SEO checklist for Australian businesses: what to check, and how often
This SEO checklist is sorted by when each job happens: set-up jobs, a check for every new page, a launch-day list, and short routines each month and quarter. Every item says why it's there and where Google documents it.
Updated
Once
10 set-up jobs
Foundations in your own name: Search Console, one domain version, HTTPS, Business Profile, a master NAP record.
Set-up listEvery page
10 checks, ten minutes
A clear need, a matching title and heading, the answer up top, plain alt text and useful links.
Page checkMonthly
8 checks, about an hour
Performance and indexing reports, manual actions, Core Web Vitals, reviews and holiday hours.
Monthly passQuarterly
6 jobs to step back
Merge thin pages, refresh the keyword map, update prices, check listings and links.
Quarterly reviewHow to use this checklist without wasting a weekend
Work from the top down: nothing further down matters if Google can't reach and index your pages.
A page is eligible to be indexed if Googlebot isn't blocked from it, it returns a working HTTP 200 status, and it has indexable content. Google adds that meeting those doesn't guarantee indexing, and that getting into search results costs nothing. Remember that when someone offers to "submit" your site for a fee.
Google's SEO starter guide says some changes take effect in a few hours and others take several months, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change helped (our guide to how long SEO takes explains the wide range). Change one thing at a time on important pages, note the date, and you'll know what worked.
Ticks reset when you leave the page, so print it if you want a record.
Set-up items you do once, then check yearly
Ten jobs, most of them a few minutes each, and every one belongs in your name rather than your web developer's or agency's.
- Google reports indexing, errors, manual actions and performance there. Add others as users and keep ownership yourself.
- So enquiries from search can be counted against the pages that brought them.
- https, with or without www. Redirect the others so signals aren't split.
- Google's page experience guidance asks whether pages are served securely, and Search Console has an HTTPS report.
- Google says robots.txt is not a way to keep a page out of Google. Use noindex or a password for that.
- Larger or poorly linked sites should submit one in Search Console. A well-linked site of about 500 pages or fewer might not need one, Google says.
- Google indexes and ranks using the mobile version of a site's content. Anything hidden on mobile may not count.
- For any business serving customers locally. Our Business Profile guide walks through it.
- Then use it everywhere. Our local citations guide explains why.
- Organisation or LocalBusiness markup that matches what's visible on the page, tested in the Rich Results Test.
Google Search Central: "Google Search technical requirements" (updated 18 December 2025), "Introduction to robots.txt", "Learn about sitemaps" and "Mobile site and mobile-first indexing best practices" (all updated 10 December 2025), "Understanding page experience" (updated 22 September 2026). Read 4 October 2026.
The check to run on every page before it goes live
Run these ten checks, about ten minutes a page, before you publish.
- Not a page per wording or per suburb name. Our keyword research guide covers grouping.
- Google truncates long title links to fit the screen, so lead with the words that matter.
- Google may build the title link from your headings if the two disagree.
- Readers decide fast if they're in the right place.
- Your prices, process, photos or examples. Google's helpful content guide asks for information beyond the obvious.
- Parts of it can show as breadcrumbs on desktop results.
- Describe the photo; Google warns against keyword-stuffed alt text.
- With descriptive words, never "click here".
- Short, specific and covering the page's main points.
- Both are named in Google's keyword stuffing policy.
Our on-page SEO guide explains each of these with Google's own wording.
Before a new site, redesign or platform move goes live
Run these eight checks on the staging site and again on launch day, because rankings usually get lost through one forgotten setting.
- Staging sites often have it switched on, and it can survive the move.
- With permanent redirects for any changed address.
- Check Search Console for the pages and queries that bring visits now.
- Only the new, final URLs.
- Home, service, product and article templates, so markup errors don't repeat on every page.
- Google's targets: LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, CLS under 0.1.
- URL Inspection in Search Console shows whether Google can fetch and index them.
- Look for spikes in "not found" or "excluded" pages after the move.
Google Search Central, "Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results" (updated 10 December 2025), read 4 October 2026. Our SEO migration checklist goes deeper on moves.
The monthly pass: about an hour
Eight checks on the same day each month, mostly inside Search Console and your Business Profile.
- Compare clicks and impressions with last month and the same month last year. Note pages that dropped.
- New "not indexed" reasons usually point to a template or plugin change.
- Both should say no issues detected. If not, they come first.
- Act on groups of URLs that move into "Poor".
- Short, specific replies; our review management guide has examples.
- Australia's holiday dates differ by state, so check yours.
- One good page beats three rushed ones.
- Google's AI features guide points to it. Treat it as information, not a target.
The quarterly review: step back and prune
Every three months, look at the whole site and decide what to merge, rewrite or remove.
- Two pages chasing one need compete. Redirect the weaker to the stronger.
- New queries show needs you haven't covered yet.
- Out-of-date prices cost trust faster than anything else.
- Catch wrong listings before customers do.
- Search Console's Links report shows top linking sites. Follow up genuine mentions; ignore junk.
- Note what the pages ranking above you offer that yours doesn't.
A red speed score, 300 crawler warnings and an email saying your site failed
Most owners first meet SEO through someone else's checklist: a salesperson's screenshot, a free tool's export or an unsolicited "audit". Here's how to read each before you pay anyone to fix it.
A PageSpeed Insights screenshot with a mobile score in the red
The big 0 to 100 number comes from Lighthouse, which PageSpeed Insights describes as lab data: one simulated load on one device and network, useful for debugging. The same report shows field data from real visitors when it has enough, and Google says the two can disagree.
Do thisOpen the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console, which uses real-user data. If your pages pass there, a low lab score is a to-do item, not an emergency. If a group sits in "Poor", fix that template first.
A crawler export with hundreds of "errors" and a site health score
Free and paid crawlers flag everything they can measure: long titles, missing alt text on decorative images, redirects in old blog links. Most of it is cosmetic, and Google doesn't calculate that score.
Do thisSort the list against this checklist. Anything that stops indexing (noindex, blocked pages, broken redirects, server errors on key pages) goes first. Then fix issues on pages that bring enquiries. Leave the rest for the quarterly review.
An email from a stranger saying your site failed 87 checks
An automated report sent to thousands of sites is usually the opening line of a sales pitch. A useful audit names specific pages and says why each problem matters to your business.
Do thisAsk which URLs, what they would change and how long it would take. If the answers are vague, run the set-up list above yourself.
PageSpeed Insights documentation, "About PageSpeed Insights" (Google for Developers, last updated 21 October 2024), read 5 October 2026.
Old checklist items to drop in 2026
These eight still sit in agency templates, but Google's own documentation says they're out of date or never worked.
FAQ schema for rich results
Google stopped showing FAQ rich results from 7 May 2026. FAQPage markup can stay on a page with a real FAQ, but it won't change how your result looks.
Tuning FID
INP replaced First Input Delay as the responsiveness Core Web Vital in March 2024. Check INP instead.
Filling meta keywords
Google's starter guide says Google Search doesn't use the keywords meta tag.
Hitting a keyword density
Repeating words "over and over" is keyword stuffing, the starter guide says.
Adding llms.txt for Google
Google's AI features guide says Google Search ignores llms.txt and similar files. Keep one only if another service uses it.
Regular disavow files
Google says most sites won't need the disavow tool. Use it only for a manual action or a real risk of one.
A minimum word count
Content length alone doesn't matter for ranking, per the starter guide.
Mass directory submissions
Low-quality directory links are named as link spam in Google's spam policies.
Google Search Central: documentation updates log (FAQ rich result, May 2026), Search Central blog "Introducing INP to Core Web Vitals" (May 2023), "SEO Starter Guide", generative AI features guide (updated 10 July 2026), "Spam policies for Google web search" (updated 28 August 2026), Search Console Help on disavowing links. Read 4 October 2026.
SEO checklist questions, answered
What should an SEO checklist include?
An SEO checklist should cover set-up (Search Console, HTTPS, one domain version, indexable pages), a check for every page (title, heading, content, links, images), pre-launch checks, and monthly and quarterly routines for reports, reviews and content. Local businesses should add their Business Profile and consistent contact details.
Where should a small business start with SEO?
Start with the set-up list: verify Search Console, make sure your important pages can be indexed, and claim your Business Profile if you serve a local area. Then run the page check on your home page and two main service pages. Our small business SEO page explains how we'd do it for you.
Do I need a sitemap on my website?
Not always. Google says you might not need one if your site has about 500 pages or fewer and is well linked internally. A sitemap does no harm, and most platforms create one automatically.
Do I need to submit my sitemap to Google?
Submitting it in Search Console helps Google find it and lets you see whether its URLs are being read. It doesn't guarantee indexing, and you don't need to resubmit it for each new page.
How often should I check my website's SEO?
A short monthly pass, a deeper quarterly review and a full check before any redesign or platform move, plus the page check on every new page.
What's the most important item on an SEO checklist?
Making sure Google can crawl and index the pages you want found: Googlebot not blocked, an HTTP 200 status and indexable content. After that, a page that answers the searcher's need matters more than any single tweak.
What should I add to my checklist for AI search?
Very little. Google says its AI features are rooted in its core ranking systems and need no special files or markup. Keep pages indexable and original, keep your Business Profile accurate, and watch the Generative AI performance report in Search Console.
Questions drawn from Google autocomplete suggestions for "seo checklist", "seo checklist for small businesses", "seo checklist 2026" and "do i need a sitemap", checked from Australia on 4 October 2026.
Rather we ran the checklist?
Our free audit works through the set-up and page checks on your site and sends back what to fix first.