Step-by-Step SEO Checklist for Beginners That Works

Are you ready to get started with SEO, but are feeling overwhelmed? 

Be calm! Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to boost your website's ranking, PSWD offers SEO basics to help you move forward smoothly.

Instead of navigating complex terminologies, this guide will help you grasp the essentials of SEO through a simple yet effective checklist that works wonders.

What is SEO?

SEO refers to search engine optimisation. In essence, it involves a series of steps to enhance your website's ranking in search results. Stronger SEO leads to enhanced visibility, and eventually, more people will find your website.

SEO is essential for building and expanding your online presence. From owning a business to being a service provider, understanding SEO is an important early step.

What are the Basic Steps of SEO?

The most fundamental SEO steps for beginners include the following:

• Keyword Research
• On-Page SEO 
• Technical SEO
• Quality Content
• SEO-Friendly URLs
• Image Optimization
• Mobile Optimization
• Link Building
• Local SEO
• Tracking & Monitoring SEO

Let's go through a brief breakdown of each step to get a better understanding.

Moreover, if you want to know how to build trust on your website, we offer a complete checklist, recommended to achieve optimal outcomes.

Keyword Research Essentials

Keyword research is the first and most critical step. 

But first, you must know exactly what it is.

What is keyword research?

It involves discovering what your potential customers are searching for. These words or keywords should be part of your content. So, when they search for it, they find your website.

That said, different niches have different keywords, and you need to search them exclusively.

Free tools

For keyword research, there are specialized tools. Some of these are free, while others require payment. If you are looking for free tools, the following three are known as the best keyword research tools available for free.

• Google Keyword Planner
• Ubersuggest
• Google Autocomplete

How to choose keywords with low competition and high intent

Undoubtedly, selecting the right keywords is crucial for effective SEO. As a beginner, aim to target low-competition keywords with high search intent. Search intent is the reason behind someone searching for a specific term. It can be informational, transactional, or even navigational. 

Check the search engine results pages. If the top searches include small blogs and forums, it is a sign that the competition is low.

High-intent keywords are phrases that encourage customers to take action. For instance, adding keywords that include words like book, hire, near me, and buy attract visitors differently and make them your customers.   

Tip: Use long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, containing more precise search phrases that usually have less competition. These keywords attract the visitors by targeting what they are actually looking for and are ready to take action.

On-Page SEO 

On-page optimization has a direct impact on your rankings, traffic, and conversions. Thus, this means you must optimize both the content and the HTML source code of a page.

Title tag best practices

The title tag is a clickable short headline that appears at the top of the browser tab. A perfect title tag is the first practice that should never go unnoticed for SEO.

Consider the following best practices:

• Make sure to keep the character limit under 60 and to include your main keyword in a title.
• Avoid using difficult wording.
• Keep it simple, clear, and clickable to drive most conversions.

For example: 

Your title tag is "Step-by-Step SEO Checklist for Beginners That Actually Works". Now, if someone searches for an SEO checklist for beginners, your page will appear in search results with your title tag. 

Meta Descriptions That Drive Clicks

After the title tag,  the second most important thing is the meta description. Meta description is a summary of the content on your webpage. It appears right below the title tag in search results. 

Make sure to keep characters around 155 with mandatory inclusion of your keyword. Highlight the value of content to attract customers by including phrases like "tools recommended," "free checklist," and more.

For example:

If someone searches “SEO checklist for beginners”, first, they see the title tag and right below, there'll be a meta description saying "Boost your website traffic with this easy step-by-step SEO checklist for beginners. Learn how to optimize your site and rank higher on Google.”

Header Tag Structure (H1, H2, etc.)

The title tag and meta description are the trailers; the actual movie begins with content. Ensure that your content is well-structured.

Structured content helps search engines and customers understand it better and in a flow.

Make sure to add just one H1 heading per page. It should be your main title. For the sections, use H2, while for sub-sections or sub-points, go for H3.

Keyword Placement

Keywords are a key to ranking your content. However, they need to be placed naturally instead of stuffed. Place your keywords in the URL, the introductory paragraph (usually the first 100 words), headings, image alt text (a brief description is provided with each image so search engines can understand it), and throughout the content. But make sure not to overuse keywords.

Internal Linking Strategy

If you want readers and customers to explore your website, internal linking is a powerful approach. You can create certain content using this approach to drive organic conversions effectively. 

Technical SEO Basics

Next, technical SEO is another essential part of SEO, as pages need to be crawled and indexed to get a chance to rank in SERPs.

Mobile-Friendliness

In the smart era, it is essential to keep in mind the mobile-friendliness of websites. Even Google prefers the mobile versions.

Moreover, your website should load fast, be easy to navigate, and have readable text. A good and smooth website makes people revisit it.

Page Speed Optimization

Fast-loading pages of websites not only attract readers but are also beneficial for SEO.

If you want to speed up your website, the smartest way is to compress images. Large, raw photos can affect the speed.

Another way is to minify your CSS and JavaScript by removing unnecessary spaces and comments. Last but not least, prefer reliable and fast hosting.

Crawlability & Indexability

Crawlability is the ability of search engines to access and navigate the pages of your website.

If you want your website to show up in search engines, make sure that it is free from technical errors and is accessible. Avoid broken links or redirect loops as they will affect crawlability. 

Moreover, regularly check 404 errors and fix them. They appear on non-existent pages that are still linked. Google Search Console can help you identify such errors.  

XML Sitemap & Robots.txt

If you want your pages to be indexed and found by search engines, submit your XML sitemap in Google Search Console.

For a better crawling experience, use a robots.txt file. It enables you to allow or block bots from navigating and crawling specific parts and pages of your site.

HTTPS Implementation

HTTPS security is no longer optional; it's now a standard. Google prefers secure websites in giving a ranking boost.

Thus, a secure website is not only crucial for SEO but also to win the trust of users. 

Quality Content Creation

Google’s ranking system is designed to provide helpful and reliable content for users, making high-quality content an essential part of SEO.

Focus on User Intent

For quality content creation, the first crucial aspect to consider is the focus on user intent. Before creating content, make sure to understand what your readers and customers want from you.

Readers always want precise, simple, yet actionable content.

Ideal Content Length

Ideal content length depends on your keyword. It is recommended to check the leading pages for the same keyword and aim for a similar ranking.

Keep your content concise. Avoid adding unnecessary or irrelevant information just to increase the length.

Use of Visuals and Infographics

The addition of visuals and infographics to content not only improves readability but also encourages readers to stay on your page for a longer time.

From screenshots to checklists, you can add a variety of visuals as per the needs of your content.

Avoid Duplicate Content

Copied and duplicated content is of no use, no matter if you practice all remaining SEO strategies.

Always go for thorough research and generate original content for the best results.

SEO-Friendly URLs

Short, clear URLs are easier for both users and search engines to understand. Keywords in URLs can slightly boost your SEO rankings and improve click-through rates (CTR).

Use short, readable, keyword-rich URLs

Here’s why:

• Keep URLs concise and easy to read.
• Include relevant keywords that describe the page content.
• Avoid unnecessary words or characters.

Avoid dynamic parameters and stop words

For example, dynamic parameters, such as ?, =, or &, are typically used to track sessions, sort content, or manage filters. However, they often make URLs long, unreadable, and difficult for search engines to crawl and index. 

Image Optimization

Image optimization in SEO helps discover and index images in Google SERPs.

Use Descriptive Alt Text

For improving SEO, try to go for descriptive Alt text. Adding keywords in the image description is highly recommended.

For example:

Step-by-step SEO checklist infographic for beginners" is a good example of alt text, while "SEO SEO SEO checklist beginners SEO" is highly stuffed alt text with keywords and isn't recommended. 

Compress Images for Speed

Larger and raw images may impact the speed of your website. Use tools like Squoosh and TinyPNG to compress images without affecting speed.

File Naming Best Practices

Before uploading images, rename files and use dashes in place of spaces. 

For example, a perfect file name can be something like seo-checklist-for-beginners.webp. 

Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization refers to the process of making your website function smoothly and look good on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Why Mobile-First Matters

It is often said that mobile matters first when it comes to websites.

Do you know why it is so?

It is because Google uses mobile-preferred indexing. It means that the ranking of your website is more dependent on its mobile version.

Tools to Test Mobile Usability

To test the mobile usability of your website, consider using Google's mobile-friendly test and PageSpeed Insights.

Link Building

Link building is a crucial part of SEO because it helps improve your website’s authority, visibility, and rankings in search engines like Google.

What is Backlinking?

Backlinking refers to links from other websites linking to your website. It boosts the backing, and for Google, it is a positive signal, enhancing trust in your website.

Easy Strategies

To achieve favorable backlinking, consider writing guest posts in your niche and collaborating with partners and vendors.

Avoid Black-Hat SEO Tactics

Engaging in purchasing buy links or participating in an infamous link scheme can ultimately harm your website. Instead, go for easy yet influential strategies to build Google's trust.

Local SEO Basics

Local SEO is not essential, but it is particularly important if you own a local business. It is a powerful approach for ultimate SEO. 

Google Business Profile Setup

Make sure to create your Google Business profile. From well-defined business hours to contact details, from customer reviews to photos and videos, these essentials can bring significant value and trust to your website.  

Local Keywords and Citations

Adding phrases that include the local city or locality is a recommended approach. Moreover, enlist your business on platforms such as Bing Places and Yelp.

Getting Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are the most favorite section for customers. Encourage satisfied customers to review your services. It builds the trust and confidence of readers and also boosts the local SEO.

Tracking & Monitoring SEO

Tracking and monitoring SEO is an ongoing process of measuring how your website is performing in search engine rankings, traffic, and user behavior.

Set Up Google Analytics & Search Console

Search engine optimisation demands regular checks and balances. If you are a beginner, you need to track and monitor the performance of your website regularly.

Google Analytics and Search Console are free tools that allow you to track your traffic, discover the best-performing pages, and identify technical problems.

Check for Indexing Issues

Search engines store and organize web pages to make them appear in search results when someone searches with relevant phrases. Ensure to check for indexing issues, as it directly contributes to deranking your website by preventing it from showing in search results.

Track Keyword Rankings Regularly

The keyword is the first thing, but it requires regular monitoring. You can use tools such as Ahrefs and Ubersuggest to track and monitor improvements. 

Conclusion

With the right tools, clear guidance, and consistent implementation, SEO is no longer a mystery.

Always start with simple and smart steps, and keep going on without running after shortcuts. With effort and time, you'll be able to learn more deeply and gain a better understanding. We, at PSWD, employ the same steps while building websites for our clients as a strong and compact foundation. 

Ensure regular performance checks to identify mistakes and monitor improvements. If you want the readers to visit your website frequently, make sure to follow essential SEO steps for beginners and go through our website checklist.

When SEO ranks your website, this checklist drives maximum conversions with a smooth and swift user experience.