A Comprehensive SEO Checklist for High Visibility on The SERP
SEO can seem like a mammoth exercise and it can be difficult to find a starting point. There are several areas you will need to work on to make sure that your site is structurally sound, readable for both visitors and search engines, and optimised for the competitive nature of the search results. If you’re looking to put an SEO strategy in place and consolidate the work that needs to be done, look no further – here is our comprehensive SEO checklist.
What Are The Different Areas of SEO?
Google is smart, and thorough, in the way that it hand-picks the most appropriate results for its search queries. There are several algorithms that work to find trustworthy, expert resources that provide visitors with a good experience. This gives us the four areas of SEO – technical SEO, off-page and on-page SEO, and local SEO. Below is a breakdown of each and things to make sure of to ensure that your site is search engine optimised.
Technical SEO
This area of SEO concerns your website’s performance and the quality of experience you give your visitors. A website for any business is its greatest asset. It draws leads and will do the work for you if you get it right. However, you’d be mistaken to think it’s a one-time job. Websites continuously grow, get updated, become outdated and issues arise. This means that you will need to carry out routine health checks to ensure that users and search engine crawlers are able to get what they want from your site without hitting dead ends. Technical SEO encompasses many individual areas, but in summary it involves crawling, indexing, website architecture, mobile friendliness, and Google’s Core Web Vitals.
On Page SEO
On page SEO concerns the content your site has. You may have heard the phrase “content is king” in SEO, and that is because Google uses it to understand who you are (the niche you belong to) and where it should place you on the SERP. To give Google a helping hand, you may include keywords in your content. We’d recommend keyword research and planning for this step to ensure that the right pages rank for your chosen keywords and that you’re attracting the right traffic to your site.
Off Page SEO
Content is king, and backlinks are votes. Off-page SEO concerns the content others share relating to your site online. Google sees links that are included as “votes” or “referrals”, passing on trust. This is what will help you appear more credible to search engines and give your pages a rankings boost. Similarly, links from poor-quality sites can raise alarm bells for Google, as can malicious linking practices. They are to be aware of and monitored continuously.
Local SEO
Lastly, we have local SEO. Businesses with a physical presence should pay special attention to this section as it can help bring targeted traffic from within your local area to your site and customers through your door. To optimise for local SEO, identify local key terms to target and ensure that Google knows where you are Geographically. You can do this by embedding local keywords into your content appropriately, and building off page content known as “citations” that list your contact details. You should also consider creating a GMB, or Google My Business Account to appear within the local panel which sits at the top of local search results.
If you would like help with your SEO, feel free to get in touch.
