SEO Checklist

Before implementing an SEO strategy, ask yourself:

  1. Have I done enough research/do I know enough about the company? Can I list the strengths I can leverage for SEO value? Do I know the marketing and advertising tactics that work for awareness and lead generation?
  2. Who is the audience? What is their relationship with your company? Where do they consume information and spend time? What type of information are they consuming? What do they search for? What stage of life are they in? How accepting are they of marketing and advertising? Are they already familiar with your industry, or the products or services you offer? Do they care?
  3. Have I completed keyword research? Do I know what people are searching for? Do I understand where site organic traffic is coming from? Do I have a list of keywords I can write about and include in content?
  4. Are my goals set? Do I know why I’m creating an implementing an SEO strategy? Are they S.M.A.R.T. goals?
  5. Have I built a strategy map? Have I visualized my plan and the channel owners who need to be involved? Do I know what other documents or information I need? Have I thought through how the SEO strategy fits into the overall marketing strategy?

As you create content, run through this checklist to make sure you’ve included all of the important SEO-related elements that will help your search engine rankings, as well as your readers.

  • The content has a goal.
  • The content focuses on quality, not quantity.
  • The content naturally includes keywords throughout the article.
  • The URL is short and keyword-optimized.
  • The article has share buttons.
  • The content has internal or external links to relevant, authoritative sites and content.
  • All links use anchor text.
  • The content is optimized for mobile
  • The content features keyword-rich titles and tags, and a 160-character (or less) meta description.
  • The content includes images, videos, infographics or other visuals to help engage readers.

Finally, as you measure your SEO efforts, keep these key KPIs in mind.

  1. Organic sessions
  2. Leads/conversions/conversion rate
  3. Bounce rate
  4. Pages per session
  5. Session duration
  6. Page load time