SEO Setup Checklist & Indexing Review Guide

Introduction

This checklist is designed to help you review and confirm your SEO setup after verifying your domain and submitting your sitemap to Google. (Refer to How to Verify Your Domain on Google and  How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google)

Indexing issues are often caused by small configuration mismatches—such as differences between your site’s preferred domain, Google Search Console settings, or sitemap URLs. These are common and easy to fix once identified.

By walking through the steps below, you can ensure your website is correctly aligned with Google’s requirements and help avoid unnecessary delays in indexing. SEO setup can be complex, and these checks help clarify where adjustments may be needed.

1. Website Accessibility Check

• ☐ Your website is published and accessible in a browser
• ☐ The site loads correctly using HTTPS
• ☐ No maintenance mode or access restrictions are enabled

2. Preferred Domain Confirmation

Your website should use one consistent domain version.

• ☐ Your preferred domain is clearly defined:
  • https://www.example.com   or
  • https://example.com  
• ☐ The preferred domain is set in: Promote → SEO Center → Redirect Manager

• ☐ All traffic redirects to this selected version

3. Google Search Console Verification Review

• ☐ Your website is added as a property in Google Search Console  (Refer to How to Verify Your Domain on Google)
• ☐ Ownership verification is complete

• ☐ The verified property matches your preferred domain exactly

  (including https   and www  , if applicable)

4. Sitemap Validation

• ☐ Sitemap URLs use the same domain version as your verified property (Refer to How to Submit Your Sitemap to Google)
• ☐ The sitemap has been submitted in Google Search Console
• ☐ The submission status shows “Success”

5. Content Availability Check

• ☐ Your site contains active listings, categories, or pages
• ☐ Content is published and visible
• ☐ No global “noindex” rules are applied

6. Indexing Timeline Awareness

• ☐ Sitemap submission has been completed
• ☐ You understand that indexing is not immediate
• ☐ You have allowed several days for Google to crawl and process your site

Conclusion

Completing this checklist helps ensure your website, sitemap, and Search Console configuration are fully aligned. When these elements match, search engines can crawl and index your content more efficiently.

If indexing issues persist after reviewing all steps, our support team will be happy to assist. Providing confirmation of these checks allows us to investigate more quickly and focus on resolving the issue effectively.