You’ve already paid for a website that looks pretty good. But there’s a question that keeps popping into your head: “Is this site SEO-compliant? Or is it just nice to look at, and Google doesn’t bother to look at?” If you’ve ever wondered that, this post is for you.
I’m Duan, 9 years in SEO and 10+ years in digital marketing. I’ve done a lot of “checkups” for websites, and one common truth is that most small business websites have basic SEO mistakes that business owners don’t know about — because no one shows them. This article is a 20-point checklist, written in an easy-to-understand language, so that you can check your website today without being a technical person.
You don’t need to please all 20 points right away. Consider this as a scoreboard: mark which website you have reached, which is missing. The more ticks, the stronger your SEO foundation.
Group 1: Technical foundation
- 1. Website loads fast. Page loads slower than a few seconds and visitors leave, and Google doesn’t give priority. Try opening your website on a 4G phone — if you’re impatient, so are your visitors.
- 2. Good display on phone (mobile-friendly). Most of today’s customers search by phone. On mobile web, is the text easy to read, the buttons are easy to touch, is it possible to read in enlargement?
- 3. Have an HTTPS security certificate. The web address starts with “https://” and has a lock icon. Lacking it, the browser warns “not safe” and the panicked guest leaves immediately.
- 4. Google has indexed your website. Type “site:tenmiencuaban.com” into Google. If you don’t see any pages, Google hasn’t “seen” you yet — this is a serious error.
- 5. Have sitemap and robots.txt file. This is a “map” that helps Google read your website fast and correct. Hear technical but your web maker handles it easily.
- 6. No broken link error (404). Visitors clicking on a link and encountering a “non-existent” page are a bad experience. Periodically check to clean up broken links.
Group 2: Content and keywords
- 7. Each page targets a clear topic/keyword. A page that tries to embrace ten things doesn’t understand what it’s about. Each page should have a focus.
- 8. Contents that answer the right questions customers are looking for. Think about what your customers type into Google when they need your product/service, and make sure your website has content that answers that question.
- 9. Contents must be sufficient in depth and not superficial. A page with only a few rough lines is hard to compete with. Content that is thoroughly explained, useful will be more appreciated by Google and readers.
- 10. Have a clear heading. Big headlines, subheadings help both readers and Google understand the structure of the article. Do not let the whole page is a block of text without breaks.
- 11. Contents are updated, not “screened”. A website that has regular new content shows that the business is alive and well. An updated blog or news site is a good sign.
- 12. Do not copy content from other places. Copying content from competitors or suppliers makes Google underestimate. Content written by yourself, with its own perspective, is always more valuable.
Group 3: On-page optimization
- 13. Each page has an attractive title tag. This is the blue text that appears on the Google results. It should be clear, contain keywords and be appealing enough for people to want to click on.
- 14. There is a short description for each page. Small description under title on Google. Good writing will increase the percentage of people clicking on, although it does not directly determine the ranking.
- 15. Short, easy-to-read URL. URLs like “tenmien.com/dich-vu-thiet-ke-web” are much better than a meaningless, cluttered string of characters.
- 16. Image is optimized. Photos should be lightly compressed for fast loading, and have an inscription (alt text) so Google “understands” what the photo is about. Heavy photos are a common culprit for slowing down the web.
- 17. There are internal links between pages. The pages on the website should lead back and forth linked together in a reasonable way. This helps guests stay longer and helps Google understand the website structure.
Group 4: Experience and Trust (Trust & UX)
- 18. Clear and easy – to – find contact information. Phone number, address, business information clearly displayed to create trust for both customers and Google. Website “anonymous” hard to be trusted.
- 19. Have a clear call to action (CTA). Customers come in and have to know what the next step is: call, leave information, order. SEO pulls customers back, but CTAs turn customers into applications.
- 20. Clean interface, easy to navigate. Guests find what they need in a few clicks. A confusing website makes guests leave, and this “quick walk away” signal also affects Google’s ratings.
How many points did you get?
Count the number of items you can mark:
- 16–20 points: Your website has a fairly solid SEO foundation. The rest is mainly to maintain content and deeper optimization.
- 10–15 points: The platform is fine but there are plenty of holes. Patching these holes can make a big difference in how many visitors come to the site.
- Under 10 points: Your website is likely “invisible” to Google. This is not bad news — it means you have a lot of untapped potential.
One important thing I want to emphasize: many of the errors in this checklist stem from the way the website was built from the beginning. If the technical foundation is wrong — slow web, not mobile optimization, messy structure — no matter how much effort you put into writing content later, you still build a house on the sand. That’s why good SEO must start from understanding the nature of SEO right from the stage of building websites.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’m not technically proficient, how do I check all 20 points on my own?
Many points in the checklist you completely check with the naked eye: open the web with your phone, see if there is an HTTPS lock, contact information is clear. A few more technical points, your web maker or SEO can check in a few minutes. You do not need to know the code to know what your website is missing.
Is my website ready to test?
Very necessary, and the sooner the better. Many new websites look good but are built non-standard SEO from the root. Early detection is cheap and easy to fix; letting the website run for a long time before fixing is much more expensive and complicated.
What if my website is missing too many points?
Don’t panic. Lack of much means great potential for improvement. You have two options: renovate the current website step by step, or if the foundation is too weak, rebuilding a website built SEO standards in the first place will save more in the long term. Which option is appropriate depending on the specific condition of your website.
End of story
A beautiful website without SEO standards is like a store that is gorgeously decorated but placed in an alley that no one goes through. Checklist 20 points help you know if your store is located on the street or in a dead end — and more importantly, know where to fix it from.
If after self-scoring, you realize your website is missing too many points and the technical foundation is problematic, sometimes the best solution is to start over properly. A website is SEO standard design from the beginning on WordPress platform This will save you from having to patch things up later, and lay the groundwork for any further marketing efforts. Consider your website not a decoration expense, but the first and most important customer acquisition engine of your business.
