Launching a website is an exciting but daunting task – so much to do, and so many possible pitfalls. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an important part of the process – you need to ensure that search engines can understand your site’s content and rank it for relevant keywords.
It’s time-consuming work too; if you get it wrong, you’ll have a hard time making up ground against competitors who did their homework from the start. That said, don’t fret! With this comprehensive SEO checklist created by one of the top SEO companies in Toronto as your guide through this crucial process, you’ll be ready to tackle launch day like a pro. We’ve got everything covered when it comes to setting your website up for success in the search rankings…so let’s dive right in!
- Keyword Research: Knowing the best keywords for your website is essential for successful SEO, so start by doing some research into which words and phrases are most relevant to your content. Use keyword tools such as SEMRush or Google Trends to help you identify topics with high search volume and competition level.
- On-Page Optimization: Once you’ve identified a few target keywords, it’s time to optimize them on-page! Make sure they are present in all aspects of your content—titles, meta descriptions, headings, body text—and use them naturally throughout; don’t stuff them unnecessarily just to increase their density in the page’s code.
- Internal Linking Structure: Think of this as the foundation of your website—it’s what binds all the pages together, and helps search engine crawlers understand the context of each page. Make sure to include internal links on all your content pages, where relevant. This will also help visitors navigate your site more easily.
- Image Optimization: Search engines can’t ‘read’ images like text; so you’ll need to make sure that they are properly tagged with alternative text (ALT tags). Doing this will also ensure that images are accessible for users who might be visually impaired or using assistive technologies such as screen readers.
- Mobile-Friendliness: Google now ranks websites according to how well they perform on mobile devices, so it is essential that you make sure your website is mobile-friendly. This means testing the website on various devices and screen sizes, as well as optimizing for speed—long load times can cost you in terms of user experience and search rankings.
- Sitemap Submission: Once your website is live, create an XML sitemap (you can use a generator to help with this) and submit it to Google Search Console. This will ensure that all of your pages are properly indexed by the search engine crawlers.
- Technical SEO Check: Last but not least, run a technical SEO audit to check for any potential issues that might be preventing your site from performing its best in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Tools such as Screaming Frog and DeepCrawl can help you identify any errors or issues that need to be addressed.
By following this SEO Checklist, you’ll have the confidence to launch your new website knowing that it has the best chance at success in search engine rankings. Now all that’s left is to promote your content and watch those SEO results roll in!
At USEO, we will ensure that all of these steps are taken to give your website the best chance at success. We offer a full range of SEO services, including keyword research, technical SEO audits and link building campaigns. Contact us today to get started and make sure you’re ready for launch day!
