Every SEO specialist, content marketer or copywriter has faced a situation: the article is written, but the traffic is nil. Why? Most likely, it has not been optimized on all fronts: from topic selection to the final checklist.
The other day I came across a checklist shared by Rob Hoffman, CEO of one of the leading SEO companies in the USA. It has 31 steps divided into 4 phases - from research to the “new SEO” in the age of AI. I decided to break down this checklist in more detail and give you more nuances and my own recommendations on this topic.The Complete SEO Checklist for Blogging: How to Write Articles that Drive Traffic
- Phase 1: Topic Research
- 1. Identify the primary keyword.
- 2. Pick up your secondary keys
- 4. Make sure you are solving the user's problem
- Phase 2: Writing Content.
- 5. Analyze Featured Snippet
- 7. Analyze your competitors
- 8. Use phrases and keys from Google Autosuggest, People Also Ask
- 9. Add data from your ICP (ideal customer)
- 10. Content should be readable
- 11. Images: the lighter the weight, the better
- 12. Internal links
- 13. Bullets, lists, tables
- Phase 3: Optimization
- 14. Use additional CTAs for conversions
- 15. Add a table of contents
- 16. Headline: strong and keyed
- 17. Short human-understandable URL
- 18. Check the length (volume) of the article
- 19. Alt-text images
- 20. Meta descriptions
- 21. Don't over-spam H2-H6 headings
- 22. The introduction should be captivating
- 23. A coherent conclusion
- 24. Highlight what's important with keywords in mind
- 25. External references to terms
- 26. Cite sources
- 27. Final check through the tools
- Phase 4: New SEO
- 28. Prepare content for AI-overviews
- 29. Show E-E-A-T.
- 30. Links to authoritative resources
- 31. Adaptation for voice search
- Conclusion
Phase 1: Topic Research
The first mistake most copywriters make is they start writing without research. This is 50% of the success of the article.
1. Identify the primary keyword.
Analyze competitive blogs and articles and identify keywords that:
- Relevant to your niche
- Give traffic to competitors quickly (pay special attention to new fast-growing URLs of competitors)
- Have informational or mixed intent
📌 Tools: Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest.
📌 Tip: Test different types of keywords by frequency from LF to HF and try to build some kind of connection between topics so articles can complement each other. We have an in-depth article on our blog to study on KGR (Keyword Golden Ratio) and building “avalanche SEO” that can help you understand keyword selection and building a strategy on your blog.
2. Pick up your secondary keys
These are languages that complement the main topic. For example, if the primary keyword is “CRM for small business”, the secondary keys are: “cheap CRM”, “cloud CRM”, “best CRM systems”.
📌 Tip: Use the “Also rank for” and “Also talk about” tabs in Ahrefs or “Related” in Semrush. An even easier method to immediately visually identify a list of additional languages, as well as clusters built on a bunch of those languages, is Ahrefs' main keyword reserch tab.
There is also an even easier way to collect a full list of main and additional keywords for each topic is to use services like SurferSEO or NeuronWriter, you can read more in our article comparing these services.
3. Determine the search intent
There are 4 types of intents: informational, navigational, transactional and commercial. Your article should match exactly what the user expects to see.
📌 Tip: Looked up a query on Google - got info articles? Then you shouldn't go there with a commercial landing page. Use Ahrefs filters to determine the search intent of key queries.
4. Make sure you are solving the user's problem
Simple test: ask yourself the question - “If I searched for this, would my article satisfy me?”.
📌 Tip: Try to analyze keyword trends, look for infopoints and try to build them into your strategy. Be the “king of knowledge” in your niche, try to stay up to date with all the events and updates in your topic.
Phase 2: Writing Content.
Now the creativity begins. But here too, there is a strict methodology.
5. Analyze Featured Snippet
If your keyword shows a Featured Snippet (zero position), analyze it carefully:
- What format? List? Table? A short definition?
- What languages are used?
🎯 Goal: Create your content so that it can be substituted for the current snippet.
📌 Tip: Place the main query definition or basic data (e.g. a table) as high as possible towards the top of the page (first screen) or right on the first screen.
6. Spell out the structure (H2-H4)
Subheadings are the foundation of navigation, crawling and ranking. Each H2 should include keys, but not over-spam.
📌 Example:
H2: Best CRM systems for small business
H3: Cloud CRM
H3: Free solutions
H3: What to look for when choosing one
📌 Tip: Make logical natural headings that describe the paragraph/paragraph, not necessarily using main keywords, pick up words and phrases from additional (related) languages.
7. Analyze your competitors
See the top 10 for your query and write out what blocks they are using:
- Case studies
- Quotes from experts
- Comparative tables
- Frequently Asked Questions
📌 Tip: use services like SurferSEO or NeuronWriter to compare structures. Ahrefs and ScreamingFrog also help you understand the structure of your site. Additionally, you can work with various AI services, ranging from just free genspark.ai to advanced versions of chatgpt, claude and others, which will help you perform a comparative analysis of blocks and elements on competitors' pages.
8. Use phrases and keys from Google Autosuggest, People Also Ask
This is a treasure trove of ideas for blocks: type in a key and Google will tell you what people are asking.
9. Add data from your ICP (ideal customer)
Your audience is not everyone. Think: what are her pains, how does she seek information, what format is comfortable for her to absorb information?
📌 Tip: Define a portrait of your ideal customer. Gather as much information as you can, from simple where from, age, gender to more detailed, occupation, income level and other data depending on your niche.
Based on the data, think through what questions and “pains” the client faces, and what problem or task your company can solve and thus the content on the site, which will cover the main issues of your topic, niche.
Collect reviews of your work and try to add these cases or information to your blog articles, especially if it is the same topic.
10. Content should be readable
This means:
- Short paragraphs (2-4 lines)
- Simple language (Flesch score > 60)
- Use of lists, bullets and tables
- Logical transition from section to section
📌 Tip: Check the content and pages of your website for readability. Use different services to check, like:
11. Images: the lighter the weight, the better
Don't make pages too heavy. Compress images to <100 KB. Use WebP for images and WebM for videos or audio.
📌 Tip: Try to create a unique visual component. Create different infographics, videos, gifs and other visuals if they complement the content or use referrals that mention sources.
12. Internal links
Link key languages to relevant internal pages. This improves SEO and behavioral metrics as it allows you to manage internal page weight and “spillover” within the site for priority pages.
📌 Tip: Expand your blog structure with themed articles that complement each other, and try to create a hierarchy of themed tags and group articles by them or globally by category.
13. Bullets, lists, tables
Visibility + scannability = user love.
Try to emphasize important information in lists, tables or banal bold, but without fanaticism.
Phase 3: Optimization
Now optimize the content to perfection.
14. Use additional CTAs for conversions
Don't just “buy now”, but tailor it to your readiness level, for example:
- In the beginning, “Find out which CRMs will work for you.”
- In the middle: “Compare the top 5 solutions.”
- At the end: “Try it for free for 7 days”
15. Add a table of contents
This is especially important if the article is >1000 languages. This helps both search engine robots and the reader.
📌 Tip: Try to fix the table of contents on scrolling, for example, in the sidebar, so that the user can see it all the time and quickly switch through the longread.
16. Headline: strong and keyed
It should be:
- Attractive (emotion, benefits)
- Contain the main key
📌 Bad example: "CRM Overview"
📌 Good example: "The 7 best CRM systems for small businesses in 2025"
17. Short human-understandable URL
/best-crm-small-business - great
/article?id=2391&lang=en - bad
📌 Tip: If the site has multi-lingual versions, it is recommended to change the translation of the url, for example, if it is Ukr/Ru version, we write the url in translit (taking into account the rules of transcribing), if it is English - make translations into English.
18. Check the length (volume) of the article
Compare with TOP-3. If they have articles of 2500 languages - your 800-word article will lose with 99% probability.
📌 Tip: Use services or extensions that will quickly determine the amount of content on pages.
19. Alt-text images
Set readable clear ALT descriptions depending on the language version. Not "img123.jpg" but "Zoho CRM system interface".
20. Meta descriptions
Up to 160 characters, include a key. Make it attractive and add additional key language on the topic.
📌 Tip: Analyze competitors' snippets in the top 10 search results, try to highlight the languages and phrases they use in conjunction with their main keyword queries.
21. Don't over-spam H2-H6 headings
Once, one key in the headline is enough. Next, use synonyms and LSI keys.
📌 Tip: Form the headings as naturally as possible, so that they reveal the essence of the paragraph. Do not use key languages in the title unless it is appropriate.
22. The introduction should be captivating
The first 2 sentences are like a teaser. Promise that the person will find a solution to their problem or at least form that impression.
📌 Tip: The content on the first screen should reveal the main point of the page as much as possible, so that the user instantly gets an impression of where he/she is going and what problem/question he/she will be able to solve here.
23. A coherent conclusion
Summarize the results. Close the intent. Direct to CTA or other pages/sections on the site.
📌 Tip: Create additional linking blocks within the site, whether it's similar articles or tags. Give the user the opportunity to linger on your article for as long as possible by analyzing the bottom of pages through Microsoft Clarity heat maps.
24. Highlight what's important with keywords in mind
Bold, italics, attention blocks - use it moderately but accurately.
📌 Tip: At one time in SEO cool worked in bold keywords, and thus optimizers manipulated at the expense of spamming bold on all major keys, it came to the point that almost every sentence had several selections. Then for this began to impose sanctions, and bold in SEO-texts became a mauvais.
So, this story is to the fact that the effectiveness of the bold font most likely has not gone anywhere, so if you use it correctly, it will definitely affect the effectiveness.
25. External references to terms
If you mention something complicated - give a link to an explanation (for example, what is API, give a link to a wiki or other authoritative source).
📌 Tip: Work on covering complex keywords within your site to keep the user on your site as long as possible. This can range from regular info articles with an explanation, to a separate glossary with all the terms and their explanation that you use frequently in your articles.
26. Cite sources
If there are statistics, quotes, studies - give a link, but do not forget to close external links in nofollow, so as not to leak your link weight to other resources.
27. Final check through the tools
Frase, Clearscope, SurferSeo, NeuronWriter - will show you what topics/keywords you missed by comparing top 10 competitive pages for the main queries.
📌 Tip: The score does not always play a role, it is very common that a page with a lower score is ranked higher in the top 10 for a query. So here in any case you need to turn on your head and first of all think about the usefulness/value of the content for the user.
Phase 4: New SEO
In 2025, SEO is changing. Google is using AI-Overviews, voice search and neural networks.
28. Prepare content for AI-overviews
Content should be:
- Condensed
- Formatted as a response
- Contain bullet-points, brief conclusions
📌 Example:
📌 Tip: Use Ahrefs filter or other services to quickly identify the list of queries that produce results from AI Overview.
Take a good look at these answers as well as the links (pages) that AI Overview uses in its answers. Identify for yourself all the strengths and key points of these pages that would make them rank in these AI Overviews answers and try to do the same.
Google recently published an article on the topic of optimizing and integrating AI into websites.
29. Show E-E-A-T.
- Date content was created/updated.
- Expertise: authorship, case study references, figures
- Experience: “I implemented this CRM myself” or “Our team had experience implementing this CRM”
- Credibility: links to industry leaders
- Credibility: factchecking, no clickbait or false data
📌 Tip: If you update an article on the site, give it a new date on the site physically and put it in “recent/last” articles, and leave the original date of creation/publication only in the micro markup.
Add at least 1 social media account for your author and try to make sure the profile is regularly updated and live. It is even better if the author writes not only for your resource and already has some weight and trust on the Internet.
Do not hesitate to show your CEO and other important team members, people are used to trusting people, especially in our digital times and the development of AI.
30. Links to authoritative resources
Add at least 2-3 links to official sources, opinion leaders, research if the topic of the article requires it.
📌 Tip: If you are preparing a large long-read, don't forget to form a block of references, similar to wikipedia articles:
31. Adaptation for voice search
Write conversationally. Use phrases like “what is...”, “how to do...”, “why is it important to...”.
📌 Tip: Collect long-tail keyword phrases that include more details than a typical search query (e.g. including place, locations, colors, materials, etc.). Try to naturally fit such queries into the text.
Conclusion
This SEO checklist is not just a recommendation. It's a effective plan, by which you can create articles that get to the top and bring real traffic.
Apply it to your teams, customize it for each project, and don't forget to keep up with new trends in SEO - especially AI and voice interfaces.
- N8N service for automating routine SEO tasks
- A complete SEO checklist for blogging: how to write articles that drive traffic
- How to use Instagram for SEO
- How to manage your reputation on Google: a guide to SERM for businesses in 2025
- Checklist for technical SEO audit of a website
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