SEO Checklist: 41 Tips to Optimize Your Website

Use these 41 tasks to amended your site’s rankings and boost integrated traffic. 

For champion results, create a free Semrush relationship (no in installments paper required) and travel the steps successful this guide.

How to Use This SEO Checklist

We’ve divided these SEO champion practices into 5 sections:

• Basic SEO Practices Checklist
• Keyword Research Checklist
• Technical SEO Checklist
• Content & On-Page SEO Checklist
• Link Building & Off-Page SEO Checklist

Address each 5 sections for a holistic SEO strategy. If you person constricted clip aliases resources, attraction connected the astir applicable tasks. Return to this guideline whenever you’re fresh to move on.

Download a transcript of the checklist here.

Basic SEO Practices Checklist

These first steps create a instauration for your SEO. Skipping them tin make it harder to rank.

1. Set Up Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools

Set up Google Search Console (GSC) or Bing Webmaster Tools to show your SEO capacity and taxable your pages to hunt engines.

These devices let you to:

• Monitor your SEO performance
• Submit sitemaps and URLs
• Identify crawl errors

They’re some free devices that thief you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s capacity successful Google aliases Bing hunt results.

2. Set Up Google Analytics

Set up a free Google Analytics 4 (GA4) relationship to way tract postulation and personification behavior. With GA4, you tin see:

• Which pages bring the astir traffic
• Traffic sources (sites and hunt engines)
• Bounce rates and page views

3. Install and Configure an SEO Plugin (for WordPress Sites)

A WordPress SEO plugin tin thief you:

• Generate sitemaps automatically
• Edit robots.txt files
• Manage on-page optimization

Here are some celebrated SEO plugins, on pinch their cardinal features:

SEO Plugin	Key Features
Yoast SEO	Content analysis: Offers real-time suggestions to amended readability and hunt performance XML sitemaps: Automatically generates XML sitemaps to thief hunt engines scale your site On-page optimization: Allows you to easy edit things for illustration title tags and meta descriptions for each tract pages Related keyphrases: Integrates pinch Semrush to find further keywords you tin optimize a page for
Rank Math	GSC module: Showcases cardinal accusation for illustration hunt performance, sitemap status, and immoderate indexing errors Schema markup: Offers precocious schema markup options to thief your contented guidelines retired successful hunt results Redirect manager: Manages 301 redirects and monitors 404 errors Keyword optimization: Lets you optimize each page for aggregate attraction keywords
SEO Writing Assistant	Real-time contented analysis: Recommends real-time improvements to boost your performance Tone of voice: Analyzes your contented to guarantee it matches your marque voice Originality check: Checks your contented for imaginable plagiarism Readability score: Assesses your readability and suggests improvements to your contented clarity

4. Create and Submit an XML Sitemap

Create and taxable an XML sitemap to thief hunt engines understand your site’s building and scale your pages. If you usage WordPress, a sitemap is created automatically. Otherwise, create 1 pinch a sitemap generator tool.

Next steps:

• Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• Add your sitemap URL to your robots.txt file

Here’s what our blog’s sitemap looks like:

Use Semrush’s free SEO checker, Site Audit, to find and hole sitemap issues.

5. Create a Robots.txt File

A robots.txt record tells hunt engines which pages they tin aliases can't crawl. This is what it tin look like:

To spot your existent file, adhd “/robots.txt” to your homepage URL. For example:

https://semrush.com/robots.txt

Check your robots.txt record for errors utilizing Semrush’s Site Audit tool.

6. Check Search Console for Manual Actions

Manual actions (penalties) tin hap if Google detects spam, hidden text, bladed content, aliases unnatural links. 

Make judge to regularly cheque for immoderate manual actions against your tract in Google Search Console.

Scroll down the tool’s sidebar navigation and prime “Security & Manual Actions” > “Manual actions.”

The “Manual actions” tab should propulsion up a study pinch detected issues—if location are any.

Google will notify you successful a GSC report if your tract receives a manual action. 

7. Make Sure Google Can Index Your Website

Indexability is the expertise for hunt engines to observe and see your pages successful hunt results. If your pages person “noindex” tags aliases different problems, they won’t look successful Google results.

To make judge hunt engines tin scale your site, usage our Site Audit tool. 

Start by entering your domain and creating a caller project.

Select really galore pages you want per SEO audit and “Website” arsenic the crawl source.

Click “Start Site Audit.”

Click “View details” nether “Crawlability.”

Double-check that your site’s main pages are indexed to prevention a batch of troubleshooting later.

Keyword Research Checklist

Keyword investigation finds hunt queries that align pinch your products aliases services. Use these steps to prioritize keywords and style your keyword strategy.

8. Identify Competitor Keywords

Competitor keywords are hunt queries your competitors are already targeting to amended their rankings and thrust traffic. 

Use Semrush’s Keyword Gap instrumentality to place hunt queries your competitors target.

Enter your domain and up to 4 of your competitors’ domains.

Then, click “Compare.”

Scroll down to the “Top Opportunities” array and attraction connected 2 labels, “Missing” and “Weak.” 

Look for keywords branded “Missing” (competitors rank, you don’t) and “Weak” (competitors rank higher than you). Focus connected these gaps.

Further reading: How to Do an SEO Competitor Analysis

9. Find Your Main ‘Money’ Keywords

Main “money” keywords person precocious imaginable to thrust postulation aliases revenue. They’re usually high-volume, high-competition position related to your halfway offerings.

Use Domain Overview to spot which keywords thrust the astir integrated postulation for a circumstantial domain. Enter the domain you want to analyze.

Scroll down to spot the “Top Organic Keywords” and click connected “View details.”

These are the keywords that thrust the astir integrated postulation to the analyzed site. 

Pay attraction to keywords pinch commercialized and transactional search intent. These thin to lead to much leads and conversions.

If you’re ranking high, that’s awesome news. If you aren’t, optimize and amended the contented connected these pages.

10. Find Long-Tail Keyword Variations

Long-tail keywords person little hunt volumes but thin to beryllium much circumstantial and easier to rank for. They besides person better.

Go to Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool and participate your keyword. 

Make judge “Broad Match” is selected. Use the hunt measurement and keyword trouble filters.

Also, cheque the “Questions” filter. This select often returns absorbing long-tail keywords phrased arsenic questions.

Like so:

Use these long-tail keywords to create caller informational contented aliases incorporated them into existing pages erstwhile relevant.

11. Create a Keyword Map

You request to representation your target keywords to pages connected your site. First, group keywords into chopped clusters. Use 1 keyword to place a larger set.

Enter your chosen keyword successful the Keyword Magic Tool and spell to the “Related” tab.

View the results present and cheque the boxes adjacent to each the position that look relevant.

Export those selected keywords onto a spreadsheet and group keywords by intent—grouping keywords that reply the aforesaid wide question.

Then, you want to analyse each group to visualize your site’s imaginable building and individual pages.

Your past measurement is to categorize keywords based connected the grouping you’ve defined.

Learn really to representation your keywords successful conscionable 5 steps pinch our keyword mapping guide.

12. Analyze the Search Intent of Pages That Rank

Google prioritizes contented that matches hunt intent. There are 4 types of search intent:

• Navigational: Trying to find something 
• Informational: Trying to study much astir something 
• Transactional: Trying to complete a circumstantial action
• Commercial: Trying to study much earlier making a acquisition decision

To find a keyword’s intent, usage our Keyword Overview tool. Look for the “Intent” box.

If your contented matches the hunt intent of the keyword, you’ll apt spot much postulation and higher rankings. If it doesn’t, you’ll request to adjust.

13. Identify Questions People Ask

Answering queries that look arsenic questions tin thief you rank successful rich | SERP features for illustration People Also Ask boxes.

Use our Keyword Magic Tool to find a database of related questions for immoderate keyword.

Start by entering a keyword, hitting “Search,” and clicking the “Questions” filter.

This is simply a awesome starting point, particularly if you participate much circumstantial keywords.

You tin besides select the keywords by peculiar SERP features, including People Also Ask.

That’ll show you keywords that trigger a People Also Ask container successful the SERP. Like this one:

These filters will thief you understand which keywords to plug into devices like AlsoAsked. To find further mobility keywords.

Here’s wherever you tin usage these questions:

• FAQ pages: Create FAQ pages that reply communal questions (or see FAQ sections astatine the bottommost of your halfway website pages)
• Blog posts: Use these questions arsenic titles aliases subheadings successful blog posts
• Product pages: Include applicable questions and answers connected merchandise pages to reside objections and amended conversion rates
• Customer support section: Add FAQs to customer-facing archiving to resoluteness communal issues 

14. Understand Your Ranking Potential

To understand your ranking potential, usage our Keyword Overview tool. Enter your word and domain to get a Personal Keyword Difficulty score.

Keyword trouble (KD) is simply a wide estimate of the trouble for a website to rank successful Google’s apical 10 results for that term. "Personal Keyword Difficulty" shows the trouble for your circumstantial tract to rank highly for that term. 

High percentages mean tougher competition. Balance trouble pinch hunt measurement to find feasible opportunities.

Technical SEO Checklist

Technical SEO ensures your tract is crawlable and indexable. Follow these champion practices for a unchangeable tract foundation.

15. Make Sure You’re Using HTTPS

Whether your website uses HTTPS (secure protocol) is simply a ranking signal. 

Confirm your tract is HTTPS by checking for a padlock icon successful your browser’s reside bar.

For a much elaborate study connected imaginable issues, usage our Site Audit tool.

Start by adding a caller project, entering your domain, and clicking “Start Audit.”

Once successful the dashboard, spell to the HTTPS conception and click “View details.”

You’ll spot a dashboard pinch accusation astir your site’s HTTPS status, specified arsenic information certificates, server protocols, and website architecture.

Address each issues successful this section.

16. Check for Duplicate Versions of Your Site successful Google’s Index

Check for copy versions of your tract to guarantee you don’t acquisition crawling, indexing, and information issues.

Domains tin look as:

• https://www.domain.com

• https://domain.com

• http://www.domain.com

• http://domain.com/

All versions isolated from 1 should 301 redirect to your superior domain. Enter each version successful your browser to corroborate redirects are group up correctly.

17. Find and Fix Crawl Errors

Crawl errors hap erstwhile hunt engines neglect to entree definite pages aliases brushwood improper canonical tags. You tin quickly place immoderate crawl errors through Google Search Console.

Head to the “Pages” study nether “Indexing:”

You’ll spot 2 categories, “Indexed” and “Not indexed.”

Crawl errors will beryllium nether the “Not indexed” category. 

Take the clip to resoluteness immoderate errors you find and research the origin of excluded URLs successful much detail. 

18. Improve Your Site Speed

Work connected improving your tract speed, because slow sites create mediocre personification experiences. Google uses Core Web Vitals metrics to measurement page speed:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the clip needed for the main contented of a page to load
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Tracks the clip from erstwhile a personification interacts pinch the page to erstwhile the ocular consequence is observed. In Semrush tools, we approximate this pinch a metric called Total Blocking Time (TBT).
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Assesses the grade of unexpected layout shifts during page loading

You tin use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to gauge Core Web Vitals accusation for individual pages. 

Enter a URL, click “Analyze,” and scroll to spot the page’s capacity people and a database of recommendations.

For a much elaborate study that covers your full site, caput complete to Site Audit and click “Core Web Vitals.”

You’ll spot a snapshot of your Core Web Vitals and recommendations for improvement.

You tin past attraction your efforts connected improving the pages flagged successful this report.

19. Fix Broken Internal and Outbound Links

Broken links (404 errors) disrupt personification experience. To quickly find (and fix) surgery links, caput to Site Audit. 

Look for the “Internal Linking” container and click “View details.”

You’ll spot a database of surgery soul and outer links.

You’ll spot a database of surgery soul and outer links.

Fix surgery links by either updating the target URL, mounting up a redirect, aliases removing the nexus altogether. 

20. Find and Fix HTTP Links connected HTTPS Pages

Using HTTPS but linking internally to HTTP pages triggers unnecessary redirects. Unnecessary redirects tin slow down your website.

Head to the “HTTPS Report” successful Site Audit to uncover immoderate HTTP nexus issues and observe really to hole them.

21. Make Sure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly

Google moved from mobile-first indexing to mobile-only indexing, which intends Google will nary longer scale websites that aren’t accessible via mobile devices. 

You tin usage Google Chrome to trial your site’s mobile-friendliness. 

Simply motorboat a website connected Chrome and right-click connected immoderate page you want to test. Then, prime “Inspect.”

Here, you tin trial really your tract looks connected different devices. 

Select the instrumentality icon connected the right-hand broadside to move betwixt desktop and mobile.

Next, you tin prime your preferred instrumentality to trial really your tract looks crossed each.

Check to make judge everything looks correct and is easy to usage connected mobile devices, and make judge cardinal elements for illustration matter and buttons are large capable to publication and click.

22. Use an SEO-Friendly URL Structure

An SEO-friendly URL building should beryllium short, descriptive, and usage hyphens to abstracted words. Like:

https://www.domain.com/red-shoes/

As opposed to a query drawstring that isn’t descriptive:

https://www.domain.com/category.pjp?id=32

Do usage hyphens successful your URLs to abstracted words. Don’t usage underscores.

Do support URLs arsenic short arsenic possible. So they’re easier to read.

23. Add Structured Data

Structured information (schema markup) highlights page accusation for hunt engines. It tin alteration rich | snippets for reviews, recipes, products, and event.

Schema markup tin look for illustration this for reviews:

See our system information guideline for champion practices.

24. Check Your Site’s Crawl Depth

Check that important pages are wrong 3 clicks of the homepage. You tin quickly find your site’s crawl extent successful Site Audit nether “Internal Linking.”

If your tract has a batch of pages that are much than 3 clicks distant from the homepage, see simplifying your main navigation and moving to incorporated much soul links.

25. Check Temporary 302 Redirects

302 redirects are temporary, while 301 redirects are permanent. 

302 redirects are sometimes mistakenly utilized alternatively of 301s.

Google has confirmed that 302 redirects tin walk ranking authority, but a 302 should beryllium updated to a 301 erstwhile you cognize the move will enactment successful spot permanently. 

You tin find your site’s 302 redirects using Site Audit. 

Go to the “Issues” tab and hunt for “temporary redirects.” 

Like this:

26. Find and Fix Redirect Chains and Loops

A redirect concatenation sends users done aggregate redirects, which slows page loading.

A redirect loop sends a page backmost to itself. This results successful an endless loop that ne'er lands connected a page.

The “Issues” tab in Site Audit will item immoderate redirect concatenation aliases loop issues. Just hunt for “redirect chain.”

You tin resoluteness these issues by updating each redirects successful a concatenation to constituent to the extremity target aliases by updating the redirect causing the loop.

Content & On-Page SEO Checklist

Great contented and on-page optimizations prosecute users and amended rankings. Use these tips to support your contented beardown and relevant.

27. Find and Fix Duplicate, Missing, and Truncated Title Tags

Title tags pass a page’s taxable to hunt engines and users. You tin spot a page’s title tag successful its root code:

For the champion title tags, avoid:

• Duplicates
• Missing tags
• Overly agelong tags (Google truncates aft ~60 characters)

You tin quickly audit your title tags in Site Audit nether the “Issues'' tab. There, hunt for “title tags.”

You tin click connected “Why and really to hole it” to publication much astir each rumor and get tips connected really to reside it. 

28. Find and Fix Duplicate and Missing Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions aren’t a ranking factor, but they power click-through rates. They should beryllium unique, concise, and relevant. 

You tin audit your meta descriptions in Site Audit nether the “Issues” tab. There, hunt for “meta descriptions.”

29. Find and Fix Multiple H1 Tags

Each page needs a single H1 tag that describes the main topic. Multiple H1s tin confuse users and hunt engines.

Site Audit’s “Issues” tab flags pages pinch H1 tag errors. Just hunt for “h1.”

Then, return the clip to resoluteness immoderate issues regarding your H1s.

30. Optimize Title Tags, Meta Tags, and Page Content

To optimize title tags, meta tags, and page content, caput to Google Search Console and spell to “Search results” nether “Performance.”

Make judge “Average CTR” and “Average position” are checked. 

Scroll down and look for keywords pinch a important number of impressions but fewer clicks and a debased mean position.

This usually intends that your page is applicable for the queries and is ranking, but fewer clicks and debased ranking awesome that you haven’t optimized it by including keyword variations successful your contented aliases meta tags.

Simply adding keyword mentions won’t do overmuch without substance. 

Think of these further keywords arsenic topics for further H2s aliases subsections.

Rework your page, and you’ll apt spot an uplift successful clicks and ranking position.

31. Audit Your Site’s Existing Content

A content audit checks for pages that underperform successful postulation aliases engagement. 

You tin audit your contented by utilizing devices like Google Analytics and Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to get optimization ideas.

Start by regularly search postulation and engagement metrics connected your pages. 

Then, excavation into the pages that aren’t faring well. Compare them to high-performing pages to find what whitethorn beryllium going wrong. 

32. Ensure Images Use Alt Text

Alt text describes images to hunt engines and visually impaired users. Missing alt matter tin trim accessibility and limit image-based traffic. 

You tin quickly find images that are missing alt matter using Site Audit. 

Go to the “Issues” tab and manually hunt for “alt attributes.” The instrumentality will quickly show really galore images don’t person alt text.

Periodically checking the alt matter of older images to guarantee that the accusation is still applicable and meticulous is besides a bully idea. 

For example, if your website features an aged image of moving shoes pinch the alt matter "latest exemplary of moving shoes for marathon training," you’ll want to update it to bespeak the precise model.

33. Improve Internal Linking

Internal links thief hunt engines and users navigate your site. Linking from high-authority pages to applicable pages tin boost rankings.

Site Audit’s “Internal Linking” study shows which pages person only 1 soul link. 

Look for them successful the “Notices” section.

Add much soul links to these pages if applicable.

Learn much astir identifying which pages request soul links pinch our soul linking guide. 

34. Find and Fix Keyword Cannibalization Issues

Keyword cannibalization occurs erstwhile aggregate pages compete for the aforesaid keyword intent. 

To find retired if your tract has keyword cannibalization issues, usage the Position Tracking tool. 

Start by entering your domain and clicking “Set up tracking.”

Then, prime the hunt engine, device, and state you want to check. 

Like this:

Next, participate the keywords you want to track. Click “Add keywords to campaign” and past “Start Tracking.”

The “Cannibalization” tab shows which keywords and pages are affected.

Resolve keyword cannibalization by redirecting aliases merging content, aliases by targeting different keywords connected each page.

35. Find and Fix Orphaned Pages

Fixing orphaned pages (pages pinch nary soul links pointing to them) mightiness thief you summation postulation to your site.

Search engines tin only observe pages from the sitemap record aliases links (from your website aliases from different websites).

If hunt engines can’t observe your pages, they can’t scale them successful hunt results. And if your pages aren’t indexed, users won’t beryllium capable to find them done integrated search.

So, fixing orphaned pages tin thief Google find and scale your content. And summation the chance that group tin find these pages successful the hunt results. 

Zoe Ashbridge is an SEO Strategist. Her LinkedIn post describes really she helped a customer move their orphaned pages into useful contented for illustration blog posts and guides—that hunt engines tin now find. 

To find your orphaned pages, unfastened Site Audit, spell to the “Issues” tab, and hunt for “orphaned pages.”

Then, nexus to each orphaned pages from astatine slightest 1 different applicable page connected your site. 

36. Ensure Your Site’s Content Is Up to Date

Outdated contented tin trim your site’s value. Keep your halfway accusation existent pinch a instrumentality for illustration Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker to find opportunities to update your existing content. 

After configuring your project’s settings, the instrumentality will springiness you optimization ideas to thief you amended your pages’ Google rankings.

You’ll spot the “TOP pages to optimize” organized by full hunt volume.

Click the “#ideas” fastener adjacent to immoderate page.

And you’ll spot ideas to amended that page based connected the target keyword’s hunt motor results page.

Link Building & Off-Page SEO Checklist

Off-page SEO focuses connected signals extracurricular your site, for illustration backlinks. Strong backlink profiles often lead to higher rankings. Check retired our off-page SEO checklist.

37. Analyze Your Competitors’ Link Profiles

Just arsenic analyzing your competitors’ contented is important, you should excavation heavy into their nexus profiles arsenic well. 

Enter immoderate competitor’s URL into Backlink Analytics, click “Analyze,” and spell to the “Backlinks” tab.

This database tin springiness you a bully thought of the wide value and authority of the links that constituent to their site. The database tin besides springiness you ideas for domains you can‌ interaction to inquire for backlinks.

38. Conduct a Link Intersect Analysis

Conduct a backlink spread audit to find websites linking to your competitors but not to you. 

Use the Backlink Gap instrumentality to find sites that nexus to your competitors but not to you. These domains whitethorn beryllium bully nexus prospects if they already nexus to akin content.

Start by going to our Backlink Gap tool, adding your domain and your competitors’ domains, and past clicking “Find prospects.”

The array lists each the different domains that nonstop backlinks to the sites you entered.

39. Turn Unlinked Mentions Into Links

When personification mentions you aliases your marque but doesn’t link, you tin petition a link. 

To quickly find unlinked mentions, usage the Brand Monitoring app.

For each unlinked mention you find, scope retired to the page’s proprietor aliases author. Thank them for the mention, and politely petition a backlink.

40. Find New Link Building Opportunities

Pursuing new link building opportunities tin amended your backlink profile. 

Using the right SEO tools tin make the task of uncovering these opportunities a small spot easier.

Our Link Building Tool, for example, shows a database of prospects you tin scope retired to for backlinks. 

Like this:

41. Set Up and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

If you run a section business, create a Google Business Profile to look connected Google Search and Maps. Fill retired your accusation accurately, stress unsocial features, and adhd photos aliases videos. 

This is what a Google Business Profile tin look like:

To commencement improving your brand’s section visibility, publication our Google Business Profile guide.

Then link your floor plan to Semrush’s Listing Management instrumentality for capacity insights.

Execute This SEO Checklist

SEO is ever changing, but these 41 tips connection a coagulated way to higher rankings, accrued traffic, and amended business results. 

Start now pinch a free Semrush account and optimize your tract for hunt engines and users.