SEO checklist: 40 checks for a small business website

How to use this checklist

Copy the list into a sheet, add a column for the date you checked, and work top to bottom. A check that fails early (say, the site is blocked from Google) makes later checks pointless, so don't skip ahead. For a quick first pass on your home page, run the free website health check. If you're new to SEO, read SEO tips for beginners first; if you run a clinic, our local SEO checklist for Indian clinics adds checks specific to healthcare.

Part 1: One-time setup (6 checks)

1. 1Search Console is set up as a Domain property, verified with DNS, owned by a business account. See Search Console for owners.
2. 2Your sitemap is submitted in Search Console and shows "Success".
3. 3Google Business Profile is claimed and verified if you serve customers in person or in an area. See Google Business Profile verification.
4. 4Analytics is installed (Google Analytics or similar), so you can see what visitors do after they arrive.
5. 5The business owns the accounts: domain, hosting, Search Console and Business Profile are in a business account, with your web person added as a user.
6. 6Bing Webmaster Tools is set up. It's quick to import from Search Console, and Bing's index also feeds some AI assistants.

Part 2: Indexing and technical health (10 checks)

1. 1Important pages are indexed. Search Console, Page indexing: check none of your key pages are in "Not indexed".
2. 2No accidental noindex. URL inspection on your home page and top service pages says indexing is allowed.
3. 3robots.txt doesn't block important pages. Open yoursite.com/robots.txt and read it; see robots.txt.
4. 4One version of the site. http, https, www and non-www all end up at one address.
5. 5HTTPS everywhere, with no browser warnings.
6. 6Each page has one canonical address. See canonical URL and, if Search Console reports it, duplicate without user-selected canonical.
7. 7No broken links on your main pages. Click through your menu and footer once.
8. 8Old addresses redirect. If you changed page addresses, the old ones redirect permanently to the new ones instead of showing a 404.
9. 9The site works on a phone: text readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap, phone number tappable.
10. 10Pages load reasonably fast on mobile data. Test your top pages in PageSpeed Insights and fix the biggest issues it lists.

Part 3: Each important page (12 checks)

Do these for your home page and every main service or product page.

1. 1One clear topic per page, matching one main search.
2. 2The title names the topic first and is short enough to read at a glance.
3. 3The meta description summarises the page in a sentence or two, in plain words. Google may rewrite it, but a good one often gets used.
4. 4One h1 heading that says what the page is about.
5. 5The first two sentences answer the main question, so people and AI answers get it fast. See AEO.
6. 6Subheadings break the page into the questions customers ask.
7. 7Real details: prices or what affects them, timings, areas served, what's included.
8. 8Proof of experience: your photos, team names and qualifications, case examples. See E-E-A-T.
9. 9Images have alt text that describes them, and file sizes are small.
10. 10Internal links to and from related pages, with descriptive link words.
11. 11A clear next step: call, WhatsApp, book or visit, visible without scrolling far on a phone.
12. 12No near-duplicate pages that say the same thing with a town name swapped.

Part 4: Local and trust signals (7 checks)

1. 1Name, address and phone are identical on your site, Business Profile and main listings. See NAP.
2. 2Business Profile is complete: categories, hours, special holiday hours, services, photos, description. See Google Business Profile optimisation.
3. 3You ask for reviews from every happy customer, with your direct review link.
4. 4You reply to every review, positive and negative.
5. 5Key listings are correct: the handful of directories your customers actually use. See directory submission sites.
6. 6LocalBusiness structured data on your home or contact page, matching your profile. See LocalBusiness schema.
7. 7An about and contact page that says who runs the business, where it is, and how to reach you.

Part 5: Monthly routine (5 checks)

1. 1Performance: compare the last 28 days with the previous period for clicks and impressions.
2. 2New searches: look for new queries in Search Console that you could serve better.
3. 3Near misses: searches where you rank between about 8 and 20; improve those pages first.
4. 4Indexing: the indexed page count hasn't dropped, and no important page is newly excluded.
5. 5Your change log: write down what you changed this month and on which page, with dates.

How do you know if your SEO is good?

A checklist tells you whether the basics are in place; results tell you whether they're working. Good signs, in the order they usually appear: your pages are indexed, you appear for more searches (impressions go up), your positions improve on the searches that matter, and then clicks, calls and enquiries rise. If impressions grow but clicks don't, work on titles and descriptions. If nothing grows after a few months of steady work, revisit Part 3: the pages may not answer the search well enough. Our guide to checking your website ranking explains each number.

A worked example

An interior design studio in Bengaluru (a made-up example) works through the list in one afternoon. Part 1 passes. In Part 2, check 10 fails: both the www and non-www versions load separately. Their developer adds a redirect. In Part 3, check 18 fails on most pages: every title is just the studio name. They rewrite the top six titles around the services clients search for, like "Modular kitchen design in Whitefield". They date each change in their sheet, so when they look at Search Console a few weeks later, they can match movements to changes.

Make it a habit

The first pass takes an afternoon. After that, the monthly part takes ten minutes. If you'd rather have it run for you, ParSEO checks the website parts of this list daily, explains each failure in plain words with what to do first, and keeps the dated record for you. The Business Profile and review checks stay with you. You can start your Day 0 to see which checks your site passes today. For the bigger picture behind the list, read SEO for small business.