SEO Checklist for New Websites

Launching a new website? Follow this checklist to set up your SEO correctly from day one. Getting these fundamentals right at launch is much easier than fixing them later.

Before Launch

• Choose a clean domain name — domain name guide
• Set up HTTPS/SSL
• Configure 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS
• Set up www to non-www redirect (or vice versa) — check redirects
• Create a robots.txt file
• Install an analytics tool (Google Analytics or similar)

On Every Page

• Unique title tag (30-60 characters)
• Unique meta description (120-160 characters)
• One H1 tag per page
• Canonical URL set
• Viewport meta tag for mobile
• Alt text on all images

Technical Setup

• Create and submit a sitemap
• Set up Google Search Console
• Set up Bing Webmaster Tools
• Add structured data (Organization schema at minimum)
• Add Open Graph tags
• Create a custom 404 page

Content

• Homepage with clear value proposition
• About page with E-E-A-T signals
• Contact page with real details
• Privacy policy and cookie policy
• At least 5-10 pages of useful content

After Launch

• Run a full SEO audit on every page
• Run a site audit across all pages
• Check for broken links
• Verify redirects work correctly
• Check indexing after 1 week

Last updated: March 2026

Pre-Launch SEO Checklist

Before the site goes live, verify every item below. Missing any of these at launch means starting with a handicap that takes months to overcome.

Technical Foundation

• HTTPS enabled with valid SSL certificate (free via Let's Encrypt or Cloudflare)
• HTTP auto-redirects to HTTPS with a 301
• Preferred URL format chosen (www or non-www) and enforced site-wide
• Mobile-responsive design tested on phone, tablet, and small laptop
• Page speed acceptable — <2.5s Largest Contentful Paint on 4G
• Browser tab favicon visible
• 404 page designed with navigation and search

On-Page Essentials

• Unique title tag on every page (50–60 characters)
• Unique meta description on every page (150–160 characters)
• One H1 per page; logical H2/H3 hierarchy below
• Canonical tag on every page (self-referencing for unique pages)
• Open Graph tags for social sharing (title, description, image, URL, type)
• Twitter Card markup
• Alt text on every meaningful image
• Image width and height attributes set
• Core Web Vitals score green in Lighthouse

Structured Data

• Organization schema on homepage with sameAs social links
• LocalBusiness schema if you have a physical location
• Article / BlogPosting schema on blog content
• Product schema on e-commerce pages
• FAQ schema where appropriate
• BreadcrumbList schema if you use breadcrumbs

Crawling & Indexing

• robots.txt at root allowing crawlers to access the site (no accidental blocks)
• XML sitemap generated and linked from robots.txt
• Google Search Console verified
• Sitemap submitted in Search Console
• Bing Webmaster Tools verified (smaller traffic share but free)
• Google Analytics 4 installed
• Google Tag Manager installed (optional, recommended)

Content

• Homepage clearly states what the business does and who it serves
• About page with history, team, contact info
• Contact page with address, phone, and embedded map if local
• Privacy policy and terms of service
• Cookie consent banner (GDPR/CCPA compliance)
• Minimum 5–10 cornerstone pages covering your main topics
• No Lorem Ipsum or placeholder text anywhere

Week 1 After Launch

• Submit sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools
• Create and verify Google Business Profile if you have a physical location
• Set up consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) across all citations
• Share launch on your company's social accounts
• Announce in any industry communities where you're active
• Monitor Search Console for crawl errors and fix promptly

Month 1 After Launch

• Publish 3–5 pieces of quality content targeting specific keywords
• Build out directory listings (industry-specific and general)
• Check first Search Console impression/click data
• Run a full RankNibbler audit to catch issues that slipped through pre-launch QA
• Begin basic outreach for first backlinks (HARO replies, relevant community engagement)
• Monitor Core Web Vitals in Search Console as real user data arrives

Months 2–6 After Launch

• Publish regularly on a sustainable schedule (quality over volume)
• Track keyword movement in Search Console — note what's climbing
• Double down on content clusters where early traffic appears
• Earn 10–20 backlinks from relevant sources
• Improve existing content based on what's actually getting impressions
• Add FAQ schema to pages appearing in People Also Ask results
• Review competitor content to identify gaps

Common Launch SEO Mistakes

Blocking Search Engines During Development

Many staging sites use Disallow: / in robots.txt or a noindex meta tag site-wide. Critically important: remove these before launch. Surprising number of launches happen with noindex still active — the site is live but invisible to Google for weeks.

Launching With Duplicate Content

Staging sites indexed on subdomains (staging.example.com) create duplicate content when production launches. Use robots.txt to block staging and/or add a canonical pointing to production.

Forgetting to Redirect Old URLs (If Relaunch)

If you're relaunching an existing site with a new CMS or structure, every old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new equivalent. Missing redirects = lost link equity and 404 errors.

Shipping With No Content Strategy

A launch without a content plan produces 3 months of "we should write something" inertia. Plan the first 10–20 pieces of content before launch; have the first 2–3 ready to publish in week one.

Over-Engineering Technical SEO

Spending weeks on schema markup and crawl optimisation while neglecting actual content is a common technical-founder trap. The single most important factor is quality content at launch. Everything else is optimisation.