You do not need to be an SEO specialist to check whether your website has the basics in place. Use this checklist to review your current site or brief your web design company.
Site structure
- Each main product or service has its own page, not just a bullet on the homepage
- URLs are short and readable, for example /services/website-designing/
- Every important page can be reached within a few clicks from the homepage
- Breadcrumbs show where a page sits in the site
- An HTML sitemap and an XML sitemap are available
On-page basics
- Every page has a unique title of roughly 50–60 characters
- Every page has a unique meta description that invites the click
- One H1 per page that states the page topic clearly
- Images have descriptive file names and alt text
- Pages link to related pages using descriptive anchor text
Technical health
- The site uses HTTPS and one preferred domain version
- Pages load quickly on mobile and pass Core Web Vitals
- No important pages are blocked by robots.txt or noindex tags
- Old URLs redirect to new ones with 301 redirects
- Structured data describes your organisation, services and breadcrumbs
Local SEO
- Google Business Profile is claimed, verified and complete
- Business name, address and phone are identical everywhere online
- Contact page shows full address and a map
Content
- Pages answer the questions buyers ask before they contact you
- Keywords appear naturally in headings and text, without repetition
- Content is original, current and accurate
If several of these are missing, an SEO audit or a redesign may be worthwhile. Every website we build includes these foundations; see website development.
