SEO Checklist for Blog Posts
Run through this checklist before hitting publish on any blog post to maximise its chances of ranking in search results.
Before Writing
- Done keyword research — know your primary and secondary keywords
- Checked search intent — searched the keyword to see what Google ranks
- Analysed competitors — used SEO Compare or heading extractor on top results
Content
- At least 300 words (1,000+ for competitive topics)
- Primary keyword in the first paragraph
- Keyword density between 1-3%
- Readability score appropriate for audience (60+ Flesch for general)
- Uses synonyms and related terms, not just the exact keyword
- Provides genuine value — answers the searcher's question thoroughly
- Original insights, not just rehashed competitor content
Structure
- One H1 tag with primary keyword
- H2 and H3 subheadings for scannable sections
- Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences)
- Bullet points and numbered lists where appropriate
- Table of contents for long posts
Meta Tags
- Title tag — 30-60 characters with keyword near the start
- Meta description — 120-160 characters with call to action
- Open Graph tags for social sharing
Images
- At least one relevant image
- Alt text on every image
- Width and height attributes set
- Images compressed and in WebP format
- Lazy loading on below-fold images
Links
- 2-5 internal links to related posts
- Link to authoritative external sources
- Descriptive anchor text on all links
Technical
- Clean URL slug with keyword
- Canonical URL set
- Article schema markup
- No noindex tag
After Publishing
- Run a free RankNibbler audit on the published URL
- Share on social media
- Add internal links from existing posts to the new one
- Check indexing after a few days
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Last updated: March 2026