A Complete SEO Checklist 2024

A 2024 SEO Checklist is a comprehensive guide that outlines the essential tasks and strategies to optimize your website for search engines in the year 2024. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, continues to evolve, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques is crucial for achieving high search engine rankings and driving organic traffic to your site. Here’s a comprehensive SEO checklist for 2024:

This checklist aims to provide you with a comprehensive collection of tips, tricks and best practices that help you to optimize and streamline your SEO efforts. The guide covers a wide range of important SEO aspects from A to Z that we recommend you to consider for an efficient and targeted SEO strategy.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive right in!

1. Mobile-First Optimization:

• Ensure your website is responsive and mobile-friendly.
• Optimize page speed for mobile devices.
• Test your website’s mobile usability regularly.

2. Core Web Vitals:

• Focus on improving Core Web Vitals metrics like LCP, FID, and CLS.
• Utilize tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues.

3. High-Quality Content:

• Create informative, engaging, and valuable content for your target audience.
• Use natural language and conversational content that answers user queries.

4. Voice Search Optimization:

• Optimize for voice search by using long-tail keywords and answering common questions concisely.

5. E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness):

• Establish your website’s authority by showcasing expertise in your niche.
• Build trust through high-quality backlinks and positive reviews.

6. Schema Markup:

• Implement structured data markup to enhance search results with rich snippets.
• Use Schema.org guidelines to mark up relevant content.

7. User Experience (UX):

• Prioritize user-friendly website design and navigation.
• Optimize for a seamless user journey and accessibility.

8. Technical SEO:

• Conduct regular site audits to identify and fix technical issues.
• Optimize meta tags, headers, and URLs for search engines.

9. Mobile-First Indexing:

• Ensure your website’s mobile version is equivalent to the desktop version.
• Monitor Google Search Console for mobile-first indexing issues.

10. Page Experience Signals: – Focus on factors like HTTPS, no intrusive interstitials, and safe browsing. – Implement security measures to protect user data.

11. Video SEO: – Create video content and optimize it for search engines and video platforms. – Use relevant keywords, engaging thumbnails, and video transcripts.

12. Local SEO: – Optimize for local search by creating and optimizing your Google My Business profile. – Encourage customer reviews and citations.

13. Content Freshness: – Update and refresh older content regularly. – Add new, relevant information to keep your website current.

14. AI and Voice Assistant Optimization: – Leverage AI tools for content creation and analysis. – Optimize for voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant.

15. International SEO: – Implement hreflang tags for multilingual websites. – Use geotargeting in Google Search Console for country-specific targeting.

16. Social Signals: – Promote content on social media platforms. – Encourage social sharing and engagement.

17. Analytics and Monitoring: – Regularly review website analytics to track performance. – Use data to make informed decisions and adjust your SEO strategy.

18. Backlink Audit: – Monitor and disavow toxic or low-quality backlinks. – Build high-quality, relevant backlinks through outreach and content.

19. AI-Powered SEO Tools: – Explore and utilize AI-driven SEO tools for data analysis and keyword research.

20. Adapt to Algorithm Changes: – Stay updated with search engine algorithm updates. – Be ready to adapt your SEO strategy accordingly.

21. Some more Basic SEO checks list:

1. Install Google Tag Manager on your WordPress Website
2. Install Google Tag Manager to a Shopify Store
3. Check & Set Up Google Analytics using a WordPress Plug In
4. Check & Set Up Google Analytics to your Shopify Store
5. Check & Set Up Google Analytics with Google Tag Manager
6. Setting up Google Search Console (GSC)
7. Setting up Bing Webmaster Tools
8. How to Connect and add Google Search Console data to Google Analytics
9. Install Yoast SEO plug-in on your WordPress website
10. Setting up Uptime Monitoring (and minimize downtime)
11. Improve TrustRank adding Trust Pages: About us, Contact, Privacy Policy and TOS
12. Improve TrustRank with Public WHOIS and Domain Registration Length
13. How to configure HTTPS and get a Free SSL for your AWS website using Cloudflare
14. How to configure HTTPS and get a Free SSL for your GCP website using Cloudflare
15. Set Up Keyword Rank Tracking
16. Set Up Backlinks Monitoring
17. Configure Permalinks / SEO Friendly URLs
18. Check if your Website is Mobile Friendly
19. Check your website loading time
20. Keep URLs Short
21. Check and Optimize Your 404 Page
22. Make it easy to share your content
23. Claim your Brand on Multiple Social Networks
24. Record User Sessions & Heatmaps to understand your users experience
25. Use a Top-Performing Web Host
26. Check The Server is Located Close to Your Service Area
27. Use a CDN
28. Check for Gzip Compression
29. Check for HTTP/2
30. Use a Caching Solution
31. Minify JS/CSS Files
32. Resize Large Images at Upload
33. Compress and Optimize images
34. Lazy Load Images & Iframes (YouTube embeds, etc)
35. Always an up to date Technology (WordPress Plugin/Theme/Software)
36. Optimize Database
37. Check for HTTPS
38. Check for one single WWW version
39. Fix mixed content
40. Create an XML Sitemap Manually & Add it to Google Search Console (GSC)
41. Create an XML Sitemap with WordPress / Yoast & Add it to Google Search Console (GSC)
42. Create a robots.txt File
43. Consolidate duplicate URLs with Canonical tag
44. Check and Fix Broken Links
45. Check and Fix Redirect Chains
46. Fix Missing and Duplicate Meta Titles and Descriptions
47. Use Redirects Properly
48. Check for Index Coverage Issues
49. Check for Manual Penalties
50. Keep Pages at Maximum 3 Clicks from Reach
51. Use “noindex” and “nofollow” Tags Properly
52. Disable Irrelevant Pages from Being Indexed (noindex)
53. Have a Solid SEO Content Strategy
54. Do Keyword Research
55. Create Long-Form Content
56. Create 10x Content
57. Identify & Fix Content Cannibalization
58. Identify and Fix Duplicate Content
59. Create Content Hubs
60. “Feed” the Hubs with Supporting Content
61. Update Content on a Regular Basis
62. Add Content to Your Categories
63. Build Up E-A-T
64. How to outsource & scale content writing
65. Write for People, not for Search Engines
66. Check the Target Keyword Matches User Intent
67. Have the target keyword in URL, Title and Heading
68. Use Focus Keyword in 1st Paragraph
69. Use a Single H1 on Each Page
70. Set an Enticing, yet SEO-Oriented Meta Title
71. Write a Compelling Meta Description
72. Use Subheadings for Content Hierarchy
73. Format and Style the Content Properly
74. Link to Relevant Inner Pages
75. Link out to relevant, authoritative websites
76. Never Link to a Page/Website with the Same Anchor the Current Page is Targeting
77. Name Your Images Properly
78. Set Images Alt Text
79. Check for Social Markup
80. Check Dwell Time and Optimize It
81. Strike for the Featured Snippet
82. Don’t Over-Optimize
83. Have a Solid Link Building Strategy
84. Implement the “Competitive Analysis” framework to find SEO Opportunities
85. Build Foundational Links
86. Interlink Social Networks
87. Start a Guest-Blogging Campaign for Link Building on Niche-Related Blogs
88. Start a Resources Page Link-Building Campaign
89. Ask Partners you’ve Worked with for a Link
90. Turn Brand Mentions into Links
91. Use Social Signals to Boost your Page Rankings
92. Schedule Social Posting
93. Blog Commenting Link Building
94. Claim your Google My Business Listing
95. Claim Your Yelp Listing
96. Claim your Bing Places for Business Listing
97. Optimize Listings
98. Get on General Relevant Directories
99. Get on Niche-specific Directories
100. Reach Out for Reviews
101. Reply to Reviews
102. Publish Google Posts
103. Check for Site-wide NAP Details
104. Have Consistent NAP Details Across the Site
105. Have Consistent NAP Details on Listings & Social Networks
106. Have a Content Strategy Targeting Local Topics
107. Claim Brand Mentions from Local Sites
108. Add Local Business Markup to your Homepage
109. Geotag your pictures
110. Install a WordPress Blog on Amazon Web Service (AWS) with 12 Free Months
111. Install a WordPress Blog on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with $300 Free Credits
112. How to Pick and Install a Theme for your WordPress Website
113. Buy your own domain on GoDaddy
114. How to assign your domain to your AWS using Cloudflare
115. How to assign your domain to your Google Cloud Platform using Cloudflare
116. How to assign your domain to your AWS using GoDaddy
117. How to assign your domain to your Google Cloud Platform using GoDaddy
118. Get G-Suite (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, Meet and more) for your domain
119. Create your first G-Suite user & alias and check your email using Gmail
120. Setup a Catch-All Email for your domain
121. Backup and restore a WordPress website

Conclusion

We hope that this checklist expanded your SEO knowledge and that you found our tips helpful! We are aware many of these chapters have only scratched the surface while the underlying topic could fill many pages itself. However, this would go beyond the scope of our guide – see it as a starting point to dig deeper wherever you feel the need to!