You don’t need to be an SEO expert to spot the most common problems holding your website back. This checklist covers the same areas we review in a professional audit, written so a busy business owner can work through it in an afternoon.
Grab a coffee, open your website and Google Search Console, and go section by section.
Technical SEO checklist
- Your site loads over HTTPS with no security warnings
- Google Search Console is set up and verified
- An XML sitemap is submitted in Search Console
- Important pages are not blocked by robots.txt or marked “noindex”
- The Pages report shows no large spike in “not indexed” errors
- Pages load in under three seconds on mobile
- There are no broken internal links or 404 errors on key pages
- Old URLs redirect to the right new pages with 301 redirects
On-page SEO checklist
- Every important page has a unique title tag under about 60 characters
- Each page has a meta description that would make you want to click
- There’s one clear H1 heading per page
- Each key page targets one main keyword or topic
- Your service and product pages have enough helpful content to answer real questions
- Images have descriptive file names and alt text
- Pages link to each other where it helps the reader
Local SEO checklist (if you serve local customers)
- Your Google Business Profile is claimed, verified and complete
- Your business name, address and phone number match everywhere online
- You have a page for each main service you offer
- You ask happy customers for reviews and reply to them
Content checklist
- Your content answers the questions customers actually ask
- There are no near-duplicate pages competing for the same keyword
- Older blog posts are updated or merged when they go out of date
Backlink checklist
- You know how many websites link to you (Search Console’s Links report shows this)
- Your top competitors’ backlinks have been reviewed for ideas
- There are no obvious spammy links from paid link schemes
What to do with your results
Start with anything that stops Google from crawling or indexing your important pages. Those issues block everything else. Next, fix titles and content on pages that already rank on page two, since they’re the quickest wins. Then focus on earning quality backlinks.
If the list felt overwhelming, that’s normal. Our team can run a full review for you. Request a free SEO audit and we’ll send you a prioritized action plan within 48 hours.