SEO Checklist: Make Every Page of Your Site SEO-Friendlier

When doing SEO for 20+ years, I keep forgetting that more most businesses and website owners my guides may be too overwhelming. So on popular demand, I am publishing this easy SEO checklist for you to follow.

You can download it for free here.

SEO & FORMATTING: CHECKLIST

KEYWORDS

• Use your main keyword in:
  • Title
  • H1 heading
  • Beginning of the article
  • Throughout your page, when it makes sense
  • Page URL / slug
  • Meta description
• Use related keywords, synonyms, and related entities throughout the content

STRUCTURE

• For structuring your articles, use H2 and H3 headers (*don’t* use h1 or bold for subheadings).
  • Use secondary keywords in H2 and H3 subheadings
  • When possible phrase your H2 and H3 subheadings as questions as these are more engaging
• Include bullet-­points and numbered lists in the post as this improves scannability and makes the post easier to read.
  • Lists should have proper HTML formatting: <ul> for bullet-point lists and <ol> for numbered lists.
• Other structuring rules:
  • Keep your sentences and paragraphs short, concise, and easy to read.
  • When asking a question in a subheading, follow it immediately with a concise and factual answer
  • Don’t write a huge block of text which can be exhausting to read.
  • End the article with a conclusion, takeaways, and a question for the readers.

LINKS

• Link sources: When you refer to a name, a company, or a quote, include a link to the source so readers can go and discover more.
• Link words: Don’t place links in subheads or image captions.
  • Write link text so that it is clear what the linked page is about
• Use the original link: don’t use any shortened links such as bit.ly
  • Remove any tracking parameters from a link
• Always check (click through) all the links before using them (to make sure they are working);
• Internal links: In each article, you must link to older relevant articles published on your site
  • Tip: Use [SITE:blogdomainhere.com KEYWORD] Google search to find related articles to link to
• Always make sure you are providing the full URL address of a link you embed (including https://)

IMAGES

• Provide a relevant attention-­grabbing image to introduce your article
• Make it a rule to use large, clear screenshots
• Image alt text should describe an image and add to context, add your main or secondary keywords when possible
• Image files should include your main or secondary keywords
• Images should be under 100k in size. Use compressor.io to compress them
• Do not link images to image files (unless you want readers to click through to a larger copy)