# SEO Detailed Checklist

## Page-Level SEO

### Meta Tags
- [ ] `<title>` - Unique, 50-60 characters, includes primary keyword
- [ ] `<meta name="description">` - Compelling, 150-160 characters, includes CTA
- [ ] `<meta name="robots">` - Appropriate index/follow directives
- [ ] `<link rel="canonical">` - Self-referencing or pointing to primary URL
- [ ] `<html lang="xx">` - Correct language attribute

### Heading Structure
- [ ] Single `<h1>` per page with primary keyword
- [ ] Logical hierarchy: h1 > h2 > h3 (no skipping levels)
- [ ] Keywords in headings (natural, not stuffed)
- [ ] Headings describe content below them

### Content
- [ ] Primary keyword in first 100 words
- [ ] Internal links to related pages
- [ ] External links to authoritative sources (where relevant)
- [ ] Content answers user intent (informational, transactional, navigational)

### Images
- [ ] Descriptive `alt` text on all images
- [ ] Compressed and properly sized
- [ ] Lazy loading for below-fold images
- [ ] WebP format with fallbacks

### URLs
- [ ] Clean, readable URLs (no query strings for content pages)
- [ ] Keywords in URL path
- [ ] Lowercase, hyphens for spaces

## Site-Level SEO

### Technical
- [ ] `robots.txt` - Properly configured, not blocking important resources
- [ ] `sitemap.xml` - Up to date, submitted to Search Console
- [ ] HTTPS everywhere (no mixed content)
- [ ] Mobile-friendly (responsive design)
- [ ] Core Web Vitals passing (LCP, FID, CLS)

### Structure
- [ ] Breadcrumb navigation
- [ ] Clear internal linking structure
- [ ] 404 page with navigation options
- [ ] No orphan pages (all pages linked from somewhere)

### International (if applicable)
- [ ] `hreflang` tags for language/region variants
- [ ] Country/language-specific sitemaps
