Marketers seem to preach SEO like it’s gospel. And honestly…
We do, too. Here’s why.
Ignoring SEO would be like covering up the signs in front of your store. It would be like hiding behind your desk every time a potential client walked in. It would be like playing ding-dong-ditch as a door-to-door salesperson.
What I’m trying to get at is that SEO makes it possible for your business to be seen. And you probably know that. However, we understand that it can seem like an overwhelming process.
Breaking search engine optimization down into simple points is the best way to climb the mountain. This SEO checklist will empower you to begin the journey.
Start simple.
Getting set up is half the battle. Without the proper tools, you can’t create the best version of your site or check in on your progress later.
Google Search Console
Connecting your site to Google Search Console should be one of the first things you do. GSC shows you impressions, clicks, queries (keywords), and rankings for your pages. You’ll need it to keep up with your progress and make plans for improvement.
Google Analytics
Along with GSC, Google Analytics will be one of your most powerful tools. You can track site goals, see where your web traffic is coming from, get a visitor count, and more.
SEO plugin
This is for my WordPress people. Get a plugin that helps you build important SEO features into every post and page. These plugins ensure you have the right metadata and can even rate your content before you publish.
Sitemap
A sitemap makes it easier for search engines to comprehend your site. You can put it in your robots.txt file or submit it right to Google Search Console.
Robots.txt file
The robots.txt file goes on the back end of your site and tells search engines which pages to index and which to not touch.
Index
When your pages are indexed, that means search engines can “see” them. Your robots.txt file will help with this, but you can also submit pages to Google for indexing manually on Google Search Console.
Do your research.
Before you fill your site with content, keyword research will help you create an actionable strategy. Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, and others are good places to start.
Main keywords
Now it’s time for some reverse engineering. Think about the main topic(s) of your site. What would a user search for that would get them to that topic? Do some brainstorming, then back it up by running the keywords you come up with through an SEO tool. You may confirm your hunches, or you could find even better words with even higher search volumes.
Competition
Check out your competitors. How are their sites structured? What keywords are they ranking for? What’s the word count on their top-performing pages? Do a deep dive into their websites and what makes them work. It will give you ideas — and show you what you need to beat.
Long-tail keywords
These are longer phrases with lower monthly search volumes that usually also have lower keyword difficulties (see below). Often, long-tail keywords are important questions that users ask concerning the subjects you cover on your site. Add these to the mix to round out your SEO strategy and lessen your reliance on your bigger keywords.
Keyword difficulty
Your main keywords may fit your topic well, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to rank for them. SEO tools will show you the “keyword difficulty” for various phrases. This is usually on a scale of zero to 100, where 0 is very easy to rank for and 100 is nearly impossible to rank for. Knowing these ratings for each of your keywords helps you form a realistic plan.
For example, if your top then keywords all have keyword difficulty ratings in the 90s, you may have to reassess your strategy to make ranking more feasible.
Keyword goals
What is the intent behind your keywords? If a user gets to your site after searching for a specific term, what action do you want them to take? Figure this out and you will choose better keywords and create better content later on.
Get technical.
When most people think of SEO, they think of content. But the technical SEO can make or break your ability to rank.
HTTPS
Get your SSL certificate to make your site secure. Usually, you do this through your hosting platform. It changes your “HTTP” into an “HTTPS,” telling search engines that your site is safe for users.
Errors
Some search engines may run into trouble crawling your website. Make sure all of the backend aspects are running smoothly.
Structured data
The structured data of your site is special code written for search engines. The code tells the search engine how to display your content and give it a reason to put you on the first page instead of the second or third.
Broken links
Some links on your site — whether they are internal or they link to other sites — may not work correctly. Be vigilant about checking this. In WordPress, there are plugins that check for broken links and help you fix them.
Site speed
The faster your site loads, the more search engines will like it. Large images, complicated redirects, and too many files on a page can make things slower. Keep the loading speed as low as possible and test it frequently. Aim for less than two seconds.
Mobile
Your site should be optimized for mobile use. Search engines prefer mobile-first sites, because a large amount of consumers are searching on their smartphones.
Images
All your images should have alt text that includes the keyword plus a description of the image. The file size shouldn’t be so big that it slows down loading time. Also, the titles of your images should reflect the topic of the page they’re on.
H1 tags
There shouldn’t be any duplicate H1 tags on your site. It confuses search engines.
URL structure
Your URLs should not be overly long and complicated. They should look like a logical procession of folders and topics.
For example, a good URL may look like: sitename.com/parent-page/sub-topic/article-title
But a bad URL may look like: sitename.com/parent-page/parent-page-sub-topic/article-author/article-keywords/article-title
The bad URL repeats information and is too long. The good URL keeps it short and sweet without any duplicate info.
Redirects
Get rid of redirect chains/loops and the 302 temporary redirects. Search engines don’t want to work hard to pull up the right content.
Create your content.
Keyword density
Around 1 to 2% of a page’s words should be the focus keyword (the keyword your page is most trying to rank for). Any more than that and search engines could think you’re “keyword stuffing” — jamming your focus keyword onto a page way too many times to try to rank.
Latent semantic indexing terms
In addition to your focus keyword, your SEO tool should list latent semantic indexing terms. These are additional words and phrases that high-ranking pages use in their content.
Internal links
Never leave your content “orphaned,” or lacking any pages that link to it. All of your pages should have links to other pages on your site,
Updates
Even your evergreen content can’t rest. The topics you cover need updates at least every few months to stay relevant. Create a schedule so you know when various pages need a review.
Metadata
The SEO titles and meta descriptions of your pages are what show up on the search engine results page (SERP). Both the title and the description should contain some variation of the the keyword and give an accurate summary of the page’s content.
Check off-page.
Competitive review
Check in with your competitors during the keyword research phase, but also compare your competitor’s link profiles to your own. Which big-name sites are linking to them? What kind of sites are they targeting? This can give you ideas and help you keep up.
Backlinking outreach
Backlinks — links to your site from other domains — help boost your domain authority, making it easier for you to rank for the terms you want most. Reach out to other sites that cover similar topics. Suggest a content swap or propose adding a helpful link to one of their pages. It’s a hit-and-miss process, but it’s worth it.
Mentions
Has another site mentioned your brand but neglected to link back to your site? Reach out and ask them to add a link. You’re already part of the way there.
Link intersect analysis
Running this analysis shows you the sites that link to your competitors but not to yours. You can use this info to target those sites for backlinks.
Google My Business
Having a profile on Google My Business makes it easier to control what customers see when they Google your brand. Set up this account and keep it updated to get more engagement.
And repeat.
Your work isn’t over once you get through this checklist. SEO is a constantly changing discipline, and you’ll have to constantly reevaluate to keep up.
Remember this: Search engines are just trying to give their users the best possible experience. If you make that the goal of your site, too, you’ll be on the right track.
