The absolute complete SEO checklist
Author: Ryan Walsh
Date: 14/12/2024
The Complete SEO Checklist
In this article, we will cover the following:
- SEO basics
- Why you need to carry out keyword research
- How to improve your on-page SEO
- Why it’s important to write high-quality content marketing
- What Google E-EAT is all about
- How to improve your business technical SEO
- Advanced SEO tips and advice
This in-depth article explains exactly how your businesses can improve their organic search engine optimisation.
We understand that you may read many blog posts to improve your business’s SEO.
One blog post may well explain the importance of schema markup, while another explains why your business needs quality backlinks.
However, business owners often don’t have the time to read countless blog posts, so we at our SEO agency thought it would be a good idea to write one long article covering almost everything, including the kitchen sink.
This way, when you stick the kettle on, you have a comprehensive article to use as a checklist to improve your SEO.
Now, if you are thinking, how good is the advice?
Well, the advice in this blog post is the best because it was written by Ryan Walsh, who has owned and managed a well-known SEO company within Wales for the last 10 years. Advising businesses, such as well-known solicitors, through to giant online retailers.
We are, therefore, experts at what we do. We fully understand Google E-EAT and can offer you quality advice.
Don’t be overwhelmed.
SEO encompasses various topics, such as technical SEO, on-page SEO, keyword research, and more.
Now, you might feel overwhelmed, but don’t be.
This article offers simple advice. If you own a WordPress website, you can make the changes and note the improvements.
However, a word to the wise before we go any further.
Rubbish SEO, such as low-quality SEO, no longer cuts the mustard.
If you want to get your company on page one of Google, the work must be top-quality and white hat, and you must have put serious effort into it.
With search engine optimisation, if you follow the rules of Google E-EAT and put serious effort into it, you will see results. But it takes time; don’t rush.
As the famous Guinness adverts once said, good things come to those who wait.
Organic traffic increase
What are the benefits of improving a business’s SEO?
More organic traffic
For those who haven’t experienced the benefits of excellent, top-quality SEO, they won’t appreciate the dramatic and positive effects it can have on a business.
Now, don’t get us wrong:
In any one city, many SEO consultants think they’re mustard.
But trust us when we say there’s only really often a handful that are any good at what they do.
Because Google’s algorithm is complex, it’s ever-changing, like a giant Rubix cube.
If you think you have it sussed, Google will change its algorithm, and you will have to do more tests to understand how it works.
But the primary purpose of improving any company’s SEO is simple: to draw in more traffic, that’s organic traffic, and to bring in more shoppers, so you increase the chances of them purchasing items from your website.
It’s as simple as that.
But it does take time. Even low-competitive business sectors, such as a used car dealership in a town, village, or small city, will take 6 months to see any tangible results from your SEO.
If you live in a larger city, a major U.K. city, and you have a competitive business sector, let’s say you run a large solicitor’s practice; well, it will take much longer.
And national SEO—getting to the first page for super competitive terms, such as car insurance—is going to take even longer again.
SEO Basics Checklist
Let’s get the basics sorted first.
Hire the right web designer, and don’t go skimping on the costs
So, it’s a bit like this: if you’re going to enter an F1 race, you got going to rock up with an old diesel car, it won’t cut the mustard, and the competition will start lapping you.
So, have a vehicle that’s up to the job, high-performing, and reliable.
Well, this is the same in business. You can’t have a rubbish website with copied text that’s slow and poorly designed, and that has a difficult main menu to use.
Just like the analogy about the F1 car, you will get left behind by the competition.
So, first, seek out an SEO agency that also designs websites. This is a must. Partner with them so that they can create a brilliant website from the get-go.
This is important; you want it when the website is first indexed by Googlebot so that it can impress you.
You want Googlebot to crawl and index every page from the start, knowing that the content marketing is high-quality and that the on-page SEO has been done right.
You also want Googlebot to assign a high Google E-EAT score to each page from the start.
Because if you don’t get the SEO right from the start, you’re fighting with one hand behind your back.
So, the best advice is to get the on-page SEO right from the start.
Set Up Google Search Console
Set up a Google Search Console account
If you were to pop your head around the door of most SEO agencies across the U.K., you would often find them on Google Search Console or at least have that tab open on their browser.
Regardless of whether they are improving the SEO for a sole trader builder or a PLC business that might employ thousands of people globally.
Why is Google Search Console so popular?
Well, we think it comes down to two main reasons. One is that Google owns Google Search Console, so the information is reliable.
Second, it’s just a piece of cake to use. On one screen, you have everything you need to know about your website’s SEO performance. For example, you can see how many clicks you have had over the last 24 hours, weeks, or months.
For example, you can look at the back profile and see your keyword average positions.
So, it’s a potent SEO tool.
Google Analytics lets you:
Then, you should set up a Google Analytics account
Google Analytics is another free tool that Google offers; we highly recommend obtaining an account.
Google Analytics can tell you how many organic visitors you have received, understand bounce rates, and determine a page’s dwell time.
This is important for any business that improves its organic search engine optimisation.
Keyword research
There are some excellent keyword research tools on the market. We highly recommend using Moz Pro.
You can find out which keywords to optimise your website for. For example, let’s say you run a solicitor’s practice offering many different types of legal advice.
Now, there are likely to be hundreds, if not sometimes thousands, of keywords for which you can optimise the website.
So, SEO agencies globally must focus on which keywords they want to optimise because you can’t optimise all of them at once.
It would be best to have a marketing strategy for how you will go about it.
For example, marketing agencies have a content calendar that helps them determine what topics to write about to improve organic SEO.
Then there are backlinks. You have to focus on which pages you will build the backlinks to send link juice to those pages.
What is the difference between internal and external backlinks
Internal backlinks are good at keeping shoppers on a website for longer, so they can help increase dwell times while reducing bounce rates.
For example, if you shop for a flight abroad, you may see a link to book a hotel or car hire on the same site. Therefore, you will stay on the website for longer, which helps improve the organic SEO.
It also helps the business increase its profitability.
Technical SEO Checklist
It is also essential to improve the technical SEO as well
Technical SEO is about fixing any crawling and indexation issues. So, for example, a no-index tab might be left on; if it is left on, then this page won’t get indexed. For example, a web designer might have been working on that page, and accidentally, the no-index tab on this page will get de-indexed so that it won’t appear on Google.
That is why any indexation issues need to be fixed.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Which Technical SEO improvements should we make? │
└───┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
v
┌────────────────────┐
│COMPREHENSIVE AUDIT │
│ & BASELINE ANALYSIS│
└───┬────────────────┘
│ Identify current crawl issues using Google Search Console, improve the page speed, indexing anomalies
│ Tools: our SEO agency uses Screaming Frog, GSC, Lighthouse, Server Logs
│
v
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│SET GOALS & PRIORITISE TASKS │
└───┬──────────────────────────────┘
│ Define KPIs (improved CWV, fewer errors, your business may need to improve its indexing)
│ Focus on high-impact fixes first
│
v
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ IMPROVE SITE ARCHITECTURE & URL STRUCTURE │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> LOGICAL SITE STRUCTURE
│ ├─ Ensure categories & subcategories are well-organised- so think about how you set out pages in the main menu
│ ├─ Use breadcrumbs, where possible; ask web developers to add these for user & crawl clarity
│ ├─ Limit the depth of key pages for a more leisurely crawl, and make sure that your business is using its crawl budget from Googlebot to crawl the most important pages first; don’t have blank pages.
│ └─ WHY: Easier crawl & thematic clarity leads to better indexing
│
├──> OPTIMISE URLS
│ ├─ Use human-readable, keyword-rich URLs, but must be white hat
│ ├─ Remove unnecessary parameters, ensure HTTPS usage
│ ├─ Standardise trailing slash usage
│ └─ WHY: Clean URLs improve relevance signals & ranking clarity
│
├──> FIX BROKEN LINKS & REDIRECT CHAINS
│ ├─ Identify 404s again. Use screaming frog for this via crawling tools & GSC
│ ├─ Replace or remove broken internal links, for example, old product pages that cause 404 errors; make sure you redirect them to another similar product that you sell; this reduces the bounce rate.
│ ├─ Consolidate multiple redirects to a single hop
│ └─ WHY: Smooth crawl paths & better user experience support ranking
│
└──> ENHANCE INTERNAL LINKING
├─ Keyword-rich internal anchors, use white hat anchor text
├─ Highlight important pages in global navigation, mark up the author name using schema mark-up
├─ Contextual links within content
└─ WHY: Improved PageRank flow & content discoverability raise ranking potential
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ INDEXATION CONTROL & CRAWL MANAGEMENT │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> OPTIMISE ROBOTS.TXT
│ ├─ Block non-essential pages, for example, WordPress login (admin, staging)
│ ├─ Ensure no critical CSS/JS is blocked
│ └─ WHY: Guides crawlers to important content, improving indexation
│
├──> USE META ROBOTS TAGS & NOINDEX STRATEGICALLY
│ ├─ Apply “no-index” to thin/duplicate pages
│ ├─ Avoid no-index on pages meant to rank on Google or Bing
│ └─ WHY: Keeps index clean with only valuable content, boosting overall quality signals
│
├──> IMPLEMENT CANONICAL TAGS
│ ├─ Point duplicates to a canonical URL
│ └─ WHY: Consolidates ranking signals and prevents dilution of link equity, so link juice is only sent to the pages for which you want to improve SEO.
│
├──> MANAGE PAGINATION
│ ├─ Logical pagination, possibly a “view-all” option
│ └─ WHY: Prevents index bloat & ensures cohesive crawl patterns
│
├──> SUBMIT & MAINTAIN XML SITEMAPS– use Yoast SEO for this; make it’s a piece of cake
│ ├─ Include only canonical, indexable pages, and keep the XML site map current.
│ ├─ Update regularly and submit to GSC. For example, if you write a new blog post, you ask for it to be indexed by Google Search Console, which speeds up the indexation.
│ └─ WHY: Ensures key pages are discovered & indexed efficiently by Googlebot, improving visibility
│
└──> MONITOR CRAWL ERRORS & COVERAGE ISSUES
├─ Fix server errors and soft 404s, and use Screaming Frog to find broken internal links
├─ Ensure stable server response times
└─ WHY: Clean index signals high quality & reliability, aiding ranking
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ IMPROVE SITE SPEED & CORE WEB VITALS │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> SERVER & HOSTING OPTIMISATIONS
│ ├─ Fast, reliable hosting; reduce TTFB; we recommend Site Ground website hosting
│ ├─ Implement server-side caching; your web developer can help with this
│ └─ WHY: Faster loads, so faster page/blog post = better user experience & ranking signal
│
├──> CSS & JAVASCRIPT RENDERING
│ ├─ Minify & compress CSS/JS
│ ├─ Defer non-critical JS
│ └─ WHY: Reduces render-blocking, improving LCP/FID scores & rankings
│
├──> OPTIMISE IMAGES & MEDIA
│ ├─ Compress images (WebP/AVIF)
│ ├─ Use lazy-load where possible
│ └─ WHY: Faster image loading improves Core Web Vitals & user satisfaction
│
├──> LEVERAGE BROWSER CACHING & CDNs
│ ├─ Set caching headers for static resources
│ ├─ Use a CDN for global reach
│ └─ WHY: Consistent fast loading supports better SEO performance
│
└──> IMPROVE CORE WEB VITALS (LCP, FID, CLS)
├─ Enhance above-the-fold content speed (LCP)
├─ Reduce JS execution time (FID)
├─ Allocate stable space for elements (CLS)
└─ WHY: Core Web Vitals are direct ranking signals from Google
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MOBILE OPTIMISATION & RESPONSIVENESS │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> RESPONSIVE DESIGN- Obtain a responsive WordPress website that works on I-phones and also all Android devices
│ ├─ Use responsive frameworks (e.g., Bootstrap- your web developer can help your business with that
│ ├─ Ensure mobile-first indexing readiness
│ └─ WHY: With mobile-first indexing, a top-quality mobile experience is crucial for ranking
│
└──> MOBILE USABILITY
├─ Make tap targets large & properly spaced
├─ Avoid intrusive interstitials
└─ WHY: Good mobile U.X reduces bounce rates, sending positive quality signals
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STRUCTURED DATA & RICH RESULTS │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> IMPLEMENT JSON-LD SCHEMA
│ ├─ Use correct Schema.org markup (product, article, FAQ)
│ ├─ Validate with Rich Results Test
│ └─ WHY: Enhanced SERP features (rich snippets) increase CTR, that’s through rate & engagement, supporting rankings
│
└──> ACCURATE & CONSISTENT DATA
├─ Keep NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistent; we recommend adding this to the footer but write it in plain text so that Googlebot can index it.
├─ Update structured data for new prices/events
└─ WHY: Trustworthy data improves overall site authority & ranking signals
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ INTERNATIONAL & MULTILINGUAL SEO (IF APPLICABLE) │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> HREFLANG IMPLEMENTATION
│ ├─ Correctly cross-reference language/country variants
│ └─ WHY: Serving correct language page improves user engagement, indirectly boosting rankings
│
└──> GEO-TARGETING
├─ Use GSC country targeting if relevant
├─ Employ country-specific TLDs or subdirectories
└─ WHY: Better regional relevance equals improved local search rankings
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SECURITY & TECHNICAL INTEGRITY │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> HTTPS IMPLEMENTATION
│ ├─ Secure the entire site with SSL
│ ├─ Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
│ └─ WHY: Security is a known ranking factor & trust signal
│
└──> CLEAN CODE & RELIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
├─ Validate HTML/CSS
├─ Ensure no JS console errors
├─ Keep software/plugins, such as your WordPress plugins, updated.
└─ WHY: Clean, error-free code helps search engines parse & rank content effectively
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CONTINUOUS MONITORING & ITERATION │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
├──> REGULAR RE-CRAWLS & AUDITS
│ ├─ Monthly/quarterly audits to catch new issues
│ ├─ Update sitemaps robots.txt as the site evolves
│ └─ WHY: Continuous improvement maintains strong technical foundations for ranking
│
├──> TRACK CORE WEB VITALS & PERFORMANCE
│ ├─ Use Lighthouse, CrUX, GSC reports
│ ├─ Address regressions quickly
│ └─ WHY: Maintaining top performance keeps positive ranking signals stable
│
├──> MONITOR INDEX COVERAGE IN GSC
│ ├─ Identify new errors
│ ├─ Remove outdated pages
│ └─ WHY: A clean, relevant index supports higher overall visibility & ranking
│
└──> ADAPT TO ALGORITHM UPDATES & BEST PRACTICES
├─ Follow Google Search Central updates
├─ Engage in SEO communities
└─ WHY: Staying current ensures long-term ranking stability & improvements
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ RESULT │
└───┬────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
v
BETTER CRAWLABILITY by Googlebot, INDEXATION, SPEED, MOBILE U.X, STRUCTURED DATA, SECURITY
↓
IMPROVED USER EXPERIENCE, HIGHER CTR, MORE RELEVANT CONTENT SURFACING
↓
STRONGER RANKING SIGNALS & ORGANIC VISIBILITY
↓
SUSTAINED ORGANIC TRAFFIC GROWTH & IMPROVED ORGANIC SEO PERFORMANCE
The website also needs to be mobile-friendly
Working with your web designers and SEO agencies to improve the mobile design would be best.
Use split testing to improve the design gradually.
Use high-quality SEO tools such as Moz Pro and your Google Analytics account to reduce the bounce rate.
Add high-quality content marketing.
Writing blog posts such as this often takes many hours. Add up all the time you spend writing blog posts, and it’s usually hundreds of hours of work.
It can take a long time before Google’s algorithm ranks any of that work on page one.
So why bother?
The answer is that leading SEO agencies worldwide use blog posts as one of the main ways of drawing in organic traffic.
If those shoppers stick around, they will browse your items for sale and read other blog posts.
Generally, they are very interested in your products for sale, so Google’s algorithms will pick up on this. It will show that your business has dwell time and low bounce rates, so organic search engine optimisation should improve over time.
Make your website super sonic fast.
We highly recommend paying more for supersonic, ultra-fast website hosting.
Google uses the speed of your website as a ranking factor.
So, if your website is fast, you will rank higher on Google.
However, remember that Google’s complex algorithms use over 200 different ranking factors to determine and decipher where any business should rank on Google. So, just by purchasing super fast website hosting, this alone won’t catapult you to the top of Google SERPs, but it will help.
Backlinks
I don’t believe the blog posts that say that backlink building is dead because it’s not.
However, what’s crucial now is that the backlinks are top quality; they must be mustard.
Low-quality links will damage your SEO faster than you can shout sinking ship.
However, getting top-quality links—excellent ones—from, say, Sky News will massively help improve your SEO.
Publish less, but publish quality.
You might have heard many people say that they are going to buy less but more quality to help protect the environment.
It does make sense. Why buy cheap, low-quality car tyres that will burn out quicker when you can buy quality brands that will last much longer?
This is a bit like your business’s SEO: Don’t add low-quality pages that don’t offer helpful advice.
Instead, save your energy and write quality work that’s useful and helpful.
Create pages with a high Google E-EAT score, high dwell time, and many quality links. This will help them rank higher on Google’s SERPs.