Technical SEO

Pre-Launch SEO Checklist

Before a site goes live, verify the crawler's view rather than the browser's: content in server-rendered HTML, one H1, canonicals self-referencing, no staging noindex, and every old URL mapped.

Search specialist verifying that noindex headers are removed and sitemap XML files are accessible on staging — Confirm noindex removal, XML sitemap presence, analytics installation, and 301 redirection maps prior to launch.

In order

The single highest-value pass is fetching key templates as a crawler would and reading what comes back.
Content present in the HTML, a single H1, headings in order, structured data validating, and metadata unique per template. Everything here is cheap before launch and expensive after.
Check the directives that silently remove a site.
A staging noindex left in place, a robots rule blocking a directory, or a canonical pointing at the development domain will each take pages out of eligibility while the site looks perfect to a visitor.
Confirm URL continuity where a site is being replaced: every existing address either kept or redirected in one hop, no chains or loops, and the sitemap listing only canonical, indexable, live URLs.
Then measurement: analytics on every template, conversion events firing on the real form, and Search Console verified for the live property before launch rather than a week after, so the first days of data exist.

Covered in Technical SEOCorporate Websites

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Most Often Missed Before Launch?

A staging noindex directive, and conversion tracking that was verified on a test form but never on the live one. Both are silent: the site looks correct while being invisible or unmeasurable.

Should We Launch On A Friday?

Preferably not. The first forty-eight hours are when a fixable problem is cheapest to fix, and that is when the people who could fix it are least available.

What Does This Cover?

Before a site goes live, verify the crawler's view rather than the browser's: content in server-rendered HTML, one H1, canonicals self-referencing, no staging noindex, and every old URL mapped.

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Pre-Launch SEO Checklist

The single highest-value pass is fetching key templates as a crawler would and reading what comes back.

Check the directives that silently remove a site.

Confirm URL continuity where a site is being replaced: every existing address either kept or redirected in one hop, no chains or loops, and the sitemap listing only canonical, indexable, live URLs.

Then measurement: analytics on every template, conversion events firing on the real form, and Search Console verified for the live property before launch rather than a week after, so the first days of data exist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where this applies

Related Services

Read next

Apply this to your own situation

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Pre-Launch SEO Checklist

The single highest-value pass is fetching key templates as a crawler would and reading what comes back.

Check the directives that silently remove a site.

Confirm URL continuity where a site is being replaced: every existing address either kept or redirected in one hop, no chains or loops, and the sitemap listing only canonical, indexable, live URLs.

Then measurement: analytics on every template, conversion events firing on the real form, and Search Console verified for the live property before launch rather than a week after, so the first days of data exist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where this applies

Related Services

Read next

Apply this to your own situation