| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ||||||||||
2 |  | |||||||||
3 | Items to check | Tools to use | Task notes | Client | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 | Work notes | Opportunities | Threats | |
4 | Domain-wide analysis | |||||||||
5 | ||||||||||
6 | Identifying the search landscape | Advanced Web Ranking for CTR curves + Semrush or Ahrefs for keyword data | ||||||||
7 | Who are the leading sites? What do they perform well for? | |||||||||
8 | Total estimated traffic share for all non-branded keywords | |||||||||
9 | Estimated traffic share for transactional non-branded keywords | |||||||||
10 | Estimated traffic share for informational non-branded keywords | |||||||||
11 | Estimated traffic share for topics | |||||||||
12 | Backlink profile | Majestic SEO | ||||||||
13 | How strong are competitor sites from a backlink perspective? | |||||||||
14 | Domain link profile | Total linking root domains + Trust Flow | ||||||||
15 | Homepage link profile | Total linking root domains + Trust Flow | ||||||||
16 | Correlations between link quality and ranking in positions 1-3 | Trust Flow + count of keywords ranking in p1-3 | ||||||||
17 | Link acquisition over time | Majestic link acquisition over a 5 year period | ||||||||
18 | Brand awareness | Google Trends | ||||||||
19 | Branded interest over time | |||||||||
20 | Branded interest over time | Input {brand} | ||||||||
21 | Core product brand awareness | Input {brand} + {service / product} | ||||||||
22 | Page type analysis | |||||||||
23 | ||||||||||
24 | Internal linking | A crawler tool e.g. Screaming Frog + manual analysis | ||||||||
25 | Is internal linking optimised? | |||||||||
26 | Does the main navigation and footer link to strategically important pages? | |||||||||
27 | Are topically relevant pages linked to? | |||||||||
28 | Do competitors link to content that we're missing? Are there potential content gaps? | |||||||||
29 | Are there links to supporting informational content? | |||||||||
30 | Is there a "home" for newly published informational content? | |||||||||
31 | Is anchor text descriptive of the target page and not overly generic? | |||||||||
32 | On-page optimisation | A crawler tool e.g. Screaming Frog | ||||||||
33 | Are on-page elements optimised? | |||||||||
34 | Do title tags appear optimised? | Do title tags represent the content on the page? Do the appropriate keywords seem to be included? Is the brand name included in the title? | ||||||||
35 | Do h1 tags appear optimised? | Do pages have a h1 tag? If so, is the primary keyword wrapped with a h1 tag? Do h1 tags represent the content on the page? | ||||||||
36 | Do key images have alt tags? | Are alt tags used for key images? If so, do the alt tags accurately describe the image? | ||||||||
37 | Do tile tags and / or meta descriptions include CTAs e.g. ‘Free Delivery’, ‘Lowest Prices’ | |||||||||
38 | UX, design and content | Manual analysis | ||||||||
39 | Is the content useful for users? Does it answer their questions and fulfill their needs? | |||||||||
40 | When you first land on the page, without scrolling, is it immediately clear what it’s about? | |||||||||
41 | Having read the main content, do you understand what the product is? | Read the first visible text on a page, the product description and the benefits and features of the product | ||||||||
42 | Having read this page, could you give two or three benefits of the product? | |||||||||
43 | Is the content thin? Is there missing content on pages? | |||||||||
44 | Is the content easy to read? | Are appropriate headings used to set context and break up content? Are paragraphs too long and not succinct? Does the design of the page e.g. use of colours make it easy to read content and break up sections? | ||||||||
45 | Are there customer reviews to foster credibility and trust? | |||||||||
46 | Do images and / or videos add value to the page? | Are they relevant to the page and used to enhance the UX? Or do they seem to be generic stock images / videos? Is the resolution of images / videos of a high quality? | ||||||||
47 | Are there clear and obvious CTAs? | |||||||||
48 | Blog / guide content | Manual analysis + Majestic SEO | ||||||||
49 | Is the content of high quality? Would you return to the blog for more information on the topic? | |||||||||
50 | Does the blog homepage make it easy to understand and navigate content? | Look out for topic tags, article text previews of blogs, a secondary blog navigation. | ||||||||
51 | Are articles formats personalised for the vertical in question? | For example, on a travel blog, relevant imagery with high resolution is a must. Do how-to guides contain videos? | ||||||||
52 | Is the content easy to read? | Are appropriate headings used to set context and break up content? Are paragraphs too long and not succinct? Does the design of the page e.g. use of colours make it easy to read content and break up sections? | ||||||||
53 | Is it easy to share content? Are their social sharing options? | Also look out for social cards e.g.Twitter Cards. | ||||||||
54 | Is content being amplified through syndication? E.g. influencers on social | |||||||||
55 | Do authors appear to be credible or subject experts? | This will differ for each vertical. For example, on a travel site, travel influencer authors with a large social following could be seen as credible. On a medical blog, a doctor with relevant credentials could be seen as credible. | ||||||||
56 | Are there author biography pages and / or links to social platforms? | |||||||||
57 | Are CTAs distracting and overshadow the primary purpose to educate and inform users? | Are CTA's above the fold? Do they take up significant real estate? | ||||||||
58 | How many links is the blog acquiring? | Majestic SEO | ||||||||
59 | Core Web Vitals | A crawler tool e.g. Screaming Frog | ||||||||
60 | What are the thresholds for Core Web Vital metrics? | |||||||||
61 | Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | |||||||||
62 | First Input Delay (FID) | |||||||||
63 | Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | |||||||||
64 | Structured data | A crawler tool e.g. Screaming Frog | ||||||||
65 | Is structured data used to improve CTR? | |||||||||
66 | What structured data is used to enhance search result snippet? | E.g. FAQs, review snippets, how-to | ||||||||
67 |