2024 SEO Checklist To Improve Your Organic Rankings

Finding an exhaustive SEO checklist is nearly impossible. This SEO checklist aims to serve as the ultimate resource for anyone in need of a fully-fledged SEO checklist to use with their first, 100th, or 8,000th SEO project.

Our team of SEO experts at Mojo Dojo has come together to share their top must-dos, favorite tools, and proven tactics for keyword research, technical SEO, link building, and more.

This checklist is a curated collection of expert advice, covering everything from on-page optimisation to technical SEO and beyond.

Our checklist is designed to be incrementally useful, meaning every step you take brings you closer to SEO success. Take it one step at a time, and you’ll avoid feeling overwhelmed while enjoying the cumulative benefits of a data-driven approach.

We’ll cover the tools and resources you’ll need to get started, then segue right into the main idea: the 2024 SEO checklist.

We’ve split up checklist items between on-page optimisation and off-page SEO tasks.

Let’s get right into it.

Measure & Track Everything

There are several tools and processes you’ll need to get familiar with in order to maximize your efficiency and accuracy when performing SEO tasks.

We list the most commonly used,critical and most likely free items in this list to start seeing a decent traction.

Google Search Console

Through Google Search Console, you can view direct feedback related to your site’s performance.

Google search console was formerly called webmaster tools.

Google Search Console is a free tool and an absolute necessity for SEO.

With GSC, you’ll be able to:

Discover which search terms your pages are showing up for (and maybe even uncover some surprises!)
Identify the keywords and pages that are driving the most clicks and engagement
Take control of your site’s indexing by submitting a sitemap or requesting recrawls
Pinpoint and fix technical issues that might be holding you back
Stay in the loop with important messages from the Google Search team

GSC is a must-have for anyone serious about SEO. Not only will it help you tackle more items on this checklist, but the insights it provides will also help you refine and improve your SEO strategy over time. It’s like having a personal assistant to help you optimise your website and reach your target audience!”

Google Analytics

Another free tool is Google Analytics which allows you to view and track valuable data about the traffic coming to your website.

You’ll be able to see where your traffic is coming from, basic demographic information about your website visitors, which pages are receiving the most traffic, what your bounce rate is, and quite a few other important SEO key performance indicators.

Set up Google Analytics for your site.
Setup or roll your own analytics. Piwik (now matomo) is a good choice.

Google Analytics is the single source of truth for your website stats. It helps you determine

Who’s visiting your site and where they’re coming from?
What pages are your most viewed and which ones need a bit more work?
How long people are dwelling and what they’re doing during their visit?
What’s the main reason people are converting (or not converting)?
How many people are actually becoming customers?

If you have it installed it will likely answer most questions you have about your users.

“So, you wanna get more out of those free tools? Just link Google Analytics to Search Console. It’s a pretty simple step, but it lets you see even more reports and insights.

Google Tag Manager

In a nutshell, Google Tag Manager allows you to edit your website tags without manually changing the code. GTM allows you to

Easily add and update tags for analytics, marketing, and other purposes
Track website interactions and behaviors (e.g., clicks, form submissions)
Set up triggers and variables to control when tags fire
Integrate with Google Analytics and other tools
Simplify tag management for multiple websites or environments
Collaborate with team members and control access

This helps with tracking site user behavior, conversion tracking, and re-marketing.

Google Tag Manager is an absolutely important tool after GSC and analytics to track and measure everything on your site.

Use Google tag manager to load pixels but don’t use it to dynamically inject content on the page.

Bing Webmaster Tools

With Bing Webmaster Tools, you’ll have access to a dashboard full of tools that you can use to get information about your traffic and performance.

Here are some of the things you can do with Bing Webmaster Tools:

Add a site: You can add your website to Bing Webmaster Tools by typing in your URL and verifying that you are the site’s owner.
View search performance: The Search Performance report will show you your clicks, impressions, average click-through rate and average position.
Inspect URLs: The URL Inspection tool allows you to check if there are any crawling, indexing or markup errors that need attention.
Explore your site: The Site Explorer allows you to see how Bing views your site, organized in folders and files.
Submit sitemaps: You can submit your sitemaps in various formats, including XML Sitemap, RSS 2.0 and Atom 1.0.
Submit URLs: You can submit URLs to be crawled with the URL Submission section.
View backlinks: The Backlinks report will show you which sites are linking to yours and which pages are drawing the most inbound links.
Conduct keyword research: The keyword research tool shows you search appearances and trends.
View SEO reports: The SEO Reports identify areas of your site that don’t follow SEO best practices.

While Bing will drive a tiny amount of traffic to your site compared to Google, you should still submit your site to get it indexed.

Install SEO Plugin

Yoast is a WordPress plugin that will simplify many on-page SEO tasks for you. When optimizing a page or post, you’ll be able to tick several boxes off your to-do list from Yoast’s simple interface that appears below the draft of your content.

Canonical tags and noindex tags become a breeze and you’ll see suggestions for tweaks to make to your content in real time, while you’re writing a post.

Yoast also handles sitemaps for you. During the writing process, Yoast will check over 25 different specific elements of your post and tell you exactly what to change.

For example, it will help you with keyword density, keyword placement, and writing meta descriptions.

Yoast makes creating SEO-friendly content in WordPress as simple as can be.

Install and activate Yoast SEO if you use WordPress. Sync it up with your Google Analytics account.
If you don’t have a WordPress website, but you use another content management system, find an SEO plugin with consistently good reviews and use that instead.

Robots.txt file

You should be able to create a robot.txt file at the root of your website.Here are some simple Instructions for creating a robots.txt file

Create a new file: Save a new file named “robots.txt” in the root directory of your website (e.g., mojodojo.io/robots.txt).
Define crawl directives: Use the following format to specify crawl directives:
- User-agent: [bot name]
- Allow: [URL or directory]
- Disallow: [URL or directory]
Specify bot names: List the bot names you want to apply the directives to (e.g., Googlebot, Bingbot, etc.).
Allow or disallow crawling: Use “Allow” to permit crawling of specific URLs or directories, and “Disallow” to restrict access.
Upload the file: Place the robots.txt file in your website’s root directory.

Remember, while robots.txt provides guidance, it’s not a guarantee that all crawlers will adhere to your directives. Additionally, it’s essential to regularly review and update your robots.txt file to ensure it remains effective and aligned with your website’s needs.

Miscellaneous Items

Validate your code using the W3C validation tools.
Get an SSL certificate installed.
Claim your business on social media platforms, directories, and build out citations for your business.
Fix 301 and 301 redirects. Screaming Frog will do this (and other things) for you.
Create a sitemap. If you use a CMS, you can use a plugin to do this. If you use WordPress, use Yoast to generate your sitemap.
Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
Get familiar with PageSpeed index. We’ll revisit this, but you want your website to load as quickly as possible. Do a test run to see where you’re at before starting.
Create a robots.txt file. This file will give search engines information about which parts of your site to skip over while crawling your site. You may not want Google to crawl the admin area or members-only sections of your site.
Check for broken links. You can use a tool like Xenu’s Link Sleuth to do this for you. You can use a plugin for this if you’re using a CMS. When you are notified of broken links on your site, you’ll want to fix them as quickly as possible. Broken links frustrate your website’s visitors and will cause them to leave your site quicker.
Check our guide on free seo chrome extensions

Keyword research checklist

You cannot afford to skip doing keyword research. Understanding searcher intent and what terms your target audience is using to find content like yours is essential to your SEO strategy.

Keyword research every three months or continuously depending on how aggressive you are with your content strategy.

One keyword per page

To do this, use the Google Ads Keyword Planner or a tool like Keywordtool.io.

Google’s Keyword Planner will give you valuable insight related to who searches for your keyword phrase. You’ll be able to see how competitive that keyword is and compare it to other keywords.

You can find additional, long-tail related keywords by using Google Related Searches

Ideally, you want to find the most relevant keyword with the lowest competition that has the highest number of monthly searches. You’ll want to start off with low-volume keywords if you’re creating a new website or blog so that you have a higher chance of appearing on the first page of the search results.

Check the SERP For Result Type

Perform a search for your keyword. Determine what Google sees as relevant to the search query. What kind of content is showing up? If your content a good fit or should you adjust your keyword phrase?

Blog or instructions based results for more generic searches. Commercial results for more buying intent keywords.

Long tail Keywords

By including keywords that are closely related to your main keyword, you’re improving the chances of showing Google that your content is relevant to the search query.

You can start collecting ideas for contextual keywords, also called LSI keywords.

Use sites like thesaurus.com, tools like LSIGraph, Wikipedia, and search for synonyms to find LSI keywords.

Complete on-page SEO checklist

URL Optimisation

Get your main keyword into your URL.
If possible, include more than one keyword in the URL.
Keep in mind that shorter URLs tend to rank better than longer ones.
Note: Avoid changing existing URLs, as this can negatively impact your page’s rank and break existing links.

Title Tag Optimisation

Get your keyword into your title tag and place it as close to the front as possible.
Use a tool like CoSchedule’s headline analyzer to craft a powerful title.
Remove common words and ensure the title is click-worthy.
Aim for a title length of approximately 60 characters.

Meta Description Optimisation

Use keywords in your meta description and write a unique meta description for each page or post.
If using WordPress, utilize Yoast to write meta descriptions.
The meta description typically appears in search results, so make it compelling to encourage click-throughs.
Aim for a meta description length of 155-160 characters.

Header Tag and Image Optimisation

Use keywords in image alt tags, the H1 tag (only use one H1 element per page and place it before other headings), and other headings if possible.
Note: Only use one H1 element per page.

Content Optimisation

Use your keywords naturally within your page content.
Avoid keyword stuffing, as search engines will penalize your website for this tactic.
Try to include your main keyword at least once in the first paragraph.

Internal Linking

Link internally to your other content and use keywords as your anchor text.

Link out to external sites

The more high-quality links you include, the better. Aim for five to eight links to trusted websites in each article. Linking out to well-trusted websites helps to show Google that your content is well-researched.

Optimise Content

Write in a friendly, natural tone that is easy to read in almost any circumstance.

Quality Content

Creating high-quality, valuable content is key to gaining authority and ranking higher in searches.
Create evergreen content that isn’t regurgitated information.
Make your content as shareable as possible.

Audience Focus

Ensure everything you publish is helpful, informative, or entertaining to your target audience.
Include social sharing buttons on your website to encourage readers to share your content on social media platforms.

Social Shares and SEO

Social shares are valuable for SEO; make sure your content is better than your competitors’ and fills a need for your audience.
The more social shares you get, the higher the chance your website will earn high-quality backlinks from other websites.

Editing and Proofreading

Check your grammar and spelling, and proofread your work before publishing.
Consider waiting a day or two before publishing a post you’ve just written.
Edit and schedule the post, then review it again before it goes live.

Content Structure

Instead of publishing a wall of text, chunk your content into smaller sections.
Use paragraphs of three to five sentences at most; users are more likely to engage with concise and direct content.

Visual content

Adding images and video to your content will increase the likelihood that people will share your content.

Use at least one image in the first 25% of the article. Include some kind of related, downloadable file if possible (like a PDF).

Outreach program

Have a plan for earning high-quality links to your content.

Can you guest post on a big blog in your niche?
Can you get a social media influencer to share your content?
Can you get an authority to link to your work ?

If you have any connections who can help you snag a few good links for your website, take advantage of them.

If you aren’t in that position, start making a list of blogs, websites, or publications you might want to inquire about guest posting for.

Longer content

Without including any unnecessary words, put out long-form content as often as you can.

It’s recommended that you aim for 2000-3000 words if you’re writing cornerstone content.

For all other posts, try to reach 1400 words.

If you use WordPress

Use a maximum of ten tags per post.
Use a maximum of one category per post.

Analyze your link profile

Use Ahrefs or a similar tool to view your domain score.

You’ll be able to view what kind of link profile your website has and spot any links that may be relatively affecting your PageRank.

Using the same kind of tool, you can view the link profiles of your competition.

When your competition has more authoritative backlinks than you, you’ll generally be able to find insight into where you can get more links.

Crawl errors

Crawl errors stop Google from viewing sections of your website.

Log into Google Search Console and click on “Crawl”, then “Crawl Stats”. Then, enter a URL from your website.

You’ll get a list of errors to comb over for potential issues.

Anything that you intentionally included in your robots.txt file to remain untouched by Google should be included in this list. Anything else is an issue that you’ll need to fix.

Duplicate content should be fixed. You can use 301 redirects, Google Webmaster Tools, or canonical tags to handle duplicate content.

Fix duplicate meta and title tags

Use Google Search Console to find any duplicate meta tags.

Click on “Search Appearance” and then “HTML Improvements”.

You’ll be able to check for duplicate tags and you’ll also get suggestions regarding the length and content of your meta descriptions and titles.

Schema markup

In short, schema markup helps search engines understand what your content is about and who it’s relevant to.

Structured data improves targeting and click-through rates and helps to rank your content for the right terms.

Do some research about structured data and schema markup and then use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to get started with schema markup without having to do it manually.

Identify bad redirects

If there are any 302 redirects on your website that should be 301 redirects, get them fixed as soon as possible.

302 redirects are optimally used for temporary purposes, like site maintenance.

These “bad” redirects don’t pass on the SEO value of the original page to the new page.

301 redirects are permanent and the SEO value carries over from the old page to the new page.

Try using Browseo to find bad redirects.

Website’s speed

Keeping your website fast is a huge part of providing a top-tier user experience.

When your website loads slowly, users are over ten times more likely to click away without reading any of your content.

Use Google’s PageSpeed to get details on how quickly your site loads and to speed up your website.

Mobile-friendliness

Your website should be responsive. This just means that it needs to look good and be accessible on all screen sizes.

Your website’s usability is critical. More users than ever are performing search queries on their phones.

If your website isn’t responsive, users will get frustrated, leave your site, and move onto the next search result.

Use Google’s mobile-friendly test to check if your website is correctly optimised for mobile viewing.

Also, test your website on all of the top browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera.

Use Rich Snippets

Rich snippets can be added to your HTML to help search engines understand how best to display your content in search results.

If your website hosts recipes, reviews, videos, news, event information, or products, you can make use of rich snippets.

Your content will be displayed more beautifully in the SERP, often with a photo or screenshot alongside your title and meta description.

Reviews and products will have their ratings displayed directly in the search results.

Rich snippets improve click-through rate dramatically because they communicate more information to users than simple text.

SSL Certificate

Switch your website from HTTP to HTTPS. Google favours websites with this extra layer of security and users will feel more comfortable using your website knowing that their personal information is being encrypted.

Claim Your Brand

Use NameChk to claim your brand name on every social media website that makes sense for your business to be on.

Having control over your brand name on social media will make things easier for you in the long run even if social media isn’t part of your current marketing strategy.

Reputation management is a large part of your brand’s image.

Stay on top of what’s being said about your brand on social media platforms and respond to customer complaints and reviews.

Brands with more reviews and social media interaction are boosted in search results because Google sees them as buzz-worthy brands.

SEO Checklist For Local Business

Local SEO demands a few extra steps out of you.

Use your city or area name within your keywords.

Utilize posts in Google My Business to keep customers updated on sales and events.

Have a call-to-action button installed on your Google My Business listing:

Customers should be prompted to call your business or to book an appointment.

Google My Business can sync up with most appointment-scheduling programs to allow customers to set their own appointments through Google without ever talking to someone from your company.

Build out citations in local search directories and ensure that all of the contact information posted is consistent.

Discrepancies in your contact information will hurt your rankings. Many of these websites allow users to suggest a change to a listing even if they don’t own it.

Avoid having false information by checking up on them once a week or once a month.

Maintain your online presence and be sure to respond to customer reviews in a timely manner.

Encourage your customers to leave you reviews when allowed – Google encourages businesses to ask customers to leave an honest review while Yelp does not.

Reviews boost your local rankings including search visibility and responding to each review shows potential customers that you care about your customer’s experiences.

2024 SEO checklist to rank organically