Technical SEO Pre-Publish Checklist
A practical final review for crawlability, page structure, evidence, images, structured data, links, mobile layout, and measurement.
Interactive checklist
Work through the checklist
Check an item only after you can verify it. Open an item for instructions, evidence prompts, and notes.
Section 01
Access and indexability
Test the canonical public URL, not only the editor preview.
Check rules that affect the page, its assets, and important site sections.
Remove accidental noindex directives and verify the intended canonical URL.
Include only the preferred canonical, indexable URL.
Link the page from a relevant hub, category, guide, or existing article.
Section 02
Page promise and structure
The title should state the subject and useful outcome without clickbait.
Give readers a direct orientation before adding nuance.
Each heading should explain the passage that follows.
Consolidate or reposition pages that make the same promise.
Link to the relevant guide, tool, checklist, or source rather than a generic call to action.
Section 03
Evidence and trust
Explain what each source supports; do not use a link as decoration.
Include dates, sample sizes, test conditions, and known constraints where relevant.
Show biography, role, experience, and stable author archive.
Do not change the update date for cosmetic edits.
Keep the disclosure close to the relevant recommendation.
The page should comply with the published standard.
Section 04
Images and search appearance
Prefer a useful 16:9 original that can also be cropped to 4:3 and square.
Describe information conveyed by the image; leave decorative images empty.
Treat length as an editorial guardrail because Google may rewrite snippets.
They should be crawlable and represent the visible page.
Section 05
Quality assurance
Check navigation, tables, cards, ads, tools, and horizontal overflow.
Confirm internal, external, anchor, checklist, and tool URLs.
Markup must describe content readers can actually see.
Avoid unnecessary scripts, reserve media and ad space, and lazy-load noncritical embeds.
Confirm no editor-only state or personalization hides essential content.
Record the date, URL, query set, analytics state, and any controlled test inputs.
No checklist items match these filters.
Progress and notes stay in this browser unless you download or import a file. This checklist makes no ranking or indexing guarantee.
Use this checklist after the article has passed editorial review but before it is promoted or submitted for indexing. Complete it on the canonical public URL.
How to use it
Work from top to bottom, record evidence for any failed check, and assign a named owner. Your progress stays in this browser; download the text file if the checklist needs to become part of a release record.
What this checklist cannot guarantee
Passing these checks supports technical quality and clear editorial presentation. It does not guarantee indexing, rankings, rich results, Google News inclusion, or Discover traffic.
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