If your website isn't on this checklist, you're bleeding traffic you didn't even know you had
Most Australian SME websites are haemorrhaging qualified traffic. Not because their product or service is wrong — because the technical foundation is broken. Google can see past a bad homepage, but it can't index a site that loads slowly, renders poorly on mobile, or doesn't understand where your business is located.
This is the SEO checklist you need to work through before 2027. No theory. No fluff. Just what to check and how to fix it.
1. Core Web Vitals — What They Actually Mean for Your Business
Core Web Vitals are Google's way of measuring whether your site is actually usable. They directly affect your ranking. Australian businesses consistently ignore them until traffic has already fallen.
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — Load Speed
Target: Under 2.5 seconds.
LCP measures how fast the biggest element on your page loads — usually a hero image or video. If it takes longer than 2.5 seconds, Google treats your site as slow. Users leave before they even see your content.
How to check: PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev). Look at the LCP score under "Field Data."
Common fixes for Australian SME sites:
- Compress hero images to WebP format (not JPG, not PNG)
- Remove oversized images — a 3MB hero image will destroy your LCP
- Use a CDN if your hosting is offshore or slow
- Enable browser caching headers on your server
INP (Interaction to Next Paint) — Responsiveness
Target: Under 200 milliseconds.
INP replaced FID in 2024. It measures how fast your page responds when someone clicks, types, or interacts with it. A slow INP means your site feels sluggish. Google measures it on real user sessions, not lab tests.
Common fixes:
- Audit and remove heavy JavaScript (especially third-party chat widgets, pop-ups, and analytics trackers)
- Defer non-critical scripts
- Avoid long tasks on the main thread
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) — Visual Stability
Target: Under 0.1.
CLS measures how much your page jumps around while loading. Images without dimensions, late-loading ads, lazy-loaded content with no placeholders — these all shift the layout and infuriate users.
Fix: Always set width and height attributes on images. Reserve space for ad slots. Don't inject content above existing content after load.
2. Mobile-First Indexing — Google Has Already Moved On
Google moved to mobile-first indexing in 2023. If your site is still desktop-optimised with a separate mobile version, you are behind. Not behind in theory — behind in actual indexing. Googlebot mostly uses the mobile version of your site to determine rankings.
What to verify:
Mobile crawl test: Use Google Search Console → Settings → URL Inspection → test your live URL with "Fetch as Google" set to mobile.
Checklist:
- [ ] Mobile version has the same content as desktop (no content stripped on mobile)
- [ ] Same H1s, same meta descriptions, same structured data
- [ ] Touch targets are spaced properly (no overlapping buttons)
- [ ] Font sizes are readable without zooming (minimum 16px body text)
- [ ] No horizontal scrolling required to read content
- [ ] Navigation works on touch (no hover-only menus)
Most common failure for Australian SME sites: Separate mobile sites (m.domain.com) that serve different content, or content behind JavaScript that doesn't render on mobile.
3. Local SEO Fundamentals — Where Australian Businesses Lose to Competitors
Local SEO is not optional for Australian SMEs. If you have a physical location or service a geographic area, this is where your traffic comes from. Most Australian businesses have incomplete or incorrect local SEO signals.
Google Business Profile (GBP)
If you haven't claimed and fully completed your Google Business Profile, do it today. This is the single highest-impact local SEO action available.
Checklist for your GBP:
- [ ] Business name matches exactly (no keyword stuffing)
- [ ] Category selected correctly (primary category matters)
- [ ] Address is accurate and matches citations everywhere
- [ ] Phone number is a local Australian number, consistent everywhere
- [ ] Website URL is correct and matches your domain
- [ ] Hours are accurate including public holiday hours
- [ ] Service areas are set correctly
- [ ] Photos uploaded (not stock images — real photos of your business)
Citations — NAP Consistency
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone. Every directory, listing, and mention of your business should have identical NAP information. Inconsistency is the silent killer of local rankings.
Where to audit citations:
- [ ] Google Business Profile
- [ ] Apple Maps
- [ ] Bing Places
- [ ] Yellow Pages Australia
- [ ] True Local
- [ ] Hotfrog
- [ ] Any industry-specific directories relevant to your sector
Run a NAP audit across these. Even a minor difference — "St Kilda" vs "St Kilda, VIC" — can dilute your local signals.
Reviews — Volume and Response
Google's local algorithm weighs review signals heavily. Specifically:
- Volume of reviews (more is better, but consistent matters more)
- Recency (recent reviews signal active business)
- Response (businesses that respond to reviews rank better and convert better)
Action: Respond to every review, positive and negative. Thank positive reviewers. Address negative ones professionally without being defensive. Ask satisfied clients to leave reviews — most won't without being asked.
4. On-Page Basics — The Items Most Australian SME Sites Get Wrong
On-page SEO is not glamorous but it is foundational. These elements are binary — either correct or incorrect. No partial credit.
Title Tags
- Every page needs a unique title tag
- Include your primary keyword near the start
- Keep titles under 60 characters (Google truncates at ~600px)
- Include your brand name at the end when it makes sense
Wrong: "Home - ACME Plumbing Melbourne" Right: "Emergency Plumber Melbourne | 24/7 Service | ACME Plumbing"
Meta Descriptions
- Unique per page — no duplicate meta descriptions
- Under 160 characters
- Include a call to action and your primary keyword
- Write for click-through rate, not keyword density
Header Hierarchy (H1–H3)
- One H1 per page only
- H1 should match or closely contain your primary keyword
- H2s break up content into logical sections
- H3s sub-divide H2 sections
- Never skip header levels (don't go from H2 to H4)
Schema Markup
Structured data helps Google understand your content and can trigger rich results. Essential schema types for Australian SMEs:
- LocalBusiness schema — critical for local SEO, includes NAP, hours, GeoCoordinates
- Organisation schema — basic company info
- Review/ReviewAggregate schema — star ratings in search results
- FAQ schema — can trigger expanded results
- Service schema — for businesses offering specific services
Use Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) to verify your structured data is valid.
5. AI Overview Survival — How to Appear in Google's AI Summaries
Google's AI Overviews (formerly SGE) have changed the search results landscape. For many queries, Google shows an AI-generated summary before traditional organic results. Australian businesses that don't optimise for AI Overviews lose visibility even when they rank well traditionally.
How to Appear in AI Overviews:
Structured, concise answers. AI Overviews pull from content that clearly answers specific questions. If your page is vague or filled with marketing language, AI won't cite it.
FAQ-style content. Pages with Q&A formatted content (question followed by a direct answer) are frequently cited in AI Overviews. Use H2/H3 headings framed as questions.
E-E-A-T signals. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. AI Overviews prefer content that demonstrates first-hand experience. Include author bios. Cite real credentials. Link to authoritative sources.
Optimise for featured snippets too. AI Overviews frequently draw from the content that previously appeared in featured snippet positions. Format answers clearly: bullet points, numbered lists, and short paragraphs of 40–60 words.
What to Avoid:
- Thin content — AI prefers substantive, original information
- Heavy AI-generated content without human editing
- Out-of-date information — AI prioritises freshness
- Content behind paywalls or forms that AI can't access
6. Technical Must-Haves — The Binary Checks
These are not suggestions. Either your site has them or it doesn't. Missing any of these actively hurts your SEO.
SSL Certificate
- Site must be HTTPS, not HTTP
- No mixed content warnings (all resources must load via HTTPS)
- Check: browser developer tools → Console for security warnings
XML Sitemap
- Must exist at /sitemap.xml
- Must include all indexable pages
- Must be submitted to Google Search Console
- Should update automatically when new content is published
Robots.txt
- Must exist at /robots.txt
- Must not block important pages (check for "Disallow: /" errors)
- Should include sitemap reference:
Sitemap: https://yourdomain.com.au/sitemap.xml
Page Speed — Desktop and Mobile
- Mobile speed matters more than desktop (mobile-first indexing)
- Aim for a Lighthouse score of 90+ on mobile
- Core Web Vitals must be in the "Good" range for field data
Quick audit: Google Search Console → Indexing → Core Web Vitals. This shows your real user data, not lab data.
Canonical Tags
- Every page should have a self-referencing canonical tag
- Check for incorrect canonical pointing to wrong pages
- Be wary of CMS plugins that auto-generate incorrect canonicals
404 Pages and Redirect Chains
- Broken links returning 404s waste crawl budget
- Audit with Screaming Frog Spider or Semrush Site Audit
- Redirect chains (A → B → C) slow down crawling and dilute link equity
Free SEO Audit
Not sure where to start? Our free SEO audit tool scans your site against all of these checklist items and delivers a prioritised action list. No signup required.
Want a deeper look? Our SEO services cover every item on this checklist — from technical fixes to local SEO management to AI Overview optimisation. See our SEO services →
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