A technical SEO checklist for small business websites

This is the checklist I run when I first look at a business website, before touching content or ads. It is grouped by the question each section answers. You don't need to read code for most of it: Google Search Console and a browser are enough.

Can Google find and index your pages?

Nothing else matters if Google can't index the page. This is where I find the most serious problems, usually left over from development or a plugin setting.

• Google Search Console is set up and verified for your domain.
• An XML sitemap exists and is submitted in Search Console. Google says small, well-linked sites of around 500 pages or fewer may not strictly need one, but it costs nothing and helps you monitor indexing.
• robots.txt doesn't block pages you want in search.
• Important pages don't have a "noindex" tag left over from development.
• Search Console's indexing report shows your key pages as indexed.

One common confusion: robots.txt controls crawling, not indexing. Google's documentation is clear that it is not a way to keep a page out of search results. If you want a page hidden, use a noindex tag or password protection instead.

Is the site secure and consistent?

Google should see one clean version of each page. Duplicates split signals and confuse reports.

• HTTPS everywhere, with HTTP redirecting to HTTPS.
• One version of the domain: with or without www, not both.
• Canonical tags on pages that could appear under more than one URL.
• Old URLs redirect (301) to their new equivalents after a redesign. Google recommends permanent server-side redirects when a page moves.

Does it work well on phones?

Google uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking, which it calls mobile-first indexing. If something is missing on mobile, such as a section hidden to save space, Google may not count it. In Dubai, most of your visitors are likely on phones anyway.

• Text is readable without zooming, and buttons are easy to tap.
• The mobile version has the same important content as the desktop version.
• Pages meet Core Web Vitals targets. See Core Web Vitals explained.
• Images are compressed and sized for mobile.

Is the content understandable?

• Each page has a unique, descriptive title and meta description. Google advises against vague titles like "Home".
• One main heading (H1) per page that says what the page is about.
• Structured data for your business and key content. See LocalBusiness schema.
• Internal links connect related pages.
• Important text is real text, not baked into images.

Can AI tools read it?

• Your robots.txt and any firewall or bot settings don't block crawlers you want, such as search engines and AI assistants. See AI search visibility.
• Optional: an llms.txt file that summarises your site. See what llms.txt is.

How I run a quick check

1. Open Search Console and look at the Pages report: which pages are indexed and why others aren't.
2. Search Google for site:yourdomain.com to see roughly what is indexed and how titles appear.
3. Open your-domain/robots.txt in a browser and read it. It is usually only a few lines.
4. Load the http and www versions of your homepage and confirm they redirect to one address.
5. Run your three most important pages through PageSpeed Insights on mobile.
6. Use the URL Inspection tool on any page that matters but isn't showing up.

Before and after a redesign

If you are planning a new site, I build these checks into every website project in Dubai, so launch day doesn't undo years of rankings.

Questions people ask