Best SEO Checklist
ONE FOCUSED ACTION

Ensure XML sitemap lists all canonical, indexable URLs and is regularly updated.

Crawl-budget optimization · Domain migration SEO · Ecommerce SEO · HTTPS migration SEO · SaaS SEO · Site architecture SEO · Website migration SEO

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    Why this matters

    Accurate sitemaps guide search engines to important pages, helping prioritize crawl budget effectively.

    A STARTING-POINT EXAMPLE

    Hypothetical standard operating procedure

    Adapt this example to your site, access, tools, and change process. It is our suggested procedure, informed by the sources below.

    1. Audit sitemap URLs for canonicalization and HTTP 200 status.
    2. Update sitemap daily or upon content changes for dynamic sites.
    3. Use sitemap index files if sitemap exceeds size limits.
    4. Submit sitemap in Google Search Console after changes.
    5. Remove URLs that are blocked or non-indexable from sitemap.

    Watch for

    Outdated or broken sitemap URLs mislead crawlers, wasting crawl budget and harming discovery.

    Definition of done

    Sitemap contains only canonical URLs that return 200, updated immediately after content changes.

    Sources & attribution

    1. Crawl Budget Optimization: A Technical Guide for SEO ↗
    2. Crawl Budget Optimization ↗
    3. Technical SEO Checklist for Modern Websites ↗
    4. Technical SEO Audit Checklist: What to Check First ↗
    5. Site Migration SEO: The Complete Checklist for 2026 ↗
    6. SEO migration checklist: before, during and after a site move ↗
    7. Domain Migration Checklist | ChecklistLab ↗
    8. SaaS SEO Checklist: Technical, On-Page, Content and Links ↗
    9. ecommerce-technical-seo-audit-checklist - Cartiful ↗

    Original checklist wording and example SOP by Best SEO Checklist, using source-grounded AI assistance. Editorial contact: Ted Kubaitis, @tedkubaitis on Teams. Check current source guidance before implementation.