SEO Checklist (SEMNE Digital Marketing Association)

2022-2023 Edition
SEO Checklist

SEO Cheat Sheet

Whitepaper
www.semne.org
SEO Checklist - SEO Cheat Sheet Whitepaper (2022-2023 Edition)

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association

is providing free basic information
and is not responsible for any
results that are achieved based on
the advice contained within this
document.
Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation 2


Checklist: SEO Basics
If you are new to SEO, you are not alone. Fortunately, the basics are fairly
easy to understand. The following steps can help you prepare your website
for success.
1. Use Tools From Google Search

Console and Bing Webmaster
The right tools can handle a great deal of the SEO work for you. Google
Search Console can help you look at your organic visibility, traffic
and site performance. Meanwhile, Bing Webmaster Tools is basically Bing's
version of the same thing. By using these tools, you can see which keywords
and search terms your site is ranking for.
2. Try Google Analytics
Brick-and-mortar companies and large corporations spend millions of

dollars on consumer research. You can get the same quality of research
through Google Analytics and similar programs. Google Analytics can help
you look at real-time data from your website.
Through this data, you can easily see who is coming to your site and how
long they are on each page. Setting up Google Analytics is fairly
straightforward. You just need to remember to connect Google Search
Console to Google Analytics so that Google Analytics can access the data it
needs.
3. Get an SEO Plugin
If you are using WordPress, you are in luck. WordPress has a wide range of
free plugins you can use on your site. SEMRush, Yoast SEO, Google Keywords
Planner and Ahrefs are some of the most popular options, but there are many
other plugins available. If you are using anything other than WordPress, you
will need to talk to your developer about your plugin options.
Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association is providing free basic information and is 3
not responsible for any results that are achieved based on the advice contained within this document.

4. Create a Sitemap
Google uses sitemaps to figure out which pages should be crawled. The
search engines also use your sitemap to see the canonical version of every
page. Basically, the sitemap lists the URLs on your site so that everything is
indexed by the search engines.
To submit a sitemap to Google, you should generally use XML. If you

already have a sitemap, it will be at https://www.domain.com/sitemap.xml.
You can always create a new sitemap by using a sitemap generator tool.
Once you have made a sitemap, you need to submit it to Google Search
Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. You should also reference it in your
robots.txt file. If you do not have a robots.txt file, move on to the next step.

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association is providing free basic information and is
4

5. Make a Robots.txt File
Your robots.txt file is made for search engines. It tells the search engine's
crawlers which pages can and cannot be requested from the website. For
example, you can use your robots.txt file to stop crawlers from indexing a
private page.
Right now, your site should already have a robots.txt file at

https://www.domain.com/robots.txt. If you do not have one already, you can
use a WordPress SEO plugin to make it. For websites with a different content
management system (CMS), you will need to manually make the file in a text
editor. Afterward, you can upload it to your site's root directory.
6. Find Manual Actions in Google Search Console
Sometimes, manual actions can harm your website. A manual action is

basically something that goes against Google's Webmaster Guidelines. For
instance, hidden text and user-generated spam violate Google's guidelines.
Normally, websites do not have a major issue with manual actions. You can
easily check Google Search Action's Manual Actions tab to see if your site is
affected. In the future, Google will send you a notification if there is a manual
action affecting your website.
7. Get Google to Index Your Site
For your site to receive traffic, it must be indexed by Google. Sometimes,

developers leave noindex tags on a site without realizing it. If you are
struggling to get views, you should check out the Site Audit Tool to see if your
site can be indexed by the search engines.
After setting up the Site Audit Tool, you can run an audit of your site. At the
end of the audit, you will get a report that shows how crawlable your website
is. When you look at the report, you should see if your main pages can be
crawled and indexed correctly.

5

Checklist: Keyword Research
Keyword research helps you figure out which keywords your visitors are
looking for. Even if you have the best search ranking for a keyword term, it will
not matter if no one searches for those keywords. To improve your SEO
approach, use these tools for researching top keywords.
8. Learn About Your Competitors
There are tools that can help you figure out your competitor's keywords. For
example, the SEMRush Domain Overview tool lets you see who is competing
against you in the same space. Then, you can see if your visibility is better or
worse than your competitor's website.
9. Discover Your Best Keywords
Which keywords bring in the most traffic and advertising revenue? The
answer could determine your long-term conversions and sales. These
keyword terms are also called head terms.
Normally, these keywords have a lot of competition and receive a high

volume of traffic. They are basically a term that encompasses what your site
is about. After you identify your head terms, you can figure out which
supporting keywords you should use.
10. Research Long-Tail Keyword Variations
Long-tail keywords have a lower search volume, but they are more likely to
boost your conversion rate. These terms are more specific than head terms.
With the SEMRush Keyword Magic Tool, you can easily discover the right long-
tail keywords for your site.
All you have to do is enter your main keywords into the tool. Then, select your
country. Afterward, the tool will give you a list of keywords that you can
modify based on how exact or broad you want the list to be.

6

11. Make a Keyword Map
Now that you have your head

terms and long-tail keywords, you
can make a map. This will help
you match up the keywords with
pages on your site. By doing this,
you can see if there are any gaps
in your keyword research.
Keyword mapping helps you match your targeted keywords to the structure
of your site. It essentially makes it easier to decide how you want to
optimize your site or add new content. For your website to succeed, you
need to target the right pages with the right keywords.
12. Analyze How Top-Ranking Pages Are Constructed
If you write an article about buffalo wings, your keywords should not be
related to sweatshirts. Otherwise, the searcher will arrive at your site and
immediately click away when they realize you do not sell sweatshirts. You
should take some time to analyze the content on other sites that rank for
your targeted terms.
Search intent is important because you need your content to match

up to the searcher's goal. Additionally, you need to know the searcher's
intent so that your content can align with Google's ranking structure.
The SEMRush Keyword Research tool can help you figure out the intent
behind different keywords. For example, the tool breaks down keywords into
navigational, informational, transactional and commercial labels. By looking
at these labels, you can determine where the buyer is in their journey when
they search for your keywords.

7

13. Determine the Questions Searchers Are Thinking About
To develop content for an audience, you have to figure out what they are
trying to ask. You can easily look this up using the Keyword Magic Tool. All
you have to do is input your keyword. Then, select the questions filter to see
how your keyword looks as a question.
If you need more ideas, you can use AlsoAsked.com to see what other
people are asking about. Once you see the questions, you can design
content that answers these questions. This is a great way to make sure your
website is bringing in the right visitors and serving their needs.
14. Realize How Hard It Is to Boost Your Keyword Ranking
Unfortunately, it can be incredibly difficult for a website to begin ranking for

highly competitive keywords. First, you have to build your site's authority.
Because of this, you may want to initially choose keywords that are easier to
target.
If you have a website that is about American stocks, ranking for American
stocks and similar keywords is going to be difficult. Instead, you need to
begin by focusing on localized or long-tail keywords. Until your website has
developed a better authority level, you will have an easier time ranking for
less competitive keywords. If you do not know if your keywords are
competitive or not, check out the Keyword Overview Tool by SEMRush.

8

Checklist: Technical SEO
Other than keyword research, you also need to focus on your technical SEO.
This kind of SEO lets you build a strong foundation for your website so that
your site gets indexed. The following tips can help you improve your
technical SEO.
15. Get HTTPS Encryption
If you do not already have it, you need to invest in HTTPS encryption.
Starting in 2014, Google and other search engines began ranking HTTPS
websites higher. Fortunately, you can easily see if you are using HTTPS or
not.
Take a look at the URL bar in your browser. In most cases, HTTPS or HTTP will
be present before your URL. If it is not, you can look for a padlock. The
padlock shows that your site is protected by HTTPS encryption.
16. Be Wary of Duplicate Versions of Your Website
Google should only index one version of your website. If you have multiple
versions, they should all go to a primary version using a 301 redirect. The
following are examples of how your website might look.
- https://www.domain.com
- http://www.domain.com
- https://domain.com
- https://domain.com
The version you use is entirely up to you. Most people use

https://www.domain.com. If you do not fix this problem, it can end up
impacting your ranking.

9

17. Discover Your Crawl Errors
You need to make sure Google is crawling your site properly. Fortunately,
this is easy to do through Google Search Console. Underneath the Coverage
report, you can see excluded pages and errors. Google will also tell you if
there are warnings on your site.
Once you access your Google Search Console report, you should fix any
errors that appear. If you notice a common cause, you may want to fix the
underlying issue. All of your 404 errors and similar problems will show up in
this area.
18. Boost Your Website's Speed
When your website is slow, users tend to go somewhere else. In addition,

Google recently announced in 2021 that page experience was an important
part of the ranking process. If your site offers a bad experience, your ranking
will suffer.
To avoid this problem, you should see how quickly your site loads. The
PageSpeed Insights tool from Google can help. You can also check your
stats with Google's Core Web Vitals to see how your pages are doing.
19. Check for Broken Links
If you have broken internal and

outbound links, it can lead to a
bad user experience. Because of
this, it is another factor that
Google considers when it ranks
your pages. You can easily check
for broken internal links in your
Site Audit report. Then, you can
remove the link or update it with a
new one.

10

20. Update HTTP Links
A few years ago, many sites still used HTTP in their URL. Because of this,
some of your old links might be HTTP links instead of HTTPS links. Rather than
using a redirect, you can run an HTTPS Report in Site Audit to uncover
problematic links.
Sometimes, you only have to deal with a handful of incorrect links. These
can be updated manually using your site's CMS. If these links are a part of a
broader problem, you may want to use search and replace on your entire
database. You could also try updating your page templates instead.
21. Set Your Site Up for Mobile Devices
Google ranks mobile-friendly sites higher than sites that focus on desktop
experiences. Starting in 2019, Google began indexing these sites first. You
can easily use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site is ideal for
mobile devices.
22. Prepare Your URL Structure for SEO Success
Your goal is to make your site as easy to crawl as possible. With this in
mind, you should create page URLs that search engines can easily read and
understand. For instance, you should change
https://www.domain.com/category.php?id=55 to
https://www.domain.com/dog-sleds/.
You should also avoid using underscores. Instead, use hyphens to separate
words. Additionally, you should keep your URLs short because short URLs
tend to rank better.

11

23. Get Structured Data
Your structure data markup is incredibly important because Google needs

this information for its semantic web. Structured data allows your organic
listings to rank better in the search engine result pages (SERPs). If you are
new to structured data, you can use SEMRush's guide or analyze your site
using a structured data testing tool from Google.
24. Discover Your Site's Page Depth
When someone visits your website, they should not have to click more than
three times to reach any page. If they need to click more than this, your
site's structure needs to be flattened out. Otherwise, search engines and
users will not be able to find your pages.
You can easily find your site's crawl depth through the Site Audit tool. Once
you are in the tool, you should check out the Internal Linking report. This
report will show you how many clicks a user must perform to access a page
on your site.
25. Look at Temporary 302 Redirects
A 302 redirect shows that a redirect is only temporary. If the redirect is

permanent, you will get a 301 result. Sometimes, you will incorrectly receive
a 302 instead of a 301. If there is an inaccurate 302, then you need to turn it
into a 301. You can use this by looking at temporary redirects in the Site
Audit report.

12

Checklist: On-Page SEO and Content
26. Discover Redirect Chains and Loops
In the Site Audit tool, the Issues tab will show if you have a problem with
redirect chains and loops. If your site has a redirect chain, it means your site
is sending search engines through multiple redirects or a loop of redirects.
Redirects should always go from one page to the second one, and this can
be easily fixed.
Once your technical SEO is fixed, it is time to consider your content. Your on-
page SEO and content will determine your ranking. If you have a great user
experience and top content, you can increase your organic traffic.
27. Repair Missing, Duplicated and Truncated Title Tags
One of the first things you can do to fix your on-page SEO is to optimize
your title tags. Your title tags basically tell search engines what your site is
about. There should never be duplicate title tags because duplicated
content is penalized by the search engines.
Likewise, you do not want excessively long title tags because these tend to
get shortened on the SERPs. Your title tags should be 70 characters or less.
They should also be specific, so users can tell what your page is actually
about.
Additionally, you need to make sure you do not have any missing title tags.
If you are uncertain if you have missing, truncated or duplicated title tags,
you can just use your Site Audit report and check the Issues section. Then,
you can update all of the incorrect title tags.

13

28. Repair Missing and Duplicated Meta Descriptions
After fixing your title tags, you should also fix your meta descriptions. The
SERPs do not use meta descriptions to determine your ranking. They are
primarily useful for your visitor experience.
Visitors will read your meta description to decide if they want to go to your
site. Because of this, a good meta description can improve your click-
through rate (CTR). When you do not have a meta description, Google
displays some of the content from your page instead.
If you notice your meta description is different on Google, do not worry.

Google rewrites about 70 percent of meta descriptions. Even though your
description may be rewritten, you should still try to create a good one to
entice potential users.
29. Repair Multiple H1 Tags
Next, you need to find and fix your H1 tags. These tags are the main heading
for your pages. Each page should have just one.
This is another problem you can find under the Issues tab in Site Audit. If a
page has more than one H1, you need to fix it. Sometimes, this happens
because your logo gets wrapped into an H1 tag. A good H1 tag will include
the main target keyword for the page, so you may also want to rewrite it.

14

30. Update Your Page Content, Title Tags and Meta Tags
You should take a few minutes to update your meta tags, title tags and
content. Your meta tags and page titles should use keyword variations as
well as main keywords. Google Search Console has a performance report
that can show you the keywords that have low average positions and low
clicks.
If this result appears, it means your page is not ranking as well as it could
be. It is still ranking a little, but you need to optimize your page. You can do
this by adding variations in your tags and content. If you really want to have
an impact, you should add the keywords to your subsections and other H2s.
31. Conduct a Content Audit
A content audit is a useful way to see what kind of content is helping or

hurting your site. The Content Audit tool makes it easy to see which pages
need to be removed, rewritten or changed. If you get rid of duplicate and
bad-quality content, it will improve your page ranking.
32. Add Alt Tags to Your Images
Another simple way you can fix your site is by using alt tags on all of your
images. Other than giving the image a descriptive name, you should make
sure it is the right size and quality. Alt tags help search engines understand
your images, and they can help the visually impaired. The Issues tab in Site
Audit will show you if any alt text is missing from your site.
33. Optimize Your Internal Links
Internal links are great for link building. They can quickly increase your
ranking in the SERPs. If you add an internal link from a different authoritative
page on your site, it can quickly make a difference. Basically, your internal
links can help distribute one page's authority among different pages of your
site.

15

34. Repair Keyword Cannibalization Problems
If multiple pages rank for the same keywords, they will end up competing
against each other. Keyword cannibalization is not always a major issue
because sites generally rank for multiple keywords. At the same time, you
do not want an old, poor-quality page to rank higher for a keyword than a
new, useful page.
You can check for keyword cannibalization problems through a Position

Tracking campaign. Then, head over to the Cannibalization tab. If you
decide you do not want to have keyword cannibalization issues, you can
always change the keywords on one page, delete a page or combine pages.
35. Search for Orphaned Pages
Orphaned pages are pages that cannot be found by Google. Google uses
links on your site to crawl from one page to another. If there are no links to
one of your pages, it is an orphaned page.
When this happens, the page's ranking can suffer. You can find these pages
through a Site Audit. Under the Issues tab, there is a section for orphaned
pages in sitemaps. The same information is also listed in the Internal Linking
report. To fix the problem, you just have to link to it from a relevant page on
your site.
36. Update Your Content
Pages will age eventually, but updating your pages can quickly improve
your ranking in the SERPs. Google assumes updated information is better for
users. Because of this, you should update your blog posts with new
information and a fresh perspective.

16

Checklist: Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO can improve your search engine ranking. While most people
focus on link building, there are other off-page SEO tips out there. To find
out how to boost your ranking, read on.
37. Look at the Link Profile on Your Competitor's Site
One of the ways you can improve your ranking is by analyzing your
competitor's link profile. Look at their content by sending one of their URLs
through the Backlink Analytics tool. Then, you can use the results to
understand the authority of the links that send people to your competitor's
website.
38. Run a Link Intersect Analysis
A link intersect analysis shows pages that link to sites like yours. When you
use Backlink Analytics, you can look at five domains to see which sites link
to your competitors. Then, you can use the results to quickly build your link
profile.
39. Find Unlinked Mentions
Another quick way to build inbound links is by finding unlinked mentions of

your site. Through the Brand Monitoring tool, you can find occasions when
people mentioned your brand without linking to it. All you have to do is send
them a request to add a link to their mention.
40. Search for Link Building Opportunities
You can also be proactive about finding new links. Through the Link Building
Tool, you can discover a stream of different opportunities. Once you reach
out to these opportunities, you can gradually improve your backlink profile.

17

41. Optimize Your Google Business Profile
If you run a local business, you need to get your business listed on Google
Business Profile (GBP). Then, you need to improve your listing so that it
ranks well. Without a good GBP, you are letting other businesses take your
ranking.
Start Changing Your SEO Presence Now
SEO does not have to be difficult. Through some simple steps, you can
quickly build your SEO presence online. Once your site has been optimized
for the search engines, you can enjoy a higher ranking in the SERPs and
more organic traffic.

18

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2022-2023 Edition

SEO Cheat Sheet

SEMNE Digital Marketing Association

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation 2

Checklist: SEO Basics

1. Use Tools From Google Search

2. Try Google Analytics

Brick-and-mortar companies and large corporations spend millions of

3. Get an SEO Plugin

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

To submit a sitemap to Google, you should generally use XML. If you

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

5. Make a Robots.txt File

Right now, your site should already have a robots.txt file at

6. Find Manual Actions in Google Search Console

Sometimes, manual actions can harm your website. A manual action is

7. Get Google to Index Your Site

For your site to receive traffic, it must be indexed by Google. Sometimes,

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Checklist: Keyword Research

8. Learn About Your Competitors

9. Discover Your Best Keywords

Normally, these keywords have a lot of competition and receive a high

10. Research Long-Tail Keyword Variations

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

11. Make a Keyword Map

Now that you have your head

12. Analyze How Top-Ranking Pages Are Constructed

Search intent is important because you need your content to match

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

13. Determine the Questions Searchers Are Thinking About

14. Realize How Hard It Is to Boost Your Keyword Ranking

Unfortunately, it can be incredibly difficult for a website to begin ranking for

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Checklist: Technical SEO

15. Get HTTPS Encryption

16. Be Wary of Duplicate Versions of Your Website

The version you use is entirely up to you. Most people use

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

17. Discover Your Crawl Errors

18. Boost Your Website's Speed

When your website is slow, users tend to go somewhere else. In addition,

19. Check for Broken Links

If you have broken internal and

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

20. Update HTTP Links

21. Set Your Site Up for Mobile Devices

22. Prepare Your URL Structure for SEO Success

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

23. Get Structured Data

Your structure data markup is incredibly important because Google needs

24. Discover Your Site's Page Depth

25. Look at Temporary 302 Redirects

A 302 redirect shows that a redirect is only temporary. If the redirect is

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation

Checklist: On-Page SEO and Content

26. Discover Redirect Chains and Loops

27. Repair Missing, Duplicated and Truncated Title Tags

Learn about the SEMNE Digital Marketing Association: SEMNE.org @semneassociation