London is one of the most competitive SEO markets in the world. This checklist is what we actually use when onboarding new clients — no theory, just what moves the needle.

Foundational Setup

  • Google Business Profile fully optimised (NAP, categories, services, photos, posts)
  • Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, and major UK directories claimed
  • Google Search Console and Google Analytics 4 verified
  • XML sitemap submitted, robots.txt audited
  • HTTPS enabled, HTTP/2 or HTTP/3, HSTS headers

Technical SEO

  • Core Web Vitals all green (LCP under 2.5s, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1)
  • Mobile-first indexing checked
  • Canonical tags correct on every page
  • Schema markup: LocalBusiness, Organisation, Service, FAQ, Breadcrumb
  • Hreflang if multi-language
  • 404s and redirects audited (no chains, no orphan pages)

On-Page SEO

  • Unique title tag and meta description on every page (under 60 and 155 chars)
  • One H1 per page, logical H2-H6 hierarchy
  • Image alt text descriptive and natural
  • Internal linking strategy (no orphan pages, anchor text varied)
  • Keyword cannibalisation audit

Local SEO (Critical for London)

  • Location pages for every service area you serve
  • NAP citation consistency across at least 50 directories
  • Active review generation strategy (target 5+ new reviews per month)
  • Local link building: chambers, sponsorships, local press
  • Google Business Profile posts weekly

Content Strategy

  • Topic clusters with one pillar page per service
  • Two to four high-quality articles per month
  • FAQ pages with schema for every service
  • Case studies with measurable results
  • Comparison pages for high-intent keywords

Link Building

  • Digital PR campaigns — earn links from UK national press
  • Guest posts on relevant industry sites
  • Broken-link building on niche-relevant sites
  • HARO and journalist outreach

Want this audited on your site?

We offer a free SEO audit for London businesses — we'll run your domain through this exact checklist and send you a 20-page report. No catch.

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