On-page SEO checklist: 75 checks for rankings and AI answers

An on-page SEO checklist is the list of elements a single page needs right before and after publishing: keyword choice, title tag, headings, content, links, images and technical signals. This one holds 75 checks across 11 stages, from choosing the keyword to confirming AI assistants quote the page, in the order we run them on client sites.

  • 75 checks
  • 11 stages
  • No email required
Khairuzzaman Sharia, founder of Evariko

Khairuzzaman ShariaFounder, Evariko · Last reviewed

The full on-page SEO checklist

All 75 checks are listed below, grouped into the 11 stages of publishing a page. Work through the stages in order, because each one depends on decisions made in the stage before it.

01

Pre-writing

Decisions made before a word is written7 checks

Pre-writing decides whether a page can rank at all. A page built on the wrong keyword or the wrong intent fails every later check, however well each one is executed.

  1. 1Primary keyword selected (one page, one keyword)
  2. 2Secondary and semantic keyword list
  3. 3Search intent verified
  4. 4SERP analysis (top 10 results)
  5. 5Content gap identified
  6. 6Keyword cannibalisation check
  7. 7H2/H3 outline created
02

Title tag

The strongest single on-page signal6 checks

The title tag tells search engines what the page is about and tells searchers whether to click. Google rewrites titles that run long, repeat keywords or fail to describe the page.

  1. 8Primary keyword near the start
  2. 9Length 50 to 60 characters
  3. 10Unique title across the site
  4. 11CTR element (number, year or brackets)
  5. 12Brand name at the end
  6. 13No keyword stuffing
03

Meta description

Earns the click, not the ranking4 checks

The meta description is not a ranking factor, and it still decides whether a searcher clicks. Google shows your version when it matches the query and writes its own when it does not.

  1. 14Length 140 to 160 characters
  2. 15Primary keyword included
  3. 16Clear benefit and call to action
  4. 17Unique on every page
04

URL

Short, readable and permanent6 checks

A URL is the first element a crawler reads and the hardest to change later. Every change after publishing needs a 301 redirect to keep the page's accumulated signals.

  1. 18Short URL (3 to 5 words)
  2. 19Primary keyword in URL
  3. 20Hyphens as separators
  4. 21All lowercase
  5. 22Stop words removed
  6. 23301 redirect if the URL changed
05

Heading structure

The outline search engines and screen readers follow6 checks

Headings form the document outline that search engines, AI systems and screen readers navigate. One H1 states the subject, H2s divide it, and H3s answer questions inside each H2.

  1. 24Single H1
  2. 25Primary keyword in H1
  3. 26Logical hierarchy (H2, then H3, then H4)
  4. 27Secondary keywords in H2s
  5. 28Question-based headings
  6. 29No headings used for styling
06

Content

Where the page earns its position10 checks

Content decides whether a page satisfies the query it ranks for. Depth, entity coverage and original evidence separate a page that holds its position from one that drops at the next core update.

  1. 30Primary keyword in the first 100 words
  2. 31Search intent fully satisfied
  3. 32Semantic and entity coverage
  4. 33Greater depth than competitors
  5. 34Scannable format (short paragraphs, bullets, tables)
  6. 35E-E-A-T signals (author, sources, dates)
  7. 36Original value (data, screenshots, case studies)
  8. 37FAQ section
  9. 38Clear call to action
  10. 39Spelling and grammar check
07

Internal linking

How the page connects to the rest of the site7 checks

Internal links distribute authority and tell search engines which pages matter. A link placed in body content passes more weight than a link in a sitewide footer or sidebar.

  1. 403 to 8 internal links
  2. 41Descriptive anchor text
  3. 42Pillar and cluster linking
  4. 43Links from older pages to the new page
  5. 44No orphan pages
  6. 452 to 3 external authority links
  7. 46Broken link check
08

Images

Speed, accessibility and image search7 checks

Images are the heaviest element on most pages and the most often unoptimised. File name and alt text describe the image to search engines, and compression decides how fast the page loads.

  1. 47Descriptive file names
  2. 48Alt text
  3. 49Compressed (under 100 KB)
  4. 50WebP or AVIF format
  5. 51Correct dimensions
  6. 52Lazy loading
  7. 53Captions and surrounding context
09

Technical on-page

Signals that let the page be found and read10 checks

Technical checks confirm a page can be crawled, indexed and rendered correctly. A page blocked by a noindex tag or a wrong canonical ranks for nothing, whatever its content quality.

  1. 54Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
  2. 55Mobile friendly
  3. 56Indexable (no noindex or robots block)
  4. 57Canonical tag
  5. 58HTTPS with no mixed content
  6. 59Schema markup
  7. 60Rich Results Test passed
  8. 61Open Graph and Twitter Card
  9. 62Breadcrumbs
  10. 63Included in XML sitemap
10

Post-publish

What happens after the page goes live6 checks

Publishing starts the work rather than finishing it. Indexing, internal links from older pages and measured refreshes decide whether a new page gains visibility or sits unseen.

  1. 64Request indexing in Search Console
  2. 65Internal links added from older pages
  3. 66Shared on social and newsletter
  4. 67Impressions checked after 7 days
  5. 68Rankings tracked after 30 days
  6. 69Content refreshed every 3 to 6 months
11

AEO and GEO

Getting quoted inside AI answers6 checks

AI assistants quote pages that state answers directly, name entities clearly and cite their sources. These six checks make a page extractable by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.

  1. 70Direct answer under each subheading
  2. 71Quotable statements
  3. 72Data and statistics with sources
  4. 73Tables and lists
  5. 74Entities named clearly
  6. 75Author and publish date visible

How to use the on-page SEO checklist

The spreadsheet counts completed checks automatically, so you see progress on each page at a glance. Use one copy per page to keep a record of what was checked and when.

  1. Enter the page

    Download the checklist and enter the page URL in the Page / URL cell at the top. Use one copy for every page you publish or update.

  2. Mark each check

    Select the tick from the Status dropdown as each check passes. The completion counter updates to show how many of the 75 are done.

  3. Record what you changed

    Use the Notes column for anything that failed and what you did about it. The notes become the page's change log for its next refresh.

What an on-page checklist cannot fix

A page that passes all 75 checks still fails to rank when the problem sits outside the page. Four causes sit beyond on-page SEO, and each needs its own work.

  • Wrong search intent

    A guide cannot rank on a results page full of product pages, however well it is optimised. Intent is set by the results page, not by the words in the query, which our guide to search intent explains.

  • Too little authority

    Competitive terms need links and brand mentions from other sites. On-page work sets the ceiling a page reaches, and off-page authority decides how close it gets to that ceiling.

  • Sitewide technical faults

    Crawl budget, site architecture and index bloat affect every page at once. Section 9 checks the page itself, while sitewide faults need a full technical audit of the site.

  • Thin topical coverage

    One strong page on a subject the site barely covers ranks below a weaker page on a site that covers the subject completely. Our guide to topical authority covers how coverage is judged.

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