Small Business SEO Checklist: 50 Items to Check

Technical (15 items)

• HTTPS enabled across entire site
• Pages load in under 2.5 seconds
• Mobile-friendly on all devices
• XML sitemap submitted to Google
• Robots.txt configured correctly
• No crawl errors in Search Console
• Canonical tags on every page
• No redirect chains
• Images compressed and properly sized
• Schema markup implemented
• Internal links connect all pages
• No broken links (404 errors)
• URL structure is clean and descriptive
• Core Web Vitals passing
• No duplicate content issues
• On-Page (15 items)
• Unique title tag on every page
• Meta description on every page
• One H1 per page describing the topic
• Logical heading hierarchy
• Alt text on all meaningful images
• Content answers the searcher's question
• Internal links to related pages
• Clear call-to-action on every page
• Contact information visible
• Pricing information available
• Service pages for each offering
• FAQ content for common questions
• About page with real team photos
• Blog/guide content published regularly
• Content updated within last 6 months
• Off-Page (10 items)
• Google Business Profile claimed and optimized
• NAP consistent across directories
• 50+ Google reviews
• Reviews on other platforms
• Backlinks from relevant sources
• Social media profiles complete
• Listed in industry directories
• Mentioned in local publications
• AI tools describe you accurately
• No toxic backlinks
• Local (10 items)
• Service area set correctly in GBP
• Photos uploaded monthly
• Posts published weekly
• Reviews responded to within 24 hours
• Location-specific pages on website
• Local content published regularly
• Community involvement documented
• Local partnerships built
• Map pack rankings monitored
• Competitor GBP profiles analyzed
• References
• Google Search Central
• Schema.org Documentation

Google AI Overview Documentation

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