Go-To SEO Content Checklist To Improve Rankings

Ranking extends beyond writing a great piece of content. While quality is crucial, you also need to invest time integrating SEO best practices into your content to lead the SERP rankings on Google.

A lot of writers think they know SEO essentials, but these practices aren’t necessarily static. They’ve evolved with Google algorithm updates and user behavior. Whether you’re new to SEO content or need a refresher, this SEO content checklist will help you demonstrate your content’s quality, relevance, and authority to give it the best chance of reaching your target audience.

Topic Ideation and Validation

Find Valuable Topics in Your Niche

First, what should you write about? The trick to effective SEO content is to make sure it fulfills a demand. You should have a clear idea of who your audience is and what they want to know. Your topics should also fall within your core area of expertise.

Topic Brainstorming Checklist

• Understand your audience’s pain points and create content that provides solutions.
• Explore relevant topics using a keyword research tool.
• Ask your customer service teams what questions your customers are asking.
• Review your web analytics to see what kind of content performs the best.
• Analyze competing websites and improve upon their content.
• Stay up to date on industry trends.
• Check in on social media to learn about your audience’s concerns and frustrations.
• Share case studies and original research.

Conduct Keyword Research

SEO content is built around keywords, which Google uses to match web pages to audience queries. Because keyword research is so important, I’ll share a couple of resources here.

For a more detailed rundown of keyword research, check out:

• How To Do Keyword Research
• How To Do Local Keyword Research 
• Keyword Research Tools To Kickstart SEO
• How To Build Keyword Themes for a More Robust SEO Strategy
• Get Started With Keyword Research

Keyword Research Checklist

• Come up with general topics related to your business. These are your seed keywords.
• Plug the seed keywords into a tool like Semrush or Ahrefs to generate related search terms for each theme.
• Evaluate keywords for traffic potential and competition. Aim for a mix of short- and long-tail keywords with varying volumes of search interest and keyword difficulties.
• Based on the data, decide which keywords are most important to your business.
• Organize keywords by topic cluster and plan content that helps you meet the intent behind the keywords.

Content Research

There are over 30 billion indexed web pages. If you want your content to rank, you need to match the search intent of your desired keywords while creating content your audience wants to read (or watch). Research isn’t just critical for providing accurate info; it’s key for understanding people-first content.

Content Research Checklist

• Uncover the search intent of your desired keywords.
• Research what exists on your chosen topic and what types of content Google is surfacing in the top SERP positions.
• Analyze the SERP for your desired keyword. Is there a featured snippet? Images? An AI overview? Keep this in mind when creating content.
• Determine what unique information you can provide to your audience on the topic.
• Assess which SMEs you may need to tap.
• Ascertain how the topic can align with your business-critical pages. 

Content Creation

Create New Content

As you plan your content strategy, consider what reasons may prompt someone to generate queries using your keywords to assess where they are in the buyer journey. Use your research to decide on an appropriate format to address the topic — it may be an article, FAQ, how-to, or product review — and then create the best possible SEO content to engage your audience.

Content Creation Checklist

• Define your topic. Decide on the purpose of your article and the points to cover. Draw on your own expertise and authoritative sources to determine the information to include. Skip to the EEAT checklist for more considerations.
• Develop an outline. Organize your ideas and ensure they flow logically. Create SEO-optimized headers and supporting points for each section. 
• Write great content. Follow the outline to keep your article focused. Use an appropriate tone for the piece and make the article easy to consume and compelling to read. SEO content tools can help with readability and flow.

Prioritize Value for Readers

It’s hard to gain visibility for content that seems to be the same as every other page in the SERPs. That’s why Google introduced its helpful content system, which it rolled into its core algorithm in March 2024. In the search engine’s own words, the algorithms prioritize “original, helpful content that leaves [audiences] feeling they’ve had a satisfying experience.”

Basically: Give readers information they can apply to their own situations. Offer concrete tips, unique insights, and “eureka!” moments.

Helpful Content SEO Checklist

• Provide comprehensive answers and detailed solutions.
• Offer downloadable guides and templates.
• Share real-life examples, original research, and unique viewpoints.
• Look for topic gaps in top-ranking pages and find ways to provide information gain.
• Add depth to your piece with videos, charts, and graphs.

Keep EEAT in Mind

Google has a team of human raters that assess whether content is well-researched and credible. They look for signs of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT).

E-E-A-T Checklist

Experience

To demonstrate experience, highlight first-hand, personal knowledge of the subject matter you’re covering. On your website:

• Emphasize your track record in the field, such as years in business, achievements, and awards.
• Showcase testimonials or reviews from customers who can attest to the quality of your work.
• Publish case studies, customer lists, or a portfolio.
• Link to media mentions that highlight your accomplishments.

Expertise

To meet the expertise guidelines, find ways to show you have the qualifications to share knowledge on these topics.

• Highlight your company’s certifications, accreditations, and memberships.
• Publish author bios detailing relevant experience and credentials.
• Create an inventory of content related to your niche, such as eBooks, white papers, and webinars.
• Share your knowledge through industry presentations and workshops.

Authoritativeness

Google looks for signs that your business is respected in its field and a credible source of information.

• Publish guest posts on reputable websites in your niche.
• Collaborate with recognized industry leaders.
• Establish partnerships with respected businesses.
• Build a strong backlink profile.
• Use quality sources for your research and link to them from your content.

Trustworthiness

Google’s human raters look for signs that your website is secure and trustworthy.

• Create a professional-looking and easy-to-navigate site.
• Make contact details, shipping and return policies, privacy policies, and terms of service readily available.
• Use HTTPS encryption for security.
• Display trust seals such as ones from Trustpilot or the Better Business Bureau.
• Encourage customer reviews.

Use Keywords Naturally

Since search engines are better at understanding context than they used to be, you don’t need to cram keywords into your content to indicate what your web page is about. However, do include your primary keyword in a few prominent places. Secondary keywords, which are variations of your main keyword, can also be used once somewhere in the copy. Remember that you’re writing for humans, so it’s more important that keywords fit naturally into the content than to stuff them in awkwardly just for the sake of adding keywords.

Keyword Placement Checklist

According to best practices, you should place your primary keywords in:

• The page title.
• The first paragraph.
• An H2 or H3 header.
• The body content (a few times).
• The URL slug.
• The page title tag and meta description.
• Image alt text, if it fits naturally.

Edit and Proofread Content

Give your content a once-over before publishing to make sure it reads well and is free of errors. Effective content is crisp and purposeful, clearly conveying your message and making a strong impression on readers.

Editing Checklist

• Check for spelling and grammar mistakes.
• Review content for clarity and flow.
• Check for formatting and stylistic consistency.
• Make sure the brand voice and tone are on target.
• Verify facts and statistics.
• Optimize for on-page SEO (keywords, meta titles, descriptions, structured data).

Add Internal Links

From an SEO perspective, internal links help Google discover pages and understand how multiple pieces of content relate to each other for indexing purposes. By linking between pages, you can also improve user experience, helping visitors explore your site and find content they might be interested in.

Internal Link Checklist

• Link from new to old content. Point readers to previously published resources from within the body of an article. These contextual links help answer questions visitors might have while reading your article.
• Link to your business-critical pages where appropriate. Use the primary keyword for those pages as your anchor text.
• Recommend relevant content. Suggest related blog posts or products at the end of articles to keep users engaged.

Add External Links

Another important item on your SEO content checklist is external linking. Including a few thoughtful links to authoritative websites shows that your content is well-researched and based on credible sources. You’re also demonstrating EEAT and adding value to your content by providing readers with helpful resources.

External Links Checklist

• Choose authoritative and reputable sources.
• Link to original research instead of articles that cite the research.
• Make sure you’re linking to recent studies and articles.
• Use descriptive anchor text.
• Open the link in a new window.
• Use external links only when they add value to your content or back up your claims.

Write Clear Calls to Action

While a call to action (CTA) isn’t a direct ranking factor, well-written CTAs that prompt actions can keep users on your site and signal to Google that your site is relevant. Encourage visitors to fill in a form, sign up for a trial, or buy a product to improve engagement, increase dwell time, and boost conversions.

CTA Checklist

• Choose a CTA that’s a logical next step based on the reader’s pain points and where they are in the buyer journey. You might suggest signing up for a newsletter or exploring additional resources for top-of-the-funnel customers and a free trial to visitors who are closer to purchasing.
• Make the CTA short and sweet — “Shop now” or “Learn more” are clear and concise prompts. CTAs that are too long or vague are less effective.
• Encourage a response from users by using action verbs and suggesting immediate action. Examples of dynamic CTAs include: “Buy now,” “Get 10% off,” or “Subscribe and save.”

Optimize Images

So far, I’ve focused on optimizing written content, but don’t forget the images on your page. Search engines can’t crawl visual elements, so you’ll need to help them understand the content for image SEO. Large files can slow down page speed and frustrate users, which can influence your page ranking. Remember, Google is all about providing great user experiences.

Image Optimization Checklist

• Create file names that describe the content of the image. Use a relevant keyword if possible and separate words with hyphens for more clarity.
• Add descriptive image alt text. Alt text doesn’t appear on the page but serves two purposes: screen reader software uses it to improve accessibility, and search crawlers read it to improve SEO.
• Include captions underneath images. Provide details about an image, chart, or graph to help search engines understand the content.
• Improve page loading times. Use compression software to reduce image file size and implement lazy loading for images that readers don’t encounter right away.
• Resize images to fit the screen. Make sure large images fit the dimensions of your website.

Enrich Content With Videos, Infographics, and Images

Look for ways to liven up your content with multimedia content such as images and videos. These elements create a rich experience by capturing your audience’s attention and improving readers’ understanding of a topic. They should add value to the content and not just exist to exist.

Multimedia Content Checklist

Here are examples of visual content that can enhance written copy and make a page more dynamic.

• Videos are helpful for testimonials, product demos, how-tos, livestreams, and educational topics.
• Images add visual interest to a page and break up lengthy text.
• Charts and graphs help readers visualize trends and patterns.
• Infographics summarize complex information in an eye-catching way.
• Diagrams and flowcharts synthesize processes or steps.
• Screenshots are useful for describing how to use tools or interfaces.

Structure Content Effectively

Before you publish your content, make sure it’s effortless for readers to consume. Your content should provide a seamless experience, enabling audiences to easily understand key points and locate information. A well-structured page is also ideal for helping search crawlers gather information efficiently and understand how sections are related.

Content Structuring Checklist

• Use h2s, h3s, and h4s to organize content. Headers are visual cues that you’re starting a new topic or delving into detail within a subtopic. Search engines also rely on headers to understand the content hierarchy and relative importance of different sections.
• Keep paragraphs short. Readers can skim content easily when you present it in digestible chunks. Short paragraphs also create white space for a more appealing page layout.
• Use bulleted and numbered lists. Lists are a great way to summarize vital points for quick consumption and increase ranking potential for position “0” in the SERPs.
• Emphasize information visually. Use bold and italic fonts, pull quotes, and incorporate summary boxes to highlight important details.

Post Launch

Once your SEO content is published, ensure audiences can find it. Promote your pages to attract traffic, leads, and conversions.

Post-Launch Checklist

• Submit web pages through Google Search Console to request indexing.
• If you don’t have a dynamically generated sitemap, add new URLs to your sitemap.
• Distribute content through channels such as social media and email marketing.
• Add internal links to your new content from your older content.
• Monitor performance with an analytics tool, like GA4.

Keep Content Up to Date

As we near the end of our content optimization checklist, I’ll wrap up with one final piece of advice for ranking well in the SERPs. Always provide readers with the most valuable, relevant information possible. This means building time into your content strategy to review older pages for freshness.

Content Freshness Checklist

• Regularly review and audit your content inventory.
• Update out-of-date information.
• Cite newer research and studies if available.
• Check for broken links.
• Delete, merge, or de-optimize duplicate content or content that is cannibalizing keywords.

Partner With an SEO Content Expert

The key to creating top-performing content is getting the details right, from brainstorming topics to showing Google you’re a quality source of information. Our team can help you customize a content strategy and check off all the boxes on your SEO content checklist. Contact us today for a free consultation and learn how to create content your audience wants to read, optimize your pages to gain better visibility in the SERPs, and achieve your business goals.