Free Checklist · Updated 2026-11

SEO Basics Checklist

What died, what Google says it rewards now, a 10-minute 'is my site ready' test, and a scorecard that tells you what to fix first.

The basics that still bring customers from Google and AI answers, as tick-box lists with the Google doc behind every line. Run the 10-minute test, fill in the scorecard, and you'll know exactly which box to fix first.

For: Founders and small business owners who keep hearing 'SEO is dead' and want to know what still works before spending time or money.

If you only have 15 minutes · 4
What actually died (and good riddance) · 8
Basic 1: Google can find and read you · 7
Basic 2: Each page clearly answers one need · 7
Basic 3: Other people trust you · 5
Why AI answers still need these basics · 3
How to spot an SEO tactic that won't last · 5
The 10-minute 'is my site ready' test · 6
Your fix-first scorecard · 9
Common mistakes when fixing the basics · 5

How to use it

Short on time? Do the 15-minute quick start first.
Read 'What died' so you stop doing it, then tick through the three basics on your own site.
Run the 10-minute test, fill in the scorecard, and fix the first row that says 'No'.

If you only have 15 minutes

Do these four things today. They catch the problems that stop everything else from working.

Minutes 1 to 3: Are you in Google at all?
Search site:yourdomain.com. If your main pages are missing, stop here and go to Basic 1. Nothing else matters until Google can find you.
Minutes 4 to 8: Set up Search Console
Go to search.google.com/search-console and add your site. A Domain property (verified with a DNS TXT record) covers http, https and www in one go. It's free, and it's the only place Google tells you which pages are indexed and why others aren't.
Minutes 9 to 12: Fix your homepage title
View source (Ctrl+U on Windows, Cmd+Option+U on Mac) and read the <title>. If it says 'Home' or only your brand, change it to what you do and where. Example: 'Emergency Plumber in Pune | Sharma Plumbing'.
Minutes 13 to 15: Search like a customer
Search your main service plus your city on your phone. Write down the top 3 results. That is your real competition, not the big brands you worry about.

What actually died (and good riddance)

Each of these is named in Google's own docs. If someone sells you one of them, walk away.

Keyword stuffing
Repeating a phrase over and over. Listed by name in Google's spam policies.
Mass-produced pages made just to rank
Google calls this 'scaled content abuse', and it applies whether a human, AI or both made the pages.
Copied or lightly rewritten content
'Scraping' is a spam policy, and Google runs original content systems to help the source rank above copies.
Bought or swapped links
'Link spam' is a spam policy. Penguin, the old link spam system, became part of core ranking in 2016.
Meta keywords tag
Google's SEO Starter Guide: 'Google Search doesn't use the keywords meta tag.'
Word count targets
Google's SEO Starter Guide says there's 'no magical word count target, minimum or maximum'.
Changing the date to look fresh
Google's helpful content guide lists changing dates without real changes as a warning sign.
Keyword-match domains as a shortcut
Google's ranking systems guide names an 'exact match domain system' that limits that boost.

Basic 1: Google can find and read you

Google Search works in three stages: crawling, indexing and serving. Google says not every page makes it through each stage. This basic covers the first two.

site:yourdomain.com shows your main pages
A quick first check. No results means a crawling or indexing problem.
Search Console is set up and a sitemap is submitted
Google finds URLs by following links and reading sitemaps you submit. The Pages report shows which pages are indexed and why others aren't.
No noindex on pages you want found
A noindex tag tells Google not to show the page. It often gets left on after a site is built.
robots.txt doesn't block important pages
Google's noindex docs say a page blocked by robots.txt can't be crawled, so Google never sees its noindex either.
Every page you want indexed is linked from at least one other page
Google's link best practices say this directly. Pages nothing links to are hard to find.
Links are normal <a href> links
Google says links need an <a> element with an href attribute to be reliably crawled. Script-only buttons may not be followed.
Your main text is real text, not inside images
Google reads text best. Words baked into a banner image are hard for it to use.

Basic 2: Each page clearly answers one need

When someone searches, Google pulls pages from its index and sorts them by what best answers that search.

Every page has its own descriptive title
Google's title link docs warn against vague titles like 'Home' and boilerplate repeated across pages.
One clear H1 that matches the title
Google suggests putting the main title in the first visible <h1> on the page.
The answer is near the top
Google's people-first test asks whether a reader will 'leave feeling they've learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal'.
It's clear who wrote it and why they know
Google's 'Who, How, Why' guidance. Of E-E-A-T, Google says trust matters most.
It adds something only you can say
Your prices, photos, process, mistakes. Google warns against content that mostly summarizes others without adding value.
Pages link to each other with descriptive anchor text
Google says good anchor text is 'descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant'. 'Click here' tells it nothing.
The mobile page loads fast and doesn't jump around
Google's Core Web Vitals 'good' marks: LCP within 2.5 s, INP under 200 ms, CLS under 0.1.

Basic 3: Other people trust you

Google Business Profile claimed (if you serve customers in person or in an area)
It's free, and it's how you show on Google Maps and in local results.
Same business name, address and phone everywhere
Practical advice: matching details make it easier for search engines and AI tools to connect mentions to one business.
At least a few real, related sites mention or link to you
Google lists 'link analysis systems and PageRank' among its active ranking systems.
Real reviews, and you reply to them
Practical advice: reviews show customers a real business is behind the site. Never buy or fake them.
An About page with real people and real contact details
Ties back to trust, which Google calls the most important part of E-E-A-T.

Why AI answers still need these basics

Google says there are 'no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary.' To be shown as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet. So the same three basics decide whether you get cited.

Visits from AI Overviews and AI Mode are counted inside your normal Search Console Performance report, under the 'Web' search type. There is no separate AI tab in Google's report.

Bing is different. Bing Webmaster Tools has a free AI Performance report (still labelled a preview) that shows how often Copilot and Bing's AI summaries cite your pages. In June 2026 Bing added intents, topics, citation share and compare views. If you set up Bing Webmaster Tools, turn it on.

How to spot an SEO tactic that won't last

It promises a guaranteed #1 ranking
Google says it doesn't accept payment to crawl a site more often or rank it higher. Nobody can guarantee what Google won't sell.
It helps Google but not the reader
That's Google's own definition of search engine-first content.
It needs you to hide something
Hidden text, cloaking and sneaky redirects are all spam policies.
It only works at huge volume
Hundreds of near-identical pages fall under scaled content abuse or doorway abuse.
It's sold on a third-party score (DA 50+, DR 70+)
Those scores come from SEO tool companies, not Google. They're estimates.

The 10-minute 'is my site ready' test

Minute 1
Search site:yourdomain.com. Are your main pages there?
Minute 2
Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt. Make sure it doesn't say 'Disallow: /' under 'User-agent: *'.
Minutes 3 to 4
View source on your homepage. Search 'noindex' (you want zero hits on pages you want found) and read the <title>. Does it say what you do?
Minutes 5 to 7
Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) on mobile. Is LCP 2.5 s or less, INP under 200 ms and CLS under 0.1? A new site may show no real-user data; then use the lab numbers as a rough guide.
Minutes 8 to 9
Search your business name. Does your Business Profile show with the right phone number and hours?
Minute 10
Search your main service + city. Write down who ranks. That's your real competition.

Your fix-first scorecard

Fill in the last column after the test. Fix rows from the top down: a 'No' high up blocks everything below it.

Check	Basic	If 'No', do this first
Main pages show in site: search	1	Search Console > URL Inspection on the homepage; read the reason it gives
robots.txt allows crawling	1	Remove 'Disallow: /' (ask your developer if unsure)
No stray noindex	1	Remove the tag. On WordPress, untick 'Discourage search engines' in Settings > Reading
Sitemap submitted	1	Search Console > Sitemaps > add your sitemap URL
Homepage title says what + where	2	Rewrite it as: Service in City \| Brand
Each money page has its own title and H1	2	List pages in a sheet and write one title each
Mobile Core Web Vitals pass	2	Compress the biggest image first; it's often the LCP element
Business Profile shows for brand search	3	Claim it at business.google.com
3+ real sites mention you	3	Ask one supplier, partner or local group this week

Common mistakes when fixing the basics

Requesting indexing again and again for the same page
Google doesn't guarantee crawling or indexing. Repeating the request doesn't skip the line. Fix the reason URL Inspection shows.
Blocking a page in robots.txt to remove it from Google
Google can't see the noindex on a blocked page. Use noindex and let it be crawled.
Rewriting every title on the same day and then checking daily
Change your five money pages, note the date, then wait a few weeks. Google says some changes take hours, others months.
Buying a 'monthly SEO package' before the basics pass
No package helps if pages aren't indexed. Run the test first.
Treating AI Overviews as a separate project
Google says there are no extra requirements. Same basics.

Unlock the full checklist

Everything above, plus the branded PDF to keep.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is SEO dead in 2026?

No. The shortcuts died: keyword stuffing, mass-produced pages and link spam are all named in Google's spam policies. Being findable, answering searches clearly and being trusted still decide who shows up, including in AI Overviews.

What are the basics of SEO?

Let Google find and read your pages, make each page clearly answer one need, and earn trust through mentions, links, reviews and consistent business details.

Do I need special SEO for AI Overviews?

Google says no. There are no additional requirements. A page has to be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet.

Does word count matter for SEO?

Not by itself. Google's SEO Starter Guide says there is no magical word count target, minimum or maximum.

How long until SEO changes show up?

Google's SEO Starter Guide says some changes show in a few hours and others can take several months. Wait a few weeks before judging a change.