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SEO checklist
Forty practical steps to help your small business website get found on Google and cited by AI assistants. Tick them off as you go and come back each month.
This checklist is for UK small business owners and marketers who look after their own website. It covers the basics every site needs to rank, plus the newer work of getting cited in Google AI Overviews and AI assistants.
Work from the top down, as setup and technical fixes make everything after them count. Start with the essential items, then fill in the rest. Your progress saves in this browser, so you can come back to it, print it or copy it as text.
01Setup and tracking
0 of 602Technical
0 of 803On-page
0 of 704Content
0 of 505Links and mentions
0 of 406AI search visibility
0 of 707Ongoing checks
0 of 3Tips.
What makes the difference when you put it to work.
- Fix before you create. Technical problems hold back every page, so sort indexing, speed and mobile issues before writing new content.
- Do one page properly. A single service page with a clear title, real photos and strong answers often beats ten thin ones.
- Mine Search Console for ideas. Searches where you appear on page two are often the quickest to improve with a better title or a fuller answer.
- Write answers people can quote. A clear one or two sentence answer under each question heading helps readers, Google and AI assistants alike.
- Keep a simple change log. Note the date of every big change so you can match it to rises or drops in traffic later.
Questions, answered.
How long does SEO take to work?
As a rule of thumb, most sites see some movement within a few months, with steadier results over six to twelve months. It depends on your competition, the state of your site and how consistently you work on it. Technical fixes can show results sooner than new content or links.
Can I do SEO myself?
Yes. Most of this checklist needs time and care rather than special tools, and free tools like Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights cover the basics. Outside help tends to pay off for technical problems and competitive markets. If you would rather hand it over, Infinity runs ongoing SEO for a fixed monthly fee.
Do I need to optimise separately for AI search?
Mostly no. Google says the same SEO best practices apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, and a page needs to be indexed to appear in them. The extra work is about clarity: direct answers, consistent business details across the web and making sure AI crawlers can reach your pages.
Does structured data improve rankings?
Structured data is not a direct ranking factor, but it helps search engines understand your pages and can make them eligible for rich results such as product prices and ratings. Google no longer shows HowTo rich results and limits FAQ rich results to well-known government and health sites, so do not add that markup expecting extra features.
How often should I check my SEO?
Check Google Search Console once a month for drops, errors and new opportunities. Run through a full checklist like this one once or twice a year, and again after any redesign, platform move or big content change.
Related free resources.
More checklists, templates and tools that go with this one. See them all
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