SEO page quick-check checklist
A lightweight pre-publish and post-publish checklist for static pages, research notes and tool pages. It focuses on white-hat clarity: useful intent coverage, crawlable structure, honest evidence and clean internal links.
1. Intent and usefulness
- The page answers one clear search or user task, not several unrelated topics.
- The first screen explains who the page is for and what outcome it helps produce.
- Claims are practical and bounded; no invented customer cases, rankings or credentials.
- The page contains a concrete checklist, table, template, example or decision aid.
2. Metadata and crawl basics
- Title is unique, descriptive and aligned with the visible H1.
- Meta description summarizes the actual page value without keyword stuffing.
- Canonical URL is absolute and matches the public HTTPS path.
- Robots and sitemap include the page when it should be indexable.
3. Structure and internal links
- Only one main H1; subtopics use clear H2/H3 headings.
- The page links upward to its hub and sideways to one or two related resources.
- Hub pages link back to the new page so crawlers and users can discover it.
- Anchor text describes the destination instead of using only “click here”.
4. Trust and conversion safety
- Any numbers, rules or recommendations are labeled as guidance unless verified.
- External dependencies are avoided unless the source is stable and appropriate.
- Commercial next steps are explicit but not deceptive or pressure-based.
- After publishing, the public URL returns HTTP 200 and the page marker appears in HTML.
Copy-ready review sheet
Page URL: ______________________________ Primary task / intent: __________________ Unique title + H1 checked: yes / no Canonical HTTPS path checked: yes / no Hub link added: yes / no Sitemap updated: yes / no One useful artifact included: yes / no No fake claims or copied material: yes / no HTTP 200 verified after publish: yes / no Decision: publish / revise / noindex / retire
Related page: public probe triage checklist for interpreting scanner traffic and not overreacting to routine probes.