A Complete SEO Checklist for Your Website (2024)

A good online presence is essential in the digital era.

According to Statista, an estimated 4.66 billion people were using the internet as of 2023, and in 2024, these numbers are predicted to grow by more than 6 billion.

Since consumers rely on search engines like Google to discover the products and information they need, you must optimize your website with search engine optimization (SEO) to rank it higher on SERP.

A better rank creates a sense of authenticity and authority in the eyes of customers. There are several practices involved in a successful SEO strategy.

Let’s walk you through all the essential aspects that can take your website to different heights.

How to Use This SEO Checklist

This SEO checklist functions as a tactical guide for improving your website’s search engine rankings and attaining long-term growth. A phased approach is recommended for the best outcomes. According to Semrush, Google holds up to 90% of the world’s search engine market share. That’s why every SEO service provider primarily focuses on and works according to Google’s norms.

Prioritize Measures and Set Proper Goals:

• Start by going over the complete SEO checklist in detail. Learn everything there is to know about the on-page and off-page SEO strategies discussed.
• Use tools for analyzing websites, such as Google Search Console, to carefully assess how well your website is performing right now. It helps you examine elements like technical soundness, keyword ranks, and organic traffic.
• Refrain from assuming that SEO success can occur instantly. Based on your present rating and the level of competition in your specialty, set attainable targets.

Focus on high-impact tasks:

• Break down the checklist into smaller, more doable activities to expedite the optimization process.

Use SEO analytics tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz wisely to track the performance of your website over time. You can also identify areas for improvement and adjust your SEO strategy accordingly with this data-driven approach.

Source: LinkedIn

SEO Basics Checklist

Building a search engine-friendly website starts with a basic SEO plan. On-page and off-page optimization are the two main areas of high significance.

On-page optimization entails creating excellent content that is focused on pertinent keywords and making sure a website is technically sound, loads quickly, and is responsive to mobile devices. It includes optimizing components like title tags and photos.

Setup Google Search Console

• Sign in to Google’s search console.
• Add your website to it and select the proper domain.
• Verify the ownership of the website with certain steps, like downloading and uploading an HTML file, modifying your DNS record, and providing a domain name registrar.

Get a Grip of the Bing Webmaster Tool

Enhance the way your website performs on Bing, the world’s second-biggest search engine, with the help of Bing Webmaster Tools (Bing WMT).

• Sign in to Bing’s webmaster tool with your Microsoft, Google, or Facebook account. However, for WMT, you must create a Microsoft account.
• Verify your website using appropriate meta tags and CNAME record verification. (CNAME stands for canonical name.) It is a record used in DNS.
• You can search for performance on the tool, look for backlinks, and address crawl errors or issues using the same.

Source: Google for Developers

Keyword Research Checklist

Proper keyword research can rank your website at the highest level of the SERP. There are several tools available on the web for proper keyword research, such as Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, etc.

Search and utilize long-tail keywords.

More focused search terms containing three or more words are called long-tail keywords. They identify the precise requirements and desires of the user by delving deeper into their search intent.

• Long-tail keywords are less competitive than broad keywords, which helps your website rank higher in search results.
• Long-tail keywords draw in customers who are closer to completing a purchase since they are more focused and have a clear buying intent.
• Examine the long-tail keywords that your rivals are focusing on. Seek out weaknesses in their approach and possibilities to get your website ranked for pertinent, high-intent keywords.

Related: 11 Best Keyword Research Tools to Dominate the SERPs in 2024

Unlock insights from search engine results pages (SERPs):

• Examine the websites that rank highest for the terms you want to target. What kind of stuff are they providing? Examine their structure, style (articles, listicles, videos), and general methodology.
• Featured snippets, which are frequently shown as a box at the top of SERPs, offer a brief answer straight on the results page and are usually taken from a highly ranked website.

Source: Semrush

On-Page SEO Checklist

Now, optimize your website for on-page SEO. Technical optimization and content are the two foundations of on-page SEO. Content optimization guarantees that your website provides useful, educational material that focuses on relevant search terms.

This entails writing interesting material, introducing keywords organically, and updating it frequently. Technical SEO concentrates on the functioning and structure of the website to make it easily comprehensible to search engines.

This entails creating engaging titles and descriptions, employing obvious URLs, and optimizing pictures for search engine visibility and accessibility.

• Include your primary keyword in the URL.
• Keep the URL short.
• Put the keyword in the first place in your title.
• To organize your information and increase readability, use headers (H1, H2, and H3) that are clear and brief.
• Enhance the visibility of your pictures by adding alt text descriptions that correctly explain the content of the image and contain important keywords.

Source: Semrush

Technical SEO Checklist

A solid technological basis guarantees that search engines can efficiently find, comprehend, and rank your website, even though great content is still important. You must secure your website with HTTPS.

Identify Crawl Errors

Crawl errors happen when search engine bots run into problems trying to access and index the pages on your website. These mistakes affect the overall SEO effectiveness of your website by preventing important material from appearing in search results.

• Use search console tools. In the “coverage” option, you can easily locate a report of crawl errors. It can include errors like 404 not found, 401 unauthorized, 500 server error, etc.
• Various SEO audit tools, like Google Analytics, Moz Pro, etc., crawl and identify the errors in your website. These tools can also explain the reasons behind errors.

Check Google’s Lookout on Your Page

• Algorithmic Factors: According to reports, Google’s ranking system takes into account around 200 parameters when determining a webpage’s position in search results. These include the previously listed components (quality, E-A-T, and relevance) as well as technical SEO considerations like website speed and mobile friendliness.
• User Response: In addition, Google examines information about user behavior, including time spent on a page following a click from search results and click-through rates (CTRs).

Source: Backlinko

Link-Building Checklist

Analyze Your Backlink Profile: Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to gain insight into your existing backlink portfolio. Determine the quantity, quality, and referring domains of your backlink profile. This study offers a useful starting point for comparison when you create new connections.

Create link-worthy content: Focus on producing excellent, educational, and useful content that draws backlinks on its own. These can include comprehensive manuals, study summaries, or original data visualizations.

Source: Dopinger

According to the BKA Content report, an ideal website should have 40–50 backlinks to its homepage and 0-100 to each subpage.

Local SEO Checklist

Local SEO empowers your business to establish a better physical and online presence in the market at a specific geographical location. Nearly 25% of traffic comes from local searches.

• Claim your free Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business) if you haven’t already. This enables you to control the information about your company that shows up in Google Maps and Search, including contact data, images, and reviews from clients.
• Positive reviews help you gain more credibility with potential clients and dramatically improve your local SEO position. Invite pleased clients to post reviews on your Google Business Profile, and handle evaluations both good and bad with tact.

Source: Seobility

Tracking & More

It is important to continuously check and refine your SEO strategy. You must check and monitor the effectiveness of certain practices with the tools and techniques available.

• Keep an eye on the total amount of traffic that organic search results bring to your website. This gives you a broad overview of how your SEO tactics are affecting the total number of visitors to your website. Search Console and Google Analytics are two useful tools for analyzing trends in organic traffic.
• Keep track of how long visitors typically stay on a page and how long they visit a website on average. This offers perceptions about the efficacy of the material and user involvement.

Conclusion

Remember that SEO is an ongoing practice rather than a one-time event. With the help of this thorough SEO checklist, you now have the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully navigate the always-changing field of search engine optimization. You’ve created a solid basis for better website exposure, better acquisition of organic visitors, and eventually higher brand awareness and lead generation by carefully putting these strategies into practice.

FAQs: 

• What is Complete SEO?

The entire range of tactics for dominating search results is known as complete SEO. It entails both off-page SEO (building your website’s online visibility and reputation through backlinks) and on-page SEO (optimizing your website itself with relevant content and technological adjustments).

• What is the First Step in Off-Page SEO?

Building backlinks is the first step in off-page SEO.

• What is a Backlink in SEO?

In SEO, backlinks are also called inbound links. These are the links that originate from a different website and point to your website to create a sense of authority in the minds of users.

• What is the Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page SEO?

Optimizing components of your website to raise its search engine rankings is known as on-page SEO. To make a website more search engine friendly, it is necessary to optimize its content, HTML elements (such as title, meta, and header tags), and general structure and functionality.

On the other hand, activities done outside of your website to affect your rankings within search engine results pages (SERPs) are referred to as off-page SEO.