SEO Optimization Checklist: 15 Steps to Rank Higher on Google
Publishing content without SEO is like winking in the dark, you know what you’re doing, but nobody else does. In a market as competitive as India, great content alone isn't enough to capture the attention of founders and CMOs. You need a systematic, algorithm-friendly approach to ensure your insights reach the right decision-makers.
At The Solid Corp, we don't guess. We use this exact 15-step SEO optimisation checklist for 2025 to audit, refine, and rank our digital assets.
Technical Foundation
Before you worry about keyword density, you must ensure the search engine can actually crawl and understand your site. Technical SEO is your digital infrastructure.
Sitemap.xml: Have you submitted your sitemap to Google Search Console? This acts as the architectural blueprint for search engine crawlers, ensuring no page is left behind.
Robots.txt: Are you accidentally blocking critical pages? A single disallow error can de-index your entire site. Check this before publishing.
SSL (HTTPS): Is your site secure? Google actively penalises non-secure sites, and modern browsers will flag them, destroying user trust instantly.
Page Speed: Aim for a score of 90+ on Core Web Vitals. In a mobile-heavy region, a site that takes longer than three seconds to load will lose up to 40% of its traffic.
Mobile-Friendliness: Pass the Google Mobile-Friendly test. With mobile-first indexing, your mobile site is your primary site in the eyes of the algorithm.
On-Page Optimisation
This phase is about helping Google understand the specific context and value of your page.
Title Tag: Front-load your primary keyword. Keep it under 60 characters so it doesn't truncate in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Meta Description: Write for clicks, not just for robots. Keep it under 160 characters and ensure it is CTA-driven to maximise your Click-Through Rate (CTR).
H1/H2 Hierarchy: Maintain a logical structure. Use only one H1 per page, followed by H2s and H3s to break down complex topics into scannable sections.
Internal Links: Include at least two contextual internal links to other relevant pages on your site. This distributes page authority and keeps users engaged longer.
Alt Text: Write descriptive, keyword-aware alt text for all images. This improves web accessibility and helps you rank in Google Image search.
AEO & Future-Proofing
Traditional SEO is evolving into Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO). You must optimise for LLMs and AI search summaries.
Schema Markup: Include valid JSON-LD schema (like Article or FAQPage). This translates your content into a language AI models and search engines understand natively.
Answer-First Formatting: Provide direct, concise answers immediately under your headings to target Featured Snippets and AI overviews.
Content Depth: For pillar pages, aim for 1,200+ words of comprehensive, insight-driven coverage. Thin content no longer survives algorithmic updates.
URL Structure: Keep slugs clean, short, and keyword-rich. Avoid dynamic parameters or dates that make the content look outdated.
Social Signals: Ensure Open Graph (OG) tags are configured correctly. When your post is shared on LinkedIn or WhatsApp, it needs to display a professional image and title.
The Checklist
Print these 15 steps out. Make them a mandatory part of your publishing workflow. Consistency is the true secret to compounding organic growth. Skipping even one of these technical, on-page, or AEO steps can be the difference between ranking on page one or disappearing into the digital void.
Need Help?
Feeling overwhelmed by Core Web Vitals and JSON-LD? You don't have to navigate the technicalities alone. Our SEO services can handle the heavy lifting, allowing you to focus on running your business while we build your organic growth engine.

