The 1,200-point SEO Checklist

All the SEO/marketing tools we've seen, together, cover less than 10% of our audit checklists.

Tools have a place. We employ dozens in these checklists. Most are free. The audits that require paid software contain a warning before the audit begins. Several do certainly accelerate these audits, but tools are tools, not systems.

You'll use a subset of these audits. Begin with Core & Long-Tail Matrix keywords. Map primary, secondary, and long-tail keywords 1-to-1 with your pages. When structuring menus and page/URL taxonomies, use the Site Architecture audit. When you code your page templates, walk through the Content Architecture audit. Lastly, use the Pre-Launch and Post-Launch audits, accordingly.

Most checklists can be completed in 2-3 hours.

There are two exceptions. Content substance auditing varies by quantity of content and severity of editing. Backlink auditing varies by quantity of backlinks/severity of issues.

The intensity of audit findings is also variable. Almost always, each will present opportunities. For most audits, most of the time, you can expect an additional two hours of work for capitalizing on these opportunities.

You'll use a subset of these audits. Begin with Core & Long-Tail Matrix keywords. Map primary, secondary, and long-tail keywords 1-to-1 with your pages. When structuring menus and page/URL taxonomies, use the Site Architecture audit. When you code your page templates, walk through the Content Architecture audit. Lastly, use the Pre-Launch and Post-Launch audits, accordingly.

Portions of it would certainly make sense. At some point, however, quality assurance ends and day-to-day SEO work begins. Otherwise, you'll never launch a new website (and new websites are complicated enough!).

Our system is thorough. This is how you grind away for years, making sure that rankings improve every month. It's not a one-time thing. By the time you've met 1,200+ opportunities, it's time to start over. SEO, and these checklists, will have evolved.

Run the Forensic SEO audit.

Run the Forensic SEO audit. If this shows evidence of negative SEO (a.k.a. Googlebowling), run the Backlink & Exposure Audit.

For a thorough look at opportunities found in Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools) and Bing Webmaster Toolbox, run an Index & Indexing Audit.

Every SEO checklist can be exported to spreadsheet (XLS) or document (PDF) after completion for signed-in users. This is available for both free and paid users. Exports done by free users lack 50% of the steps, just like in the interface.

Use a combination of the pre-launch and post-launch audits.

It depends on your definition of SEO. Is "SEO" is a dozen "best practices"? Then, yes. Do the basics and ignore this system. If your business has no genuine competition, doesn't solve problems, and can't be researched in varied ways, the basics will set you ahead.

Is "SEO" a hyper-competitive process that doesn't end until you rank #1 on hundreds, thousands, or millions of search variations with profitable intent? And stay there? Then, thorough, every day SEO is table stakes in 2020. Your business depends on a math equation with these variables.