This comprehensive SEO checklist will help you rank high on Google.
This article will cover:
SEO basics tools
Keyword research
On-page SEO checklist
Off-page SEO checklist
SEO basics tools.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for “search engine optimisation”, meaning the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business on:
Google
Bing
Other search engines
The more visible your site and pages are in search results, the more likely the new users are to click on your site.
How SEO works
Search engines such as Google and Bing use bots to crawl pages on the web, going from site to site, collecting information about those pages and putting them in an index.
Next, algorithms analyse pages in the index, taking into account hundreds of ranking factors or signals to determine the order pages should appear in the search results for a given search term.
What’s important to Google?
SEO basic checklist.
There are a few quick items to implement before building your on-page and off-page SEO strategy.
Step 1: Set up the Google Search Console
Google Search Console is designed to help you track your site’s performance in Google search. It gives free features including:
Keywords that generate the most traffic
Submission of sitemap
Fix website errors including incomplete links
See your page experience score
Step 2: Install Bing Webmaster Tools
Whilst Bing doesn’t have as many views as Google, it still has approximately 1 billion visitors per month globally, typically, for an older demographic.
Step 3: Set up Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a great way to track your website's performance from popular pages to bounce rates and session duration, the features are endless. Some of the inclusions are:
Campaign measurement: traffic
Track your goals: website conversations and user activity
Audience reports: know your users
Identify other sites and search engines that send you traffic
Your average bounce rate, page views, and time on site
See increase or decrease in site visits
We recommend connecting your Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Step 4: Install Yoast SEO (WordPress Users Only)
Yoast is a plugin used for WordPress sites making it easier to optimise your site for search engines. It is also great with technical SEO, such as robots.txt and site maps.
Step 5: Generate and submit the site map
Step 6: Create a Robots.txt file
Step 7: Make sure your site is indexed
Keyword research checklist.
Keyword Research forms the foundation for SEO, allowing your site to stay relevant and high on search rankings. A keyword is a word or phrase that searchers enter into a search engine, for example:
Mortgage Brokers near me
Local cafes near me
Property investment in Sydney
Step 1: Discover Long Tail Keywords with “Google Suggest”
A great way to uncover long tail keywords is to type a keyword into Google, however, don’t press enter on the Google Search button, instead, view what Google presents as options below your search term.
We also recommend using the Keywordtool.io to make the process easier to scale.
Step 2: Use Google’s Keyword Planner Tool
The Google Keyword Planner is Google’s official keyword research tool which can help to create lists for relevant keywords and search terms for your campaign.
Step 3: Identify Low Competition Keywords With KWFinder
It is always great to use additional tools so you are not solely reliant on Google. KWFinder is a free keyword research tool which can make the keyword research process easier. It allows for hyper-targeting for location and language. The benefits of this tool include:
Search volume
Trends
CPC
PPC
Step 4: Try AnswerThePublic
Another great free tool to build out your keyword research list is Answer The Public. This tool provides comprehensive and accurate lists for what searchers are looking up.
On-page SEO checklist.
On-page SEO is the process of optimising a websites content for search engines and users. Common methods to do this include: optimising title tags, content, internal links and URLs.
Follow these steps for your On-Page SEO
Basic Checklist
Include your keyword in your URL
Use short URLs
Front-load your keyword in your title tag
Embed title tag modifiers
Use your keyword once in the first 150 words
Use your keyword in H1, H2 or H3 tags
Optimise images by naming your images
Use synonyms and LSI keywords
Use external links from trusted sites - aim for every page to have three links
Use internal links from other pages on your website - aim for every page to have three links
Technical SEO Checklist
Identify any crawl errors which can be done in Google Search Console under “Coverage”
Research how Google views your page
Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
Fix broken links
Secure your site with HTTPS
Check your site’s loading speed using PageSpeed Insights
Content Checklist
Identify trending content in your industry
Breakdown content using numbering and bullet points
Cover your page’s topic in-depth
Focus on content formats that are working right now for example:
Q & A style blogs
Case studies
Evergreen content
Surveys
Industry studies
Use multimedia:
Charts
Infographics
Images
Video
Interactive polls and quizzes
Off-page SEO checklist.
Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside of your own website to directly impact your search rankings on Google and Bing.
Follow these steps for your Off-Page SEO
Off-Page SEO Checklist
Evaluate your banklink profile using a range of free tools:
Check your competitors’ backlink profiles
Improve your link building by using quality links
Harness the power of social media by:
Being responsive to engagement and mentions
Monitor online reputation
Add an RSS feed subscription box
Have guests feature on your websites blog
Be present on your Google MyBusiness page by. Learn to optimise your Google MyBusiness listing with the comprehensive guide
Tap into PR strategies such as featuring on podcasts, guest blog posts
Naomi Johnston
Founder & Creative Director | NJ CONSULTING
E: naomi@njconsulting.com.au
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