Blog SEO Checklist

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Search your CMS post list for the main topic and close variants. Open existing matches and compare what each helps the reader do. Update an existing post when it already owns the same task. Create a new post when the purpose is meaningfully different, and make that distinction clear in the title and opening.

1. Search the existing post library.
2. Compare the actual answers.
3. Choose update or new post and state its distinct task.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

In the post editor’s category and tag controls, choose the existing category that best describes the subject. Add tags only when they create useful recurring collections. Avoid generating a new tag for every query variation. Before adding a new taxonomy term, open its intended archive and decide whether it will help someone browse related posts.

1. Review existing categories and tags.
2. Select the relevant collection.
3. Remove redundant or one-off terms that add no browsing value.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Read the draft from the perspective of the intended reader. Confirm that the opening answers the topic, required steps and examples are present, and important claims have support. Replace placeholders and remove unsupported promises. If a subject specialist is needed, finish that review before scheduling the post. Use the content checklist for the full writing workflow.

1. Check the title’s promise against the draft.
2. Complete examples, sources and required review.
3. Remove placeholders before moving to publishing fields.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

For a new post, edit the slug or permalink field to describe its durable subject. Keep unnecessary dates and filler out when the article is intended to stay current. For an existing post, preserve a working URL unless there is a justified reason to move it. A move needs an appropriate redirect and updated links; a shorter slug alone is not enough reason.

1. Review the proposed permalink.
2. Use a descriptive stable path for a new post.
3. Plan redirects and link updates before any necessary existing-URL change.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Set the post title to name the subject and useful result. In the SEO title field, use a concise, accurate version that still identifies the article. Include the main phrase naturally. Preview for readability rather than treating a character count as a ranking rule. Google can generate a different displayed title, so make the page’s title and visible main heading clear and consistent.

1. Write a truthful post headline.
2. Set or review the SEO title field.
3. Preview both and remove unsupported claims.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

In the SEO description field, summarize the post’s useful answer in a natural sentence. In the excerpt or summary field, write a short introduction that works on the blog archive. These fields may serve different places in the theme. Do not assume Google will always use the meta description; it may select visible page text instead.

1. Write the search summary.
2. Write or review the archive excerpt.
3. Preview the article card and remove truncation that obscures the meaning.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Select the actual author or responsible organization in the post editor. Check the visible byline and linked author information. Set the real publication date; use an updated date for a substantive revision and keep any structured dates consistent. Do not change only the year or date to imply the article was researched again when it was not.

1. Confirm the author field and byline.
2. Set truthful publication or modification dates.
3. Check visible and structured dates agree.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Resize images for their intended display and export compressed copies that preserve important detail. Upload them to the relevant image or featured-image field. Write alt text for informative images that explains their content in context; purely decorative images usually need empty alt text. Check the archive crop separately from the article image.

1. Resize and compress each required image.
2. Upload it and set appropriate alternative text.
3. Preview article and archive crops on a narrow screen.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

In the body editor, link the passage where another page becomes useful. Choose clickable words that describe the destination. A post may link to a deeper explanation, relevant product category or genuine service page, depending on the task. Do not add an arbitrary number of links or force an unrelated sales destination into every paragraph.

1. Identify the next useful questions or actions.
2. Add descriptive links in the matching passages.
3. Open every destination from the preview.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Search your existing posts and category pages for places where this article answers a natural follow-up question. Edit those source pages to add a descriptive link. A recent-posts widget may be temporary, so provide a durable relevant route too. Keep existing articles readable instead of inserting the same promotional sentence everywhere.

1. Find a relevant existing source page.
2. Add the link in a useful passage or collection.
3. Confirm the published source actually links to the post.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Open the blog category and older archive pages as a visitor. Follow the post cards and pagination links. If older posts appear only after pressing a load-more button, ask the developer to provide crawlable links to their content or paginated pages. Do not set every archive page’s canonical to the first page when the pages contain different posts.

1. Find the post through its archive.
2. Follow older-page links on desktop and mobile.
3. Escalate button-only discovery or incorrect archive canonical behavior.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

Open the live URL while signed out and on a phone-sized screen. Confirm that the article is public if public discovery is intended, the main content is complete and links work. For an intended search page, use Search Console URL Inspection when available to check live accessibility and indexing permission. A successful live test does not guarantee indexing.

1. Open the published URL while signed out.
2. Read and use the article on a narrow screen.
3. Inspect live accessibility and fix unintended blocks.

Use this for: Blog posts with Article or BlogPosting markup.

If the theme or plugin outputs Article or BlogPosting data, test the live URL with the Rich Results Test and inspect the headline, author, images and dates. Correct the generating fields when they disagree with the article. Do not add fictional reviews, an invented expert or a new schema type merely to chase a special search result.

1. Test the live post’s article data.
2. Compare factual fields with visible content.
3. Correct the CMS source fields and retest.

Use this for: The selected draft or published page being reviewed.

After publication, distinguish “live and usable” from “indexed” and “performing.” Review URL Inspection and page-filtered Search Console data when available. Assign a review owner and triggers such as changed product facts, broken examples or a sustained query-pattern change. Use a suitable observation period; do not rewrite the article simply because early traffic is small.

1. Confirm the live page and later discovery state separately.
2. Name an owner and meaningful refresh triggers.
3. Revise the actual outdated content when a trigger occurs.