The Ultimate Webflow FREE SEO Checklist To Rank #1 In Google

Imagine your website is a fancy restaurant, and your readers are hungry customers. If they visit your website, they've decided that your page is the best fit for what they are looking for. On-page SEO process is about ensuring your page satisfies both the search engine bots and the interested visitors. And just like a great restaurant, it takes a perfect blend of mouth-watering design and delicious content to make it happen.

Use the SEO basics checklist for your website

1. Google Search Console Set Up

Google Search Console, or GSC for short, is like a personal trainer for your website's search engine performance. It's a free service that lets you see helpful SEO information to keep your site in tip-top shape and avoid embarrassing, Google-related mishaps.

As a beginner, you can use GSC to:

• Monitor your website's performance: Use Google Search Console to track important metrics such as the number of visitors, popular pages, and average visit duration. This can help you identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Submit a sitemap: A sitemap is a valuable tool for guiding Google's crawlers through your website. Use GSC to submit your sitemap and ensure that Google is indexing all critical pages on your site.
• Address any issues: Google Search Console will alert you to any problems with your site, such as crawl errors or security issues. Use GSC to fix these issues and ensure your site runs smoothly.

Once you've mastered the basics, you can take your GSC game to the next level with the following:

• Analyse search queries: Use GSC to see which search queries drive traffic to your site. This can help you understand the keywords and phrases most relevant to your audience.
• Monitor your competition: Use GSC to compare your website's performance. This can help you identify areas where you may need to improve or strategies that your competitors are using that you can emulate.
• Track your mobile performance: Use GSC to track your site's performance on mobile devices. This can help you identify any issues or areas for improvement in your mobile site experience.
• Keep an eye on your Click Through Rate (CTR) and Impressions: Use GSC to monitor your CTR and Impressions; this will give you a better understanding of how your website is performing on SERP and how to improve it.

Remember, Google Search Console is a powerful tool that can help you improve your website's search engine performance. Use it to stay on top of your website's performance and make data-driven decisions to improve your SEO performance.

2. Set Up Ubersuggest

• Begin by visiting the UberSuggest website and creating an account.
• Once your account is set up, enter your website URL into the search bar on the homepage.
• UberSuggest will report your website's SEO performance, including critical metrics like search traffic, top keywords, and backlinks.
• Utilise the provided data to identify areas for improvement and implement the suggested tactics to boost your website's search engine rankings. This will be an excellent tool for creating a high-quality SEO strategy.
• Continuously monitor your website's progress through UberSuggest's dashboard and make adjustments as necessary to maintain and improve your search engine performance.

3. Set Up Google Analytics 

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides valuable insights into your website's traffic, user behaviour, and performance. By setting up an account, you can track important metrics such as page views, bounce, and conversion rates and gain a deeper understanding of your audience demographics and interests. To set up a Google Analytics account, take the following actionable steps:

1. Go to google.com/analytics and click on "Sign In" in the top right corner
2. Create a new account by filling in your website information, including your name and URL.
3. Once you have created your account, you will receive a tracking code to add to your website. A content management system can do this through your website's code or a plugin.
4. Once the tracking code is added and properly implemented, you can view and analyse your website's data in the Google Analytics dashboard.

Before we get into the details, let's get into the page design.

On-page SEO

Your website's on-page elements, such as title tags and meta descriptions, should be optimised for search engines. Webflow makes it easy to edit these elements, so include keywords and make them compelling to encourage clicks from search engine results.

On-page SEO Checklist: Page Design

Title tags: Does your page have an engaging, attention-grabbing title shorter than 580 pixels and include your target keyword?

Alt-text and descriptions: Do all of your images have relevant alt-text and descriptions? And where possible, do they contain keywords?

Meta Description: Does the meta description for your page grab people's attention, include a keyword (when possible), and consist of fewer than 1840 pixels?

Site speed: Is your website running as fast as it possibly can? Because no one has time for slow-loading pages. Use page speed insights and Pingdom tools to test the speed of your website and find areas of improvement.

URL: Does the URL of your page clearly explain what the page is about to both humans and search engines?

Mobile-friendly: With more people using mobile devices than desktops, does your website work just as well on mobile as on desktop?

On-page SEO Checklist: Page Content

Headings: Break up your text into easy-to-digest chunks with headers that contain your target keyword (when possible). Find ways to incorporate your primary keyword into your Headings. 

Sentences: Mix it up with a balance of shorter and longer sentences. Watch out for sentences that are too long or too short - they can confuse readers.

Paragraphs: Is your page composed of short and long paragraphs? Are there any paragraphs that need to be longer or longer?

Clarity: Make sure your content delivers what your title and headings promise without any waffling.

Keywords: Ensure your page includes your target keywords naturally. If not, it might be worth rethinking the topic of your page.

Internal and external links: Link to relevant pages on your website and external sources when appropriate.

Length: Ensure your page includes enough information (over 600 words) and avoid unnecessary waffling.

Technical SEO Checklist

Technical SEO refers to the measures you can take to ensure that your website is easily crawlable and accessible to search engines. Take a look at these advanced SEO best practices, as this will help to optimise your website.

Site Architecture

A well-organised site architecture can make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your website. Use a logical hierarchy to organise your content and internal linking to help search engines understand the relationships between pages.

XML Sitemaps

An XML sitemap is a file that lists all of the URLs on your website, making it easier for search engines to discover and crawl your content.

Mobile Optimisation

With the increasing number of users accessing the internet on mobile devices, it is crucial to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. This means using a responsive design that adjusts to the size.

SSL Certification

Installing an SSL certificate on your Webflow website is essential to ensure user trust and improve search engine ranking. To ensure the security of your Webflow website, make use of the built-in controls, such as activating the free SSL certificate. This can be done by accessing the hosting tab in your site settings and switching on "Enable SSL". The certificate will automatically be generated for you.

Structured Data

By implementing structured data on your Webflow website, you can help search engines understand the content and display it more prominently in search results. Here are a few things to consider when implementing structured data on your website; 

• Structured data is a way to help search engines understand your website better and display it more effectively in search results. (Learn more in Google search documentation)
• Think of structured data like a library catalogue for your website. Just like books in a library are organized by author, title, and subject, your website's information can be organized and labelled using structured data.
• Structured data helps search engines show rich snippets of information about your website, such as your business name, location, products or services offered, and customer reviews.
• By using structured data, your website can stand out in search results, capturing the attention of potential customers and increasing click-through rates.
• Think of structured data as a way to give your website a VIP pass to the front of the line in search results. The better organized and labelled your website's information is, the easier it will be for search engines to understand and the higher it will appear in search results.
• Working with a website designer or agency knowledgeable in structured data can help ensure that your website is labelled correctly and optimized for search engines.
• Schemas and structured data are important for SEO to help optimise your site and help improve rankings in search results.

Custom 404 Page

To reduce bounce rate and guide users to other pages on your Webflow website, creating a custom 404 page is important.

Canonical URLs

To avoid duplicate content issues, use canonical URLs to specify the preferred page for search engines to index on your Webflow website.

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Lazy Loading

To improve website load time and user experience, implement lazy loading techniques for images and other resources on your Webflow website.

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Minimising HTTP Requests

To improve website load time, minimise the number of HTTP requests on your Webflow website.

Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

To improve website load time for users accessing from different regions, consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) on your Webflow website.

Any SEO expert or beginner looking to improve their SEO knowledge can use this SEO checklist to optimise their site and use these tips in each part of your SEO streategy.

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Keyword Research Checklist 

Define your target audience and their search goals: Understand who your audience is and what they are looking for; this will guide you in finding the most appropriate keywords for your content.

Utilise keyword research tools: A variety of keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, etc., can assist in identifying the best keywords for your content.

You can use Google AdWords keyword planner or  Wordstream Free Keyword Tool to download a list of keywords you want to target; you'll download a CSV to see the volume and traffic of the keywords you want to target.

Analyse competitors: Study your competitors' websites and see which keywords they are targeting; this will give you insight into what keywords to target.

Consider long-tail keywords: They are more specific and have lower search volume; they are often less competitive and can drive more targeted traffic to your website.

Search for related keywords: Use keyword research tools to find associated keywords; this will help you discover additional keywords that may be relevant to your content.

Check keyword trends: Evaluate the search volume and trend of the keywords you have identified; this will help you understand how popular the keywords are and if they are worth targeting.

Use AI Tools In Your Research: Utilise ChatGPT's prompt function to request the model to generate a list of keywords associated with your business. For example, you could ask, "Generate a list of keywords relevant to [business name]."

Review the list of keywords generated by ChatGPT and choose the most pertinent keywords for your business.

Use ChatGPT to gather additional information about the selected keywords. You can ask questions such as "What is the search volume for [keyword]?" or "How competitive is [keyword]?"

Ask ChatGPT to generate a list of long-tail keywords for your business using prompts such as "Generate a list of long-tail keywords for [business name]." 

Utilise ChatGPT to analyse your competitor's websites and determine their target keywords. You can ask, "Which keywords are [competitor's website] targeting?"

Utilise variations of keywords: Use variations of your keywords to target different search queries; this will help you reach a broader audience.

Group similar keywords: Crease a keyword list, organise similar keywords and create a list of primary and secondary ones.

Target Low competition, High Volume Keywords: Targeting keywords with low competition and high volume improves your chances of ranking higher on SERPs, driving more organic traffic to your website. Optimise your content with these keywords, using them in headings and subheadings. Attention to keyword difficulty and search volume allows you to focus on keywords related to your business to help you rank in google.

Monitor keyword rankings: Keep track of your rankings and monitor your progress over time; this will help you understand how your SEO efforts impact your visibility in search engine results. The top websites that rank continuously find SEO problems and fix these problems. Ranking for a keyword helps you to focus on the right tasks and add your primary keyword to the page.

Content Checklist 

Creating high-quality content is essential for SEO success and ensuring that your content is optimised for search engines and users. Here are some actionable steps and tools to improve your content and increase your chances of ranking well in the SERPs. High-performing website content connected with SEO tactics that follow best practices will provide an experience that attracts high-value customers and makes them want to engage.

Understand the User's Problem: 

The first step in creating great content is understanding the user's problem and providing a solution. Research the top-ranking content for the target keyword and go beyond the standard advice to provide practical and actionable tips.

• Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to understand the search intent behind the target keyword.
• Analyse the top-ranking content for the target keyword, look at the top 3 blog posts for your target keyword and identify the tips provided.
• Go beyond the typical advice and provide actionable and practical tips to help users solve their problems immediately.
• When you search on google.com, look at the "People also ask" section and see the additional search results at the bottom of a google search.

Write a Compelling Introduction: 

• Use a strong headline that grabs the reader's attention and accurately represents the content.
• Connect with the reader by addressing their problem and building trust.
• Use an active voice and promise a solution to the user's problem.

Use Headings to Create Hierarchy:

• Use headings like H1 and H2 to create a clear structure for your content.
• Use SEO tools like this chrome extension called Detailed SEO Extension to see the heading structure of your keyword's top 3 performing blog posts. 
• Create your new blog posts as a combined headline structure using your research from seeing the design of competing blog posts on page 1.
• Use subheadings to break up the content and make it easy to skim and digest.
• Use the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to optimise your headlines. 

Incorporate Visuals:

• Use images, charts, and graphs to break up the text and improve the reader's experience.
• Use relevant and high-quality images that add value to the content.
• Use Canva or Piktochart to create custom images and infographics.

Use Simple Language:

• Short sentences and paragraphs to make your content easy to read, as this helps to improve your website's SEO.
• Avoid jargon or complex words that can be difficult for some readers to understand.
• Use apps like Grammarly or Hemingway App to improve the readability of your content and make it more accessible to a broader audience.

Add a Table of Contents:

• Use a table of contents to provide jump links to different sections of your content, making it easy for users to navigate, as it's also crucial for SEO.
• Use the Table of Contents Plus in your Webflow blog to make your content easier to read. Here is an excellent example of a Table of Contents you can clone and use in your Webflow blog. 

Link Building Checklist 

Want to boost your website's ranking on search engines? One way to do that is by building links. Think of links as a vote of confidence for your site. The more links you have, the more credible your site appears to search engines. But not all links are created equal. Follow our step-by-step checklist to ensure you're building the correct links.

1. Identify your target keywords and create a list of relevant websites to reach out to for backlinks.
2. Create high-quality, informative content that is shareable and valuable to your target audience.
3. Reach out to other websites in your industry and offer to write guest posts in exchange for backlinks to your website.
4. Utilise social media to promote your content and encourage others to share and link to it.
5. Monitor your backlink profile using tools such as Ahrefs or SEMRush and regularly remove low-quality or spammy links. Link to 2-5 other pages on your site whenever you publish a new piece of content,
6. Participate in online communities and forums related to your industry to establish yourself as a thought leader and gain backlinks through engagement. Guest blogging is a great way to get links to your site. 
7. Utilise internal linking within your website to signal to search engines the importance of specific pages.
8. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly, which can influence backlink acquisition.
9. Create infographics and other visual content that can be embedded on other websites with a link to your site.
10. Utilise Webflow's built-in SEO features, such as meta tags, structured data and sitemaps, to improve your website's visibility on SERP.

Reclaim Unlinked mentions 

Want to boost your website's link-building efforts? Here are some actionable steps you can take to snag unlinked mentions and turn them into valuable backlinks:

1. Use a tool like Ahrefs or Buzzsumo to find unlinked brand mentions on the web.
2. Reach out to the website or author that mentioned you, and kindly ask if they'd be willing to add a link to your website.
3. Offer them valuable content or resources from your website to enhance their content.
4. Be persistent but professional in your outreach. Remember, building links is a marathon, not a sprint.
5. And always remember to be friendly, helpful and resourceful; these are the key to success in link building.

Local SEO Checklist

To improve your local SEO rankings, you'll need to take the following steps to improve your Google My Business profile:

Verify and claim my business listing on Google My Business: This ensures that I have control over the information displayed on my listing and that it is accurate and up-to-date.

Optimise your business information: This includes adding a detailed description, correct categories, accurate business hours, and a business website link.

Add high-quality photos: Add various images, including a profile photo, cover photo, and additional photos that showcase my business and products/services.

Encourage customer reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business listing, as positive reviews can help boost my rankings.

Monitor and respond to customer reviews: Monitor reviews regularly, respond to any negative reviews promptly, and thank customers for positive reviews.

Conclusion 

Remember that SEO is an ongoing process and it's difficult to include all SEO aspects in this one checklist, but using this complete SEO checklist to optimise your site, it's a great way to get your website pages to rank in Google. Using this SEO checklist to optimise your site helps to rank website pages in Google. Use this checklist to improve your site's SEO, and remembers it's about providing a great user experience and satisfying search engine bots. Follow this checklist, and you'll be well on your way to boosting your website's search engine rankings!

Want even more SEO ideas? Check out our top 10 list of SEO tips.

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