Your new website’s first SEO checklist

1. Check whether Google can access your pages

Open a spreadsheet with five columns: page address, check, status, owner and due date. Use Done, Needs work or Not applicable. Begin with your homepage and three pages most likely to bring customers.

1. ☐ Visit each priority page while signed out. Public pages should load without a password or an error.
2. ☐ Set up Google Search Console, Google’s free tool for checking your site’s search presence. Follow its ownership verification instructions.
3. ☐ Paste a page address into URL Inspection. Indexing means Google has added a page to its search database. Use Test live URL to check current access.
4. ☐ Send access errors to your website provider. Ask them to check robots.txt, a file that controls crawler access, and noindex, an instruction to exclude a page from search. Public sales pages should not have accidental restrictions.
5. ☐ Ask your website provider for the sitemap, a file listing your page addresses. Submit its location in Search Console’s Sitemaps section.

Passing the live test does not guarantee a search listing. Use [Google’s URL Inspection guide](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289?hl=en) to interpret your results.

2. Make each page answer a buying question

• ☐ Assign one customer need to each page. A local cleaning service might need a page answering: What does an end-of-tenancy clean include?
• ☐ Write a distinct SEO title, the text Google may use for the search result headline. For example: End-of-tenancy cleaning in Bristol | Your business name. Keep the visible page heading equally clear.
• ☐ Add a meta description, a short summary that may appear below the search headline. Explain the offer and a useful next step. Google may choose different text.
• ☐ Answer questions that delay a purchase. A small shop should explain sizing, materials, delivery and returns. A service business should explain the work included and how to request a quote.
• ☐ Connect related pages with descriptive links. Delivery information tells a visitor more than Click here.
• ☐ Complete a customer journey on your phone. Read the offer, navigate the menu and submit an enquiry or test order. Confirm that it reaches the right person.

Check your edits against Google’s guidance on [page titles](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link), [search descriptions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet) and [helpful content and links](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide).

3. Publish, record and review

1. ☐ Fix access and enquiry failures first. Then improve titles and content. Assign every unfinished item an owner and a date.
2. ☐ Recheck your priority pages after publishing. Request indexing through URL Inspection where needed. Repeating a request does not make crawling faster.
3. ☐ Review Search Console’s Performance report weekly. Impressions count appearances in search results; clicks count visits from those results. Record the queries and pages bringing clicks.
4. ☐ Keep a separate record of orders and enquiries. Asking customers how they found you can help, but their answers are only an approximate source record. Search Console does not measure sales.
5. ☐ After collecting several weeks of data, choose one page to improve. Add a missing answer suggested by customer searches and record the edit date.

An indexing request is not a guarantee; see [Google’s recrawl guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/ask-google-to-recrawl). Use the [Performance report guide](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553?hl=en) when reviewing your search figures.

Go further with the AI Builders community

For practical examples, peer feedback and discussion, visit the [Azerbaijani AI Builders community’s resources page](https://abcommunity.org/resurslar). Share one page you improved and what happened afterwards. Ask a focused question, such as whether a new visitor can understand the offer and find the next step.