Discovery call checklist

Before you open any SEO tool, make sure you have clear answers to these questions from the client.

• What is the primary service or product you want to rank for?
• Which geographic areas are you targeting?
• Who are your 2 or 3 main competitors?
• Have you done any SEO work before? If yes, who did it and when?
• Have you received any manual penalties or algorithmic drops?
• Do you have access to Google Search Console and Google Analytics? (If not, set these up immediately.)
• What does a conversion look like for you? Phone call, form submission, in-store visit?
• What is your monthly budget and minimum contract term?

Technical SEO audit

Run through each of these before touching any content. Technical issues will undermine everything else.

• Site is indexable (check robots.txt and noindex tags)
• HTTPS is live and all HTTP pages redirect correctly
• XML sitemap exists and is submitted to Google Search Console
• Core Web Vitals pass on mobile (use PageSpeed Insights)
• No broken internal links (crawl with Screaming Frog or Ahrefs)
• Duplicate content issues identified (www vs non-www, trailing slashes, pagination)
• Canonical tags are present and correct
• Structured data is present where relevant (LocalBusiness schema for local clients)
• 301 redirects are in place for any URL changes or deleted pages
• Images are compressed and have descriptive alt text
• No orphan pages (every page is accessible from internal links)
• Google Search Console has no manual actions or security issues

On-page audit

• Title tags are unique, under 60 characters, and include the primary keyword
• Meta descriptions are present, under 160 characters, and include a soft CTA
• Every page has exactly one H1 that matches search intent
• H2 and H3 headings are used to structure content logically
• Target keywords appear in the first 100 words of each key page
• Internal linking connects related pages and passes authority
• Contact details (name, address, phone) are consistent across the entire site
• Every key page has a clear call to action above the fold

Local SEO audit (for service businesses)

• Google Business Profile is claimed and fully completed
• Business name, address, and phone (NAP) match exactly on the site and Google Business Profile
• Google Business Profile has at least 10 reviews (flag if not and create a review strategy)
• Business is listed in the top 5 UK directories: Yell, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yelp, Thomson Local
• Location pages exist for each service area (if targeting multiple cities or towns)
• LocalBusiness schema markup is implemented with correct address and opening hours

Reporting setup

Before the first monthly report is due, make sure these are in place:

• Google Analytics 4 is installed and recording sessions correctly
• Conversion events are tracking (form submissions, phone click-to-calls, button clicks)
• Google Search Console is connected and verified
• Rank tracking is set up for 10 to 20 target keywords
• A baseline report is exported before you make any changes (so you can show improvement)

What to deliver in month one

Month one is about foundations, not quick wins. The client needs to understand this upfront. Here is what a strong first month looks like:

• A written audit report summarising everything you found, with severity ratings
• Technical fixes resolved or queued (depending on site access)
• On-page optimisations applied to the 5 most important pages
• Google Business Profile fully optimised
• A keyword map showing which pages target which keywords
• A 3-month content plan with topics and estimated impact
• A baseline monthly report with current positions, traffic, and conversions

Delivering all of this in the first 30 days builds trust and sets a high bar for the rest of the engagement. Clients who see a thorough month-one report rarely churn.