Technical SEO is the plumbing of search. When it is right nobody notices. When it is wrong, great content never gets seen. These are the checks we run on every site before it goes live.
1. Make sure the site can be crawled
- Remove any "noindex" setting or password protection left on from the development stage. This is the single most common launch mistake.
- Check
robots.txtdoes not block important folders, CSS or JavaScript. - Every important page should be reachable through normal links within a few clicks of the home page.
2. Submit an XML sitemap
A sitemap lists the pages you want indexed. Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and make sure it only contains live, indexable URLs that return a 200 status.
3. Fix your URL structure
- Short, readable, lowercase URLs such as
/services/seo-services. - Pick one version of the site (with or without www, https only) and redirect the others with a 301.
- Use a self-referencing canonical tag on each page so duplicate versions do not split ranking signals.
4. Write unique titles and descriptions
Each page needs its own title (roughly under 60 characters) and meta description (roughly under 155). The title tells search engines what the page is about. The description is your advert in the results, so make it worth clicking.
5. Use headings properly
One H1 per page that describes the page, then H2 and H3 headings that outline the content in order. Do not choose heading levels for their font size.
6. Add structured data
Structured data (schema markup) helps search engines understand your business. At minimum add Organization on the home page, BreadcrumbList on inner pages, and the relevant type per page such as Service, Article or FAQPage. Validate it with Google's Rich Results Test.
7. Check speed and Core Web Vitals
Compress images, serve modern formats, defer scripts you do not need immediately and use caching. Test with PageSpeed Insights on a real mobile profile, not just your fast laptop.
8. Test on mobile
Google indexes the mobile version of your site first. Text must be readable without zooming, buttons easy to tap, and nothing hidden on mobile that matters for ranking.
9. Handle errors gracefully
- A helpful custom 404 page with links back to key pages.
- 301 redirects from any old URLs if you are replacing an existing site. Skipping this is how rankings disappear after a redesign.
10. Install measurement
Set up Google Analytics 4, verify the site in Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and track form submissions as conversions. You cannot improve what you do not measure.
Quick pre-launch checklist
- No accidental noindex
- Sitemap submitted
- One canonical domain, https only
- Unique title and description on every page
- Structured data validated
- Mobile and speed tested
- Redirects from old URLs in place
- Analytics and Search Console connected
Every site we build at BR Creators ships with this list already done. If you want us to check an existing site, request a free audit.
