SEO Checklist & Verification Guide

A practical checklist for optimizing and verifying your site’s SEO. Work through “Before Publishing” steps (~60–90 min), then “After Publishing” once live (~30–45 min).

For background on what Sticklight handles automatically, see SEO & Site Discoverability.

Quick Start

Do these three things for immediate impact:

Connect a custom domain (Step 1)
Submit to Google Search Console (Step 13)
Test social previews (Step 14)

Before Publishing

Step 1: Connect a Custom Domain

Your biggest SEO upgrade. A custom domain builds independent authority and trust.

Verify: Site loads on custom domain, .sticklight.app redirects to it, SSL is active (look for the padlock), canonical tags point to custom domain.

If switching after being live, set up 301 redirects and resubmit your sitemap.

Step 2: Review Page Titles

The most important on-page SEO element. Sticklight generates titles based on your content – review and personalize them for your brand.

Format: Primary Keyword – Brand Name (50–60 characters)
Example: “Fresh Roasted Coffee Delivered Weekly – Bean & Brew” (54 chars)

Ask the AI: “What is the current page title for each page?”

Step 3: Review Meta Descriptions

The snippet below your title in search results. AI generates these as a starting point – personalize to highlight your unique value. Google bolds matching search terms.

Format: 140–160 characters with value proposition and soft CTA
Example: “Handmade ceramic mugs and bowls, fired in Portland. Free shipping on orders over $50.”

Note: Google may generate its own snippet if yours doesn’t match search intent.

Step 4: Check Heading Structure

One H1 per page containing your primary keyword. H2 for sections, H3 for subsections. Never skip levels.

Ask the AI: “Show me the heading structure of this page.”

Step 5: Optimize Images

Checklist:

Descriptive alt text (not “image1.jpg”)
Files under 200KB
WebP for photos, SVG for icons
Width/height attributes set to prevent layout shift

Ask the AI: “Do all images have alt text? Are any over 200KB?”

Step 6: Generate Sitemap & Configure Robots.txt

Sitemap: Generate sitemap.xml with lastmod dates and priority levels (homepage: 1.0, main pages: 0.8, blog posts: 0.6). Update when adding/removing pages.

Verify: Visit yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

Robots.txt: All pages crawlable by default. Decide on AI crawler access – allow GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot for AI search visibility, or block Google-Extended to opt out of AI training.

Step 7: Check Social Sharing Tags

Required per page:

og:title, og:description, og:image (1200×630px, under 1MB, JPG/PNG), og:url
twitter:card (summary_large_image), twitter:image

Ask the AI: “Are Open Graph and Twitter Card tags set up?”

Step 8: Add Structured Data (Optional)

Enables rich results like star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, and prices. Common types: FAQPage, Product, Article, LocalBusiness, HowTo.

Validate: Rich Results Test
Note: Valid schema makes you eligible but doesn’t guarantee display.

Step 9: Review URL Slugs

Short (3–5 words), lowercase, hyphenated, keyword-relevant. Avoid random strings, dates, or IDs.

Example: yourdomain.com/pottery-collection
Warning: Changing URLs after publishing breaks links – always set up 301 redirects.

Step 10: Check Internal Linking

Checklist:

Every page reachable within 3 clicks from homepage
Descriptive anchor text (not “click here”)
Related pages linked to each other
Footer navigation in place
Use real tags, not JavaScript handlers

Step 11: Optimize for AI Discovery

AI assistants quote clear, factual statements – not marketing fluff.

Do: Replace “world-class shipping solutions” with “We ship to 32 countries with 3-day average delivery.”
Consider: Creating an /llms.txt file (emerging convention) or /about page with company overview, services, pricing, and FAQs.

Step 12: Check Core Web Vitals

Targets:

LCP under 2.5s (compress images, use WebP)
CLS under 0.1 (set image dimensions)
INP under 200ms (reduce JavaScript)

Test: PageSpeed Insights – aim for 90+ scores

After Publishing

Step 13: Set Up Google Search Console

Essential for monitoring your site’s search presence.

Steps:

Add your domain at Google Search Console
Verify via DNS TXT record (2–5 min)
Submit your sitemap
Run URL Inspection on key pages
Request indexing

Note: Full indexing takes 1–2 weeks for new sites.

Step 14: Test Social Previews

Always verify before sharing on social media.

Tools:

Facebook Debugger – Click “Scrape Again” after every republish (Facebook caches aggressively)
LinkedIn Post Inspector
OpenGraph.xyz

Step 15: Build Backlinks

For indie hackers: Product Hunt, Hacker News, directories
For agencies: Case studies, Clutch/DesignRush listings, guest posts
For creators: Social following, embeddable tools, press coverage
Long-term: Create reference-worthy content, monitor competitors via Ahrefs

Step 16: Set Up Ongoing Monitoring

Weekly (5 min): Check Search Console for errors and performance drops
Monthly (30 min): Rewrite low-CTR titles/descriptions, run PageSpeed, update sitemap
Quarterly (1–2 hrs): Audit broken links, orphan pages, structured data, mobile experience; refresh top pages; target page-2 keywords (positions 11–20) for quickest wins

Master Checklist

Before Publishing

[ ] Custom domain connected + SSL active + canonical tags set
[ ] Page titles reviewed and personalized (<60 chars)
[ ] Meta descriptions reviewed and personalized (<160 chars)
[ ] URL slugs short and keyword-rich
[ ] One H1 per page, logical heading hierarchy
[ ] All images have alt text, under 200KB, dimensions set
[ ] Sitemap.xml generated with priority levels
[ ] Robots.txt configured for search + AI crawlers
[ ] Open Graph tags set (og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url)
[ ] Twitter Card tags set (twitter:card, twitter:image)
[ ] Social image 1200×630px
[ ] Structured data validated (if using)
[ ] Internal links use real tags, all pages within 3 clicks

[ ] 301 redirects set for any changed URLs

[ ] Content is factual and quotable

[ ] Core Web Vitals passing (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms)

[ ] Mobile-friendly

After Publishing

[ ] Google Search Console verified + sitemap submitted
[ ] Indexing requested for key pages
[ ] Social previews tested and working
[ ] Shared on social media + relevant directories
[ ] Backlink plan in progress
[ ] Monitoring schedule set

Troubleshooting

Wrong social preview image – Fix og:image, republish, then “Scrape Again” in Facebook Debugger.

Facebook shows old info – Use Debugger’s “Scrape Again” after every republish. Facebook caches aggressively.

Site not appearing in Google – Takes days to weeks. Submit sitemap in Search Console, request indexing, confirm robots.txt isn’t blocking.

Google shows different description – Write descriptions that closely match what users are searching for.

Site loading slowly – Run PageSpeed Insights. Compress images, use WebP, remove unused CSS/JS.

Google shows .sticklight.app URL – Set up 301 redirect + ensure canonical tags point to custom domain.

FAQ not showing as rich snippet – Add FAQ structured data, validate at Rich Results Test. Google decides what to display.

AI assistants can’t find site – Allow GPTBot/PerplexityBot in robots.txt, write factually, add structured data, create /llms.txt page.

Don’t know which keywords to target – Check Search Console Performance > Queries after 2–4 weeks. Page-2 rankings (positions 11–20) are quickest wins. For new sites, use Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest.

Structured data errors – Usually missing required fields or invalid format. Share the Rich Results Test errors with the AI to fix.

Changed URL, old link broken – Set up 301 redirect from old to new URL, update sitemap and internal links.