Website Search engine Optimization Checklist 2023

 

In this article, I have covered the complete SEO checklist. 

Without following this checklist, You are not going to rank on Google. 

So let’s dive into it.

 

How To Use This SEO Checklist

 

Search engine optimization is essential for every website on the internet.

Implement all these white hat SEO techniques or methods on your site to rank high in search engines and have Good Users experience. 

Brian Dean grew his website traffic by 161.96% more.

 

I ranked for competitive keywords with the help of this checklist. 

without wasting time let’s start.

 

SEO Basics Checklist

 

Connecting your website to Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is a must for your website. 

 

It helps you to give all information about the traffic audience of your website.

Everything you need to know about audience traffic, revenue, and much more things in one place. 

 

Connect your website to Search Console

Google Search Console is a free SEO tool founded by Google. 

 

It gives you a lot more information/data about your website. It’ll show you the:

• index and crawl report
• Issues on your website
• Backlinks information
• security errors, 
• mobile friendliness 
• click and impressions on your pages
• and much more! 

It’s a must-have tool for all websites.

 

Install Yoast SEO Plugin if you are using WordPress

Yoast is the best plugin for your website if you are using WordPress. It helps you to rank high here’s how

It gives you comprehensive information about implementing SEO on your page.

For example, in my case,

I am writing on seo checklist and it shows the complete overview and suggestions for the optimization of your page like this.

 

Also, it helps you with technical SEO. 

 

Start With Keyword Research Checklist

Keyword research is essential for an SEO campaign.

Before writing content we should do research for keywords. 

 

Every page of your website should be optimized for ranking. So make sure to do keyword research for every page/post.

Here are some tips for doing keyword research.

 

Find Long tail keywords

You may hear long tail keywords aren’t important. 

It’s wrong. 

Long tail keywords are super important for ranking in search engines. 

They are easy to rank. 

Here’s how you can find long-tail keywords. 

Simply type a keyword in google search and don’t press you will see the related keywords like this. 

 

Now press enter and you will see a section like this. That can be great for you. 

 

Next, scroll to the bottom of SERP and you will see the related queries like this. 

 

Start optimizing your content around those keywords.

Increase your website ranking on Google. 

 

Use Google keyword planner

It’s a free tool that was founded by Google. You can use it for your keyword research. Simply type your keyword here 

 

 

It will show you the best ideas about that particular keyword. Don’t try to focus on the search volume of that tool because it’s not correct. 

 

Choose Low Competition keywords

Competition is more important when you are writing about the topic.

If your website is new or has low domain authority you should focus on low-competition keywords. 

For that, you can use different apps like UberSuggest. 

It will show you the complete overview of keywords. Like this.

 

Go on Online Communities to find keywords

Quora, Reddit, and other online communities can be great for your keyword research.

Simply type your keyword and you will see what people are looking for or what people want to know.  

 

Find Question keywords from AnswerThePublic

It’s a great tool that works like a search engine. Instead of using other tools use this.

Because it shows you all the questions that people are asking online on search engines, communities, social media, etc.

Type your keyword and it will show you the questions like this. 

 

Write content around those questions.

 

On-page SEO checklist

 

 

URL Optimization

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a webpage. Try to keep these things in mind when creating a URL.

 

Include your Primary keyword in the URL.

UrLs help Google understand your page.

They can help you to improve your CTR (Click through rate).

Let’s take an example. My article is about seo checklist.

I put my keywords in it as this http://keywordro.com/seo-checklist.

 

Use Short URLs

Short URLs rank better in Google. Try to keep your URLs short.

I don’t recommend you go back to your previous articles and shorten them but from now you should start focusing on short URLs. 

1. Use hyphens (-) in URLs
2. Don’t use underscores (_)
3. Separate each word in the URL for example http://keywordro.com/keyword-research
4. Use the English language in the URL rather than your mother tongue
5. URLs should be simple and easy to understand.

 

Add Title tag Modifiers 

Adding title modifiers will boost your CTR. There are many kinds of modifiers like

• Best
• Ultimate
• Review
• Complete
• Beginners to advance
• Guide 
• Current years like 2023/2024

Why?

Because most of the searches come from long-tail keywords. So if you are trying to rank on the short-tail and mid-tail keywords then you should add modifiers in your title.

1. The title should be around 10-12 words
2. Add LSI keywords
3. Give a hook to your readers
4. Use Numbers in your title

 

Use keywords in the first 100 Words

Using keywords at the top of the page helps search engines find what your page is about. 

Here are some tips for you. 

Try to add your primary as well as LSI keywords in the introduction of your post. 

For example, for this, my keyword is SEO Checklist So I used it in the Introduction and first heading. 

Don’t try to stuff keywords.

 

Use Keywords in Headings and Subheadings

Adding keywords in your headings helps you to rank on other keywords. For example,

Recently I published an article on video keyword research. 

And I used related keywords or LSI keywords in my heading so I am also ranking for that keywords.

 

 

Optimize your Images 

Optimizing your images is a compulsory part of on-page SEO.

Try to explain what your images are about. 

Why?

Think Google isn’t its search engine and it crawls your pages like a robot.

So adding ALT text in your images can help crawlers to understand your images. 

Here is an example. 

Let’s say your image is about fitness.

Rather than writing fitness.png,

You should write fitness gym chicago.

Compress your images or if you are using WordPress download Smush. 

Add your keywords in the Captions and Titles of images

 

Use Synonyms and LSI Keywords in your Content

Hey, LSI keywords are super important for ranking.

Google is smart now and treats it like a smart.

When you stuff your keywords in your content it sounds like this:

 

Let’s take a quick example.

For example, you writing about blogging

Rather than using this every time you should add these.

• Blogger
• Blog
• Bloggers

I hope you have got the idea.

If you can’t find keywords then simply enter your keyword in Google search. It will automatically show you the related/LSI keywords.

You can add them to your content. 

 

Get External Links to Other Websites

External links can help rank your website in google. 

 

The more external links you have the more chances you will rank. 

Remember a few things before adding external links.

Your links should be going to high authority sites and use related keywords in anchor text.

 

Build Internal Links Too

Internal Links are also more helpful for ranking in Google.

Use more internal links as possible but try to have these things in your mind. 

• Add natural links to your content
• Add links in relevant anchor text
• Don’t try to stuff links 
• Internal links should go to relevant pages of your website.

Technical SEO Checklist

 

 

Make Sure Your Site is Mobile Friendly

Do you know that 63% of searches on Google are from mobile devices? 

Google says it’s an important ranking factor Google. So you should focus on it.

You can run a test for mobile friendliness.

Simply type Google mobile-friendly test in google and go here. 

 

Add your website here and click on the test URL.

It will show you the results. In my case, the results are here.

 

 

Find and Fix Crawl Errors

Find crawl errors in the Google search console. 

Why?

When you have an issue with crawl errors it means Google has trouble viewing your page.

Or some problem on your page.

If the problem it means your page isn’t indexed well.

It’s not indexed, and your page will not show on SERP.

Simply go to the search console>Pages and you will see the errors here.

 

 

Check for Duplicate Versions of Your Site in Google’s Index

When your website redirects from different versions to a single page it’s for both search engines and visitors. Let’s take an example. Check your website like this.

          http://keywordro.com

https://keywordro.com

          http://www.keywordro.com

https://www.keywordro.com

If your website is redirecting to a single page if it isn’t fixed now.

It can be impactful on your website. Search engines consider your website a duplicate.

You can fix it from your hosting provider.

 

Website Architecture

A website architecture helps users to easily find your content. 

 

You should add proper navigation and your website architecture should.

Also, help search engines easily crawl your pages. 

 

Select a design theme for your website.

Website themes also play an essential role in your website. 

 

Using SEO and Mobile friendly templates helps users and search engines to easily crawl your website.

A Good theme helps a good user experience.

You can select any template according to your business. 

 

Caching Your Website

Your website speed should be more.

When you add images, javascript, CSS, and videos to your web pages.

Your website starts loading slowly. 

Website caching helps browsers speed up your website for existing visitors.

 

Use a Reliable Hosting Provider

Hosting can make and break your website.

Try to use reliable and good hosting. In my case, I am using hostinger.

It’s best for me, maybe for you. 

 

Make Sure Your Site is Secure (HTTPS) & Minimise Redirects

As google said sites with SSL certificates are good for ranking. Imagine if your looks like that:

 

Who will see your website? Of course no one.

Add an SSL certificate to your website for a good user experience and it will help your website to rank better in search engines.

 

Fix Broken Internal and Outbound Links

Broken links can hurt your ranking in Google. Try to fix them. You can manually do a check. Or you can use a tool like DRlinkcheck.com.

 

Find and Fix Orphan Pages.

Orphan pages are also called zombie pages.

It means they don’t have links from other pages. 

Users and crawlers can find them without the direct URL.

These pages can hurt your website’s ranking. 

Try to delete all of your zombie pages and have a good user experience on your website. 

Also, you should delete those pages that are not getting traffic and have zero page authority.

 

Find and Fix Redirect Chains and Loops

Redirects chains and loops hurt your ranking in Google.

As well it’s hard to crawl and index and it can slow down your website speed.

Here is an example of redirect chains.

 

So find and fix them immediately.

 

Speed Up your website 

Your website should load fast on desktop as well as mobile devices. 

For checking your website speed simply follow the link.

And add your URL here it will show you the results for both devices mobile and desktop. 

 

And also it will show you suggestions and tips for optimizing your website speed. If you can solve it then try. 

If you are using WordPress like me try to follow these steps. 

A few times ago I ran a test and my results were here. 

 

So I searched for website speed optimization on google but I didn’t find any specific solution for that problem. 

I was very confused about what to do and what shouldn’t.

Surprisingly I found a video on youtube that was about plugins.

So I tried and followed the steps. And the results were shocking.

I downloaded and installed these plugins on my website in WordPress. 

1. Core Web Vitals & PageSpeed Booster
2. Structured Content
3. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner, and Hardening
4. W3 Total Cache
5. a3 Lazy Load
6. Accelerated Mobile Pages

And I ran another test with this tool. You can see the results. 

 

 

Make sure you have a robots.txt file to tell search engines which pages they can crawl and which they shouldn’t

Robot.txt tells crawlers which pages to crawl or which not.

If you are using WordPress simply download the Yoast plugin.

It will generate a robot.txt file for you to check.

Follow the steps. Yoast SEO>Tools>File editor.

You will see the robot.txt file there.

You can add manually to your website by copying and pasting the below code.

 

Create an XML sitemap

Sitemaps help search engines find and index your website properly.

You should have to create a sitemap.

Simply go to the google search console and if you have these results then do this. 

 

Write (sitema.xml) in the blank place.

If you have these results then do this.

 

Write (http://yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml).

 

Find and Fix Keyword Cannibalization Issues

Keyword cannibalization simply means having two pages on a single keyword on your website.

It’s a bad thing.

Because the two are competing with each other and search engines are confused about which one should rank.

Try to find the pages that have the same keywords and fix the issues.

 

Schema Markup/Structured Data

Schema helps search engines find the information on your webpage.

You can add schema markup to your pages to easily find and rank your information in search engines. 

 

Content Checklist

 

 

Fix Your Page Titles & Meta Descriptions

Optimize your title and description for CTR(Click through rate).

If more people will click on your website the more ranking you will get in Google. 

 

Add Keywords at the beginning of your Title

You should add your primary keywords at the beginning of the title.

Remember don’t put keywords forcefully.

Try to improve your CTR.

 

Research Your Competition

Researching and analyzing your competitor is an important part of on-page SEO.

When you start writing about a topic or niche.

You have to research what your competitors are doing and how well they are doing.

Here is how you can do this.

1. Type your primary keyword in google. You will see the results like this.
2. Visit the first 4-5 websites and see what they are doing.
3. Check their content, UI and UX design, Content-Length, Page Speed, Graphics, Content clearance, URLs, Headings, and subheadings.

 

Make sure your Content is written by humans not AI

As we know AI is in high demand. Many AI writing tools are available online. 

That can write content on every topic.

But Google considers AI content as spammy. It’s against their policy guidelines. 

Many people think that google can’t find AI content. 

Do you think it’s true? 

Probably it’s not. 

Here I am going to show you a proof. Recently I found a tool called contentAtScale. 

It will tell you whether this content is written by humans or AI. I took a taste of it. 

I used a popular AI writer tool called Copymatic.ai. I wrote an article about this topic (SEO checklist). 

I tasted it and the results were 76 out of 100.

And then I checked this article in this tool and the results are 98 out of 100.

 

Optimize The Content 

Optimization of your content is very important if you want to rank on Google.

Use keywords naturally in your content.

Don’t try to do keyword stuffing.

 

Create Content Using “The Skyscraper Technique”

The skyscraper technique was founded by brian dean.

He is a famous seo expert.

He grew his traffic 59% more with this technique.

Here are a few things you should consider when using the skyscraper technique.

1. Choose a topic in your niche
2. Write 10x better than your competitors
3. Promote your content through social media, emails, guest posts, etc.

 

Chunk Your Content to Maximise Readability

Times have changed and everyone is smart and likes easy-to-read content.

If your content is like this. 

Hey, you are wasting your time and energy. 

You should consider adding good readability to your content.

Here are a few tips.

• Use heading and subheadings
• Use bullets 
• Use numbers
• Use Short sentences and paragraphs
• Optimize for users, not search engines.

 

3. Cover Your Page’s Topic In-Depth

In-depth help both search engines and users.

It gives a boost signal that your content is high quality. 

Instead of publishing some pieces of content, you should cover an entire topic on a single page. 

For example,

I am writing on an SEO checklist. Instead of covering every piece separately. 

I have covered all things on a single page like on-page SEO, off-page, local SEO checklist, and others.

So that people and search engines find all information in one place.

It can boost your traffic and you will rank on multiple keywords. 

 

Use Multimedia

Using multimedia helps users to better understand your content. 

 

If users like your content you will rank on Google.

Instead of writing without multimedia use these formats with your text.

• Images
• Graphics
• Data
• Charts
• Visuals
• Videos
• Infographics
• Interactive polls and quizzes.

 

Format Content

Content formatting is important. Without format, you are not going to rank.

According to the research, 20% of readers read-only content and 80% read-only headings.

Here is how you can format your content properly.

• Write the title for CTR ( Use title modifiers)
• Write the super best Introduction
• Add a heading after your introduction and tell about what, and why is about the topic.
• Add Conclusion

 

Update Existing Content

I highly recommend you update your old content.

It helps you to rank high and better on Google. 

It doesn’t mean going back now and deleting your old content and adding new content to it. 

It’s all about analyzing content and seeing if there is anything that you have missed.

For example,

Title, Description, heading and subheadings, Introduction, images, visuals, etc.

 

Create New Content

Search engines consider new, fresh, and high-quality as good for people.

So try to add new and relevant content.

Don’t try to focus on quality,

just focus on quantity and write high-quality content that people love. 

 

Do you use keywords in the right places?

Using keywords in the right places helps search engines find what your content is about.

You should consider the following things as the right place.

• First Paragraph
• First 100 words
• Heading and Subheading
• 1-2% in Content 
• Conclusion.

 

Duplicate Content Check

Now it’s time to check that your content is unique or duplicated.

Because sometimes we use some sentences that match other websites’ content. 

We should write 100% unique content.

Google doesn’t consider duplicate content to rank high and index better. 

You can use a tool like Duplichecker.com. It will show you the plagiarism of your content.

 

Grammatical Errors

When Google crawls and indexes our pages. It also sees the grammatical errors on our pages.

And it’s a ranking factor you should avoid for grammatical errors.

For this, you can use tools like Grammarly. It helps you to find and fix errors.

 

Keyword Density

Some people try to add keywords to their content.

It’s a bad signal for your website. Try to add keywords naturally to your content. 

The ranking isn’t only just adding keywords. 

Now Google is smart and It’s mainly focused on user experience. Try to write content for humans, not search engines.

 

Ensure Your Site’s Content Is Up to Date

Make sure your content should be up to date.

I mean if your content is written from 2 years ago.

Your information in that content is old and it has no reality. You should add new content to make sure you are a reliable source.

 

Find and Fix Multiple H1 Tags

Sometimes we have multiple h1 tags on our pages.

Try to avoid them.

Go back and see if your page has more than one h1 tag and fix them. Here is how

to Convert h1 to h2, h3, or h4. 

 

Link Building Checklist

Backlinks are a super important part of SEO. 

Google has confirmed that backlinks are the top 3 ranking factors. 

Why?

Because Google and other search engines consider backlinks a vote. 

Here I will show you some kind of white hat seo techniques to build backlinks for your website.

Make sure I haven’t built any backlinks yet.

But I took an idea from backlinko.

But I believe it’s true. 

 

Anchor Text

Google says anchor text correlates with ranking.

Try to improve your anchor text. But as we know, too many things are harmful. 

So try to add naturally if you are using exact anchor text in all backlinks.

Google considers it spammy. 

I hope you understand. 

 

Guest Post

As we all know, guest posts are an important part of backlinks.

When building backlinks for your website you shouldn’t forget guest posting. 

But some people don’t know the right way. They are just creating backlinks on irrelevant sites. 

For example, if my niche is in digital marketing and I am creating backlinks on a health niche. 

It’s irrelevant. 

Try to focus on building links in your niche and on high-authority websites.

Google considers your website authoritative. 

 

Use HARO

HARO (Help A Report Out) it’s a source for journalists.

You can go here to create your account after approval of your accounts you will receive emails like this.

 

In those emails, many people ask for writing content for them.

If you can write better content then you should send them and they will give you a backlink.

 

Help from competitors and get quality backlinks

It’s not all about saying your competitors for backlinks.

Here’s the exact strategy that you should do. 

Use a tool.

In my case, I am using uberSuggest.

It’s completely free. You can also use it but it depends on you. 

There are many other tools available like semrush, Moz, etc. 

Simply type the URL or domain of your competitor.

It will show you the complete report of backlinks like this.

So make a list of these sites and start outreaching out through emails.

It’s not 100% guaranteed that you will get backlinks but in 1 out of 100 emails you will get a positive response MAYBE.

 

Local SEO Checklist

• Set Up and Optimise Google Business Profile:

As a business owner, you should create your profile on google my business.

Why?

It helps you to rank locally. It builds trust.

• You can build your portfolio and get reviews
• You will get traffic from google maps
• And a lot more!
• Implement on-page SEO on your website
• Try Link building strategies 
• Get Reviews from customers and testimonials
• Build citations
• Add social media accounts
• Implement all techniques that I mentioned above.

 

Conclusion

I hope you have enjoyed the complete SEO checklist.

If you think that I missed something please let me know in the comment below.

If you want our SEO services, we will do all of the above things in our services.

Let us know if you are interested.