This is not a comprehensive guide to SEO theory. It is a checklist for the problems we see most often when auditing South African business websites. Work through it top to bottom.
Technical Basics
HTTPS active and all pages redirecting to it. No mixed content warnings. Canonical tags present on every page. XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console. robots.txt present and not blocking important pages. Page speed above 70 on mobile in PageSpeed Insights.
On-Page
Title tag contains primary keyword and is under 60 characters. Meta description is written (not auto-generated) and under 155 characters. H1 matches the topic of the page and appears once. Images have descriptive alt text. Internal links exist between related pages.
Local SEO (for SA businesses with a physical location)
Google Business Profile claimed and verified. NAP (name, address, phone) consistent across the site and GBP. LocalBusiness schema markup on the homepage and contact page. At least 5 reviews on GBP.
Content
Each service has its own page. Blog posts are specific to your actual expertise, not generic. Outdated posts are updated or removed. No thin pages under 300 words that add no value.