SEO Content Checklist

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

At the top of your writing brief, finish the sentence “This page helps [reader] do [task].” Use a real audience need from customer questions, product use or query research. Decide what the page must supply: an explanation, comparison, procedure or usable resource. A broad keyword alone does not tell the writer what to deliver.

1. Name the intended reader.
2. Write the result they need.
3. List the information or resource needed to reach it.

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

Search the main phrase and a meaningful variation in the intended market. Open relevant results and look at what the pages actually provide. Compare that with your reader task. If the results mix shopping pages and guides, choose the audience you can genuinely serve. Use competitor coverage to discover questions, then make your own outline.

1. Search the main phrase and variant.
2. Read relevant page bodies.
3. Choose a format and explain how it completes the task.

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

In your document or CMS outline, make the page subject the H1. Use H2s for the main questions or stages and H3s for genuine subdivisions. Put prerequisites before dependent steps. Include important exceptions beside the action they qualify. Do not create a heading for every keyword variation or add sections only because another page has them.

1. List required reader questions.
2. Group them under clear H2s and H3s.
3. Read the outline without the body to check order and omissions.

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

Read each heading and its first paragraph together. Rewrite a delayed opening so it answers the question or states the action immediately. Add reasons, evidence and exceptions next. Keep qualifications in the opening when leaving them out would make the advice inaccurate. A direct answer is useful writing, not a guarantee of a featured snippet or AI citation.

1. Underline the answer in each section.
2. Move it near the start.
3. Keep necessary conditions beside it.

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

Use the main phrase naturally in the draft title, main heading and opening when it accurately names the page. Use supporting terms where you explain those subjects. Replace repeated keyword strings with clear language and pronouns when appropriate. A keyword list is a coverage aid; it is not a density target or permission to add irrelevant topics.

1. Check the main phrase against the actual subject.
2. Place supporting terms in the passages they describe.
3. Read aloud and remove unnatural repetition.

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

For each instructional section, name the tool, screen, object or document the reader uses. State the action and the expected result. Break dependent actions into a numbered sequence. Replace “optimize,” “improve” or “check” when those verbs hide the actual work. Include a fallback when the reader may not have the named tool or permission.

1. Identify the object or control to change.
2. Write the actions in order.
3. Add the result the reader should see.

Use this for: Drafts comparing two or more options.

When the draft compares products, services or approaches, select attributes that matter to the reader’s decision. Give each option the same fields and distinguish unknown from absent. Verify changing details with the provider. Explain the tradeoff after the comparison; avoid calling an option “best” without naming the use case and evidence.

1. Choose decision-relevant attributes.
2. Fill the same fields for every option.
3. State which needs each option fits and what remains unknown.

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

Highlight claims about prices, availability, results, requirements, safety, qualifications and product behavior. Open the original supporting record or official source and compare the claim with its exact scope and date. Correct obsolete facts, qualify uncertain claims or remove them. Health, financial or legal guidance may require a qualified reviewer before publication.

1. Highlight consequential factual claims.
2. Check the primary source and conditions.
3. Correct, qualify or remove unsupported wording.

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

Choose a point readers commonly struggle with and create a worked example, original diagram, comparison or decision path. Base real-world evidence on work actually performed. If the example is hypothetical, label it clearly and make its inputs plausible. Do not turn generated images, invented quotes or illustrative numbers into proof of a real result.

1. Pick a difficult decision in the draft.
2. Build an example with stated inputs.
3. Show the reasoning and limitation.

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

Use the byline or author area to identify the actual creator or responsible organization when readers would expect it. Add relevant, verifiable background only. If a reviewer contributed, describe the review accurately and obtain their agreement before naming them. Explain material methods when readers need them to judge a test or analysis. Never fabricate an expert identity.

1. Confirm who created and reviewed the content.
2. Add truthful relevant background.
3. Describe any test or analysis method readers need to assess.

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

Choose a diagram, photo or screenshot that answers a question the text leaves difficult to picture. Use material you have rights to publish. Label hypothetical illustrations and avoid fake tool screens. Write a caption that explains the useful detail, and provide equivalent text for essential information. Decorative art does not need to pretend it proves a claim.

1. Identify the detail a reader needs to see.
2. Choose or create an accurate, authorized visual.
3. Add a useful caption and equivalent explanation.

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

Read the draft against the promised result. Add missing prerequisites, decision criteria, steps or exceptions that a beginner needs. Remove repeated introductions, off-topic history and sections that restate the same point. Do not copy a competitor’s word count or expand every heading to an arbitrary length. Keep short answers short when they genuinely finish the task.

1. Try to complete the promised task from the draft.
2. Add the information needed at each sticking point.
3. Delete repetition that does not help the result.

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

Read the draft once for logic and once for copy errors. Check names, units, dates, arithmetic and terminology against the evidence used earlier. Explain unfamiliar terms on first use. A spelling tool can flag problems, but it cannot establish whether the claim or number is true. Keep product names and units consistent across body text, captions and tables.

1. Read aloud for missing words and unclear references.
2. Verify names, units and calculations.
3. Reconcile captions and tables with the body.

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

Open each link in the draft preview. Confirm that the destination supports the surrounding passage and that clickable words describe it. Replace broken or stale targets and remove links that distract from the current task. Finish with a next action that follows naturally, such as using the completed measurements, rather than an unrelated sales demand.

1. Open each linked destination.
2. Correct the destination and link wording.
3. Check that the final action follows the answer.

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

Open the page preview in the site editor after the copy is inserted. Read the title, headings, examples, captions and any collapsed sections in order. Confirm that important qualifications are visible with the advice, not stranded in notes. Resolve factual blockers before approval, then hand metadata, image delivery and indexability checks to the publishing workflow.

1. Preview the complete page on wide and narrow screens.
2. Resolve missing content and misleading formatting.
3. Approve the copy only after factual blockers are closed.