Free SEO Checklist Template

What is an SEO Checklist Template and Why is it Important?

As an SEO specialist, the list of items to keep track of can be overwhelming. Yet, if you miss a few steps, it could mean a drop in your website’s ranking.

That’s where an SEO checklist template comes in.

This is a document containing a list of tasks you need to complete to optimize a website. Think of it as a roadmap to help you improve your SEO rankings.

Here’s why you need a checklist:

• To help you keep track of every SEO task you need to complete
• To make sure you don’t miss anything that can affect your results
• It makes your job easier by consolidating everything in one place

What’s Included in a Good SEO Checklist Template?

There are many aspects of an SEO strategy to be considered. An SEO checklist template will have a list of items for each category.

Here’s everything you should expect to find in our SEO checklist template.

1. SEO Basics Checklist

This checklist contains a list of fundamental practices each SEO specialist should check off beforehand. These are the must-haves of every SEO checklist and form the basics of any SEO strategy.

Here’s what this list contains:

• Set up Google Search Console to track your site’s organic performance
• Have a Google Analytics account set up to track your site visitors
• Install an SEO plugin to optimize your site. e.g. Yoast for WordPress users
• Understand the essential concept of search engine optimization

2. Technical SEO Checklist

This section of our template contains an SEO checklist showing how to make your site easier for search engines to crawl and index. It also ensures a great user experience.

Some of these basic technical SEO practices include:

• Make sure you’re using HTTPS i.e a secure website
• Check your website’s loading speed
• Fix broken links
• Create a robot.txt file to control how search engines access your web pages
• Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

3. Off-page SEO Checklist

Link building is among the key factors for ranking on search engines, especially Google. Our template will list things to check for when doing an off-page audit.

You should alos check out these strategies to build backlinks:

• Reclaim your lost backlinks and remove bad-quality links
• Analyze the number of domains linking to your site
• Research your competitor's backlinks and find similar links
• Practice guest posting for more backlinks
• Search for unlinked mentions and try to convert them to linked mentions

4. Content Analysis

This section of our SEO checklist template outlines everything you need to make sure you create content that ranks.

Here are a few tips to create high-quality content:

• Craft a captivating introduction
• Structure your content in sections to make it readable
• Write as per the search intent of a keyword
• Cover your topics in-depth to provide more value

5. On-Page SEO Factors

On-page SEO refers to optimizing visible items on your page.

Here are some tips to enhance your on-page SEO:

• Use a short and descriptive URL that includes your keyword
• Add internal links to direct readers to other relevant resources
• Use a mix of short tail and long tail keywords in your content
• Use your keywords in headings, title tags, and meta descriptions
• Optimize your images by adding descriptions and alt text

6. Local SEO Checklist

Local SEO helps businesses rank on search engines for local queries, including location-based searches. This is important for small businesses operating in specific regions.

Some of the local SEO items on this checklist include:

• Add name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistently
• Register your business with Google My Business (GMB)
• Register your business on local business directories and listings
• Respond to reviews on different platforms

How to Use This SEO Checklist Template

Here’s how to use our free SEO checklist template:

1. Download the checklist using one of the CTA buttons on this page.
2. Go to the SEO Checklist tab to find the top SEO ranking factors based on reliable industry reports.
3. Go through each factor and check things off your list once you’ve taken the necessary actions.

FAQs

Q1. What is an SEO checklist template?

A. This is a document that outlines all the SEO that you need to complete to optimize ta website for better search engine visibility and rankings.

Q2. What are the main components of an SEO checklist template?

A. Here are some essential elements of an SEO checklist:

• Basic SEO practices
• Technical factors
• Off-page SEO
• Content analysis
• On-page SEO
• Local SEO

Q3. What is the most advanced SEO checklist?

A. The most advanced section in the SEO checklist is the technical SEO section as it requires technical knowledge. This includes creating a robot.txt file or fixing broken links or optimizing site code.

Q4. What is the best SEO content structure?

A. Optimizing your content structure is a significant SEO practice to increase your site’s visibility. Some practices to improve structure include using images and bulleted lists to break up content and using shorter sentences and paragraphs to make content readable.

Q5. How many keywords should I use for SEO per page?

A. The rule of thumb is to use one to three keywords for every page and to include keywords in headings, title tags, and a meta description. This should include some variations of your primary keywords as well.

Improve Your Rankings with Our Free SEO Checklist Template

While it’s almost impossible to include everything on a single list, our template contains the most crucial SEO aspects you need to track for optimized results.