The free SEO + AI-search checklist.

[ TECHNICAL ]

• Confirm your site is fully indexable in Google Search Console (no unintended "noindex" or blocked robots.txt rules).
• Check Core Web Vitals field data (not just a lab test) for your top landing pages.
• Fix broken internal links and orphaned pages found in a full site crawl.
• Make sure your XML sitemap is current, submitted, and only lists indexable URLs.
• Verify canonical tags point to the correct, single version of each page.
• Check that your site serves HTTPS everywhere with no mixed-content warnings.
• Confirm structured data (schema) validates without errors for your key page types.
• Test mobile usability on your 5 most important pages.

[ ON-PAGE ]

• Confirm every page has one clear H1 that matches its search intent.
• Write meta titles and descriptions that describe the page, not generic boilerplate.
• Check that your most important pages answer the query directly in the first two sentences.
• Review internal linking — do your priority pages get linked from relevant content?
• Confirm URLs are readable and consistent (no query-string soup on core pages).
• Check that images have descriptive alt text, not just filenames.
• Make sure heading structure (H1→H2→H3) is logical, not just visually styled.

[ CONTENT ]

• Map your top 20 pages against actual search intent — do they answer the question behind the keyword?
• Identify content that ranks for the wrong query and needs restructuring, not just editing.
• Check for duplicate or near-duplicate content across your own pages.
• Review your oldest cornerstone content — is it still accurate?
• Confirm each priority page has a clear, singular topic rather than trying to rank for everything.
• Check whether your content is structured for extraction (clear direct answers), not just for reading.

[ LOCAL ]

• Claim and fully complete your Google Business Profile (category, attributes, hours, photos).
• Check NAP (name, address, phone) consistency across your website and major directories.
• Confirm you have location or service-area pages for every area you genuinely serve.
• Set up a simple, policy-compliant process for asking real customers for reviews.
• Check your map-pack ranking for your top 5 local search terms.

[ AI-VISIBILITY ]

• Search your top 10 buyer-intent queries in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overview — are you cited?
• Check whether your key pages have clear, extractable direct answers near the top.
• Confirm your entity signals (schema, About page, consistent business info) clearly identify who you are.
• Check whether a competitor is being cited instead of you for queries you should win.
• Re-run this check quarterly — AI-generated answers change faster than classic rankings.