SEO Checklist 2026
A complete SEO checklist covering every major area: technical SEO, keyword research, on-page optimisation, E-E-A-T, link building, local SEO, and analytics. Add notes to each item and track your progress.
Technical SEOOn-PageLink BuildingE-E-A-TLocal SEONotes per itemProgress trackingFree
Overall progress0 / 47 (0%)
Priority:
Technical SEO
0/11Crawl your site with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs Site Audit and fix all errorsCritical
·
Ensure your site is on HTTPS with a valid SSL certificateCritical
·
Verify your site passes Google's Mobile-Friendly Test and Core Web VitalsCritical
·
Get your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) under 2.5 seconds on mobileCritical
·
Submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster ToolsHigh
·
Audit your robots.txt to ensure important pages are not accidentally blockedHigh
·
Add canonical tags to all pages to prevent duplicate content issuesHigh
·
Implement structured data (Schema.org) for your content type: Article, Product, FAQ, or HowToHigh
·
Check Google Search Console for indexing issues and manual actionsCritical
·
Fix all redirect chains (A → B → C) into direct redirects (A → C)Medium
·
Fix or redirect broken internal and external links returning 404 errorsHigh
·
Keyword Research
0/7Build a seed keyword list from your product, competitors, and customer languageCritical
·
Map every target keyword to one of four search intents: Informational, Navigational, Commercial, TransactionalCritical
·
Use Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Keyword Planner to find search volume and keyword difficulty (KD)High
·
Target long-tail keywords (3+ words, lower volume, lower competition) first for new sitesHigh
·
Use Ahrefs Site Explorer to find keywords your competitors rank for that you don'tHigh
·
Group related keywords into topic clusters and assign one primary keyword per pageHigh
·
Manually review the SERPs for your target keywords to understand what Google currently ranksCritical
·
On-Page SEO
0/9Write a unique, keyword-rich title tag (50–60 characters) for every pageCritical
·
Write a compelling meta description (150–160 characters) for every pageHigh
·
Use exactly one H1 tag per page containing the primary keywordCritical
·
Use H2 and H3 headings to structure content and include secondary keywordsHigh
·
Use clean, descriptive URL slugs with the primary keyword and no stop wordsHigh
·
Write content that comprehensively covers the topic and answers related questions users haveCritical
·
Add descriptive alt text to every image containing the target keyword where naturalHigh
·
Add 3–5 contextual internal links from high-authority pages to new contentHigh
·
Link to authoritative external sources to support claims and build topical trustMedium
·
Content & E-E-A-T
0/5Add author bios with credentials, LinkedIn profiles, and publication historyHigh
·
Include original data, research, case studies, or first-hand experience in each pieceCritical
·
Update existing content regularly and add a "Last updated" dateHigh
·
Add an FAQ section answering "People Also Ask" questions for your primary keywordHigh
·
Create or improve your About page with company history, team credentials, and press mentionsMedium
·
Link Building
0/7Run a backlink audit and disavow toxic links pointing to your siteHigh
·
Analyse competitor backlink profiles and identify sites that could link to you tooHigh
·
Find broken links on relevant sites and offer your content as a replacement (broken link building)Medium
·
Write guest posts for authoritative sites in your industry with a natural author bio linkHigh
·
Create linkable assets: original research, tools, calculators, or comprehensive guidesHigh
·
Sign up for HARO (Help a Reporter Out) or Qwoted and respond to journalist queries in your nicheMedium
·
Find unlinked brand mentions and request the site add a link to your homepageMedium
·
Local SEO
0/4Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile (name, address, phone, hours, photos, categories)Critical
·
Ensure your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) are consistent across all directoriesHigh
·
Build citations on major directories: Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places, TripAdvisor, and industry directoriesHigh
·
Actively request reviews from customers on Google, Yelp, and industry-specific review sitesCritical
·
Analytics & Tracking
0/4Set up Google Search Console and verify all versions of your site (www, non-www, HTTP, HTTPS)Critical
·
Install Google Analytics 4 (or Plausible/Matomo for privacy-first) and set up conversion goalsCritical
·
Set up rank tracking for your 20 most important keywords using Ahrefs, Semrush, or SERPWatcherHigh
·
Set up alerts in Google Analytics for traffic drops of more than 20%Medium
·
Loading checklist…
SEO checklist — frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about using this tool.