HSTS, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options headers.

Target informational queries with well-structured content. AI Overviews now appear on roughly 20-50% of US queries depending on query type and measurement method (Semrush, BrightEdge, 2025-2026).

Increase schema markup density across all pages. Many AI systems parse structured data to understand entities, though schema alone is not a guaranteed citation lever.

Generate a sitemap using <image:image> tags (max 1,000 per page), submit it in Google Search Console, and confirm your CDN domain is recognized.

Crawl the full site as Googlebot Smartphone and export reports for missing alt text, missing image dimensions, broken links, and duplicate titles.

Configure your image CDN (Cloudinary, ImageKit, Imgix, or Bunny) to auto-serve WebP/AVIF based on browser support, removing manual conversion work.

Embed C2PA content credentials in AI-generated images so Google's 'About this image' panel can disclose how they were created.

Google's 'good' TTFB threshold is under 800ms; aim well below it, ideally toward ~200ms, using a CDN, query optimization, and aggressive caching. Critical for crawl efficiency on large sites.

Configure GA4 events for scroll depth, file downloads, outbound link clicks, form submissions, and video plays to measure engagement signals.

Monitor your target keywords weekly in Google Search Console or a rank tracker, and flag SERP feature wins (featured snippets, PAA, AI citations).

Ensure every page has a unique, keyword-optimized title tag (50-60 chars).

Write compelling meta descriptions for all pages (150-160 chars).

Use exactly one H1 tag per page including primary keywords.

Use logical header hierarchy for content structure.

Compress images (WebP) and ensure descriptive filenames.

Add descriptive alt text to all informative images.

Link relevant pages to each other using descriptive anchor text.

Review top pages for thin, duplicate, or outdated content.

Ensure each page targets a primary keyword and secondary variations.

Add FAQPage JSON-LD to pages with FAQ sections. Google deprecated FAQ rich results in 2023 and schema alone shows minimal direct AI Overview lift, so the real payoff is the clean Q&A format, which AI systems extract more readily than long body prose.

Add Article or BlogPosting JSON-LD schema with headline, datePublished, dateModified, and author.

Add Organization JSON-LD with name, logo, URL, contactPoint, and social profile sameAs links.

Implement BreadcrumbList JSON-LD on all pages. Enhances SERP appearance with navigational breadcrumbs.

Add WebSite JSON-LD with SearchAction to enable the sitelinks search box in Google results.

Write concise 40-60 word direct answers after each H2 heading to target featured snippet positions.

Verify each page matches user intent (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional) for its target keywords.

Add author bios with credentials, link to LinkedIn profiles, cite sources, and show first-hand experience.

Review all content pages for stale statistics, outdated dates, and deprecated information. Update or remove.

Optimize top pages for featured snippets using tables, numbered lists, and concise definition paragraphs.

Research PAA questions for your keywords and add corresponding Q&A sections to relevant pages.

Verify logical heading flow (H1 → H2 → H3) on all pages. No skipped levels, no multiple H1s.

Pages with very low word counts (e.g. under ~300 words) are often a sign of thin content. Review these and either expand, consolidate, or noindex them. There is no official Google word-count minimum; treat this as a heuristic, not a rule.

Check for multiple pages targeting the same keyword. Consolidate or differentiate to avoid self-competition.

Compare your keyword coverage against top competitors. Identify topics they rank for that you don't cover.

Format complex information as HTML tables, ordered lists, and definition blocks. AI Overviews prefer extractable formats.

Add FAQ sections with clear question-answer format and schema markup. The clean Q&A format makes content easier for AI Overviews to extract.

Create a 3,000+ word pillar page on a broad head term and 3-5 spoke articles targeting long-tail keywords, all interlinked with descriptive anchor text.

Add a jump-link table of contents to every page over 1,500 words. Improves scannability for users and section parsing for AI.

Restructure long-form content so each section under an H2/H3 is a self-contained block of ~375 words (500 tokens) for cleaner AI retrieval and embedding.

Document real client results with specific before/after numbers and the process used. Demonstrates first-hand experience for E-E-A-T.

Convert one core research asset (survey, data study) into an FAQ article, statistics roundup, how-to guide, comparison, and trend analysis to maximize coverage.

Review high-converting, high-CPC queries from your paid search campaigns and create organic content targeting the ones you don't yet rank for.

Implement Product JSON-LD (with AggregateRating where applicable) including an image array of front, back, side, detail, and lifestyle shots for rich results.

Use Google's Lighthouse or PageSpeed Insights for mobile usability testing (the standalone Mobile-Friendly Test was retired in 2023).

Verify <meta name='viewport' content='width=device-width, initial-scale=1'> is set on every page.

Ensure all buttons and links are at least 48x48px with adequate spacing. Small tap targets frustrate mobile users.

Separately test and pass Core Web Vitals on mobile. Mobile thresholds are often harder to hit than desktop.

Use 16px+ base font size for body text. Smaller fonts trigger mobile usability warnings in GSC.

Test hamburger menu, sticky headers, and bottom navigation on real devices. Ensure all pages are reachable in 3 taps.

Pass LCP, INP, and CLS thresholds. (INP replaced FID as a Core Web Vital in March 2024.)

Run an accessibility audit (Lighthouse, axe). Fix critical issues: alt text, ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, focus management.

Ensure all text meets WCAG AA contrast ratios (4.5:1 for body text, 3:1 for large text). Use WebAIM Contrast Checker.

Ensure every page is reachable within 3 clicks from the homepage. Deep pages get less crawl priority and fewer visits.

Audit call-to-action buttons for visibility, contrast, and above-fold placement on key landing pages.

Ensure the 404 page includes a search bar, popular links, and navigation back to key sections. Don't dead-end users.

Implement skeleton screens or loading placeholders to reduce perceived load time and prevent layout shifts.

Claim and optimize Google Business Profile if applicable.

Verify Name, Address, Phone number is identical across all directories, citations, and social profiles.

Fill every GBP field: hours, services, attributes, products, description, Q&A. Completeness improves local ranking.

Upload at least 10 high-quality photos (exterior, interior, team, products). Google reports that listings with photos get 42% more direction requests.

Publish Google Posts weekly with offers, events, or updates. Posts expire after 7 days, so consistency matters.

Implement a system to request reviews from customers and respond to all reviews (positive and negative) within 24 hours.

Build citations on Yelp, BBB, industry-specific directories, and local business associations. Consistency is critical.

Choose the single most specific primary category in Google Business Profile. The primary category is one of the strongest local ranking factors.

Link website on all social media profiles.

Audit backlinks with Ahrefs or GSC. Identify and disavow toxic, spammy, or irrelevant links.

Use Ahrefs/SEMrush to find sites linking to competitors but not you. Target those domains for outreach.

Create original research, data studies, or tools that naturally attract backlinks from industry publications.

Contribute expert articles to industry publications. Focus on sites with DR 40+ and relevant audiences.

Monitor unlinked brand mentions and request link additions. Use Google Alerts or Ahrefs Alerts.

Compare your DA/DR against the top 10 competitors for your primary keywords. Set realistic growth targets.

Ensure backlink anchor text is varied (branded, naked URL, generic, keyword). Over-optimization triggers penalties.

Track new vs lost referring domains monthly. Healthy sites show consistent growth, not sudden spikes or drops.

Promote content through social media, newsletters, and communities. Social shares correlate with backlink acquisition.

Submit to relevant industry directories and resource pages. Focus on niche-specific, high-authority directories.

Build entity presence on Wikipedia, Wikidata, and Crunchbase. AI systems often treat these as authoritative entity sources.

Contribute to academic publications, industry reports, and expert roundups. Citations across multiple reputable platforms tend to correlate with stronger AI visibility.

Answer relevant media requests on platforms like Source of Sources, Featured, or Help a B2B Writer to earn authoritative editorial backlinks.

Find dead links on relevant high-authority pages and offer your equivalent content as the replacement to the site owner.

Conduct interviews with named, credentialed experts and embed their quotes (with title and affiliation) to add original authority signals.

Query ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini with several variations of your brand/product questions, log factual errors, and publish corrective content for the wrong sources.

Test your top 20 keywords each month on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. Log which sources get cited and in what format.