This SEO checklist takes an Australian website through nine stages in the order they depend on each other: measurement, technical access, keyword mapping, page-level tuning, helpful content, earned links, the Google Business Profile, Google's AI answers and citation inside the AI chats Australians ask. Google handled 87.9% of Australian search in September 2026 and Bing 9.17%, so the checklist confirms every stage in both engines' own tools, applies the ACCC's rules on online reviews and the Privacy Act where they touch SEO, and ends with the checklist tips Google's documentation now contradicts.
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How Does This SEO Checklist Work?
Each of the nine stages unlocks the next: Google has to reach and index an Australian page before a sharper title helps it, and only indexed pages appear as sources in Google's AI answers. On a new site, run every stage top to bottom. On an established site, run the first two stages across the whole domain, then take stages three to nine one page at a time, starting with the service and location pages that produce enquiries. Google's Search Essentials define the minimum: Googlebot reaches the page, the server answers with a working page, and the page holds content Google indexes. Google is explicit that passing that minimum guarantees no crawl, index or ranking, so the later stages are where an Australian site earns its position.
| Stage | Scope for an Australian site | Confirm it in | Finished when | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Setup | Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Google Analytics 4 | Search Console | Both search tools verified and reporting | Keyword rankings |
| 2. Technical | Crawl access, index status, sitemaps, HTTPS, mobile, speed | URL Inspection | Key pages indexed with no crawl errors | Technical SEO |
| 3. Keywords | Australian search terms, intent and one page per topic | Keyword tool set to Australia | Each key page owns a separate topic | Keyword research |
| 4. On-page | Titles, descriptions, headings, URLs, images, internal links | Page source and Search Console | Every page explains itself plainly | On-page SEO audit |
| 5. Content | Original, sourced pages with a named author | Google's self-assessment questions | Each page fully answers its query | Content marketing, SEO copywriting |
| 6. Links | Earned links from relevant Australian and industry sites | Backlink tool | New links come from real, relevant sites | Off-page SEO, Link building outreach |
| 7. Local | Google Business Profile and genuine reviews | Business Profile Manager | Every location matches its shopfront | Local SEO |
| 8. AEO | AI Overviews, AI Mode and featured snippets in Australia | Live results searched from Australia | Key pages indexed and snippet-eligible | AEO guide, Featured snippets |
| 9. GEO | Citation in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity | robots.txt and a monthly prompt log | Search crawlers open and core facts aligned | GEO guide |
The nine stages, ordered by dependency, for an Australian website.
Sources: Google Search Central, December 2025 and others
How do you use this as an SEO audit checklist?
Mark each check passed, failed or not applicable against the live site, then repair failures in stage order, because a stage-two failure undoes everything after it. "SEO audit checklist" draws around 150 Australian searches a month, more than "seo checklist" itself, because most people reach for a checklist when something has gone wrong. Aemorph's free Money on the Table audit turns the gap into a single revenue figure, and the on-page SEO audit guide covers stage four page by page.
How Australian Search Shapes This Checklist
Australia splits its devices almost evenly and gives Bing more weight than the world average, so an Australian checklist tests every page on phone and desktop and confirms indexing in Bing as well as Google. StatCounter recorded 48.57% of Australian web traffic on mobile and 48.48% on desktop in September 2026. Bing's 9.17% Australian share sits well above its 5.29% worldwide share, which makes Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow a standard step rather than an extra.
| Measure | Figure | What it changes in the checklist | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google's share of Australian search | 87.9% | Search Console stays the main confirmation tool | September 2026 | StatCounter Global Stats |
| Bing's share of Australian search | 9.17% | Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow join stage one | September 2026 | StatCounter Global Stats |
| Mobile share of Australian web traffic | 48.57% | Mobile checks carry equal weight with desktop | September 2026 | StatCounter Global Stats |
| Desktop share of Australian web traffic | 48.48% | Desktop layouts still serve half of visits | September 2026 | StatCounter Global Stats |
| Monthly searches for "seo audit checklist" | 150 | The audit use of the checklist leads | October 2026 | Ahrefs Keywords Explorer |
Australian figures that set the weight of each stage.
Sources: StatCounter, September 2026 and others
Setup Checklist: Search Console, Bing and Analytics
Install measurement before changing anything: Google Analytics 4 records events only from the day its tag goes in, while Search Console collects data for a property from the moment anyone adds it, so check for an existing property before assuming no history exists. Search Console shows what Google crawled, indexed and displayed; Bing Webmaster Tools does the same for Bing; Google Analytics 4 records what visitors did on arrival. Universal Analytics is gone: Google Analytics 4 replaced it, and Universal Analytics data stopped being accessible from the week of 1 July 2024. Analytics and enquiry forms collect personal information, and the Privacy Act covers businesses with annual turnover above A$3 million, plus some smaller ones such as health service providers, so the privacy policy belongs in the setup stage too.
| # | Setup check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Target state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Domain property verified in Google Search Console | Google's own crawl, index and search data | Performance report shows Australian queries | Verified |
| 2 | Site verified in Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing holds 9.17% of Australian search | Sitemap processed in Bing | Verified |
| 3 | Google Analytics 4 installed with key events marked | Counts enquiries from organic visits | Key events recorded | Live |
| 4 | XML sitemap submitted to both tools | Lists the URLs to crawl | Sitemap status shows success | Submitted |
| 5 | Privacy policy covers analytics and forms | The Privacy Act applies above A$3 million turnover and to health providers | Policy linked in the footer | Published |
Aemorph's guide to conversion rate optimisation covers measuring and raising the share of visits that become enquiries.
Setup checks for an Australian site, installed once and left running.
Sources: Google Analytics Help, July 2025 and others
Which checks does a new website need before launch?
Before an Australian site goes live, confirm robots.txt allows the live domain, strip any staging noindex rule, check every page loads over HTTPS with a working status code, and redirect every old URL to its closest new page. About 100 Australian searches a month ask for an SEO checklist for a new website, and these four checks prevent the launch errors that remove a site from Google overnight. Google's site move guidance calls for server-side permanent redirects, kept for at least a year. Aemorph's guide to web design and development sets out how to plan, build and launch a site with search built in.
Technical SEO Checklist: Crawling, Indexing, Speed and Security
The technical stage proves that Googlebot reaches every page that matters, that the index holds the right version of each, and that each page loads fast and securely on a phone, since Google indexes and ranks the mobile version. URL Inspection reports, URL by URL, whether Google crawled the page, indexed it and which canonical it chose. Google disregards sitemap priority and change-frequency tags, and reads the last-modified date only when it stays accurate, so an honest sitemap is the one Google trusts.
| # | Technical check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | robots.txt does not block Googlebot or Bingbot | Blocked pages are never crawled | robots.txt report in Search Console and Bing | Technical SEO, How search engines work |
| 7 | Excluded pages carry noindex, not a robots.txt block | robots.txt controls crawling, not what Google keeps out, and Google reads noindex only on a page it is allowed to crawl | URL Inspection indexed result | What is SEO, How search engines work |
| 8 | Key pages return HTTP 200 and sit in the index | Google indexes working pages with indexable content | Page indexing report | Technical SEO, 404 errors |
| 9 | Near-identical suburb or location pages share one canonical | Google keeps one URL from each duplicate cluster | Google-selected canonical in URL Inspection | On-page SEO audit |
| 10 | The sitemap holds only indexable URLs with true dates | lastmod counts only when it stays accurate | Sitemaps report | Technical SEO |
| 11 | HTTPS on every page and template | Google's page experience asks about secure serving | Padlock check across templates | Technical SEO |
| 12 | Phone and desktop pages carry the same content | Google indexes and ranks the mobile version | Smartphone live test in URL Inspection | Technical SEO, Mobile SEO |
| 13 | Core Web Vitals pass for 75% of visits | LCP within 2.5 seconds, INP 200 milliseconds or less, CLS 0.1 or less | Core Web Vitals report | Technical SEO, Core Web Vitals |
| 14 | Navigation uses standard HTML links | Google follows <a> elements with an href | Source view of each template | Anchor text |
| 15 | Australian and other country versions carry hreflang | The right version shows in each country | Reciprocal hreflang tags | International SEO |
Technical checks for an Australian site, from crawl access to rendering.
Sources: Google Search Central, July 2026 and others
Keyword Research Checklist: Terms, Intent and One Page per Topic
Keyword research assigns one Australian search term to each page, and intent decides the fit: if Google ranks local service pages for a term, a blog post rarely takes that spot. Set every keyword tool to Australia, because terms such as "solicitor", "tradie" or "aircon" carry Australian volume a global database understates. Google Ads Keyword Planner shows volume estimates once billing details are entered in Google Ads. Google's language systems connect related wording, so one page covers its term's close variants.
| # | Keyword check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | One primary Australian term per priority page | Prevents two pages competing for one search | Keyword map, one row per URL | Keyword research |
| 17 | Page type matches what ranks in Australia | Searchers wanting a guide skip a sales page | Australian top results reviewed | Keyword research |
| 18 | Specific variants sit on their parent page when intent matches | Specific terms often carry lower difficulty | Difficulty compared in the Australian database | Keyword research |
| 19 | Rankings tracked by city and device | Results change between Sydney, Melbourne and Perth | Rank tracker set to Australian locations | Keyword rankings |
| 20 | Competitor terms reviewed for missing topics | Shows services your site never describes | Content gap report | Keyword research |
Keyword checks that assign each Australian search to one page.
Sources: Google Ads Help and others, 2026
On-Page SEO Checklist: Titles, Descriptions, Headings and Images
Page-level checks make every Australian page state plainly what it offers: a distinct title, a summary meta description, headings that outline the page, readable URLs, alt text that explains each image, and internal links that reach every page. Google sets no length limit on titles or descriptions and trims them to fit the screen, so the useful words go first. Google Search ignores the keywords meta tag, and keywords in a domain or URL path do little beyond showing in breadcrumbs. "On page seo checklist" draws about 90 Australian searches a month, and the checks below cover it.
| # | On-page check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Every title is unique and names the service and place | The title feeds the title link in results | Crawl export with duplicates flagged | On-page SEO audit |
| 22 | Every meta description is unique and summarises the page | Google uses it when it describes the page best | Crawl export of descriptions | On-page SEO audit |
| 23 | Headings form a logical outline under one main heading | Order helps screen readers; Google reads it either way | Heading outline in the source | On-page SEO audit |
| 24 | URLs use plain words instead of ID strings | People judge the link before clicking | URL list review | On-page SEO audit |
| 25 | Images that carry meaning have alt text that explains them, in a supported format | Alt text describes the image's place in the content | Alt attribute audit | Image SEO |
| 26 | No page sits without an internal link to it | Google finds and weighs pages through links | Orphan page report | Anchor text |
| 27 | JSON-LD structured data matches the visible page | Helps Google understand the page and enables rich results | Rich Results Test | Schema markup errors |
On-page checks for each Australian page that targets a search.
Sources: Google Search Central, December 2025 and others
Content Checklist: Helpful, Original and Clearly Sourced
An Australian page passes the content stage when it answers the buyer's question better than the pages already ranking, brings original detail such as local pricing factors or regulations, carries a named author and links every figure to its source. Google states it has no preferred word count and ranks trust above the other qualities it looks for. Google's guidance treats generative AI as a fair drafting aid, while mass-producing pages without added value falls under its scaled content abuse policy, so a person checks every AI-assisted draft before it publishes. Claims also answer to the ACCC's rules on false or misleading statements.
| # | Content check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | The first paragraph answers the query outright | Readers and AI answers take the opening claim | Opening read against the target query | SPO triple architecture |
| 29 | The page adds original Australian detail or analysis | Google's self-assessment asks for original information | Comparison with the top five Australian results | Content marketing |
| 30 | A named author and date appear on the page | Google encourages accurate bylines | Byline visible | What is SEO |
| 31 | Every figure links to its source | Clear sourcing is one of Google's trust questions | Source note beside each figure | Content marketing |
| 32 | A person fact-checks each AI-assisted draft | Generative models predict words rather than retrieve facts | Review record per draft | Content marketing |
| 33 | Thin or duplicated suburb pages are merged or rebuilt | Scaled low-value pages breach Google's spam policies | Pages with no clicks in 12 months reviewed | On-page SEO audit |
Content checks for every Australian page that targets a search.
Sources: Google Search Central, October 2026 and others
Case study · Dental, Australia
Smile Team grew organic traffic 125% in 28 months.
Monthly organic visits rose from 2,506 to 5,629 between October 2021 and February 2024, 41% a year, for a multi-practice orthodontics provider whose individual location pages started with low keyword visibility. Read the Smile Team case study
Link Building Checklist: Earned Links, Not Link Schemes
Links from relevant Australian and industry sites still feed Google's view of a page, and Google's spam policies rule out links bought or arranged to pass ranking credit. Google lists buying or selling links for ranking, keyword-optimised anchors in guest posts or press releases placed on other sites, and excessive link swaps as link spam. Sponsorships and paid placements stay legitimate when the link carries rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Aemorph runs link building inside its SEO service, next to the technical and content work that gives each link a page worth landing on.
| # | Link check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | New links come from sites relevant to your industry or region | Relevance carries the signal Google reads | Referring domains reviewed by topic | Off-page SEO |
| 35 | Sponsorship and paid links carry rel="sponsored" | Unmarked paid links break the link spam policy | Sponsor pages audited | Off-page SEO |
| 36 | Guest post anchors read naturally | Keyword-optimised guest post anchors are named link spam | Anchor text report | Anchor text |
| 37 | Links to moved pages are redirected or reclaimed | A link to a moved page passes nothing until the old URL redirects to its replacement; a removed page with no replacement keeps its 404 | Broken backlinks report | Off-page SEO |
| 38 | Unlinked mentions in Australian media become links | Existing mentions are the easiest links to win | Brand mention search | Off-page SEO |
Link checks, run monthly once stages one to four pass.
Source: Google Search Central, August 2026
Local SEO Checklist: Google Business Profile and Reviews
Australian local results rest on a Google Business Profile that mirrors the business as customers see it: the trading name without added keywords, an exact address or service area, current hours and the right primary category. Google's guidelines bar unnecessary words in a business name and warn that breaches risk suspension, and service-area businesses such as mobile trades hide their street address. Reviews fall under the ACCC: creating fake reviews, or arranging for others to write them, is against the law, incentives for reviews need clear disclosure, and suppressing or editing genuine negative reviews risks misleading consumers. Google's Maps content policy is stricter for Google reviews: it treats reviews a business pays for or rewards with an incentive as fake engagement, so Google review requests offer nothing in return. Aemorph's local SEO service is built for businesses that run a network of locations. "Local seo checklist" draws about 90 Australian searches a month.
| # | Local check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Target state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Profile name matches the shopfront and ABN trading name | Keywords in the name breach Google's guidelines | Name compared with signage | Matches |
| 40 | Exact address, or a service area with the address hidden | Service-area businesses hide the street address | Address settings | Accurate |
| 41 | Primary category names the core service | The category decides which searches the profile meets | Category setting | Correct |
| 42 | Name, address and phone match across directories | Conflicting details weaken the location record | Citation audit | Consistent |
| 43 | Google reviews come only from genuine customers, with no incentive offered | Google treats incentivised reviews as fake engagement, and fake reviews breach consumer law | Review request process documented | Compliant |
Local checks for every Australian location or service area.
Sources: Google Business Profile Help and ACCC, 2026
AEO Checklist: Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Featured Snippets
AI Overviews and AI Mode, both live in Australia, link to pages from Google's index, and Google states there is no technical requirement beyond being indexed and eligible for a snippet, so this stage confirms eligibility and then writes answers worth quoting. Snippet controls act at different scopes: noindex keeps the whole page out of results, nosnippet and max-snippet:0 stop its text being a direct input for AI Overviews and AI Mode, data-nosnippet hides only the marked passage, and a positive max-snippet value only limits excerpt length, so check each directive and its value before blaming a control for a missing citation. Winning Google's answer surfaces is AEO, covered in the AEO guide.
| # | AEO check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | Key pages are indexed and free of blocking snippet controls | The single technical requirement for an AI Overview link | URL Inspection plus a page-source check | AEO guide |
| 45 | Each question heading is answered in its first sentence | Answer surfaces lift short, complete answers | Sentence under each question heading read | AEO guide |
| 46 | Structured data agrees with the visible page | Google requires markup to describe visible content | Rich Results Test | Schema markup errors |
AEO checks for Google's AI answers in Australia.
Sources: Google Search Central, December 2025 and others
GEO Checklist: Citation in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
AI chats with live search reach Australian websites through their own search crawlers, so the GEO stage starts by opening robots.txt to OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot, then makes the business's core facts read the same wherever a model looks. OpenAI states that sites opted out of OAI-SearchBot do not appear in ChatGPT search answers, and Anthropic states that blocking Claude-SearchBot cuts visibility in Claude's search results. Blocking GPTBot or ClaudeBot from training is a separate choice from blocking search. Citation inside these chats is GEO, Aemorph's main discipline, set out in the GEO guide; the AI SEO guide shows SEO, AEO and GEO running as one programme.
| # | GEO check | Reason | Evidence it passed | Read next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot and PerplexityBot allowed | Effects differ: ChatGPT search omits the site except as a navigational link, Claude shows it less, and Perplexity asks sites to allow PerplexityBot to appear in its results | robots.txt read line by line | GEO guide, How search engines work |
| 48 | ABN, address, services and prices agree everywhere | Conflicting facts produce conflicting AI answers | Fact list compared across profiles | Cross-platform AI brand inconsistency |
| 49 | Each core fact sits in one plain sentence on the site | Models quote facts they read clearly | Core-fact sentences listed per page | SPO triple architecture |
| 50 | Australian buyer questions tested in each chat monthly | Shows which chats name you and which name rivals | Dated prompt log | GEO guide |
GEO checks for citation in the AI chats Australians ask.
Sources: OpenAI and others, 2026
Which SEO Checklist Advice Is Out of Date in Australia?
A number of checklist tips still circulating in Australia, including some in the 2024 versions of this checklist, point to retired products or contradict what Google now publishes. The table sets each against the current source.
| Old tip | Current position | Checked against | Do this instead | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide pages from Google with robots.txt | robots.txt manages crawling and does not keep a page out of Google | Google's robots.txt introduction | Add noindex to the page | Corrected |
| Copy a tracking ID and set up goals | Google Analytics 4 replaced Universal Analytics, and its data stopped being accessible from the week of 1 July 2024 | Google Analytics Help | Run Google Analytics 4 with key events | Corrected |
| An SEO plugin lifts rankings | Meeting Google's requirements guarantees no crawl, index or ranking | Google Search Essentials | Use a plugin for settings, then work the checklist | Corrected |
| Set sitemap priority and frequency values | Google ignores both, and a sitemap is a hint | Google's sitemap guide | List indexable URLs with honest dates | Corrected |
| Titles under 60 characters with the keyword first | Google sets no title length limit and truncates to fit | Google's title link guide | Write a distinct, descriptive title | Corrected |
| Keywords in the URL raise rankings | Keywords in a domain or path barely register beyond breadcrumbs | Google SEO Starter Guide | Use readable words for people | Corrected |
| Pack alt text with keywords | Alt text explains the image in context; stuffing breaks spam policy | Google's image SEO guide | Describe the image plainly | Corrected |
| Duplicate content lowers rankings | Duplicate URLs are inefficient and do not cause a manual action | Google SEO Starter Guide | Choose one canonical per duplicate group | Corrected |
| Long-tail terms are harder to rank for | Ahrefs' Australian data scores "seo checklist" at 37, "seo audit checklist" at 28 and "website seo checklist" at 0 | Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, October 2026 | Read each term's own difficulty score | Corrected |
| Test pages in the Mobile-Friendly Test | Google retired the tool in December 2023 | Google Search Central blog | Use URL Inspection's live test and Lighthouse | Corrected |
| Guest posts with keyword-rich anchors | Keyword-optimised guest post anchors are named link spam | Google spam policies | Earn links with natural anchors | Corrected |
| Claim the Google My Business listing | The product is now Google Business Profile | Google Business Profile Help | Verify and complete the Business Profile | Corrected |
| Protect the site with SSL | SSL 3.0 was deprecated in June 2015, and HTTPS runs on TLS | IETF RFC 7568 | HTTPS everywhere with a current TLS certificate | Corrected |
Earlier advice, checked against current documentation in October 2026.
Sources: Google Search Central, July 2026 and others
Work Through the Checklist in Order for Your Australian Site
An Australian site that clears setup and technical access first, then improves one page at a time through keywords, page tuning, content and links, holds its rankings, and the local, AEO and GEO stages carry those same pages into the map pack, Google's AI answers and the AI chats Australians ask. Re-run stage two after every site release and the GEO prompt log every month. The free Money on the Table audit prices the gap this checklist closes, and Aemorph's SEO service works every stage as part of the LLM Influencer System.
This guide sets out Aemorph's reading of the Australian rules it mentions, current at October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice; confirm how a rule applies to your business with a qualified adviser.