How to do SEO? (Here is our Secret SEO Checklist!)

Internet and online marketing have evolved a lot in the past two decades. We’ve seen the evolution of social media, AI, machine learning, metaverse, and more in this field. Some things got outdated, and some were replaced.

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TL;DR:

SEO isn’t dead – it’s evolving fast! This checklist breaks down what’s new in 2025, from AI-driven search to smarter content strategies, and gives you an easy-to-follow roadmap to rank higher and stay ahead. Master the basics, tweak for tech, and watch your site shine! 🚀

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But if there is one thing that has stayed constant amongst all this, it is SEO! Yep, Search Engine Optimization has long been regarded as the cornerstone of digital marketing.

A lot of other strategies popped up and even threatened SEO to a certain extent, but all in vain. SEO remains the disputed king of marketing.

Reason? Well, the reason is pretty simple. SEO brings you organic traffic, and nothing beats organic traffic. On top of that, SEO strategies can keep bringing you traffic even after you have stopped focusing on SEO.

Why is SEO still relevant?

SEO is all about optimizing your website so that search engines can index your website based on queries inserted by the user. So, as far as the users will use search engines, SEO will be important and that’s where you would probably need my SEO Checklist.

Did you know that 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine? – Source: How To Optimize Your SEO Results Through Content Creation.

And what’s more interesting is Google accounts for a staggering 86% of global market share.

So when I say search engine, read Google in most of the cases!

Today, in this blog, I am going to share some nitty gritty of SEO, why it’s so important for you, and how you can nail it. And finally, I will share my personally curated SEO checklist for you! So let’s get started. But let’s start with the basics first.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might sound intimidating, but it’s not! It’s all about the art of optimizing your website on multiple fronts so a search engine can easily find it. But only when someone is looking for the information, service, or product you are offering. Otherwise, it’s just bad traffic.

Here’s a breakdown of SEO’s core concepts

Visibility and Rankings

When you have helpful content on your website, search engines will rank it at the top in their SERPs. The websites appearing on the top of SERPs will get more attention and more traffic. So, the game is all about improving your visibility, which will improve your ranking.

The Power of Content

Compelling, informative content is the lifeblood of SEO. Search engines always prefer websites that have helpful and meaningful content for the user. Search engines, especially Google, have become an answering machine for their users.

So, it is always on the hunt for a website that can offer its users the best and most helpful answers. And you can do this by offering top-quality content.

Earning Trust and Authority

Search engines always favor trustworthy and authoritative websites. It is all about the “E-E-A-T” factor (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). This comes from high-quality content, top-quality backlinks from reputable sources, and a positive online reputation.

Beyond Content: Technical SEO

A well-functioning website is essential for a good SEO strategy. This includes factors like website speed, mobile-friendliness, optimized images, optimized URLs, a clear internal linking structure, and much more. You can download my SEO checklist for 2025 and take a detailed look at it.

Now, coming back to business, we’ve seen some mind-blowing changes in 2025 in terms of SEO. AI and Machine Learning are the two things that have turned the world of Digital Marketing upside down! So, let’s find out what has changed for SEO in 2025.

How SEO has Changed in 2025?

Use-centricity will always remain a core principle of any SEO strategy. But how you do it changes constantly. 2025 has seen a significant shift towards a new concept, “Search Experience Optimization” or “SXO.”

SXO goes a step beyond handling the relationship between search engines and users. It’s all about understanding how search engines understand and evaluate the overall search experience a user has on your website.

So, let’s take a look at some key trends that will dominate SEO in 2025 based on this SXO approach.

Here are some key trends that define SEO in 2025, reflecting this SXO approach:

1. Understanding Search Intent

It’s no longer enough to simply target keywords, nada! Times are gone when mere stuffing keywords was the only SEO strategy! Today, it’s all about understanding the exact intent of the user behind each search query. Are they looking for information, researching a product, or ready to make a purchase?

You’ll have to tailor your content and website experience based on their specific intent. The more you become relevant to their intent, the better chance you have to appear at the top of a search query.

2. The Rise of AI and Machine Learning

This is by far the most important change in the SEO in 2025. Search engines increasingly use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to understand and analyze the nature of search queries by the users, the quality of content, and overall experience.

So, it’s now mandatory to optimize your website for AI and ML, too. This will give you a better edge against your competitors.

3. Core Web Vitals and User Experience

Google’s Core Web Vitals (CWV) – metrics that measure website loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and visual stability – are now confirmed ranking factors. So there is no way you can ignore them. You can’t just rely on a website that has awesome content.

You will have to optimize it according to these web vitals and make it technically sound to deliver an exceptional user experience.

4. Building Trust and Expertise (E-E-A-T)

Trust building is becoming even more important. Google wants its users to visit websites that offer reliable and accurate information. So, how do you uplift this trust for your website? Simple, you focus on E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness). So, E-E-A-T remains a critical ranking factor here.

You do so by getting professionals to create high-quality content, building high-quality content by qualified professionals and backlinks from reputable sources, and maintaining a positive online reputation.

5. Evolving Search Ranking Factors

The specific algorithms search engines use are constantly evolving, making it challenging to pinpoint a definitive list of ranking factors. However, the focus on user experience, content quality, and technical SEO best practices remains paramount. You’ll be well-positioned to adapt to future changes in terms of SEO.

Now, let’s get to the core of our entire blog. How to do SEO in 2025.

How to do SEO with My SEO Checklist?

1. Keyword Research and Targeting

The first step towards building an all-powerful SEO strategy is keyword research and targeting. You can use tools like Semrush and Surfer SEO to research the most relevant and meaningful keywords for your website.

I’ve added all the critical points related to keyword research to my SEO checklist. Remember, proper keyword mapping can help you find the complex maze of highly competitive websites.

You can target very specific long-tail keywords to get meaningful traffic. Moreover, they generally have less competition, unlike those short-tail keywords. But that doesn’t mean you ignore your short-tail keywords entirely. They are relevant too in bringing more traffic.

So you’ll have to find a perfect balance between both and craft content that organically integrates both. And remember, keyword stuffing doesn’t work anymore. Instead, it can negatively impact your website’s SEO. So stay away from it, download my SEO checklist, and ace keyword research.

Keyword Research SEO Checklist

• Identify your target audience, their needs and the purpose of the content you are working on.
• Analyze competitors to find keyword gaps and opportunities (Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Ubersuggest for keyword discovery).
• Leverage Google Autocomplete, People Also Ask, and Related Searches for additional ideas.
• Explore forums, social media, and Q&A sites like Reddit and Quora for common queries.
• Create a list of related short-tail (broad) and long-tail (specific) keywords.
• Prioritize keywords list with high search volume, low-to-moderate keyword density or competition and find the keyword trends using Google Trends.
• Consider user intent: Informational, Navigational, Transactional, and Commercial.
• Identify SERP features (e.g., featured snippets, local packs, videos) to optimize accordingly.
• Avoid keyword cannibalisation (multiple pages competing for the same keyword).
• Place primary keywords in the title tag, meta description, headers (H1, H2, etc.), and the first 100 words.
• Use LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords to improve content relevance.

Useful Keyword Research Tools

• Google Keyword Planner
• Ahrefs
• Semrush
• Moz Keyword Explorer
• Ubersuggest

2. On-Page Optimization

Once you know your target keywords, it’s time to optimize your website pages for both users and search engines. For this, you’ll have to craft clear, concise, and keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions that entice users to click.

Structure your content using headings and subheadings for better readability. Don’t forget about images! Image SEO is one of the most important yet most ignored SEO factors.

That’s the reason I’ve added information about image optimization to my SEO checklist. So you’ll have to optimize them with relevant filenames and alt text descriptions and ensure proper compression for faster loading times.

All this because you need a mobile-friendly website. I am sure that you know more than 50% of traffic today arises from mobile devices. So, your website has to be mobile-first optimized. Check out my SEO checklist for more information on On-page optimization.

On-page Optimization SEO Checklist

• Multi-language: Hreflang tags for localization.
• Titles: Meta Title, Page Title – H1 and sub-heading titles H2, H3, H4, H5, H6 should not be less than 30 characters and not more than 60 characters.
• Meta Description: Should not be less than 70 characters and not more than 160 characters.
• Permalink: URL slug should contain a primary keyword and keep it within 75 characters.
• Links
  • Internal links: Include a minimum of 3 internal links.
  • External links: Include at least one high-quality authoritative external link.
  • Anchor jump links: Place page-level jump links as applicable when the content length is too long.
  • Broken links: Find and remove broken external or internal links.
  • 301 redirected links: Try to place direct links and tag the links appropriately.
  • Nofollow links
    • Mention rel=”nofollow” to external sites which you don’t trust but are given a source for authority of content.
    • Don’t tag internal links as nofollow.
  • Sponsored links: Mention rel=” sponsored” to all paid or promotional links, like affiliate links or cloaked links.
  • Dofollow links: Provide dofollow links to trusted external links.
  • UGC links: mention rel=”ugc” for user-generated content like links in comments or forums etc.
  • Avoid links with no anchor text.
  • Avoid links with the same anchor text on the same page.
  • Add a link on descriptive text (e.g., “Learn more about SEO” instead of “Click here”).
  • Avoid links to one word unless it is a brand or a definition.
• Mobile-friendly: The page should be easily accessible on mobile.
• Related content: Don’t forget to add a Related articles/pages/products section (hand-picked mentions build authority to your brand).

Useful On-page Optimization Tools

• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• Surfer SEO
• Semrush On-Page SEO Checker
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider

3. Content is King (and Queen)

I’ve written infinite times about the vitality of content on this website! When it comes to SEO, content reigns supreme – but not that typical, generic, and useless content. Today’s users crave valuable, informative, and engaging content that resonates with their needs.

The best option is to focus on solving their problems, answering their questions, and offering actionable insights (which is exactly what I am doing right now!) I’ve mentioned some very important points about content in my SEO checklist.

Experiment with different formats like blog posts, infographics, or videos. You can even use interactive content to keep your audience hooked. And remember, consistency is key. Keep publishing such high-quality content to keep your website fresh and relevant. This will help you attract both users and search engines!

Content SEO Checklist

• Focus on creating high-quality, original content that provides value.
• Ensure content length matches search intent (long-form for in-depth topics, short-form for quick answers).
• Keyword research is the key to organic traffic (Prefer long-tail keywords with low Keyword Density and High Volume).
• Avoid keyword stuffing.
• Use LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords to improve context.
• The page should contain primary and secondary keywords.
  • Incorporate the primary keyword in the first 100 words.
  • And sprinkle the secondary and long-tail keywords naturally within the rest of the content.
• Optimize content for search intent.
• Header Tags
  • Place heading tags in a hierarchical structure.
  • Include primary keywords in H1 and on one of the headings (H2, H3, H4, H5 or H6).
  • Don’t place header tags in the footer.
• Write readable, short paragraphs.
• Include a table of contents for long-form content.
• Highlight key takeaways.
• Add quotes wherever applicable.
• Formatting
  • Add bold text wherever applicable.
  • Underline text wherever applicable.
  • Keep important notes formatted differently.
  • List (ordered list or unordered list, or bullet points) as required.
  • Use user tables as needed for Pros and Cons, or for comparison or pricing, etc.
  • Provide audio descriptions for multimedia content.
• Use Grammarly or any other tool to perform a spell check.
• Embed
  • Related videos.
  • Use video transcripts as applicable.
  • Create custom images or infographics as needed.
  • Social media posts (X, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) as applicable.
  • Interactive forms, polls or voting or rating to increase user engagement as needed.
  • Scribe presentations, Google Forms, etc., as applicable.
• Create Rich Snippets (structured data or schema markup) as applicable.
• Optimize for featured snippets (use question-based headings and concise answers).
• Include a Call-to-Action button as applicable (Make sure to have the CTA button placed between and at the end of the content).
• Refresh old content with the latest updates and insights as applicable.
• Add FAQS at the end of articles to improve ranking opportunities.

Useful Content Optimization Tools

• Clearscope
• Frase
• Surfer SEO
• MarketMuse
• Jasper

4. Technical SEO

While content is king, you cannot ignore the robust technical foundation that keeps your website’s engine running. Remember, your website’s loading time and speed are crucial, too. These are some technical factors that can impact your users’ experience and, ultimately, your SEO.

You can use various website speed testing tools to determine how fast your website is. Structured data can provide search engines with additional information about your website content, potentially leading to richer search results.

Similarly, Structured data can provide search engines with additional information about your website content, potentially leading to richer search results.

Based on the results, you can make some technical changes to your website and deliver a smoother and uninterrupted user experience. You can find detailed information on it in my SEO checklist.

Technical SEO Checklist

• Ensure a fast-loading website (Use PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix).
• Implement mobile-first indexing (Check with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test).
• Use a secure HTTPS connection.
• Create and submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
• Ensure proper canonicalization to avoid duplicate content issues.
• Optimize crawlability by refining the robots.txt file.
• Implement breadcrumb navigation for better UX.
• Avoid excessive DOM depth (avoid multiple nested DIVs).
• Enable lazy loading for images, iframes and videos.
• Improve Core Web Vitals (Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, Cumulative Layout Shift).

Useful Technical SEO Tools

• Google Search Console
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Ahrefs Site Audit
• Semrush Site Audit
• DeepCrawl

5. Broken Links

Link building is the backbone of any SEO strategy. Why? Let me give you an example.

You are browsing online for some information, and you see a relevant link and click on it. But instead of getting you to the right page, you land on an error page. We’ve all been there more than once. And what’s the most common response in these times? Ditching the website, right?

That’s what your web visitors will do when they encounter the same problem. That’s where fixing broken links comes into play. You can use tools like Rank Math to check and fix your broken links. And it’s not an option. Reason?

Well, search engines feel that if you do not fix your broken links, you are ignoring a website. So, when the website owner is ignoring their website, why should a search engine index it at the top? In short, without fixing broken links, you go down in the search engine results and lose valuable traffic.

You can check out my SEO checklist for more detailed information on how to fix broken links. In that SEO checklist, I’ve added all the steps you can take to improve your linking.

Useful Broken Link Checker Tools

• Google Search Console
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider
• Ahrefs Broken Link Checker
• Dead Link Checker
• W3C Link Checker

6. Image Optimization

Images are powerful tools for enhancing user engagement and visual storytelling on your website. They grab attention quicker than written text. But oversized and unoptimized images can turn your website into a sluggish and super slow giant.

Trust me, you do not want that. No matter how amazing your graphics are, if they are not optimized properly, people won’t stop and spend minutes loading. They will just bounce off.

That’s the reason why I have included all the steps for image optimization in my SEO checklist. With proper image optimization, you can ensure your website loads quickly, even with high-resolution images.

This gives you a double benefit: you deliver an awesome user experience, and search engines push you higher on SERPs as your website’s waiting time is less.

So, make sure you check my SEO checklist for the right guidance. In this SEO checklist, I’ve covered some important factors like reducing image file size, using descriptive filenames, and implementing alt text descriptions (which describe the image for users who can’t see it and for search engines) that can impact your image SEO.

Image SEO Checklist

• Make sure file sizes are optimised, compressed and served from CDNs (Not greater than 70kb).
• Readable and descriptive file names.
• Define dimensions (width and height).
• Write descriptive Alt attributes.
• One custom-featured relevant image is a must per page.
• Captions (which describe the image).
• Try to serve images in WebP or optimized JPEGs.
• Give credit to the image owner as applicable.
• Fix broken images.

Useful Image Optimization Tools

• ShortPixel
• Imagify
• Optimole
• Smush
• EWWW Image Optimizer

7. Typography

Whatever fonts you pick, they matter! Your fonts play a vital role in how users interact with your content. If you are going for something too fancy, please don’t! Such fancy fonts are difficult to trade.

You are not participating in an art competition. I’ve mentioned in my SEO checklist what fonts would suit your website the best. You are here to share valuable information with minimal stress to the user.

Make your information extremely presentable and easily understandable. So, make sure you pick fonts that are clear, easy on the eyes, and readable. The best option would be to pick Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica.

They are clean and have high legibility, which makes the content readable. Take a look at the checklist for more details.

Typography SEO Checklist

• Use web-safe fonts (e.g., -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, “Apple Color Emoji”, “Segoe UI Emoji”, “Segoe UI Symbol”) for broad compatibility.
• Limit the number of fonts (2-3 max) to maintain a clean design.
• Use font-display: swap in CSS to prevent layout shifts during font loading.
• Optimize web fonts with WOFF2 format for better performance.
• Use viewport units (vw, vh, em, rem) instead of fixed pixels for better scaling.
• Choose a readable font size (16px+ for body text).
• Ensure proper line spacing (1.5x line height for body text).
• Use proper letter-spacing (tracking) for better readability.
• Use H1 for main headings, followed by H2-H6 in a logical hierarchy as sub-sections.
• Differentiate headings with size, weight, or color for a clear and visual hierarchical structure.
• Ensure fonts are responsive (scaling correctly on different devices).

Useful Typography Tools

• Google Fonts
• Typewolf
• Fontjoy
• Archetype
• WhatTheFont

8. Accessibility

Accessibility is all about making your website usable for everyone, regardless of ability. This includes users with visual impairments, hearing impairments, cognitive disabilities, and motor limitations.

You can use an All in One accessibility plugin from Skynet or any other plugin if you are using WordPress, WooCommerce, or Shopify website.

My SEO checklist contains details on what accessibility features you should have on your website to make it more relevant and useful for all. So check out my SEO checklist to make your website accessible to all. This aligns with SEO best practices and increases your users’ reach.

Overall, these are some basic steps you can take to ensure your SEO strategies stay relevant in the times of AI and Machine learning. Remember, this is just the beginning.

Once you start implementing suggestions from my SEO checklist, you will be getting closer to perfecting your website’s SEO. So do not forget to download this SEO checklist and improve your website’s ranking potential on search engines.

Accessibility SEO Checklist

• Ensure high contrast between text and background (use WebAIM’s Contrast Checker).
• Avoid light grey text on white backgrounds for better visibility.
• Ensure links are underlined or distinctly colored for visibility.
• Use colors strategically, but don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning.
• Provide alternative cues (icons, underlines) for color-blind users.
• Maintain enough space around clickable text like links or buttons (touch-friendly).
• Use Google Lighthouse to check readability and accessibility scores.
• Avoid auto-playing audio or video without user control.
• Ensure users can pause, stop, or adjust time limits on content interactions.
• Provide keyboard-friendly navigation (users should be able to tab through form fields).
• Ensure all content is accessible via keyboard (tab, enter, space keys).
• Provide visible focus indicators (e.g., outlines on focused elements).
• Ensure dropdowns, modals, and pop-ups can be closed using the keyboard.
• Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) landmarks where necessary.
• Ensure touch elements are large enough (minimum 44×44 pixels).
• Check the website against WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
• Use tools like WAVE, Lighthouse, AXE, or NVDA (screen reader) for testing..

Useful Accessibility Tools

• WAVE
• axe DevTools
• Siteimprove Accessibility Checker
• accessiBe
• EqualWeb

9. How to Optimize Your Content for AI?

AI is penetrating search engines, tool as AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) aims to improve website visibility. Today, search engines are using a plethora of AI models to process and rank content.

Some of the most popular AI models today are Google’s BERT, MUM, and RankBrain. These models are way ahead of the previous ones in terms of understanding.

They now understand the language context, user queries, and content relevance better. They are more like human brains (not exactly, though!) but faster. So, it’s critical that you optimize your content for AI if you want to rank higher on SERPs.

So, the first step is to focus on your content’s depth. You cannot create thin content anymore and expect it to rank. AI models prefer content that dives deeper into the topic. Do not spread across multiple topics in a single post.

Cover and elaborate on a single topic. Make sure you break down your content into multiple smaller and digestible parts with attractive subheadings. Do not forget to add bullet-point lists, tables, and data points. Such elements make your content easy to parse for search engines.

Result? Search engines label your content “helpful” and rank it higher.

Next comes natural language. Stick to it! Do not stuff your content with keywords. It doesn’t work anymore. Instead, you can add semantic keywords. For example, synonyms, related terms, or even semantic phrases work well.

Schema markup or structured data AI is another important part that makes your content easy to understand. So, make sure you add it to your content. Mark up FAQs, reviews, products, and articles wherever relevant.

Apart from this, your website has to be top-notch from the technical end. Make it feather-light, hyper-fast, and mobile responsive. Such technical elements help AI bots crawl and understand your content faster.

Now comes the most important part: regular updates of your content. If you craft a piece and forget it forever, it’s not going to give you good results. But over time, you’ll see your traffic on that content dropping. Reason? AI bots love fresh and juicy content.

So, make sure you update your content with stats and facts. The most important part? Stay relevant. Create content on the topics that are buzzing.

AI SEO Optimization Checklist

• Write content on a single topic per page. Do not combine unrelated topics or dilute the focus of your content.
• Use H1 for the main title, and structure content using H2, H3, and H4 as applicable for clear topic breakdown.
• Add semantic keywords (LSI terms, synonyms, related phrases) within subheadings and body text.
• Make sure each section of your content answers a specific user query or intent (e.g., FAQs, “What is…”, “How to…”). Group-related answers under the same heading.
• Use conversational language with clear and direct explanations.
• Include at least one list (ordered/unordered), one table (comparison, pros/cons, stats, etc.).
• Include bold/italic highlights for key data points or quotes or any takeaways.
• Implement schema markup where applicable (FAQ Page, How-To, Article, Review, Product). Use Google’s Rich Results Test to validate.
• Compress images and serve them via CDN. Implement lazy loading for media to improve crawl efficiency.
• Check mobile responsiveness and test loading speed using Google PageSpeed Insights. Aim for a 90+ score.
• Use “Last Updated” timestamps on long-form posts. Refresh stats and sources at least once per quarter.
• Track how Googlebot and other AI crawlers like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity interact with your content using Google Search Console crawl stats.
• Analyze which content gets cited by AI assistants using AI analytics tools and continuously update content to stay relevant to AI’s knowledge base.

Will SEO Die?

Trends have come and gone, but SEO has stood tall in all of these situations. When AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini were launched, there was skepticism that the age of SEO was nearing its end. But after almost 2 years, the truth is far from it. Instead of losing its popularity, SEO is gaining popularity.

In the age of AI and ML, people prefer organically found information, and that’s where SEO can come into play. SEO is crucial for driving organic traffic (visitors who find your website through search engines) to your website.

This organic traffic can translate into more conversions (leads or sales) and revenue growth. Additionally, SEO helps you align your marketing strategies with how customers discover and research products or services online.

And if you prefer numbers, here are some that back what I am saying:

• Search Engine Dominance: As of January 2024, Google holds over 91.62% of the global search engine market share. This means that a significant portion of your target audience is likely using Google to find information.
• The Power of Search: A staggering 86% of consumers say search engines are their preferred way to find information online. This underscores the importance of being visible in search results for relevant queries.
• Organic Traffic Matters: 67% of B2B buyers initiate their buying journey with a broad web search. By ranking well for relevant keywords, you can position your brand at the forefront of their research process.

In short, you will need to optimize your website to follow the latest trends. It’s the only way to stay relevant and be on the top. That’s the reason why I have compiled the entire SEO checklist for you. Download my SEO checklist now, and you will be all set to begin your SEO journey!

Wrapping Up

Look, when it comes to SEO, it’s a game of patience. There is no magic wand that will improve your SEO overnight. You will have to spend a lot of time and effort to build a strong SEO presence.

My SEO checklist will surely help you out and cut the time you would’ve wasted on trial and error. This SEO checklist is the result of all the trial and error that I’ve done while acing the SEO for this website and some others.

In short, this SEO checklist is the result of my extensive efforts. And I don’t want fellow SEO practitioners to undergo the same efforts. That’s why I am offering this SEO checklist for free.

Happy Ranking!

FAQs