Interactive SEO Checklist

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Crawl & Index

• Page returns a 200 statusRedirect chains and errors waste crawl budget and dilute link equity.
• Page is indexable (no stray noindex)A leftover noindex tag silently removes the page from search.
• URL is in the XML sitemapSitemaps help Google discover and prioritize your important pages.
• Canonical tag points to the preferred URLPrevents duplicate-content dilution across URL variants.
• robots.txt does not block the page or its assetsBlocked CSS/JS can stop Google rendering the page properly.
• Page is within 3 clicks of the homepageDeeply buried pages get crawled less and rank worse.

Content & Intent

• Content matches the dominant search intentIf the SERP is all listicles, a product page will struggle to rank.
• Topic covered more completely than top resultsFill the sub-topics competitors cover, plus the gaps they miss.
• Unique angle, data, or first-hand experienceOriginal information is what earns links and E-E-A-T signals.
• Content is up to date (stats, screenshots, dates)Stale content decays in rankings, especially on fast-moving topics.
• Scannable structure: short paragraphs, lists, visualsReaders who bounce back to the SERP send negative signals.
• No other page on the site targets the same queryKeyword cannibalization splits relevance across weak pages.

On-Page

• Primary keyword in the title tag (≤60 chars)The title is still the strongest on-page relevance signal.
• Compelling meta description (~150 chars)It doesn't rank you, but it wins the click over competitors.
• Single H1 that names the topicOne clear H1 anchors the page's topical focus for crawlers.
• Descriptive H2/H3 hierarchyHeadings become jump links and help Google extract passages.
• Keyword variants and synonyms used naturallyCovers more query phrasings without keyword stuffing.
• Descriptive alt text on meaningful imagesAlt text is an accessibility win and ranks images in image search.

Technical

• Layout works flawlessly on mobileGoogle indexes the mobile version of your page first.
• Core Web Vitals pass (LCP, INP, CLS)Poor real-user performance is a confirmed ranking headwind.
• Served over HTTPS with no mixed contentHTTP pages get browser warnings and a ranking penalty.
• Clean, readable URL slugShort keyword-relevant slugs are easier to link and share.
• Structured data is valid (schema.org)Valid schema unlocks rich results and clarifies entities.
• Images compressed, sized, and lazy-loadedOversized images are the #1 cause of slow LCP.

Links & Authority

• 3–8 relevant internal links in the bodyInternal links pass authority and define topical relationships.
• Linked from a related pillar or hub pageOrphan pages rarely rank; hub links signal importance.
• Descriptive anchor text (no “click here”)Anchors tell Google what the destination page is about.
• Outbound links to credible sourcesCiting authoritative sources supports trust and accuracy.
• No broken internal or outbound linksDead links hurt user trust and leak crawl equity.
• Author bio or about page establishes expertiseAttributable expertise is central to E-E-A-T evaluation.