The Ultimate Blog SEO Checklist

Building any website or blog takes research, hard work, and dedication. It can be daunting to assess everything you will need at the outset and everything you should track in order to ensure that your efforts are effective. Creating an “ultimate” blog SEO checklist doesn’t necessarily mean implementing all ranking factors at once. Instead, it means focusing on key factors that will help you gain traction in any niche, regardless of your skill level.

For those starting out, it might be beneficial to consult a professional, as a single misstep can cause issues down the line. Additionally, while some SEO factors may not directly impact rankings, they can improve user experience and site performance, which indirectly affects rankings. With that in mind, here's a comprehensive checklist to build your blog's SEO strategy:

1. Are You Targeting the Right Keywords?

• Competitor Analysis: Start with around 10 competitors and research their keyword strategies.
• Keyword Research: Ensure you’re targeting keywords with a reasonable search volume that you can rank for.

2. Are You Doing Any Keyword Optimization Within Your Content?

• Keyword Placement: Keywords should appear naturally within the content, including page titles and meta descriptions.
• Avoid Keyword Cannibalization: Ensure multiple pages are not targeting the same keyword to prevent them from competing against each other.

3. Are You Optimizing for Supporting Keywords?

• Use synonyms and related terms to strengthen content relevance.

4. Are You Optimizing Keywords in Content Effectively?

• Low-Hanging Fruit: Target easily rankable keywords first.
• Medium & High Competition Keywords: Strategize for more competitive keywords as your site gains authority.

5. Does Word Count Have Any Consideration on Your Blog?

• Analyze competitors to understand the appropriate word count and quality.
• Use tools like SEMrush’s SEO content template to analyze and improve content based on competitors.

6. Is Code Compatible With the Current Doctype?

• Ensure code compatibility with W3C doctype specifications to avoid cross-platform issues.

7. Does the Site Have a Fast Page Speed on Both Desktop & Mobile?

• Aim for a page speed of 1-2 seconds to stay competitive.

8. Is the Blog Cross-Browser & Cross-Platform Friendly?

• Ensure responsiveness across all devices and resolutions.

9. Does the Blog Take Advantage of Plug-ins to Optimize Images or Speed Up the Cache, & Video As Well?

• Use plug-ins like Smush for image optimization and W3 Total Cache for speeding up page loads.

10. Are Page Titles Optimized?

• Include target keywords in page titles without exceeding character or pixel width limits.

11. Are Meta Descriptions Optimized?

• Include keywords in meta descriptions while adhering to length guidelines.

12. Does the Site Optimize Images Properly?

• Follow best practices for alt text and title text, and use tools like Adobe Photoshop for lossless compression.

13. Google Search Console: Did You Add & Verify Your Blog?

• Monitor site performance, traffic, and potential errors through Google Search Console.

14. Did You Set Up Google Analytics?

• Ensure proper setup to track site data accurately.

15. Are There Any Other Tracking Tools?

• Implement other tracking tools as needed, such as STAT analytics or Adobe Analytics.

16. Did You Make Sure That Your Secure Certificate Was Ordered Correctly?

• Ensure the certificate matches your domain configuration to avoid browser errors.

17. Does the Secure Certificate Allow for All Variations of Wild-carded URLs?

• Confirm that the certificate covers all necessary URL variations for proper crawling.

18. Did You Create a New Google Search Console Profile for the Secure Certificate?

• Update Search Console profiles to reflect the secure URL implementation.

19. Did You Make Sure That Google Analytics Is Also Tracking the Secure URL?

• Ensure Analytics is tracking the new secure URL to avoid underreporting.

20. Are You Engaged in Any External Link Promotion for Your Blog?

• Develop an outreach strategy and utilize techniques like 404 link replacement and influencer outreach.

21. Are You Observing Link Anchor Text Best Practices?

• Use a mix of branded, naked, and exact match anchor text sparingly.

22. Does Your Blog Take Advantage of the Proper Dimensions for Mobile?

• Ensure buttons and graphics are optimized for mobile devices.

23. Does Your Blog Take Into Account Mobile Page Speed?

• Optimize for both mobile experience and page speed.

24. Do You Target Visitors on Mobile Devices When It Comes to Content?

• Consider mobile-friendly content lengths and readability.

25. If You Have a Mobile Domain for Your Blog, Are Redirects Effective & Complete?

• Transition to a responsive design if not already done.

26. Does Your Blog Take Advantage of Conversion Points in Your Marketing Funnel?

• Tailor content to different stages of the marketing funnel.

27. Do You Have Any Means of Conversion on Your Blog?

• Implement calls to action, contact forms, ads, and banners to guide user actions.

28. Are There Social Sharing Buttons for Every Blog Post?

• Ensure easy sharing across top social platforms relevant to your industry.

Conclusion

These points cover essential aspects of making your blog SEO-friendly. Implementing them ensures that your blog is fully crawlable and indexable, laying a strong foundation for better performance in search engine results. Additional optimizations will further enhance your blog’s performance.