Technical SEO Checklist: Site Optimization and Indexing

Crawling and Indexing

robots.txt is not access control. Protect private areas with authentication and authorization.

XML sitemap: Create sitemap.xml containing all important pages. Manage multiple sitemaps with sitemap index.

Canonical tags: Use <link rel="canonical" href="..."> to prevent duplicate content. Each page should specify its own canonical URL.

Meta robots: Prevent indexing of specific pages with meta tags like noindex, nofollow.

URL structure: Use clean, readable URLs. Like /blog/seo-checklist. Avoid query parameters.

Site Speed and Performance

Core Web Vitals: LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms. Google ranking factor.

Page load speed: Target under 3 seconds. Speed up with image optimization, code splitting, caching.

Mobile-first: Google uses mobile-first indexing. Your mobile version should be as good as desktop.

CDN: Serve static assets from CDN. Reduce latency.

Structured Data (Schema Markup)

JSON-LD: Add structured data with <script type="application/ld+json">. Preferred format by Google.

Schema types: Use schema types like Article, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Organization, BreadcrumbList.

Structured data does not guarantee rich results; use an eligible type matching visible content.

Test: Validate structured data with Google Rich Results Test.

Mobile Compatibility

Responsive design: All pages should look good on mobile. Add viewport meta tag.

Touch targets: Buttons and links should be at least 48x48px. Easily tappable with finger.

Font size: Minimum 16px font. Small text is hard to read on mobile.

Use Chrome DevTools to test viewport sizes, then check touch and keyboard interaction on real devices.

Security and HTTPS

HTTPS: All pages should be accessible via HTTPS. SSL certificate is mandatory.

Security headers: Add CSP, HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options headers.

Mixed content: Don't use HTTP resources (image, script) on HTTPS pages.

HSTS preload: Get added to HSTS preload list. Browsers always use HTTPS.

Content and On-Page SEO

Title tag: Each page should have a unique, 50-60 character title tag. Place keyword at the beginning.

Meta description: 150-160 character meta description. Write description that increases click-through rate (CTR).

Heading structure: Use H1-H6 hierarchy correctly. Each page should have one H1.

Internal linking: Add internal links between related pages. Anchor text should be descriptive.

Image alt text: Add descriptive alt text to all images. For image SEO and accessibility.

• Google Search: Structured data