Your SEO Checklist For Organic Ranking

Finding a comprehensive SEO checklist can often seem impossible. That’s why we’ve created this ultimate resource for anyone tackling their first, 100th, or even 1,000th SEO project.

At Upward Consulting, our seasoned SEO experts have come together to share their most valuable insights, favourite tools, and proven strategies for everything from keyword research to technical SEO, link building, and more.

This checklist is a curated collection of expert advice designed to help you optimize every aspect of your website. Whether you’re focusing on on-page SEO, diving deep into technical optimization, or building high-quality backlinks, we’ve got you covered.

Our approach is incremental, meaning each step brings you closer to SEO success. By taking it one task at a time, you can avoid feeling overwhelmed while steadily reaping the rewards of a data-driven, results-oriented strategy.

We’ll introduce the key tools and resources you’ll need to get started and then dive into the heart of the matter: our 2024 SEO checklist.

We’ve broken the checklist into two primary sections: on-page optimization and off-page SEO tasks.

Now, let’s dive in!

Measure & Track Everything

To optimize your SEO efforts, you must have the right tools and processes to ensure accuracy and efficiency. Familiarizing yourself with these tools will help you track progress and make data-driven decisions that lead to success.

We highlight the most commonly used and critical tools—many free—that can help you begin seeing meaningful results and traction with your SEO strategy. These tools are fundamental to measuring key metrics and ensuring your optimization efforts are on the right path.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools) is an essential free tool for anyone serious about SEO. It provides valuable insights into your website’s performance, helping you optimize your strategy and make data-driven decisions.

With Google Search Console, you can:

  • Discover which search terms bring traffic to your site and uncover potential new opportunities.
  • Identify the top-performing keywords and pages that are driving clicks and engagement.
  • Take control of your site’s indexing by submitting sitemaps or requesting recrawls.
  • Detect and resolve technical issues that could be hindering your site’s performance.
  • Receive important updates and messages directly from the Google Search team.

GSC is indispensable for improving your SEO efforts. It helps you address critical issues on your checklist and provides ongoing insights to refine your strategy and reach your target audience more effectively. Think of it as your personal SEO assistant, guiding you toward greater online visibility and success.

Google Analytics

Another powerful free tool is Google Analytics, which provides detailed insights into your website’s traffic and user behaviour. With Google Analytics, you can track vital SEO metrics, including where your visitors are coming from, demographic data about your audience, which pages attract the most visitors, and key performance indicators such as bounce rates.

Setting up Google Analytics on your site is essential for understanding your traffic flow. If you prefer a self-hosted solution, explore alternative analytics platforms like Piwik (now known as Matomo).

Google Analytics is the go-to platform for website data. It answers crucial questions like:

  • Who’s visiting your site, and where are they coming from?
  • Which pages are the most popular, and which may need improvements?
  • How long do visitors stay on your site, and what actions do they take?
  • Why are visitors converting (or why aren’t they)?
  • How many visitors turn into actual customers?

Once you have installed Google Analytics, it will answer most questions about your website users and their behaviour.

For even more valuable insights, link Google Analytics with Google Search Console. This simple integration will unlock additional reports and help you understand your site’s performance across traffic and search-related data.

Google Tag Manager

In simple terms, Google Tag Manager (GTM) lets you manage and update the tags on your website without having to dive into the code. GTM offers a range of benefits, including:

  • Quickly add and update tags for various purposes like analytics, marketing, and more.
  • Tracking user interactions and behaviours on your site, such as clicks and form submissions.
  • Setting up triggers and variables to control when specific tags are activated.
  • Seamlessly integrating with Google Analytics and other tools for better insights.
  • Streamlining tag management across multiple websites or environments.
  • Allowing collaboration among team members with customizable access controls.

This tool is crucial for tracking user behaviour, conversion metrics, and running re-marketing campaigns.

After setting up Google Search Console and Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager becomes one of the most important tools in your SEO toolkit. It enables you to measure and track every interaction on your website efficiently.

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools provides a comprehensive dashboard filled with features to help you monitor your website’s traffic and overall performance.

Here are some of the key features you can take advantage of with Bing Webmaster Tools:

  • Add Your Website: To add your site, enter its URL and verify ownership to gain access to various tools and reports.

  • Track Search Performance: The Search Performance report offers insights into metrics like clicks, impressions, average click-through rate (CTR), and average ranking position.

  • Inspect URLs: The URL Inspection tool lets you check for any issues related to crawling, indexing, or markup that may need fixing.

  • Explore Your Site: The Site Explorer shows how Bing perceives your website’s structure, displaying pages in folders and files.

  • Submit Sitemaps: For better indexing, you can upload your sitemaps in different formats, including XML, RSS 2.0, and Atom 1.0.

  • Submit URLs for Crawling: Use the URL Submission feature to send specific pages to be crawled and indexed by Bing.

  • View Backlinks: The Backlinks report reveals which sites link to your content and the most linked-to pages on your site.

  • Conduct Keyword Research: The keyword research tool highlights search trends and appearance data for relevant keywords.

  • Review SEO Reports: SEO Reports help identify areas of your site that could be improved using SEO best practices.

While Bing may not generate as much traffic as Google, submitting your site for indexing to improve visibility is still beneficial.

Sign up for Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your website for better indexing and insights.

Install SEO Plugin

Yoast is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to streamline on-page SEO tasks. With its user-friendly interface, you can easily optimize your pages and posts by following simple prompts that appear below your content draft.

Managing canonical and noindex tags becomes effortless, and Yoast provides real-time suggestions to improve your content as you write.

The plugin also creates sitemaps for you. Yoast evaluates over 25 key elements as you create content and gives precise recommendations for improvements.

For instance, it helps optimize keyword density, keyword placement, and the crafting of meta descriptions.

Yoast simplifies the process of creating SEO-friendly content on WordPress.

If you use WordPress, install and activate the Yoast SEO plugin and sync it with your Google Analytics account for added functionality. If you use a different content management system, look for an SEO plugin with strong reviews to achieve similar results.

Robots.txt file

To create a robots.txt file for your website, follow these simple steps:

  1. Create a New File: Create a new text file and name it “robots.txt”. Save this file in the root directory of your website (e.g., mojodojo.io/robots.txt).

  2. Define Crawl Directives: Use the following structure to define your crawl directives:

    • User-agent: [bot name]
    • Allow: [URL or directory]
    • Disallow: [URL or directory]

  3. Specify Bot Names: List the names of the bots you want the directives to apply to (e.g., Googlebot, Bingbot, etc.).

  4. Allow or Disallow Crawling: Use the Allow directive to let specific URLs or directories be crawled and the Disallow directive to block access to certain pages or directories.

  5. Upload the File: Once the file is ready, upload it to the root directory of your website.

Keep in mind that while the robots.txt file provides instructions, not all crawlers may follow them. It’s important to periodically review and update your robots.txt file to ensure it meets your website’s needs.

Miscellaneous Items

  • Validate Your Code: Use the W3C validation tools to ensure your website’s code is error-free and follows best practices.

  • Install an SSL Certificate: Secure your website with an SSL certificate to protect user data and improve your search engine ranking.

  • Claim Your Business on Social Media and Directories: Make sure to claim your business profiles on social media platforms and directories, and work on building citations to improve your online visibility.

  • Fix Redirects: Address any 301 and 302 redirects. Tools like Screaming Frog can help identify these issues and more.

  • Create a Sitemap: Using a CMS, use a plugin to generate your sitemap. For WordPress users, the Yoast plugin can help create one automatically.

  • Submit Your Sitemap: Upload your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to ensure proper indexing by search engines.

  • Monitor PageSpeed: Check your site’s PageSpeed index. It’s crucial that your website loads quickly, so perform a test to assess your current speed and make improvements.

  • Create a Robots.txt File: This file instructs search engines which parts of your site they should avoid crawling, such as admin areas or member-only sections.

  • Check for Broken Links: Use tools like Xenu’s Link Sleuth or a CMS plugin to identify broken links. Fixing them promptly is essential, as broken links can frustrate visitors and harm your site’s SEO performance.

  • Explore Free SEO Chrome Extensions: Look out for free SEO Chrome extensions to help enhance your website’s SEO efforts.

Following these steps can improve your website’s performance, user experience, and search engine optimization.

Keyword research checklist

Keyword research is crucial for your SEO strategy. Understanding searcher intent and identifying the terms your target audience uses to find similar content is essential.

Conduct keyword research every three months or continuously, depending on the level of aggressiveness in your content strategy.

One keyword per page

You can use tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner or Keywordtool.io to perform keyword research.

Google’s Keyword Planner provides valuable insights into who is searching for specific keyword phrases. It shows the competitiveness of each keyword and allows you to compare it with other options.

You can also explore Google’s Related Searches for additional long-tail keyword ideas.

Aim to find relevant keywords with low competition and high monthly search volumes. If you’re launching a new website or blog, focus on low-volume keywords initially to increase your chances of ranking on the first page of search results.

Check the SERP For Result Type

Search for your chosen keyword and analyze the results to see what Google considers relevant for that query. Examine the type of content that appears—does it align with what you’re offering? If not, consider adjusting your keyword phrase.

You’ll typically see blog posts or instructional content for more general searches, while commercial intent keywords often lead to product pages or buying-related results.

Long tail Keywords

Incorporating keywords closely related to your primary keyword increases the likelihood that Google will recognise your content as relevant to the search query.

Begin gathering ideas for contextual keywords known as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing).

You can find LSI keywords using resources like thesaurus.com, tools like LSIGraph and Wikipedia, or simply searching for synonyms.

Complete on-page SEO checklist

URL Optimisation

  • Incorporate your primary keyword into your URL.

  • If possible, include additional relevant keywords as well.

  • Remember, shorter URLs generally perform better in search rankings than longer ones.

  • Note: Avoid altering existing URLs, as it can harm your page’s ranking and break any existing links.

Title Tag Optimisation

  • Include your keyword in the title tag, positioning it close to the beginning.

  • Use a tool like CoSchedule’s headline analyzer to create an impactful title.

  • Eliminate unnecessary words and ensure the title is compelling enough to encourage clicks.

  • Keep the title length around 60 characters for optimal performance.

Meta Description Optimisation

  • Incorporate keywords into your meta description and create a unique one for each page or post.

  • If you’re using WordPress, leverage Yoast to help craft your meta descriptions.

  • Since the meta description often appears in search results, make sure it’s compelling to drive click-throughs.

  • Keep the length between 155-160 characters for optimal visibility.

Header Tag and Image Optimisation

  • Incorporate keywords into image alt tags, the H1 tag (ensure there’s only one H1 tag per page, placed before other headings), and any other relevant headings.

  • Note: Use only a single H1 element per page.

Content Optimisation

  • Incorporate your keywords naturally into your page content.

  • Avoid keyword stuffing, as this can lead to penalties from search engines.

  • Aim to include your main keyword at least once in the first paragraph.

Internal Linking

  • Link to other relevant content on your site, using keywords as anchor text.

Link out to external sites

Including a higher number of quality external links can improve your content. Try to add five to eight links to reliable websites in each article. Linking to authoritative sites helps demonstrate to Google that your content is thoroughly researched.

Optimise Content

Use a conversational, approachable tone that’s simple to understand.

Quality Content

  • Producing valuable, high-quality content is essential for building authority and improving search rankings.
  • Focus on creating evergreen content that offers fresh insights, not just recycled information.
  • Ensure your content is easy to share.

Audience Focus

  • Ensure all your content is valuable, informative, or entertaining for your target audience.
  • Add social sharing buttons to your website to encourage readers to share your content on social media.

Social Shares and SEO

  • Social shares play a crucial role in SEO, so ensure your content outperforms competitors and meets your audience’s needs.
  • The more shares you receive, the greater the likelihood of attracting high-quality backlinks from other websites.

Editing and Proofreading

  • Review your grammar and spelling, and proofread your content before publishing.
  • It’s a good idea to wait a day or two after writing a post before publishing it.
  • Edit, schedule, and then revisit it one more time before it goes live.

Content Structure

  • Avoid large blocks of text by breaking your content into smaller, digestible sections.
  • Keep paragraphs to three to five sentences; this makes your content more engaging and easier for users to read.

Visual Content

Incorporating images and videos into your content boosts the chances of it being shared.

Include at least one image within the first 25% of the article and, if possible, offer a related downloadable file, such as a PDF.

Outreach program

Develop a strategy for acquiring high-quality links to your content.

  • Could you contribute a guest post to a prominent blog in your niche?
  • Is there an influencer in your field who could share your content?
  • Can you get an industry authority to link to your work?
    If you have any connections who can assist in securing valuable links, make the most of them.

If you’re not in that position yet, begin compiling a list of blogs, websites, or publications where you might want to pitch guest posts.

Longer content

Consistently publish long-form content, ensuring it’s focused and valuable.

For cornerstone content, aim for 2000-3000 words to cover in-depth topics.

Try to reach around 1400 words for other posts to maintain depth and engagement without losing focus.

If you use WordPress

  • Limit yourself to ten tags per post.
  • Assign only one category to each post.

Analyze your link profile

Use Ahrefs or a similar tool to check your domain score.

This will allow you to analyze your website’s link profile and identify any links that might negatively impact your PageRank.

You can also use the same tool to examine your competitors’ link profiles.

If your competitors have more authoritative backlinks, you can gain valuable insights into potential sources for acquiring more links.

Crawl errors

Crawl errors prevent Google from accessing parts of your website.

Sign in to Google Search Console, navigate to “Crawl,” then select “Crawl Stats” and enter a URL from your site.

This will provide a list of errors to review for potential problems.

This list should include any sections you’ve purposely blocked in your robots.txt file. You must also address any other errors.

Duplicate content should be resolved, and you can manage it using 301 redirects, Google Webmaster Tools, or canonical tags.

Fix duplicate meta and title tags

Utilize Google Search Console to identify duplicate meta tags.

Go to “Search Appearance” and select “HTML Improvements.”

This will allow you to spot duplicate tags and provide suggestions on the length and content of your meta descriptions and titles.

Schema markup

In essence, schema markup helps search engines interpret your content and determine its relevance.

By using structured data, you can enhance targeting, improve click-through rates, and optimize your content to rank for the right keywords.

Research structured data and schema markup, then use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to implement it without needing to do it manually.

Identify bad redirects

If your website has any 302 redirects that should be 301 redirects, make sure to correct them promptly.

302 redirects are meant for temporary situations, such as site maintenance.

These redirects do not transfer the SEO value from the original page to the new one.

In contrast, 301 redirects are permanent and pass the SEO value from the old page to the new one.

Consider using Browseo to identify any problematic redirects.

Website’s speed

Maintaining a fast website is crucial for delivering an excellent user experience.

If your website loads slowly, users are more than ten times likely to leave without engaging with your content.

Utilize Google’s PageSpeed tool to assess your site’s load time and discover ways to improve its speed.

Mobile-friendliness

Your website must be responsive, meaning it should be visually appealing and easy to navigate on all screen sizes.

Usability is key, especially as more users are conducting searches on mobile devices.

If your site isn’t responsive, visitors will likely become frustrated, leave, and turn to another search result.

Use Google’s mobile-friendly test to ensure your site is properly optimized for mobile devices.

Additionally, test your website across all major browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera.

Use Rich Snippets

You can enhance your HTML with rich snippets to help search engines present your content more effectively in search results.

Rich snippets can benefit your site if it features recipes, reviews, videos, news, events, or products.

These snippets allow your content to appear more visually appealing in search results. They often include a photo or screenshot alongside the title and meta description.

Ratings for reviews and products will be shown directly in the search results.

Rich snippets can significantly boost click-through rates by providing users with more detailed information than just text alone.

SSL Certificate

Upgrade your website from HTTP to HTTPS. Google prioritizes sites with this added security, and visitors will have greater confidence knowing their data is protected through encryption.

Claim Your Brand

Utilize NameChk to secure your brand name across all relevant social media platforms for your business.

Even if social media isn’t a primary focus of your marketing, maintaining control over your brand name can simplify things in the future.

Managing your reputation is a key aspect of shaping your brand’s image.

Monitor what’s being said about your brand online and engage with customer feedback, including complaints and reviews.

Brands with more reviews and social media activity rank higher in search results, as Google views them as more popular and engaging.

SEO Checklist For Local Business

Local SEO requires a few additional steps to optimize your online presence.

Incorporate your city or region into your target keywords.

Claim and keep your Google My Business listing up-to-date to enhance your local search visibility, especially in Google Maps.

Take advantage of Google My Business posts to share information about promotions and events with your customers.

Add a call-to-action button to your listing, encouraging users to call your business or book an appointment directly.

Google My Business can integrate with many scheduling tools, allowing customers to book appointments through Google without needing to contact your business.

Make sure your business information is consistent across local directories, as discrepancies can negatively impact your rankings. Some directories let users suggest updates, so it’s important to regularly check for accuracy, either weekly or monthly.

Stay active online by responding to customer reviews promptly.

Encourage customers to leave reviews when appropriate. While Google encourages businesses to ask for honest reviews, Yelp has stricter guidelines against it.

Positive reviews help improve your local rankings, and responding to reviews shows that you value customer feedback.