ENGINEERING GUIDE · SEO CHECKLIST

SEO Audit Checklist for a New Website

A concise pre-launch SEO checklist covering technical setup, content structure, performance, accessibility and search-engine discovery.

Before launch

  • Every important page has a unique, useful title.
  • Important pages have useful meta descriptions.
  • Headings describe the content structure.
  • Important images have appropriate alt text.
  • Internal links use descriptive destinations.
  • Canonical URLs are correct.
  • Important pages are indexable.
  • robots.txt does not accidentally block important resources.
  • The XML sitemap contains intended canonical URLs.
  • HTTPS works consistently.
  • The site works on a mobile viewport.
  • Images and scripts are appropriately sized.
  • Structured data accurately represents visible content.

After launch

  • Test production URLs, not only staging.
  • Submit the sitemap through appropriate search-engine tools.
  • Monitor indexing, crawl errors and performance.
  • Check redirects from old URLs after migrations.
  • Review analytics and search data separately from technical audit scores.

Use an audit as a starting point

Automated tools find repeatable technical problems, but cannot judge whether a page is genuinely useful for a searcher's intent. Combine automated checks with content review and real search-performance data.

Run the Ingenix SEO Checker before launch and again after major site changes.