Free resource
Free Sydney SEO Checklist.
A 50-point checklist for Sydney small businesses — keyword research, on-page, technical, local, content, links and reporting. The unglamorous version, in plain English. No email gate, no PDF download wall.
PHASE 1 · 01
Keyword research and intent mapping
- ✓ Pull 12 months of Search Console data — impressions, clicks, average position by query
- ✓ List 10 commercial-intent terms relevant to your service (e.g. "emergency plumber Inner West")
- ✓ List 20 informational-intent terms (e.g. "how much does roof restoration cost in Sydney")
- ✓ Note the suburbs you actually service — these are your local modifiers
- ✓ Run competitor gap analysis on 3 named competitors — what do they rank for that you don't
- ✓ Pick 8–12 head terms and 30–50 long-tail to focus on this quarter
- ✓ Drop any term where Google's top 3 are agencies, directories or Reddit threads — you can't outrank them yet
- ✓ Map every chosen term to an existing or planned page (no orphan keywords)
PHASE 2 · 02
On-page optimisation
- ✓ Rewrite each page title to include primary keyword + location, under 60 characters
- ✓ Rewrite each meta description to include keyword + clear CTA, under 155 characters
- ✓ Use exactly one H1 per page — the H1 should match the search intent of the URL
- ✓ Use H2/H3 to break content into scannable sections (Google reads these)
- ✓ Internal-link every page to at least two other pages on the same topic cluster
- ✓ Add suburb-specific copy to service pages — not just the suburb name in the H1
- ✓ Set descriptive image alt text on every content image (no "image1.png")
- ✓ Strip auto-generated tag/category archive pages that have no unique content
PHASE 3 · 03
Technical SEO
- ✓ Run Lighthouse — target LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200ms
- ✓ Compress every hero image to under 200KB (WebP if your stack supports it)
- ✓ Remove render-blocking scripts above the fold — defer or load on interaction
- ✓ Submit a clean XML sitemap to Search Console and verify it indexes
- ✓ Audit robots.txt — make sure you're not accidentally blocking your own site
- ✓ Add LocalBusiness + Service schema (JSON-LD) to your homepage and service pages
- ✓ Verify mobile rendering — Google indexes mobile-first; test on a real device
- ✓ Set canonical tags on every page (trailing slash if your site uses them)
- ✓ Fix broken internal links — most sites have 20+ they didn't know existed
- ✓ Set up 301 redirects for any URL you change — never leave a dead link
PHASE 4 · 04
Local SEO and Google Business Profile
- ✓ Claim and verify your Google Business Profile (formerly GMB)
- ✓ Fill every field — categories, services, attributes, hours, phone, website
- ✓ Upload at least 10 real photos — interior, exterior, team, work-in-progress
- ✓ Post once a week — offers, updates, events; Google rewards activity
- ✓ Ask every happy customer for a review — aim for one new review per week
- ✓ Reply to every review within 48 hours — positive and negative
- ✓ Build NAP citations on the 8–12 directories that matter for your industry
- ✓ Audit existing citations — fix any that have inconsistent name/address/phone
- ✓ Add LocalBusiness schema with your address, phone and opening hours
- ✓ Embed a Google Map of your location on your contact page
PHASE 5 · 05
Content production
- ✓ Publish one substantial post per month (1,200–1,800 words) targeting a long-tail term
- ✓ Refresh one existing page per month — improve copy, add internal links, update stats
- ✓ Write for the searcher, not the search engine — keyword stuffing actively hurts
- ✓ Add FAQ sections to commercial-intent pages and mark them up with FAQPage schema
- ✓ Build topic clusters — one pillar page plus 4–8 supporting pieces, all internally linked
- ✓ Reuse high-performing content as social posts, GBP posts, email newsletters
PHASE 6 · 06
Links and authority
- ✓ Find pages that already link to 2+ of your competitors — pitch a reason to add you
- ✓ Get into local press — Time Out Sydney, Broadsheet, suburb papers
- ✓ Sponsor or partner with local community groups for earned mentions
- ✓ Audit your existing backlinks — disavow any obvious spam or PBN profiles
PHASE 7 · 07
Measurement and reporting
- ✓ Track 8–50 keywords (depending on site size) with monthly position checks
- ✓ Set Search Console as your primary data source — not third-party rank trackers
- ✓ Track Google Business Profile metrics: views, calls, direction requests
- ✓ Report monthly: what moved, what didn't, what we're trying next
Want it done for you?
We do this every month.
If you'd rather not run a 50-step checklist yourself, we run it monthly for Sydney small businesses from $690/mo. Same checklist, plus the bits you can't DIY.