Ten questions to answer before beginning SEO

Updated in 2026: The original checklist contained useful questions but dated tactics. This version turns it into a readiness test for a real programme of work.

SEO is easy to misdirect when the audience, technical starting point and measurement are undefined. Answer these questions before buying tools or commissioning articles.

1. Who needs to find you?

Name the role, situation and problem. “Everyone interested in our category” is not specific enough to guide a page.

2. What useful outcome should search support?

Choose an enquiry, purchase, booking, signup, visit, support resolution or another observable form of progress. Rankings are evidence, not the outcome.

3. Can search engines access the important pages?

Check server responses, internal links, rendering, canonicals, sitemaps and indexing directives. Fix access before producing more URLs.

4. Does each page have a distinct job?

Some overlap is natural. The problem is multiple pages offering the same answer without a clear canonical source or reader purpose.

5. Can you contribute first-hand evidence or a genuinely useful synthesis?

Add measurements, examples, implementation detail, source material or experience readers can evaluate. Rephrasing the existing results is not a reason to publish.

6. What standard do the current results set?

Inspect their format, evidence, recency and reputation. Decide where you can be more useful rather than copying their headings.

7. How will you measure progress?

Define leading indicators and business outcomes. Record the baseline, attribution limits and reporting period.

8. Who owns implementation and maintenance?

Recommendations need writers, developers, subject experts and decision-makers. Name them before the audit becomes a backlog nobody can ship.

9. What timescale and alternatives can the business tolerate?

Search work often takes time to publish, crawl and earn trust. If the need is immediate, compare paid search, partnerships, sales activity and product changes rather than pretending one channel fits every deadline.

10. Can your provider explain the work?

Ask what will change, why it matters, who owns access and how failure will be recognised. Nobody can guarantee a ranking. Secrecy is not a method.

A weak answer does not always mean “do not start”. It tells you what the first phase must resolve.