Your Friendly SEO Checklist
If you’ve ever published a new blog post or page and found yourself thinking, “Did I check all my SEO boxes?”, you are not alone. I’ve been there too. SEO can feel like a lot—keywords, meta tags, images, links… the list goes on.
The good news? You don’t need to memorize everything. I’ve created a simple, step-by-step SEO checklist you can keep handy whenever you add new content to your website. Think of it as a little ritual for making sure your pages are ready to shine in search results.
1️⃣ Before You Publish: Content & Keyword Basics
Let’s start with the heart of your page: the content. Good SEO begins with clear, well-structured content that your audience will love.
Choose your primary keyword: One main keyword per page or post keeps your content focused.
Add secondary keywords: 2–3 related terms sprinkled naturally throughout your content can help search engines understand the topic better.
Craft your title tag: Keep it under 60 characters and include your primary keyword.
Write a meta description: A short, enticing summary (~150–160 characters) that also includes your main keyword.
Use headings wisely: H1 for your main title, H2/H3 for sections. Make it readable and structured.
Link internally: Connect to 2–5 other pages or posts on your site—this helps your readers and your SEO.
Include external links: Link to 1–3 reputable sources where relevant.
Optimize images: Use descriptive file names, add alt text, and compress images so your page loads fast.
Check your URLs: Short, clean, and keyword-friendly URLs work best.
2️⃣ Technical SEO & Performance
Next, let’s make sure the backend of your site is working as hard as your content.
Mobile-friendly: Your site should look great on any device.
Page speed: Slow pages frustrate readers and search engines—aim for under 3 seconds.
Secure your site: Make sure HTTPS is active.
Use schema markup: This helps search engines understand your content better (especially for articles, products, or events).
Avoid duplicate content: Use canonical tags if needed.
Check robots.txt & sitemap: Ensure search engines can crawl your pages and your XML sitemap is updated.
Fix broken links: 404 errors hurt user experience and SEO.
3️⃣ User Experience & Engagement
SEO isn’t just for search engines—it’s for real people too.
Make your content readable: Short paragraphs, bullet points, and simple sentences go a long way.
Add multimedia: Images, videos, charts, and infographics make content engaging.
Clear CTAs: Tell readers what you’d like them to do next.
Easy navigation: Your menus and links should feel intuitive.
Accessibility matters: Alt text, proper headings, and good color contrast help everyone.
4️⃣ After You Hit Publish
Even after your page is live, there are a few checks to keep things on track.
Confirm indexing: Make sure Google has crawled and indexed your page.
Check analytics tracking: Ensure your page is being tracked in Google Analytics or GA4.
Monitor Search Console: Look out for crawl errors or warnings.
Share your content: Social media, email newsletters, or backlinks to relevant sites help your page get noticed.
Plan content updates: Evergreen content benefits from refreshes—set a schedule to revisit your pages periodically.
5️⃣ Optional Advanced Checks
If you want to go a step further:
Track your keyword rankings to see how your page performs.
Test different title tags and meta descriptions to boost click-through rates.
Keep an eye on engagement metrics like bounce rate, scroll depth, and time on page.
Use FAQ or How-To schema markup for rich results in search engines.
🌸 A Little SEO Ritual
Think of this checklist as more than just boxes to tick. It’s a way to approach SEO with intention and care—making sure your content reaches the right people while keeping your website organized, fast, and beautiful.
Next time you publish a post, review this checklist. Follow it step by step. Before you know it, SEO won’t feel like a chore—it’ll feel like a part of your creative process.