SEO February 8, 2026

The Ultimate SEO Checklist for New Websites in 2026

30 checks to finish before a new website goes live, and nearly all of them cost £0 using free Google and Bing tools: 9 technical, 8 on-page, 5 content, 4 local and 4 tracking. Get the technical ones wrong and nothing else on the list gets a chance to work.

hirethecreatives Last updated October 2026

Launching a website without SEO is like opening a shop with no sign on the door. Here’s the complete checklist we follow when setting up SEO on every site we build.

Which SEO checks matter most at launch?

4 of them, because each one can stop a new site being found at all: HTTPS working on every page, robots.txt not blocking anything you want indexed, the XML sitemap submitted in Google Search Console and in Bing Webmaster Tools, and no stray noindex tag left over from the build. Everything else on this list improves how well you rank; those four decide whether you appear.

What are good Core Web Vitals scores in 2026?

2.5 seconds or less for Largest Contentful Paint, 200 milliseconds or less for Interaction to Next Paint, and 0.1 or less for Cumulative Layout Shift. Google wants each one met on at least 75% of visits, on mobile and desktop separately. An INP above 500 milliseconds counts as poor. Source: web.dev. Our INP guide covers the one most sites fail.

Technical Foundation

✅ SSL certificate installed (HTTPS)
✅ XML sitemap generated and submitted to Google Search Console
✅ robots.txt file configured correctly
✅ Clean permalink structure (yoursite.com/page-name, not ?p=123)
✅ Mobile-responsive design (test on a real phone and with Lighthouse in Chrome)
✅ Page load speed under 3 seconds (check with PageSpeed Insights)
✅ Core Web Vitals passing (LCP 2.5s or less, INP 200ms or less, CLS 0.1 or less)
✅ 404 page set up with navigation back to the site
✅ Canonical URLs configured to prevent duplicate content

On-Page SEO

✅ Unique title tag for every page (under 60 characters, includes primary keyword)
✅ Meta description for every page (under 155 characters, compelling and relevant)
✅ One H1 tag per page containing the primary keyword
✅ Logical heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3)
✅ Internal links between related pages
✅ Image alt text describing every image
✅ Images compressed and served in WebP format
✅ Schema markup (Organisation, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList)

Content Strategy

✅ Each page targets a specific keyword or keyword cluster
✅ Content answers real questions your customers are asking
✅ At least 500 words per core service/product page
✅ Blog plan targeting long-tail keywords your competitors aren’t covering
✅ Fresh content published at least twice per month

Local SEO (For UK Businesses)

✅ Google Business Profile set up and verified
✅ NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistent across all directories
✅ Local keywords in page titles and content (e.g., “web developer in London”)
✅ Listed on Yell, Bing Places, Apple Maps, and relevant industry directories

Tracking & Analytics

✅ Google Analytics 4 installed
✅ Google Search Console verified
✅ Conversion tracking set up (form submissions, purchases, calls)
✅ Monthly reporting schedule established

This is the process we follow for every site we build. Every Hire The Creatives package includes the SEO setup at no extra cost: Starter covers the basics and analytics, Business adds advanced SEO and speed work, and Premium includes a full SEO strategy. See the packages and prices.

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Frequently asked questions

What are good Core Web Vitals scores?

2.5 seconds or less for Largest Contentful Paint, 200 milliseconds or less for Interaction to Next Paint and 0.1 or less for Cumulative Layout Shift, met on at least 75% of visits. Those are Google's published "good" thresholds on web.dev.

Do I need to submit my sitemap to Google?

Yes, through Google Search Console, and to Bing through Bing Webmaster Tools. Search engines can find pages without one, but submitting it gets a new site's pages discovered sooner and shows you which ones were left out.

Does a new website need schema markup?

Yes. At minimum, Organization or LocalBusiness and BreadcrumbList, so search engines and AI answer engines can read who you are and how the site fits together. It does not guarantee rich results, but without it you are not eligible for most of them.

How many words should a service page have?

500 words is our working minimum for a core service page, enough to answer the questions a buyer actually has. It is a rule of thumb, not a Google requirement: a page that answers the question in fewer words is better than one padded to hit a count.

Is SEO included when you build a website?

Yes. Every package includes the SEO setup: Starter covers the basics and analytics, Business adds advanced SEO and speed work, and Premium a full SEO strategy. Ongoing SEO starts at £299 a month, cancel any time.