Content & Messaging

Your homepage talks about your customer's problem before talking about yourselfYour website has a clear call to action on every page (Book a Call, Get a Quote, etc.)You have at least one piece of helpful content (a blog post, guide, or FAQ page)

Conversion Basics

Your phone number is clickable on mobileYour contact form works and you've tested it yourselfYou have a clear next step for visitors (not just 'Contact Us', be specific)Your website builds trust: real photos, real name, real location

Local SEO

You have a Google Business Profile that's fully filled outYour primary category is what customers actually type, not what you call yourself (this is the single highest-leverage field on the profile)You have replied to every review, good and badIf customers do not visit your address, it is hidden and you have set service areas instead (Google requires this)Your business name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere onlineYou have at least 10 Google reviews, and you got at least one this month (recent reviews count for more than your lifetime total)Your website mentions the city/area you serve on your homepage and service pages

AI Search

You have asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for "best [your service] in [your town]" and know whether you get namedYour Google Business Profile is complete and accurate, which is what Google says helps you appear in AI answersSomeone or something answers your phone outside business hours (AI assistants send people to businesses that respond)You have at least one genuine mention on a third-party site: a chamber, a local news story, a real directoryYou are not paying anyone for llms.txt files, "AI schema", or content chunking (Google has said publicly that none of these are needed)

On Page SEO

Every page has a unique title tag (under 60 characters) that includes your main keywordEvery page has a meta description (under 160 characters) that makes people want to clickYour homepage headline clearly states what you do and who you helpYou use heading tags (H1, H2, H3) in a logical order on every pageYour images have descriptive alt text (not just 'image1.jpg')

Link Building & Authority

You're listed in relevant local directories (Yelp, BBB, industry specific sites)You are listed on directories that actually verify businesses before listing them (quality beats quantity, and mass directory submissions can hurt)You've earned at least one backlink from a local organization, partner, or news siteYou're not buying links or using shady link schemes (these will hurt you)

Technical Foundation

Your website loads in under 3 seconds on mobileYour site is mobile friendly (test at Google's Mobile Friendly Test)You have an SSL certificate installed (your URL starts with https://)Your site has no broken links or 404 errors

Tracking & Analytics

You have Google Analytics installed and collecting dataYou have Google Search Console set up and verifiedYou know which pages on your site get the most trafficYou check your analytics at least once a month to see what's working

Need help checking these off?

If your website is missing more than a few of these, don't worry. That's exactly what I help with. Book a free call and I'll walk through your site together with you.

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Your AI-Era SEO Checklist