Learn the ins and outs of SEO essentials with a real-world checklist for launching websites. Discover the significance of crafting effective SEO titles and meta descriptions to improve visibility. Uncover the challenges and guidelines for optimizing OpenGraph images to enhance branding on social media. Explore the balance between page performance and SEO priorities, and the impact of redirects on site structure. Delve into the necessity of HTTPS for boosting search engine visibility and maintaining a secure online presence.
A comprehensive SEO checklist ensures essential elements like SEO titles, meta descriptions, and OG images are systematically addressed before website launch.
Open Graph images enhance social media sharing, and using the correct dimensions significantly improves link visibility across various platforms.
A robust content strategy with well-structured articles aligned to user queries is essential for boosting organic traffic and SEO performance.
Deep dives
Importance of an SEO Checklist
An effective SEO checklist is crucial for ensuring that all essential aspects of SEO are covered before launching a website. This checklist includes technical SEO components, such as the SEO title, description, and Open Graph (OG) images, which must be systematically addressed. Many website owners often overlook these elements, especially on secondary pages like the About page, leading to inconsistent presentation and potential loss of traffic. The speaker emphasizes that having a thorough and repeatable process can help maintain professionalism across the site and prevent future issues as the site scales.
Basic SEO Elements to Address
The core components of SEO include the SEO title, meta description, and OG image, each of which serves a specific purpose in attracting users and enhancing visibility on search engines. An SEO title should ideally contain 50 to 60 characters, while the meta description should be concise, with a recommended length of 150 to 160 characters. The speaker suggests that these elements are often overlooked, leading to incomplete setups that can harm a site's search engine performance. By enforcing strict character limitations and ensuring these fields are filled out correctly, websites can present a more professional image and improve their click-through rates.
Best Practices for OG Images
Open Graph images are essential for improving how links appear when shared on social media platforms, and setting the correct dimensions is crucial for optimal display. The recommended dimensions are 1200 pixels by 630 pixels, although various platforms may have different requirements. By consistently using high-quality OG images that are appropriately compressed, website owners can enhance the sharing experience and prevent unnecessary storage use. Additionally, the speaker suggests being mindful of the platforms where the content will be shared, adjusting image specifications as needed to ensure a polished presentation.
Content Strategy for Effective SEO
A robust content strategy that focuses on producing high-quality, relevant articles is vital for improving a website's SEO performance. Ensuring that content is well-structured, follows the correct heading hierarchy, and answers common user queries can significantly enhance visibility in search results. The speaker advises breaking down content goals into manageable phases to avoid overwhelming clients and to facilitate a steady growth strategy. By utilizing tools like Google’s autocomplete as a guide, website owners can align their content with user interests, making them more likely to attract organic traffic.
Technical Considerations for SEO
Technical aspects of SEO, such as proper link structure, redirects, and site performance, play a pivotal role in a website's overall search engine ranking. The speaker highlights the importance of maintaining URL consistency, especially when replacing old sites, to preserve link equity and prevent drops in traffic. Performance issues, like excessive page load times due to unoptimized images or large files, can adversely affect user experience and subsequently, SEO. Lastly, implementing appropriate redirects, particularly 301 redirects for permanently moved pages, is crucial to ensure that search engines correctly index and transfer equity to the new content.
In this episode, Matt walks through his real-world SEO checklist for launching new websites—based on the process he followed while preparing a recent client site for launch. He covers everything from SEO titles, meta descriptions, and OG images to page performance, link structure, and content considerations. Along the way, Mike shares some of his own experiences, tools, and hard-earned lessons—like why automatic OG image generation can be a pain and how redirects can impact link equity. Whether you're prepping a site for launch or just want to tighten up your SEO workflow, this episode is packed with practical, real-world advice.
