SEO checklist for a small business website: 12 fixes, in order of impact
· 4 min read · MAALI team
Most small business websites don't need advanced SEO. They need the basics done properly, then useful content added steadily. This checklist works for any kind of business, on any platform: WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Shopify or a custom site.
It's in rough order of impact. Do the first five this week.
1. Say clearly what you do, on the homepage
Search engines and people both need to understand, within a few seconds, what you offer, who it's for, and where (if it's local). A homepage that only says "Welcome" or "Building the future" gives Google nothing to work with.
Check: read your homepage's first screen out loud. Would a stranger know what you sell?
2. Give every important page a unique title and meta description
The title is the headline in search results; the description is the text under it. Each page needs its own, written for that page. See our guide to title tags and meta descriptions.
Check: our free meta tag checker shows any page's title and description.
3. One clear main heading (H1) per page
The H1 tells readers and search engines what the page is about. Many themes accidentally use the logo or a slogan as the H1, or have none.
4. Make sure Google can find and index your pages
- Have a sitemap (most platforms create one at
/sitemap.xml) and submit it in Google Search Console. - Check your robots.txt isn't blocking your site. A leftover
Disallow: /from a staging site is more common than you'd think. Our guide to robots.txt explains it. - In Search Console, look at the Pages report for pages that aren't indexed, and why.
5. One page per service or product
If you offer five services, give each its own page with its own title, a real description, prices if you can share them, and a way to get in touch. A single "Services" page listing everything in bullets can't rank for any of them.
6. Write enough to answer the question
Pages with a couple of sentences rarely rank. You don't need 2,000 words, but a service or feature page should explain who it's for, how it works, what it costs or how pricing works, and the questions customers usually ask. A useful page is often 300–800 words.
7. Describe your images
Add alt text to meaningful images: a short description of what's in the picture. It helps people using screen readers and helps images appear in image search. Decorative images can have empty alt text.
8. Fast enough on a phone
Most visits are on phones. Compress large images, avoid huge sliders and autoplay videos, and remove apps or plugins you no longer use. Google's PageSpeed Insights shows what slows a page down; fix the biggest items, not every warning.
9. Share tags and a share image
Set an Open Graph image and title so links to your site look good on LinkedIn, Facebook and messaging apps. Most SEO plugins and site builders have a setting for a default share image.
10. Link your own pages to each other
Link from your homepage to your main services or products, from articles to the relevant service or product, and between related pages. Internal links help search engines find pages and understand which ones matter most.
11. Publish useful articles, regularly
A blog that answers the questions your customers ask before they buy brings in visitors who are already interested. Aim for steady, not frequent: two good articles a month beats ten thin ones. Our guides on comparison pages and local business SEO have ideas for software and local businesses.
12. Measure, then repeat
Connect Google Search Console and Google Analytics and look once a month at:
- which searches you appear for, and which pages get clicks,
- pages that appear often but are rarely clicked (rewrite their titles and descriptions),
- searches where you rank on page two (positions 8–20), which often need just a better page to move up.
Extras by type of business
- Local businesses: a complete Google Business Profile, consistent name, address and phone number everywhere, and reviews. See our local business SEO guide.
- Software and SaaS: feature pages for each use case, honest comparison pages, and documentation that's public.
- Online stores: real product descriptions and collection intros. See our Shopify SEO checklist.
Do it in one go
Working through this by hand takes a few hours. MAALI's free SEO check reads your homepage and a sample of pages from your sitemap, scores your site, and lists exactly what to fix first. If you connect Google Search Console, MAALI's article ideas start from the searches you already appear for.
Keep reading
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