The only SEO checklist you need
Forty-three checkpoints across setup, keywords, technical health, content, links, and AI search — tick them off as you go, and export a clean PDF snapshot whenever you need one.
Basic SEO practices
- Set up GSC & Bing
- Set up GA4
- Install an SEO plugin
- Create a sitemap
- Create a robots.txt file
- Check manual actions
- Ensure indexability
Keyword research
- Identify competitor keywords
- Find topics with Keyword Magic Tool
- Identify AI prompts
- Create a keyword map
- Analyze search intent
- Find questions (PAA, Reddit)
Technical SEO
- Use HTTPS
- Fix duplicate site versions
- Fix crawl errors
- Improve site speed
- Fix broken links
- Fix HTTP links
- Prioritize mobile usability
- Use a clean URL structure
- Add structured data
- Optimize crawl depth
- Check temporary (302) redirects
- Fix redirects
Content & on-page SEO
- Fix title tags
- Fix meta descriptions
- Fix H1 issues
- Optimize content
- Audit your content
- Add alt text
- Improve internal linking
- Fix cannibalization
- Fix orphan pages
- Update content regularly
Link building & off-page SEO
- Analyze backlinks
- Do backlink gap analysis
- Turn mentions into backlinks
- Find new link opportunities
- Optimize Google Business Profile
Agentic search best practices
- Audit AI visibility
- Structure content for AI
- Consider llms.txt
The ultimate SEO checklist: master your website's search performance
Search algorithms, AI-powered search experiences, and user behavior all keep shifting. A structured checklist keeps your site visible, technically sound, and competitive — however the goalposts move.
1. Basic SEO practices & setup
Before touching keywords or content, establish a solid tracking foundation. The right measurement tools let you diagnose crawl issues, track visibility, and read visitor behavior.
- Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools: monitor indexing, submitted sitemaps, and search impressions.
- Google Analytics 4: track behavior, conversions, and traffic sources across your funnel.
- Sitemaps & robots.txt: tell search engines exactly what to index and what to skip.
2. Keyword research & search intent
Keyword research isn't just chasing high-volume terms anymore — it's about understanding intent and grouping topics contextually.
- Competitor & keyword-magic analysis: surface organic keywords your direct competitors already rank for.
- Search intent analysis: group terms by user goal so page format matches expectation.
- Generative search & prompt research: track the questions people ask conversational AI tools.
3. Technical SEO & performance
Technical SEO makes sure bots can discover, parse, and render your site without friction or delay.
- HTTPS & clean URLs: keep the site secure and logical for people and crawlers alike.
- Core Web Vitals & mobile usability: faster pages, better mobile experience.
- Structured data: schema markup that supports rich results and better indexing.
4. On-page & content optimization
Quality content drives organic growth. On-page SEO is about fine-tuning the elements that signal value to readers and crawlers.
- Title tags & meta descriptions: compelling snippets that earn the click.
- Heading structure: break long-form content into scannable pieces.
- Internal linking & cannibalization audits: pass authority clearly and avoid overlap.
5. Link building & off-page SEO
Off-page SEO builds your domain's credibility and authority across the wider web.
- Backlink analysis & gap identification: benchmark your profile against category leaders.
- Brand mentions & unlinked citations: turn mentions into real inbound links.
- Google Business Profile: boost visibility for local and branded queries.
6. Preparing for agentic & AI search
AI search models, conversational agents, and LLMs are reshaping search behavior. Adapting your content structure protects long-term organic visibility.
- AI visibility audits: check how conversational tools synthesize and cite your brand.
- Structured, scannable content: clear lists and definitions so LLMs can parse key facts.
- Machine-readable metadata: files like llms.txt to guide automated summaries.