40 Step SEO Checklist (Updated to 2021)

The following 40-step on-page SEO checklist should help you conduct a thorough site audit, making sure your on-page SEO strategy is heading towards success.

CMO, Dynamic Yield

Understanding how to optimize your site is instrumental to your online success. Your SEO strategy needs to be concentrated, focused and effective. The following checklist should help you conduct a thorough site audit, making sure your SEO efforts are effective and powerful.

This checklist should help you to develop a better understanding of what actions need to be taken. It’s a list you can come back to every once in a while, since SEO takes time and it’s an ongoing process – not a one-time thing.

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40 Questions to Accelerate Your On-Page SEO Strategy

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General Setup

Have you implemented a web analytics solution that will help you understand customer behavior on your websites?
Have you verified your site in Google Search Console and/or Bing Webmaster Tools?
Have you included a privacy policy and terms of service sheets?

Meta Tags

Have you included the primary keyword in your title tag?
Is the title tag copy relevant, compelling and inspiring?
Have you checked the length of your title tag? (you can use a title emulator tool)
Did you include your brand name, slogan or expertise in your title tag to position and brand your company?
Did you set up unique and relevant meta description tags for each page, including a motivational call-to-action where needed to improve click-through rate?
Have you investigated the HTML improvements section in Google Search Console and fixed all meta description and title tag issues?

Content and structure

Is there a unique and relevant H1 headline tag on every page?
Have you included the primary keyword in the page headline?
Have you included the primary keyword (or keywords) in at least one sub-headline?
Have you included the primary keyword within the body copy in a natural and compelling way?
Did you use related phrases and common synonyms throughout the content?
Did you make sure there are no misspellings or poor grammar?
Did you include relevant internal links throughout your content?
Did you do a Google site: search and review the results?

Images

Did you specify descriptive and relevant alt attributes for every image or graphic item?
Are there relevant captions surrounding the images that include the target search phrase?
Did you generate a dynamic XML sitemap for your images?
Did you submit the XML image sitemap to Google and Bing Webmaster Tools?
Did you choose descriptive file names?
Did you compress and optimize your image files using online tools such as Optimizilla?

Mobile

Is your site mobile friendly?
Have you used Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to test your mobile site?
When searching for your brand on a mobile search, does your site have the "mobile friendly" label?

Local SEO

Did you include geo-meta tags, which provide context for localized searches?
Does the NAP (stands for Name, Address, Phone) on your website exactly matches the NAP on your Google Places listing?
Have you used your business address in the copy of some of your pages?

Final Word

By answering the 40 questions above, you’ll make sure that your on-page SEO strategy is heading towards success. Keep your site up to date by implementing the practices above in an organized manner, and you’ll improve your chances of earning high organic rankings.

Tags: SEO and Personalization

40 Step SEO Checklist (Updated to 2021)

The following 40-step on-page SEO checklist should help you conduct a thorough site audit, making sure your on-page SEO strategy is heading towards success.

40 Questions to Accelerate Your On-Page SEO Strategy

WELL DONE!

Final Word

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40 Step SEO Checklist (Updated to 2021)

The following 40-step on-page SEO checklist should help you conduct a thorough site audit, making sure your on-page SEO strategy is heading towards success.

40 Questions to Accelerate Your On-Page SEO Strategy

WELL DONE!

Final Word

Read next

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