{"id":164291,"date":"2023-08-28T00:03:47","date_gmt":"2023-08-28T05:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=164291"},"modified":"2024-10-17T11:14:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:14:52","slug":"seo-checklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-checklist\/","title":{"rendered":"The Only SEO Checklist You Need [Incl. Template]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\">Remembering every SEO task you need to do for your website is a nightmare. This is why you need an SEO checklist.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But the usual one-size-fits-all checklists aren\u2019t much use. They don\u2019t take into account what your site is like or your SEO priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why we built a fully customizable one in Google Sheets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"463\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/1-seo-checklist-template-preview.gif\" alt=\"Preview of our free SEO checklist template\" class=\"wp-image-164303\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a closer look at how to set up and use it (no Google Analytics account needed).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">Download the SEO checklist template<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1Oiq1v9U3Vd57SgA-IbLmBUCDVbMteMKXu9dLRA0K-B4\/copy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Just click here and make a copy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"intro-tok\" id=\"intro_tok\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"intro-title\">Contents<\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"expand-dots\"><span><\/span><span><\/span><span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"How the checklist works\" data-section=\"how-checklist-works\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to set up and use our SEO checklist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To start, make a copy of <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1Oiq1v9U3Vd57SgA-IbLmBUCDVbMteMKXu9dLRA0K-B4\/copy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the checklist template<\/a> in your Google Drive and configure the \u201cSetup\u201d sheet. This takes about 30 seconds and involves answering two questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What platform or CMS does it run&nbsp;on?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Which facets of SEO do you want to see tasks for? (Just uncheck any you\u2019re not interested in.)&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"996\" height=\"542\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2-seo-checklist-sheet.png\" alt=\"How to set up the SEO checklist template\" class=\"wp-image-164304\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2-seo-checklist-sheet.png 996w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2-seo-checklist-sheet-680x370.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2-seo-checklist-sheet-768x418.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 996px) 100vw, 996px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And\u2026 that\u2019s it. Your custom SEO checklist is ready in the \u201cChecklist\u201d tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, you\u2019ll see checklist items divided into three buckets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do it&nbsp;once<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do it periodically<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do it each time you publish a new&nbsp;page<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This structure means you don\u2019t need to complete everything on this SEO checklist today. You can start with the one-time tasks, then the periodic ones, and so&nbsp;on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> The tasks on this checklist cover a lot of ground. It\u2019s basically a technical SEO, content, off page SEO checklist, and on page SEO checklist all in one. Its aim is to improve your <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/orchard-seo-strategy\/\">SEO strategy<\/a> and help you rank higher in Google search engine results pages.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"One-time tasks\" data-section=\"one-time-tasks\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do it&nbsp;once<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the SEO tasks you need to complete one time&nbsp;only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"seo-friendly-theme\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Install an SEO-friendly theme<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Your website theme changes how it looks. These days, pretty much all themes in Shopify, Wix, and WordPress are reasonably SEO-friendly. But if you want to use a third-party theme, it\u2019s best to run a few quick checks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Is it mobile-friendly? <\/strong>Load up the theme demo on your phone and see how it&nbsp;looks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Is it fast?<\/strong> Plug the demo homepage into <a href=\"https:\/\/pagespeed.web.dev\/\">Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights tool<\/a>. The higher the score, the better.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Does it work cross-browser?<\/strong> Try the demo in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Does it have good reviews?<\/strong> Most theme marketplaces show&nbsp;these.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Is it regularly updated?<\/strong> There could be security issues if not. Again, most theme marketplaces will show when it was last updated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"website-structure\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plan your website structure<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Having a logical website structure helps visitors to navigate your site. It also ensures Google can find all the pages on your website. This is important, as Google can\u2019t rank pages it doesn\u2019t know&nbsp;about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doing this is easy enough. Just sketch out a mind&nbsp;map:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1696\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/site-structure-mindmap.png\" alt=\"How to plan your website structure\" class=\"wp-image-165546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/site-structure-mindmap.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/site-structure-mindmap-401x425.png 401w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/site-structure-mindmap-768x814.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/site-structure-mindmap-1449x1536.png 1449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Each branch on the map should be an internal link to allow search engines and visitors to navigate between pages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People often skip this when setting up a website, so it\u2019s worth doing this even if you\u2019re already up and running.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/website-structure\/\">Website Structure: How to Build Your SEO Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"descriptive-urls\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Use a descriptive URL structure<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>For new sites, it makes sense to use a clear and descriptive URL structure from the start. This is because URLs help searchers understand what a page is about when it appears in search results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most website platforms do this out of the box, except for WordPress. Don\u2019t ask me why, but it defaults to using unique IDs like this: website.com\/?p=123.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, this is easy enough to change. Just go to <em>Settings<\/em> &gt; <em>Permalinks<\/em> &gt; <em>Post name<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1622\" height=\"736\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4-url-structure.png\" alt=\"Changing the URL structure in WordPress\" class=\"wp-image-164306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4-url-structure.png 1622w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4-url-structure-680x309.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4-url-structure-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/4-url-structure-1536x697.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1622px) 100vw, 1622px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t change this for existing sites. It can do way more harm than good. It\u2019s best to stick with it even if you\u2019re using a less-than-ideal structure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"install-seo-plugin\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Install an all-in-one SEO plugin<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re using WordPress, you\u2019ll need an SEO plugin to help you optimize things like sitemaps and meta tags (more on those&nbsp;later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few good options (you only need&nbsp;one):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-seo\/\">Yoast SEO<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/seo-by-rank-math\/\">Rank Math<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/autodescription\/\">The SEO Framework<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1158\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/5-seo-plugin-yoast.png\" alt=\"Changing meta tags with the Yoast WordPress plugin\" class=\"wp-image-164307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/5-seo-plugin-yoast.png 1158w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/5-seo-plugin-yoast-678x425.png 678w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/5-seo-plugin-yoast-768x481.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1158px) 100vw, 1158px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You probably don\u2019t need to do this if you\u2019re using a different website platform like Shopify. Most of them give you ways to handle SEO basics out of the&nbsp;box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"setup-google-search-console\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set up Google Search Console<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Google Search Console, much like Google Analytics, is a free tool for tracking your site\u2019s organic search performance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few things you can do with&nbsp;it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>See the keywords you rank&nbsp;for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check ranking positions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Find website errors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Submit sitemaps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1135\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/6-google-search-console.jpg\" alt=\"Google Search Console\" class=\"wp-image-164308\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/6-google-search-console.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/6-google-search-console-680x386.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/6-google-search-console-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/6-google-search-console-1536x872.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/10267942?hl=en\">these instructions from Google<\/a> to set up a Google Search Console account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/google-search-console\/\">How to Use Google Search Console to Improve SEO<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"setup-bing-webmaster-tools\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set up Bing Webmaster Tools<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/toolbox\/webmaster\">Bing Webmaster Tools<\/a> is Bing\u2019s equivalent of Google Search Console.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"986\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/7-bing-webmaster-tools.jpg\" alt=\"Bing Webmaster Tools\" class=\"wp-image-164309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/7-bing-webmaster-tools.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/7-bing-webmaster-tools-680x335.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/7-bing-webmaster-tools-768x379.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/7-bing-webmaster-tools-1536x758.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it something you\u2019re going to use all the time? Probably not, as Bing search is not something most SEOs are focused on. But it still doesn\u2019t hurt to set it up, as you may need the data at some&nbsp;point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn how to set it up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bing.com\/webmasters\/help\/getting-started-checklist-66a806de\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"submit-sitemap\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Create and submit a sitemap<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Sitemaps tell search engines where to find important pages on your site. This is important, as they can only crawl or index pages if they know those&nbsp;exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what the sitemap looks like for our&nbsp;blog:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"910\" height=\"784\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/8-sitemap-example.png\" alt=\"Sitemap example\" class=\"wp-image-164310\" style=\"width:455px;height:392px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/8-sitemap-example.png 910w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/8-sitemap-example-493x425.png 493w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/8-sitemap-example-768x662.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 910px) 100vw, 910px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You can usually find your sitemap at one of these&nbsp;URLs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>\/sitemap.xml\n\/sitemap_index.xml\n\/sitemap<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can\u2019t find it, check your robots.txt file (domain.com\/robots.txt), as its location is often listed there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"904\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/9-robots-txt.png\" alt=\"Robots.txt file location\" class=\"wp-image-164311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/9-robots-txt.png 904w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/9-robots-txt-680x188.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/9-robots-txt-768x212.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 904px) 100vw, 904px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you still can\u2019t find it, you probably don\u2019t have one and need to create one. Otherwise, you need to submit it to Google. My guide below teaches you how to do both of these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-create-a-sitemap\/\">How to Create an XML Sitemap (And Submit It to Google)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"indexability\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make sure your site is indexable<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>People aren\u2019t searching the entire web when they search Google. They\u2019re searching Google\u2019s index of pages on the web. If your page isn\u2019t indexable, Google can\u2019t index it, and it won\u2019t appear in the search results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, Google can index all webpages unless you tell it that it isn\u2019t allowed. Unfortunately, it\u2019s quite a common mistake to disallow Google from indexing everything\u2014especially with new sites or following site migrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to find pages Google can\u2019t index for free with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT)<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crawl your site with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the <strong>All issues<\/strong> report<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check for the \u201cNoindex page in sitemap\u201d error<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1212\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/10-noindex-in-sitemap.png\" alt=\"Finding noindex pages in sitemap using Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/10-noindex-in-sitemap.png 1212w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/10-noindex-in-sitemap-680x362.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/10-noindex-in-sitemap-768x409.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1212px) 100vw, 1212px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sitemaps list the pages you want search engines to index. If these pages have a \u201cnoindex\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/meta-robots\/\">robots meta tag or x-robots-tag<\/a>, there\u2019s a problem. You should either remove these pages from the sitemap or delete the noindex tag from the&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/meta-robots\/\">Robots Meta Tag &amp; X\u2011Robots-Tag: Everything You Need to&nbsp;Know<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"schema-markup\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add schema markup to your homepage<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Schema markup is structured code that helps search engines to better understand and represent your website in search results. We recommend that all sites add <em>Organization<\/em> or <em>Person<\/em> markup to their homepage.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, most website platforms and all-in-one SEO plugins make this easy. You don\u2019t have to actually write any&nbsp;code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you use Yoast in WordPress, you can do this under the \u201cSite representation\u201d settings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1352\" height=\"668\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/11-yoast-schema.png\" alt=\"Schema in Yoast\" class=\"wp-image-164313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/11-yoast-schema.png 1352w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/11-yoast-schema-680x336.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/11-yoast-schema-768x379.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1352px) 100vw, 1352px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>All you have to do is choose whether you\u2019re an organization or person, then fill in details like your organization name and links to social profiles. The plugin will write and add the schema markup for&nbsp;you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To check that it\u2019s all working correctly, plug your homepage into <a href=\"https:\/\/validator.schema.org\/\">the schema markup validator<\/a>. You should see the&nbsp;code:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"627\" height=\"425\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/12-schema-test-627x425.png\" alt=\"Schema example\" class=\"wp-image-164314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/12-schema-test-627x425.png 627w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/12-schema-test-768x520.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/12-schema-test.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"mobile-friendliness\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make sure your site is mobile-friendly<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Mobile-friendliness has been a ranking factor for years because <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/report-nearly-60-percent-searches-now-mobile-devices-255025\">most searches<\/a> happen on mobile devices. You can check how mobile-friendly your site is with the <strong>Mobile Usability<\/strong> report in Google Search Console.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1898\" height=\"1150\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/13-mobile-usability-search-console.png\" alt=\"Mobile Usability report in Google Search Console\" class=\"wp-image-164315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/13-mobile-usability-search-console.png 1898w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/13-mobile-usability-search-console-680x412.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/13-mobile-usability-search-console-768x465.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/13-mobile-usability-search-console-1536x931.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1898px) 100vw, 1898px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"https\">Make sure you\u2019re using&nbsp;HTTPS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>HTTPS is a <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2014\/08\/https-as-ranking-signal.html\">confirmed<\/a> lightweight ranking factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-16-at-15.32.29.png\" alt=\"John Mueller tweet (now deleted)\" class=\"wp-image-178724\" style=\"width:627px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-16-at-15.32.29.png 980w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-16-at-15.32.29-680x289.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-16-at-15.32.29-768x326.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If your website uses HTTPS, it\u2019ll show the \u201clock\u201d icon in your browser:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"154\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-https.png\" alt=\"&quot;Lock&quot; icon representing a secure site\" class=\"wp-image-164318\" style=\"width:552px;height:116px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-https.png 736w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-https-680x142.png 680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t see this, you\u2019ll need to install a TLS certificate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many web platforms and hosts give you one of these for free these days. If they don\u2019t, you can get a free one from <a href=\"https:\/\/letsencrypt.org\/\">Let\u2019s Encrypt<\/a>. (You just need to make sure your host supports this.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"one-domain\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make sure your website is accessible at one domain<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Visitors shouldn\u2019t be able to access your website at multiple locations. It can cause issues for search engine crawlers, as well as indexing, and security issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To check that everything\u2019s in order, plug these four versions of your site into <a href=\"https:\/\/httpstatus.io\/\">httpstatus.io<\/a>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>http:\/\/yourdomain.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>http:\/\/www.yourdomain.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>https:\/\/yourdomain.com<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>https:\/\/www.yourdomain.com<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If everything\u2019s good, three of them should redirect to one of the HTTPS versions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"774\" height=\"434\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-domain-homepage-versions-1.png\" alt=\"How homepage redirects should look for a website\" class=\"wp-image-164319\" style=\"width:581px;height:326px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-domain-homepage-versions-1.png 774w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-domain-homepage-versions-1-680x381.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/14-domain-homepage-versions-1-768x431.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If that doesn\u2019t happen, you need to set up permanent <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/301-redirects\/\">301 redirects<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/301-redirects\/\">301 Redirects for SEO: Everything You Need to&nbsp;Know<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"pagespeed\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Make sure your site loads&nbsp;fast<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Page speed has been a ranking factor on desktop <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2010\/04\/using-site-speed-in-web-search-ranking.html\">since 2010<\/a> and on mobile <a href=\"https:\/\/webmasters.googleblog.com\/2018\/01\/using-page-speed-in-mobile-search.html\">since 2018<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google has used various signals to measure page speed in the past, but these days it only uses Core Web Vitals.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can check your site\u2019s Core Web Vitals performance for free in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT)<\/a>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crawl your website with Site&nbsp;Audit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the <strong>Performance<\/strong> report<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check the \u201cCore Web Vitals\u201d section<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"972\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15-core-web-vitals-site-audit.png\" alt=\"Core Web Vitals report in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15-core-web-vitals-site-audit.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15-core-web-vitals-site-audit-680x331.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15-core-web-vitals-site-audit-768x373.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/15-core-web-vitals-site-audit-1536x747.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see a lot of red here, your site probably needs&nbsp;work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/core-web-vitals\/\">A Primer On Core Web Vitals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> To see Core Web Vitals in AWT, you\u2019ll need to connect to Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights API. This only takes a minute or two. We have step-by-step instructions in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a>.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"image-compression\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Install an image compression plugin<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Compressing images makes image files smaller and improves page&nbsp;speed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re using a website platform like Wix or Shopify, there\u2019s not much need to worry about this, as they compress images automatically. But if you\u2019re using WordPress, you\u2019ll need to install an image compression plugin like ShortPixel.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> ShortPixel lets you compress up to 100 images per month for&nbsp;free.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"google-business-profile\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get a free Google Business Profile<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Google Business Profiles show up for local Google searches and in Google Maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1678\" height=\"1318\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/16-google-business-profile.jpg\" alt=\"Example of Google Business Profiles in the local pack\" class=\"wp-image-164321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/16-google-business-profile.jpg 1678w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/16-google-business-profile-541x425.jpg 541w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/16-google-business-profile-768x603.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/16-google-business-profile-1536x1206.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1678px) 100vw, 1678px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If your business has a storefront or serves a local area, setting up a Google Business Profile is about the best thing you can do for your SEO. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/business\/\">sign up for one here<\/a>. It\u2019s completely free. Just fill out as much information as possible to boost your chances of showing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"replicate-competitors-links\">Replicate your competitors\u2019 backlinks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Backlinks are links to your site from other websites and are one of Google\u2019s top ranking factors. There are many ways to get more of them (link building), but the best starting point is to replicate your competitors\u2019 links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many ways to do this, but looking for competitors\u2019 directory links is a good starting point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do&nbsp;that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter your homepage URL<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Switch the mode to \u201cExact URL\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the <strong>Link Intersect<\/strong> report<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter a few competitors\u2019 homepages in blank fields<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set the search mode for all pages to \u201cURL\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hit \u201cShow link opportunities\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1656\" height=\"1070\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/17-link-intersect-competitors-link.png\" alt=\"Finding links that multiple competitors have with the Link Intersect report in Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164322\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/17-link-intersect-competitors-link.png 1656w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/17-link-intersect-competitors-link-658x425.png 658w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/17-link-intersect-competitors-link-768x496.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/17-link-intersect-competitors-link-1536x992.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1656px) 100vw, 1656px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s usually pretty easy to spot local and industry directories on the&nbsp;list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"374\" height=\"586\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18-directory-links.png\" alt=\"Examples of directories\" class=\"wp-image-164323\" style=\"width:281px;height:440px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18-directory-links.png 374w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/18-directory-links-271x425.png 271w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 374px) 100vw, 374px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you feel like it\u2019d be useful to have your business listed in any of these directories, sign up for an account and make a profile. You\u2019ll get a link&nbsp;too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/find-competitors-backlinks\/\">How to Find Your Competitors\u2019 Backlinks (And Get Them for Yourself)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Periodic tasks\" data-section=\"periodic-tasks\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do it periodically<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the SEO tasks you should complete when setting up your website and every few months after&nbsp;that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"fix-broken-pages\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fix broken pages<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Broken links can negatively impact user experience and break the flow of \u2018authority\u2019 into and around your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To find broken links on your site for free, use <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crawl your website with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the <strong>Internal pages<\/strong> report<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the \u201cIssues\u201d tab<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for \u201c404 page\u201d errors<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"874\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-broken-pages-site-audit.png\" alt=\"Finding broken pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164324\" style=\"width:437px;height:450px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-broken-pages-site-audit.png 874w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-broken-pages-site-audit-413x425.png 413w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/19-broken-pages-site-audit-768x791.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 874px) 100vw, 874px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to deal with every broken link you&nbsp;find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1804\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/how-to-fix-broken-links.png\" alt=\"How to deal with broken links\" class=\"wp-image-165547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/how-to-fix-broken-links.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/how-to-fix-broken-links-377x425.png 377w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/how-to-fix-broken-links-768x866.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/how-to-fix-broken-links-1362x1536.png 1362w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/fix-broken-links\/\">How to Find and Fix Broken Links (To Reclaim Valuable \u201cLink&nbsp;Juice\u201d)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"refresh-content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Refresh declining content<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Search engine rankings tend to drop over time if you don\u2019t keep pages up to date. This is especially true for topics where searchers are looking for fresh information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to find pages that could use a refresh in Google Search Console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the <strong>Search results<\/strong> report<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the \u201cDate\u201d filter and select \u201cCompare\u201d mode<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose \u201cCompare last 6 months to previous period\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hit <strong>Apply<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the \u201cPages\u201d tab in the&nbsp;table<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sort the results by \u201cClicks Difference\u201d from low to&nbsp;high<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1880\" height=\"732\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/21-declining-content.png\" alt=\"Finding pages that could use a refresh in Google Search Console\" class=\"wp-image-164326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/21-declining-content.png 1880w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/21-declining-content-680x265.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/21-declining-content-768x299.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/21-declining-content-1536x598.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1880px) 100vw, 1880px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, our list of top Google searches received 75K+ fewer organic visits in the last six months than in the previous six months. This is probably because searchers want an up-to-date list of queries, but we last refreshed the page a few months ago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/republishing-content\/\">Republishing Content: How to Update Old Blog Posts for&nbsp;SEO<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"content-gap-analysis\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do a content gap analysis<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-gap-analysis\/\">content gap analysis finds the keywords<\/a> your competitors rank for but you don\u2019t. These often point to topics that it would also make sense for you to create content about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do one in Ahrefs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/app.ahrefs.com\/competitive-analysis\">Competitive Analysis tool<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter your domain as the target<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter a few competitors&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click \u201cCompare\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1762\" height=\"1012\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22-content-gap-analysis.png\" alt=\"Doing a competitive analysis in Ahrefs' Competitive Analysis tool\" class=\"wp-image-164327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22-content-gap-analysis.png 1762w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22-content-gap-analysis-680x391.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22-content-gap-analysis-768x441.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/22-content-gap-analysis-1536x882.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1762px) 100vw, 1762px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You will then see keywords that at least one competitor ranks for in the top 10, but you don\u2019t rank at&nbsp;all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, three of our competitors rank in the top 10 for \u201crankbrain\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1778\" height=\"178\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/23-content-gaps.png\" alt=\"Examples of content gaps\" class=\"wp-image-164328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/23-content-gaps.png 1778w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/23-content-gaps-680x68.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/23-content-gaps-768x77.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/23-content-gaps-1536x154.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1778px) 100vw, 1778px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is probably a topic we should consider covering.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=n-kxOhnSH-Q\">How to Do an Effective Content Gap Analysis for SEO [Video]<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"update-google-business-profile\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Update your Google Business Profile<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever arrived at a restaurant to find it closed despite Google saying it\u2019s open, you already understand the importance of keeping your Google Business Profile up to date. Given that it only takes a few minutes every couple of months, it\u2019s not worth risking bad reviews over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few things to double-check each&nbsp;time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Opening hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Holiday opening hours (e.g., Christmas)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phone number<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Products and services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d also recommend using the \u201cposts\u201d feature to keep followers of your business up to&nbsp;date.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, this bar has a post about its upcoming Christmas Market:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1861\" height=\"1999\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24-google-business-profile-posts.png\" alt=\"Example of posts on Google Business Profiles\" class=\"wp-image-164329\" style=\"width:465px;height:500px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24-google-business-profile-posts.png 1861w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24-google-business-profile-posts-396x425.png 396w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24-google-business-profile-posts-768x825.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/24-google-business-profile-posts-1430x1536.png 1430w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1861px) 100vw, 1861px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Pretty impressive planning, given that I\u2019m writing this in&nbsp;July.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"technical-issues\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Check for other technical issues<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of technical issues can hurt your site, and they can pop up at any moment. That\u2019s why it\u2019s super important to check for them periodically and fix any major issues that come&nbsp;up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can do this for free with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a>. Just choose the option to run scheduled crawls when setting up your project (weekly or monthly is fine for most&nbsp;sites).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"796\" height=\"372\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/25-scheduled-crawls.png\" alt=\"How to schedule crawls in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164331\" style=\"width:398px;height:186px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/25-scheduled-crawls.png 796w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/25-scheduled-crawls-680x318.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/25-scheduled-crawls-768x359.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Site Audit will then crawl your site for 140+ potential SEO issues. It\u2019ll do this periodically according to the schedule you set and send you email alerts about new issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1448\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/26-technical-seo-issues-email.png\" alt=\"Email alert from Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/26-technical-seo-issues-email.png 1448w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/26-technical-seo-issues-email-680x234.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/26-technical-seo-issues-email-768x264.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you click \u201cView\u201d on any issue, it\u2019ll take you to Site Audit and show the URLs affected:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1722\" height=\"1108\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues.png\" alt=\"Showing 404 pages in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues.png 1722w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues-661x425.png 661w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues-768x494.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/27-site-audit-issues-1536x988.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1722px) 100vw, 1722px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can then click the \u201cWhy and how to fix\u201d button to learn how to deal with each&nbsp;issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1502\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28-site-audit-how-to-fix.png\" alt=\"Instructions on how to fix issues in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28-site-audit-how-to-fix.png 1502w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28-site-audit-how-to-fix-680x340.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28-site-audit-how-to-fix-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/28-site-audit-how-to-fix-400x200.png 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1502px) 100vw, 1502px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Ongoing tasks\" data-section=\"ongoing-tasks\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do it for every new&nbsp;page<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the SEO tasks you should complete when adding new pages to your website that you want to perform well in organic search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"keyword-target\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Find a primary keyword to target<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Each page on your website should target one main keyword. You should do <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/keyword-research\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">keyword research<\/a> periodically to find topics to target, but it\u2019s also important to make sure you\u2019re targeting the best keyword each time you publish a new&nbsp;page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, let\u2019s say you were writing a post about the best protein powders. There are lots of ways people could search for this, such&nbsp;as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>what is the best protein powder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>best protein supplements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>best protein shakes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Which one of these keywords should be your primary target, if&nbsp;any?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luckily, there\u2019s an easy way to figure this out. Just search for your topic in Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> and look at the Parent Topic. This is usually a more popular way of searching for the same&nbsp;thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1720\" height=\"944\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/29-parent-topic.png\" alt=\"Parent Topic in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/29-parent-topic.png 1720w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/29-parent-topic-680x373.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/29-parent-topic-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/29-parent-topic-1536x843.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1720px) 100vw, 1720px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> Parent Topic isn\u2019t 100% foolproof. It simply shows the keyword sending the most search engine traffic to the top-ranking page for your keyword. This is usually the best keyword to target but not always, so don\u2019t let this trump common sense.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/keyword-research\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">How to Do Keyword Research for&nbsp;SEO<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"search-intent\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assess search intent<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>People tend to want to see one of these types of content when they search Google (or another search engine):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Blog post<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interactive tool<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Video<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Category page<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product page<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Figuring out which one that people searching for your keyword want to see is known as assessing search intent. This is a crucial step if you want to stand the best chance at ranking, as Google wants to rank content that searchers are looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you do&nbsp;it?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look for the most common type of content among the top-ranking results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, interactive tools dominate the first page for \u201cdays between dates.\u201d But videos dominate the first page for \u201cexcel for beginners\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"2120\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent.png\" alt=\"Example of how search intent varies\" class=\"wp-image-165548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent-321x425.png 321w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent-768x1018.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent-1159x1536.png 1159w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/search-intent-1546x2048.png 1546w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From here, we recommend digging deeper into intent to understand the best content format and angle for the job. Learn more about that in the linked guide&nbsp;below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-intent\/\">What Is Search Intent? A Complete Guide for Beginners<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"keyword-difficulty\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assess your chances of ranking in Google<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding the ease or difficulty of ranking for a keyword helps you to prioritize the opportunity and set realistic expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a very rough estimate, you can use the Keyword Difficulty score in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1144\" height=\"938\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/31-keyword-difficulty-1.png\" alt=\"Keyword Difficulty (KD) score in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164337\" style=\"width:572px;height:469px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/31-keyword-difficulty-1.png 1144w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/31-keyword-difficulty-1-518x425.png 518w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/31-keyword-difficulty-1-768x630.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1144px) 100vw, 1144px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Just don\u2019t rely on this entirely, as it only takes backlinks into account. Other factors may indicate a hard keyword to rank for,&nbsp;like:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>High-quality backlinks to the top-ranking pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High topical relevance of the top-ranking sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mainly big brands in the top&nbsp;10.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A dominant content type that you don\u2019t have the resources to create.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-difficulty\/\">Keyword Difficulty: How to Estimate Your Chances to&nbsp;Rank<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"page-content-gap\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Research what people want to&nbsp;know<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s say that you want to rank for \u201caffiliate marketing.\u201d It\u2019s clear from analyzing intent that searchers are looking for a blog post. But what specifically do they want to know? This is the question you need to answer if you want to produce the best content in Google\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to answer this question is to look for commonalities between the top-ranking pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, all top-ranking pages for \u201caffiliate marketing\u201d have a definition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"620\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/32-subtopics.gif\" alt=\"Example of a common subtopic among top-ranking pages\" class=\"wp-image-164339\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This works, but it can be quite time-consuming.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s often quicker to run a page-level content gap analysis on the top-ranking pages to find keywords they rank for. Some of these often point to subtopics the pages&nbsp;cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do it in Ahrefs:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Go to the <a href=\"https:\/\/app.ahrefs.com\/competitive-analysis\">Competitive Analysis tool<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter the URL of your page as the target (add the URL you plan to use if you haven\u2019t created your page&nbsp;yet)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter the URLs of a few top-ranking pages as targets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click \u201cCompare\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1688\" height=\"1122\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/33-competitive-analysis-content-gap-page-level.png\" alt=\"Running a competitive analysis at the page level to find important subtopics\" class=\"wp-image-164340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/33-competitive-analysis-content-gap-page-level.png 1688w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/33-competitive-analysis-content-gap-page-level-639x425.png 639w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/33-competitive-analysis-content-gap-page-level-768x510.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/33-competitive-analysis-content-gap-page-level-1536x1021.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1688px) 100vw, 1688px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From there, go to the <strong>Content Gap<\/strong> report and look for keywords that represent subtopics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"898\" height=\"668\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/34-page-level-content-gap.png\" alt=\"Examples of subtopics in the Content Gap report\" class=\"wp-image-164341\" style=\"width:674px;height:501px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/34-page-level-content-gap.png 898w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/34-page-level-content-gap-571x425.png 571w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/34-page-level-content-gap-768x571.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 898px) 100vw, 898px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"headings-subheadings\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optimize your headings and subheadings<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Google <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QG2BoWRhb0k&amp;t=2168s\">looks at<\/a> headings and subheadings to better understand a page\u2019s content. This makes them logical places to include target keywords related to your content.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, this would be a logical way to structure a page about fruits and vegetables:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>H1: Fruits &amp; Vegetables&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>H2: Fruits\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>H3: Apple<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>H3: Orange<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>H2: Vegetables\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>H3: Carrot<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only does this naturally lead you to include keywords in headings and subheadings, but it also makes your content easier to read and&nbsp;skim.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1824\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/headings-subheadings-readability-1.png\" alt=\"How headings and subheadings improve readability\" class=\"wp-image-165557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/headings-subheadings-readability-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/headings-subheadings-readability-1-373x425.png 373w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/headings-subheadings-readability-1-768x876.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/headings-subheadings-readability-1-1347x1536.png 1347w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"intro\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hook readers with your intro (blog posts&nbsp;only)<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can\u2019t convince readers that your page offers what they want within a few seconds, they\u2019ll hit the \u201cback\u201d button. This is bad because if they never read your content, they won\u2019t convert, share, or link to&nbsp;it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PAS formula is a good place to start for a compelling intro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1430\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula.png\" alt=\"The PAS formula\" class=\"wp-image-165550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-476x425.png 476w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-768x686.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-1536x1373.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, let\u2019s say we were writing a post about how to cook the perfect steak.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019d start by describing the <strong>problem<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-problem.png\" alt=\"The PAS formula \u2014 problem\" class=\"wp-image-165551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-problem.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-problem-680x298.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-problem-768x336.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-problem-1536x672.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we\u2019d <strong>agitate<\/strong> the problem:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"654\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-agitate.png\" alt=\"The PAS formula \u2014 agitate\" class=\"wp-image-165552\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-agitate.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-agitate-680x278.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-agitate-768x314.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-agitate-1536x628.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before finally revealing the <strong>solution<\/strong>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"724\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-solution.png\" alt=\"The PAS formula \u2014 solution\" class=\"wp-image-165553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-solution.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-solution-680x308.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-solution-768x348.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/pas-formula-solution-1536x695.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"edit-copy\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Edit your copy for simplicity<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>In all, 50% of the U.S. population <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wriber.com\/writing-below-a-grade-8-reading-level\/\">read below an eighth-grade reading level<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/40-us-reading-level.jpg\" alt=\"How well U.S. adults read\" class=\"wp-image-164347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/40-us-reading-level.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/40-us-reading-level-567x425.jpg 567w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/40-us-reading-level-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For that reason, you should keep things simple unless you want to alienate 1 in 2 visitors. That&nbsp;means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Using short sentences and paragraphs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using simple words and phrases.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoiding jargon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hemingwayapp.com\/\">Hemingway<\/a> is a free, browser-based tool that can help with this. It tells you the current grade level of your copy and suggests improvements.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/41-hemingway-reading-level.png\" alt=\"Hemingway's readability grade\" class=\"wp-image-164348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/41-hemingway-reading-level.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/41-hemingway-reading-level-680x268.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/41-hemingway-reading-level-768x303.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/41-hemingway-reading-level-1536x605.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"link-to-resources\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Link to relevant resources<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>People often think that linking to other websites is somehow bad for SEO. This isn\u2019t true. It probably won\u2019t massively help your SEO, but it won\u2019t hurt it either (unless you\u2019re linking to shady&nbsp;stuff).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what Google\u2019s John Mueller <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=58zaiOx7TM4&amp;feature=emb_title\">had to say<\/a> about linking out to other&nbsp;sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Linking to other websites is a great way to provide value to your users. Oftentimes, links help users to find out more, to check out your sources and to better understand how your content is relevant to the questions that they&nbsp;have.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Does this mean you should force links to other sites into your content? Definitely not. It just means you should add them if and when it makes sense, like if you need to reference a source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"include-images\">Make content easier to consume with images<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Nobody wants to read a big wall of text. It\u2019s overwhelming and can lead people to <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/bounce-rate\/\">bounce<\/a>. Images help solve this by breaking up your copy and aiding visual comprehension.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even better, images can rank in Google Images and send even more traffic your&nbsp;way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, according to Search Console, Google Images has sent our blog almost 20K organic visits in the last three months:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"772\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/42-google-images-traffic.png\" alt=\"Google Images traffic in Search Console\" class=\"wp-image-164350\" style=\"width:386px;height:219px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/42-google-images-traffic.png 772w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/42-google-images-traffic-680x386.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/42-google-images-traffic-768x436.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 772px) 100vw, 772px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This would undoubtedly be even higher if you were in a visual niche like food or design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That said, don\u2019t just shoehorn random images into your content for the sake of it. Make an effort to use images that actually serve a purpose and help readers visualize things.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"optimize-images\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optimize your images<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve already done the \u201cdo it once\u201d items on this SEO checklist, you should have already installed an image compression plugin. But there are a couple of other image optimizations you should do on a page-by-page basis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Name images descriptively<\/strong> \u2013 Don\u2019t use generic image filenames like IMG_875939.png or Screenshot-2021-06-01. Use descriptive filenames like black-puppy.png or eiffel-tower.jpg.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add descriptive alt text<\/strong> \u2013 Alt text replaces an image on the page when it fails to load. It\u2019s also helpful for those using screen readers. Learn more <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/alt-text\/\">here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-tips\/\">Image SEO: 12 Actionable Tips for More Organic Traffic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"title-tag-meta-description\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set a compelling title tag and meta description<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Title tags and meta descriptions show up in Google\u2019s search results to help searchers understand what the page is&nbsp;about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"910\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/meta-description-1.png\" alt=\"Example of title tag and meta description in Google's search results\" class=\"wp-image-165554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/meta-description-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/meta-description-1-680x387.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/meta-description-1-768x437.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/meta-description-1-1536x874.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"sidenote\"><div class=\"sidenote-title\">Sidenote.<\/div> Google only uses meta descriptions for the descriptive snippet in search results 62.78% of the time. The rest of the time, it uses something else from the page. This makes the title tag more important than the meta description by&nbsp;far.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s best practice to include your target keyword (or a close variation) in the title tag where it makes sense. Beyond that, it\u2019s about making both the title and meta description as compelling as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few&nbsp;tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Keep them short <\/strong>\u2013 Under 70 characters for the title tag and under 160 for the meta description. This helps prevent truncation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Match search intent<\/strong> \u2013 Make it clear to searchers that you have what they\u2019re looking for.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t clickbait<\/strong> \u2013 Be honest about what\u2019s on your page. Don\u2019t over-promise.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Include the year<\/strong> \u2013 In the title tag for topics that demand freshness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"recommendation\"><div class=\"recommendation-title\">TIP<\/div><div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re struggling to come up with a compelling title or meta description, try asking ChatGPT to do the work for&nbsp;you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1178\" height=\"898\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/44-chatgpt-title-tag.png\" alt=\"Using ChatGPT to come up with titles\" class=\"wp-image-164352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/44-chatgpt-title-tag.png 1178w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/44-chatgpt-title-tag-558x425.png 558w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/44-chatgpt-title-tag-768x585.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1178px) 100vw, 1178px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/title-tag-seo\/\">How to Craft the Perfect SEO Title&nbsp;Tag<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/meta-description\/\">How to Write the Perfect Meta Description<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"url-slug\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set a short descriptive URL&nbsp;slug<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>The URL slug is the last part of the&nbsp;URL:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"902\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/url-slug-example.png\" alt=\"Example of a URL slug\" class=\"wp-image-165555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/url-slug-example.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/url-slug-example-680x383.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/url-slug-example-768x433.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/url-slug-example-1536x866.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Google <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/fundamentals\/seo-starter-guide\">says<\/a> to use words that are relevant to your content here. This also helps searchers to understand what your page is about before clicking.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The easiest way to do this is to set the slug to your target keyword:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-checklist\/<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this doesn\u2019t always make sense. It depends on your URL structure.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\">our SEO glossary<\/a> targets the keyword \u201cSEO glossary.\u201d But as we published this under ahrefs.com\/seo, we only used glossary for the slug and not seo-glossary to avoid unnecessary repetition of \u201cSEO.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"388\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/46-seo-glossary-url-slug-680x388.png\" alt=\"URL slug for our SEO glossary\" class=\"wp-image-164354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/46-seo-glossary-url-slug-680x388.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/46-seo-glossary-url-slug-768x439.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/46-seo-glossary-url-slug.png 1138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, shorter is always better because long URLs tend to truncate on the&nbsp;SERPs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1218\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/47-title-tag-truncation.png\" alt=\"URL slug that's cut off\" class=\"wp-image-164355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/47-title-tag-truncation.png 1218w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/47-title-tag-truncation-680x151.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/47-title-tag-truncation-768x170.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1218px) 100vw, 1218px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-friendly-urls\/\">How to Create SEO-Friendly URLs (Step-by-Step)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"rich-snippets\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add schema markup for rich snippets<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Schema markup can impact how your pages appear in the search results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, here\u2019s a page that currently ranks for \u201cpizza dough recipe\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1338\" height=\"312\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/48-rich-snippets.png\" alt=\"Rich snippets example\" class=\"wp-image-164357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/48-rich-snippets.png 1338w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/48-rich-snippets-680x159.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/48-rich-snippets-768x179.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1338px) 100vw, 1338px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The star ratings, review count, and preparation time all appear, thanks to schema markup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to be eligible for these kinds of \u201crich results,\u201d here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/appearance\/structured-data\/search-gallery\">a full list of features from Google<\/a>, along with the structured data you need to&nbsp;use.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Implementation-wise, you can either write the markup yourself and add it to your page or use a plugin to create it for you. Yoast works with a fair few of&nbsp;these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"945\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/49-schema-rich-snippets.jpg\" alt=\"How to add schema markup in Yoast\" class=\"wp-image-164358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/49-schema-rich-snippets.jpg 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/49-schema-rich-snippets-680x321.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/49-schema-rich-snippets-768x363.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/49-schema-rich-snippets-1536x726.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/rich-snippets\/\">Rich Snippets: What Are They and How Do You Get&nbsp;Them?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"table-of-contents\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add a table of contents (blog posts&nbsp;only)<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>A table of contents provides jump links to different sections on the&nbsp;page.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1639\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/50-table-of-contents.png\" alt=\"Example of a table of contents\" class=\"wp-image-164359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/50-table-of-contents.png 1999w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/50-table-of-contents-518x425.png 518w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/50-table-of-contents-768x630.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/50-table-of-contents-1536x1259.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding these to long blog posts makes sense to help searchers navigate them. They can also help you win <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/sitelinks\/\">sitelinks<\/a> in the search results:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1186\" height=\"316\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/51-sitelinks.png\" alt=\"Example of sitelinks\" class=\"wp-image-164360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/51-sitelinks.png 1186w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/51-sitelinks-680x181.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/51-sitelinks-768x205.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1186px) 100vw, 1186px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/sitelinks\/\">What Are Sitelinks? How to Influence Them<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"internal-links\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add internal links to the new&nbsp;page<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>Internal links help Google find pages on your website and understand what they\u2019re all&nbsp;about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most website platforms automatically add internal links to new pages from their \u201cparent\u201d pages, but you can boost new pages further by adding more contextual internal links.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, when we publish new blog posts, WordPress automatically internally links to them from our blog homepage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1018\" height=\"916\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/52-internal-link-blog-homepage.png\" alt=\"Example of an internal link to a new post on Ahrefs' blog homepage\" class=\"wp-image-164361\" style=\"width:509px;height:458px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/52-internal-link-blog-homepage.png 1018w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/52-internal-link-blog-homepage-472x425.png 472w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/52-internal-link-blog-homepage-768x691.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1018px) 100vw, 1018px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is good, but there are probably plenty of other places where it would make sense to link to this post on our blog. By adding internal links there, we can send more people to this guide and tell Google how important we think it&nbsp;is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to find internal link opportunities for free with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT):&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Crawl your website with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to the <strong>Page Explorer<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Search for your target keyword in the \u201cPage text\u201d of other&nbsp;pages<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1146\" height=\"1118\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/53-internal-link-opportunities.png\" alt=\"Finding internal link opportunities in Ahrefs' Site Audit\" class=\"wp-image-164362\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/53-internal-link-opportunities.png 1146w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/53-internal-link-opportunities-436x425.png 436w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/53-internal-link-opportunities-768x749.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1146px) 100vw, 1146px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s then simply a case of visiting the pages in the returns, searching for your keyword on the page, and adding a contextual link if and where it makes&nbsp;sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s one we added from <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/free-keyword-research-tools\/\">our list of free keyword research tools<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1164\" height=\"246\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/54-internal-link-example.png\" alt=\"Example of a contextual internal link\" class=\"wp-image-164363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/54-internal-link-example.png 1164w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/54-internal-link-example-680x144.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/54-internal-link-example-768x162.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1164px) 100vw, 1164px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"outreach\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Promote your content with outreach (optional)<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>People can\u2019t link to content if they don\u2019t know it exists. That\u2019s why it pays to do link building outreach\u2014especially if you\u2019re trying to rank for a competitive keyword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many ways to do this, but the Reverse Skyscraper Technique is a good starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Find competing, lower-quality pages with backlinks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask people linking to them to link to you instead<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>To find competing pages with backlinks, just plug your keyword into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> and scroll to the SERP overview:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1618\" height=\"568\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/55-referring-domains.png\" alt=\"Referring domains (linking websites) to the top-ranking pages, via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-164364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/55-referring-domains.png 1618w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/55-referring-domains-680x239.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/55-referring-domains-768x270.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/55-referring-domains-1536x539.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1618px) 100vw, 1618px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, visit the pages and look for reasons why your content is better, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Their content is inaccurate and outdated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They don\u2019t explain things in detail.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Their design is&nbsp;bad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s then simply a case of pitching your link as the replacement to anyone linking to that page. To find these, plug the page into Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-explorer\">Site Explorer<\/a> and check the <strong>Backlinks<\/strong> report.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"further-reading\"><div class=\"reading-title\">Further reading<\/div><div class=\"reading-content\">\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-get-backlinks\/\">How to Get Backlinks: 15 Tactics That Work in&nbsp;2023<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>SEO is an ongoing process, and it would be impossible to include everything that\u2019s important in one ultimate SEO checklist. Having said that, if you tackle the checklist items above, you\u2019ll be well on your way to higher rankings. You\u2019ll also probably be well ahead of your competition. That\u2019s all that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to learn more about executing on the SEO checklist, check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/academy\/seo-training-course\">free SEO training course<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want even more SEO ideas? Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-tips\/\">our list of SEO tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or if you want SEO tools, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/free-seo-tools\/\">our list of free SEO tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<p><!-- \/wp:post-content --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>But the usual one-size-fits-all checklists aren\u2019t much use. They don\u2019t take into account what your site is like or your SEO priorities. This is why we built a fully customizable one in Google Sheets: Let\u2019s take a closer look at<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[335],"tags":[],"coauthors":[336],"class_list":["post-164291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-seo","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Only SEO Checklist You Need [Incl. Template]<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Follow this customizable checklist to master your website&#039;s SEO from on-page, to technical, to link building.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-checklist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Only SEO Checklist You Need [Incl. 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