SEO Checklist for Blog Posts: Before and After Publishing

This SEO checklist for blog posts covers everything to confirm at four moments: before you start writing, while the post is in the editor, right before you hit publish, and in the weeks after it goes live. Work through it in order and you will catch the problems that stop good posts from being found, such as a missing keyword focus, a noindex tag left on by accident, or a post nothing else on your site links to.

Copy the lists below into your own publishing process. The notes assume WordPress, but the same checks apply on Shopify, Webflow or any other CMS.

Before you write: topic and keyword checks

Most SEO problems with blog posts start before the first sentence. Tick these off during planning:

One main keyword is chosen, and it matches something your readers actually search.
No existing post targets the same keyword. Search your own site first. If an older post covers it, update that post instead of writing a competitor to it. We keep to one main keyword per page for exactly this reason.
The search intent is clear. You have looked at the first page of results and know whether searchers want a how-to, a list, a definition or a comparison.
The post connects to your business. You know which service or product page it supports, and which related posts it will link to.
You know what you will add that others do not: an example, a process, a mistake you have seen.

If you want a fuller walkthrough of research, briefs and drafting, our step-by-step guide to SEO content writing covers the writing process itself. This checklist is about the details around it.

In the editor: on-page SEO checklist for blog posts

Title and headings

The post title includes the main keyword or a natural variation, and says clearly what the reader gets.
The SEO title (title tag) is set, front-loads the keyword and is short enough that the meaning survives if Google cuts it off.
There is only one H1, which in most WordPress themes is the post title. Do not add another H1 in the content.
Headings follow a logical order: H2s for main sections, H3s inside them. Do not skip levels for styling.
At least one H2 uses the main keyword or a close variation.

Introduction and body

The first two or three sentences answer the question directly.
The main keyword appears in the first 100 words.
Paragraphs are short, and steps or checklists use real lists, not paragraphs with dashes.
Facts, figures and tool instructions are checked against current official sources. If you cannot verify a number, take it out.

Images

File names are descriptive, such as internal-link-report.png rather than IMG_4471.png.
Every meaningful image has alt text that describes what it shows. Decorative images can have empty alt text.
Images are compressed and sized for the space they fill, so they do not slow the page.
The featured image is set, since themes and social platforms use it in previews.

Right before you publish: settings checklist

These are the settings that are easy to miss in the sidebar of the editor.

Slug: short, lowercase, hyphenated and based on the keyword. Remove filler words and dates so the URL stays valid if you update the post later.
Meta description: written by hand, specific to the post, with a reason to click.
Category: one main category that matches the topic. Avoid creating a new category for a single post.
Tags: few or none. Each tag creates an archive page, and many near-empty tag pages add clutter.
Indexing: the post is not set to noindex in your SEO plugin, and your site is not still set to discourage search engines under Settings, Reading in WordPress.
Canonical: left as the post’s own URL unless you deliberately republished it from elsewhere.
Author: the right person is credited, and the author page explains who they are.
Schema: Article or BlogPosting markup is output by your theme or SEO plugin. If you add FAQ markup, the questions and answers must be visible on the page.
Social preview: the title, description and image look right when shared.
Mobile check: preview the post on a phone. Tables, code blocks and wide images often break on small screens.

After you publish: the first day

Open the live URL in a private window and confirm it loads, with no layout problems.
View the page source or use your browser’s inspect tool to confirm the title tag, meta description and canonical are what you set.
Check that the post appears in your XML sitemap. If your sitemap returns an error, fix that first. On our own site, a post sitemap that grew too large once returned a server error until we split it into smaller pages.
Run the URL through the URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console. For important posts, request indexing.
Add links to the new post from two or three older, relevant posts. New posts are often orphans for weeks because nobody goes back to link to them.

After you publish: the following weeks

Check the Performance report in Search Console after a few weeks. Filter by the post’s URL and see which queries it appears for.
If it ranks for questions you did not answer, add a short section that answers them.
If it gets impressions but few clicks, improve the title and meta description.
If it gets no impressions at all, check that it is indexed, then look at whether the keyword and intent were right.
Put the post on your list for an annual review so facts, screenshots and links stay current.

Common mistakes this checklist prevents

Publishing with the default SEO title, which is often just the post title plus site name, or with a slug full of stop words and dates.
Leaving a noindex setting from a draft or staging site.
Creating dozens of single-use tags.
Uploading full-size photos straight from a camera or phone.
Never linking to the post from anywhere else on the site.
Two posts on the same topic quietly competing for the same search.

Using this SEO checklist for blog posts as a team

If several people publish on your blog, turn this into a shared document or a checklist in your project tool, and make ticking it off part of the definition of done. One person writing and another person running the checklist catches more mistakes than anyone checking their own work.

The same logic applies to persuasive pages such as services and landing pages, with a stronger focus on the offer and call to action; our guide to SEO copywriting explains the difference. If you would rather hand over the writing and the checklist together, our SEO copywriting services cover research, writing and on-page setup for each post.

FAQ

Do I need an SEO plugin to follow this checklist?

On WordPress, an SEO plugin makes it easier to set the SEO title, meta description, canonical and schema without editing code. On other platforms, these fields are usually built in. The checklist works either way; the plugin is just the tool you use to tick the boxes.

Should I request indexing for every new post?

It does no harm for an important post, but it is not required. Google usually finds new posts through your XML sitemap and internal links. Requesting indexing in the URL Inspection tool is most useful when you want a key post or an updated page recrawled sooner.

How many tags and categories should a blog post have?

Usually one category and only a few tags, if you use tags at all. Every tag creates an archive page, and many tags with only one or two posts each create thin pages. Pick categories that match the main topics of your site and keep them tidy.

Should I change the URL of an old post when I update it?

Avoid it if the post already ranks or has links. If you must change the slug, add a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one and update your internal links so they point straight to the new address.

SEO Checklist for Blog Posts: What to Check Before and After Publishing

Before you write: topic and keyword checks