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LIKELY TO SPROUT WEEDS
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L10C - Weeding the Garden SEO ChecklistMIGHT SPROUT WEEDS
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#ElementDescriptionUNLIKELY/ONE TIME CHECK - BUT WILL MONITOR
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1Orphaned Pages ScanFind any pages of site that are not linked to (these take up part of the crawl budget and if they aren't needed, they should be removed)
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2Schema Check that schema code is being used on respective pages (review schema on review pages, location schema on all pages, special offer schema on special offer pages, etc)
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3Backlink AuditDetect and analyze websites that are linking to the client's website and disavowing the spammy ones.
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4Current Keyword AnalysisDetermine which keywords the website is currently ranking for and whether the website is taking advantage of all available ways to be featured on google (images, video, review)
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5Company Presence on SERP (Search Engine Results Page)Google the company's name and look at the top 10 listings to make sure all results are either the client's site OR their social profiles
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6Heading Optimization (H1 / H2 / H3)Check that all pages on website have proper headings of optimal length, have keywords, and properly break up content (1 heading per 200 words)
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7Metadata OptimizationCheck for meta titles and meta descriptions are of optimal length and have keywords
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8Broken ImagesCheck that all images (internal and external) are functional and not broken
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9Image OptimizationCheck that all images on websites have titles and alt attributes that are present, are of optimal length, are appropriate, and have keywords
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10Google Business Optimization Google Business page is optimized using all available features and is updated regularly with most recent content/events
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11Facebook OptimizationFacebook page is optimized using all available features and is updated regularly with most recent content/events
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12Industry Website OptimizationHomeAdvisor, Houzz, NextDoor (whichever sites are applicable) are setup, optimized, and able to generate 'leads'/inquiries
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13Site Speed (Mobile)Measure how fast the website loads, and if slow, identify potential causes (site size, 3rd party apps, etc.)
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14W3C Compliancy + Meta RedirectsCheck backend code for any unnecessary W3C/Client Side (page side instead of server side) redirect. (aka "If you are not redirected in 5 seconds click here")
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154xx/5xx/redirect errorsIdentify pages reporting errors (404, too many redirects, etc.)
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16JavaScript/CSS AuditCheck for optimized: size, compression, cached, frequency, minification, function
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17Canonical Link ScanIdentify any existing canonical links and detect any broken links. (canonical links=bunch of similar pages w/ the same info on them. you can tell Google they're related and prevent duplicate content dings. No, this doesn't apply to Service Area pages)
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18Domain Authority
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19URL Optimization / StructureCheck how the website's URLs are structured (do they have keywords, are they too long? are they easy to read? are they using "underscores" instead of hyphens?)
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20Internal Link / External Link AuditLook at all internal links (to pages on the website) and external links (links to outside pages) are working and aren't 'dead'/'broken', and are optimized (they don't just say "click here"), and if a 'no-follow' exists, there is a reason
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New / Recommended Keyword Research
Identify keywords of varying types/parts of the sales funnel that the website could be ranking for & what sort of content will produce the best results
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22Content OptimizationCheck all content on site to ensure that it is structured properly depending on the type of content. example: a blog post about "10 things to ask a contractor before hiring them" has each item numbered, the first sentence bolded, and has headings every 200 words
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23Duplicate ContentCheck that no pages on site are 'too similar' (i.e. the same copy used on different pages)
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24Per-Page Link ScanMake sure that each page has 2+ internal links to other applicable pages of the site
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25FAQ'sThere should be a designated FAQ page that answers questions that searchers have. these should also be formatted correctly (bullet points) for google and updated regularly
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26Service Area PagesCheck that the client's service areas are listed on a designated page, and that each city has its own, unique landing page with content
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27Reviews (1st party and 3rd party)Check that website has BOTH 1st party reviews (direcctly from the customer left on the site) AND 3rd party reviews (Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc.)
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28VIP Business/Social Site Presence and OptimzationCheck that the major business/social profiles exist and that they are fully optimized and kept current (google business, bing for business, facebook, houzz, pinterest, apple maps/google maps)
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29Manufacturer WebsitesCheck that all of client's product manufacturers are properly listing / linking to client's website
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30Business Citation ConsistencyCheck that the business listings for client are claimed and major info is consistent (Name, Address, Phone#, Website)
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31Form/Contact Us is on the main page + functioningForm should be above the fold / aka before the customer has to scroll down
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32Chata chat feature should be availble 24/7 for customers to engage with someone, chats are being handled properly
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33Special Offers / DealsDeals /offers should be present and above the fold (before scrolling)
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34Text to HTML RatioCheck for proper text-to-html ratio (anywhere from 20-70%)
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35Mobile-First Design + Content AuditEnsure site is designed specifically for mobile devices and that all content displays correctly
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36Site has a CMS (content management system, i.e. Wordpress, HubSpot)Ensure that the website is either built on or uses a content management system like Wordpress (preferred), HubSpot, Joomla, SquareSpace
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37Wordpress/CMS Updated?Check that site is running on current version of Wordpress/Whatever Content Management System they're using
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38HTML5 CompatibleCheck that site is designed/built using the updated version of HTML (HTML5)
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39Sitemap (xml) Check for presence of sitemap, that its of optimal size, and that all links are https (not http)
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40Robots.txt CheckCheck for valid format of robots.txt
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41DNS and HTTP/WWW Resolve IssuesCheck that mapping from Domain to IP is functioning correctly
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SSL Certificate (and HSTS Compliance Scan)
Check that website has a security certificate to protect customer's data (https://), certificate has not expired (document date of expiration to alert client), and is registered under the right name (Client)
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CDN (Content Delivery Network) Cloudfare
Check that website is part of the CDN to deliver more secure content and decrease SPAM (Usually done by website host level)
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44Mixed Content DetectionCheck for pages that are"https" but are loading images/widgets that are "http".
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45Viewport ConfigurationEnsure that viewport is config'd to adjust to different screen and device sizes/resolutions
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46Page Compression Scanenable compression on webpages / the Content-Encoding entity is present in the response header.
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47Google Analytics Code Check for the existence of google analytics code - verify that its recording traffic
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48HREF Language Check that Google Search Console has proper href-lang tag (English)
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49Contact Information is clear / visibleThe company's phone number, address, and email address are easily visible as soon as site loads (especially on mobile)
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50"Exit Popup" When the customer hovers over the "X", a popup comes up asking one final time if they would like to chat
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51Primary ContentContent should be written w/ direct response approach w/ urgency
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52CTAEach page has a clear CTA and a way for the customer to contact the company
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53Goals/Events/LeadsGoogle Analytics is tracking any/all opportunities for conversions accurately
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