Basic SEO Checklist Before Launching a Website

Most launch-day SEO problems are not clever. They are small, avoidable mistakes: a setting left on, a page missing a title, links pointing to the old test site. This checklist covers the basics to check before your site goes live.

It will not make you rank. No checklist can promise that. It makes sure you are not accidentally hiding your site from search engines. Google’s own SEO Starter Guide is a good companion.

Before launch

1. Turn off any “block search engines” setting

Staging sites are usually hidden from Google on purpose. The danger is carrying that setting over to the live site. In WordPress, check Settings → Reading and make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unticked on the live site. This is the single most common reason a new site never appears in Google.

2. Check there are no stray noindex tags

Some themes and plugins add a noindex directive to pages, and it is easy to miss. View the source of key pages and look for noindex, or use an SEO plugin’s page report.

3. Check robots.txt

Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It should not contain Disallow: / for the whole site. Google explains how the file works in its robots.txt introduction.

4. Give every page a unique title and description

Each page needs its own title that says what the page is about, ideally in about sixty characters, and a short meta description. Duplicate or blank titles waste a valuable signal.

5. Use one H1 per page, and sensible headings

The H1 states the topic of the page. Subheadings (H2, H3) organise the rest. Do not skip levels just for styling.

6. Write for people, with the words people use

Use the terms your customers would search for in natural language. Do not stuff keywords into every line. Google’s guidance on helpful, people-first content applies directly.

7. Add descriptive text to images

Alt text should describe the image briefly and genuinely. It helps people using screen readers and gives search engines context.

8. Make it work on mobile

Open every key page on a real phone. Check readability, tap targets and loading speed. Google’s Web Vitals targets are a good guide for page experience.

9. Check your URLs

Keep them short, readable and consistent. Avoid changing URLs after launch. If you must, set up redirects.

10. Set up redirects if you are replacing an old site

If the old site had pages that people or search engines already know, map each one to its new home with a permanent (301) redirect. Otherwise visitors and Google meet error pages.

11. Check internal links

Make sure no links still point to the test or staging address, and that no key page is a dead end. Every important page should be reachable from another page.

12. Create and submit an XML sitemap

A sitemap lists your pages for search engines. Most SEO plugins generate one automatically. Submit it in Google Search Console.

13. Set up Google Search Console

Verify your site in Search Console so you can see how Google crawls it and spot problems early. It uses your own Google account.

14. Set up your Google Business Profile, if you serve local customers

If you have a physical location or serve a defined area, a Google Business Profile can matter as much as your website. Follow Google’s guidelines and use details identical to your site. Never use a fake address or invented reviews.

After launch

• Check that Google can see the site by searching for your business name after a few days.
• Look at Search Console for crawl errors in the first weeks.
• Test your forms and WhatsApp buttons from a real device.
• Keep adding genuinely useful content over time.

Be realistic

A new site usually takes weeks or months to build search visibility, and results depend on competition, content and trust. Anyone who promises page one is selling something other than honest SEO.

If you would like these checks done on your site, our technical SEO services cover exactly this, with findings you can verify. Or talk to us.

Sources

• Google Search Central, SEO Starter Guide
• Google Search Central, Robots.txt Introduction
• Google Search Central, Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content
• Google Search Console Help, About Search Console
• Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google
• web.dev, Web Vitals