New Website SEO Launch Checklist: 25 Checks Before You Go Live

Crawling and indexing (6)

1. Remove any noindex tag or ‘discourage search engines’ setting left from staging.
2. robots.txt does not block important pages or CSS/JS.
3. XML sitemap lists only canonical, live URLs.
4. Sitemap submitted in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
5. Every page has a self-referencing canonical tag.
6. Old URLs 301-redirect to new ones if you are replacing a site.

On-page (7)

1. Unique title (about 50–60 characters) with the main keyword.
2. Unique meta description (about 150–160 characters) written to earn the click.
3. One H1 and a logical H2/H3 structure.
4. Primary keyword and variations used naturally in the first 100 words.
5. Descriptive image alt text and compressed images.
6. Internal links with descriptive anchor text to key pages.
7. A clear call to action above the fold.

Technical and speed (6)

1. HTTPS everywhere, with HTTP redirecting to HTTPS.
2. Mobile layout tested on real phones.
3. Largest Contentful Paint under about 2.5 seconds on mobile.
4. No layout shifts from late-loading images or ads.
5. Custom 404 page that links to useful pages.
6. Server-rendered content so crawlers see text without running JavaScript.

Schema, analytics and AI access (6)

1. Organization and WebSite schema; Service, LocalBusiness or Product schema where valid.
2. Schema validated in the Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator.
3. Google Analytics installed and a conversion (form, call, WhatsApp click) defined.
4. Search Console and Bing verified.
5. robots.txt and CDN do not block search and AI retrieval crawlers you want.
6. Brand name, address and phone consistent with your Google Business Profile.

Frequently asked questions

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