SEO Checklist

This SEO Checklist relates only to the On-Page SEO methods that you can implement to optimize your site.  These are the methods you apply ‘on the page’ to ensure your site is as search engine friendly as possible.

On-Page SEO is your chance to define for the search engines exactly what your page is about.  This SEO Checklist is to help you to make it expressly clear to the search engines which keywords you are optimizing your page for and ultimately have your site returned in the search engine results pages for that query.

Before we can work our way through the SEO Checklist, we need to decide on the keyword that we wish to optimize the page for.  The keywords you choose are the foundation of all your On-Page SEO efforts.

SEO Checklist

Use your keywords in the:

1. Url
2. Title Tag
3. Meta Tags
4. Header Tags
5. Page Content
6. Alt Tags of your images
7. Links
8. Sitemap

#1 On the SEO Checklist

Use your keywords in your Url.  If it’s at all possible, use your main keywords, that you want your site to be known for, in your domain name.  As you can see from the highlighted section below, the domain name appears in your site’s listing in the search engine results pages.

If you can’t get your main keywords in the domain name; ensure they are in the Url.

For example, if you can’t have the domain name,  ‘www.SEOChecklist.com’; you need to ensure that SEO Checklist is still in the Url.

So, you would have to write the URL as, ‘www.yourdomainname.com/SEO-Checklist.  Essentially, you just need to ensure that if your main keywords are not in your domain name; that you have them as close as possible to the domain name, in the url.

#2 On the SEO Checklist

As you can see from the picture on the right, the highlighted section is the Title Tag.

Use the main keywords that you are trying to rank this page for in the Title Tag.

The Title Tag tells both the search engines and visitors what your page is about.   It’s the first line of your site’s listing that appears in the search engine results pages, and it’s your first chance to get the attention of potential visitors to your page.

#3 On the SEO Checklist

The Meta Description Tag is the highlighted area.  The Meta Description Tag appears below the Title Tag in the search engine results pages for your site.

The purpose of the Meta Description Tag is to give both search engines and visitors an overview of what your page is about.

Use your main keywords and any secondary keywords in a short, descriptive sentence or paragraph to best showcase what the page is about.  Also, as it appears in the search results, use words in this Meta Description Tag to encourage searchers to click through to your page.

Use your main keyword and any secondary keywords in the Meta Keywords Tag.  This tag doesn’t appear on the page for visitors to see.  The Meta Keywords Tag is solely to reinforce to the search engines what the content of your page is about.

#4 On the SEO Checklist

Use your keywords in the Header Tags of your page copy.  Header Tags are your H1, H2 …H6 tags.  The H1 tag is usually the title of your page.  H2 tags are usually subheadings.

Header Tags are used to organize the content on your page to make it easy for both search engines and visitors to quickly assess what the page is about.

#5 On the SEO Checklist

Firstly, use your main keywords in the first paragraph, the last paragraph and several times throughout the content on the page.  The important thing is to use your keyword where it fits naturally.

Check your keyword density.  Keyword density is literally the amount of times you use the keyword you are trying to rank the page for within the content of your page.

Opinions vary on what percentage your keyword density should be but, personally, I prefer to keep it at around 3%.

Finally, when you are optimizing the content of your page, ensure that you bold once; italicize once; underline and link once, the main keywords that you are trying to rank the page for with the search engines.  These practices reinforce repeatedly to the search engines what the page is about.

#6 On the SEO Checklist

Use your keywords in the Alt Tags of your images.  Alt Tags stands for ‘alternative text’ and this is what is displayed in place of your images.  Generally, this is necessary for people who are visually impaired and search engines who aren’t able to ’see’ the images.

Alt Tags allow you to tell the search engines what the image is.  So, it makes sense to use your main keywords so that again, it reinforces the main theme of the content on the page.

#7 On the SEO Checklist

It’s important use strategic linking between relevant pages on your site.  You should link internally to related content you have within your own site, using your anchor text.

The anchor text is the main keywords that you are trying to rank the page for.  This helps to reinforce the relevance of your main keyword to the search engines.

Similarly, you should link externally to relevant sites using your anchor text.  Again, this helps build the relevance of your main keywords to the search engines.

#8 On the SEO Checklist

It’s important to have a Sitemap.  A Sitemap makes it easier for both visitors and search engines to find their way around your site.

Basically, you need two kinds of Sitemaps; one for visitors and one for search engines.  I’ll go into further detail about Sitemaps in my next post.

Final Words on the SEO Checklist

The SEO Checklist is a basic guide to help you get started optimizing your pages.  I hope you find this SEO Checklist useful.