Technical SEO Checklist for New Domains

Technical SEO creates the foundation for search visibility. Without proper technical setup, even excellent content struggles to rank. New domains face additional challenges—no existing authority, no established crawl patterns, and no trust signals. This checklist covers essential technical SEO tasks for new sites, organized by priority to help you address the most critical items first.

I. Critical First-Week Tasks

Complete these tasks before publishing substantial content. Errors here can prevent indexing entirely.

A. Check Indexability

• Robots.txt: Access yoursite.com/robots.txt. Verify it does not contain "Disallow: /" which blocks all crawling.
• Meta robots: Check page source for <meta name="robots" content="noindex">. Remove if present.
• WordPress setting: Settings > Reading > Search Engine Visibility must be unchecked for indexing.
• X-Robots-Tag header: Check response headers for noindex directives that could block indexing.

B. Google Search Console Setup

• Add property: Add your domain to Google Search Console. Use domain property type for broader coverage.
• Verify ownership: Complete DNS or HTML file verification.
• Submit sitemap: Submit your XML sitemap URL (usually /sitemap_index.xml or /sitemap.xml).
• Request indexing: Use URL Inspection tool to request indexing for your homepage and key pages.

C. HTTPS Verification

• SSL certificate: Verify certificate is installed and valid. Free certificates from Let's Encrypt work fine.
• Redirect HTTP to HTTPS: All HTTP requests should 301 redirect to HTTPS equivalents.
• Mixed content: Check for HTTP resources loaded on HTTPS pages. Browser console shows these warnings.
• Internal links: Update any internal links pointing to HTTP versions.

II. Site Structure and Navigation

A. URL Structure

• Consistent format: Choose either www or non-www and redirect the other. Set preferred in Search Console.
• Trailing slashes: Be consistent with trailing slashes. Redirect inconsistent variations.
• Readable URLs: URLs should be human-readable (post-title-here not ?p=123).
• Hierarchy in URLs: URL structure should reflect content hierarchy (/category/post-title/).

B. Navigation and Crawlability

• Crawlable links: Navigation links must be standard anchor tags, not JavaScript-only.
• Click depth: Important pages should be reachable within 3 clicks from homepage.
• Breadcrumbs: Implement breadcrumb navigation for clear hierarchy indication.
• Site search: Ensure internal search results pages are noindexed to prevent thin content indexing.

III. On-Page Technical Elements

A. Title Tags

• Unique per page: Every page must have a unique title tag.
• Length: Keep under 60 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
• Keyword position: Include primary keyword, preferably early in the title.
• Format: "Page Title - Site Name" is a common effective format.

B. Meta Descriptions

• Unique per page: No duplicate meta descriptions across pages.
• Length: 150-155 characters to avoid truncation.
• Compelling copy: Include value proposition and target keyword.

C. Heading Structure

• Single H1: Each page should have exactly one H1 tag containing the main topic.
• Logical hierarchy: Use H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections. Do not skip levels.
• Keyword inclusion: Include relevant keywords naturally in headings.

D. Image Optimization

• Alt text: Every image must have descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO.
• File names: Use descriptive filenames (wordpress-dashboard.webp not IMG_3847.jpg).
• Dimensions: Set width and height attributes to prevent layout shifts.
• Compression: Optimize file sizes without sacrificing necessary quality.

IV. Sitemaps and Robots.txt

A. XML Sitemap

• Generate automatically: Use SEO plugins to generate and update sitemaps.
• Include all indexable pages: Posts, pages, categories, and custom post types as appropriate.
• Exclude non-indexable pages: Admin, login, search results, and noindexed pages should not appear.
• Update frequency: Sitemap should update when content is published or changed.

B. Robots.txt Configuration

• Sitemap reference: Include sitemap URL in robots.txt for discoverability.
• Block admin areas: Disallow /wp-admin/ while allowing /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php.
• Avoid over-blocking: Common mistake is blocking too much. When in doubt, allow crawling.
• Test in Search Console: Use robots.txt tester to verify rules work as intended.

V. Mobile and Performance

A. Mobile-Friendliness

• Responsive design: Site must adapt to all screen sizes. Test on actual mobile devices.
• Viewport meta tag: Include <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">.
• Touch targets: Buttons and links should be large enough to tap accurately.
• No horizontal scrolling: Content should fit within the viewport width.

B. Core Web Vitals

• LCP under 2.5s: Largest Contentful Paint should be fast. Optimize hero images.
• CLS under 0.1: Cumulative Layout Shift should be minimal. Set image dimensions.
• INP under 200ms: Interaction to Next Paint requires optimized JavaScript.

C. Page Speed

• Enable caching: Implement browser caching and page caching.
• Minimize resources: Combine and minify CSS/JavaScript where possible.
• Optimize images: Compress images and use modern formats like WebP.

VI. Structured Data

• Organization markup: Add Organization schema to establish brand identity.
• Article markup: Add Article schema to blog posts and tutorials.
• Breadcrumb markup: Add BreadcrumbList schema matching visible breadcrumbs.
• Validation: Test markup with Google's Rich Results Test tool.

VII. Post-Launch Monitoring Checklist

• Week 1: Verify pages are being indexed via Search Console Index Coverage report.
• Week 2: Check for crawl errors in Search Console. Fix any 404s or server errors.
• Week 3: Review Core Web Vitals report. Address any failing pages.
• Month 1: Check Search Console Performance report for impressions. Verify pages are appearing in searches.
• Ongoing: Monitor for indexing issues, crawl errors, and new Search Console notifications.

VIII. Conclusion

Technical SEO for new domains requires attention to fundamentals before worrying about advanced tactics. Verify search engines can access and index your content. Configure proper URL structures and navigation. Implement on-page elements correctly. Set up sitemaps and Search Console. Ensure mobile-friendliness and acceptable page speeds. These foundational elements create the conditions necessary for content to compete in search results. Skip any of these steps, and you may find excellent content underperforming simply because search engines cannot properly crawl, understand, or rank it.

Which technical SEO item was most surprising on this checklist? Share in the comments!