--- title: "Run a 22-point SEO check on each draft before you submit it" description: "A 22-point pre-publish SEO checklist for writers: keywords, structure, meta tags, links, and media, in about 15 minutes for each draft." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/seo-writing-checklist-writers" date: "2026-03-20" modified: "2026-09-25" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Real estate - Real estate - [Real estate](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - Work - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Prepare your six-question brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prepare-your-six-question-brief) - Build - [Site build, content library with SEO, signal desk](https://scalewithsearch.com/work) - For your business - Trades and home services - [Auto body and collision shops](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/auto-body-and-collision-shops) - [Foundation and home repair contractors](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/foundation-and-home-repair) - 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You wrote 2,400 words, and the draft feels complete. Then your SEO manager sends it back: no meta description, a thin H2 structure, no internal links, and the keyword appears only twice. Many writers treat SEO as a separate pass after the writing. The result is content that ranks poorly despite its quality, or double the time spent to fix what the first draft should have had. This checklist puts SEO into the writing process. Run it before you submit any draft. Each item takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and the full list takes about 15 minutes. ## Section 1: keyword targeting (checks 1 to 4) **1. Primary keyword early in the title.** Put the target keyword within the first 50 to 60 characters. Google shortens long titles in results, and the start of a title carries the most weight for readers. Compare these two: - Weak: "A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding How Modern Teams Can Improve Email Marketing Results" - Strong: "Email Marketing Guide: Improve Results for Modern Teams" The keyword moves from word 11 to word 1, and the title fits in 60 characters. **2. Primary keyword in the first 100 words.** The introduction tells readers and Google what the page covers. For the keyword "content marketing strategy", open with the exact phrase. For example: "A content marketing strategy defines how you create, distribute, and measure content that converts customers." Do not open with a vague line such as "Creating valuable content requires planning." **3. Natural keyword frequency.** Google does not use a keyword density target. Still, a quick count catches two problems. A phrase that almost never appears can leave the topic unclear. A phrase repeated in each paragraph reads as stuffing, which Google's spam policies name. As a rough warning range, many editors aim for about 0.5 to 1.5%: 15 mentions in 2,000 words is 0.75%. If the count is high, replace some mentions with natural variations. The [guide to optimization without keyword stuffing](/articles/content-optimization-without-keyword-stuffing) shows how. **4. Related terms.** Include the 10 to 15 terms that a complete answer naturally uses. Some tools call these "LSI keywords", but Google does not use latent semantic indexing; the point is topical coverage. To find related terms, read "People also ask" and "Related searches" for your keyword. Also scan the H2s of the top three results, or use a tool such as the Semrush Keyword Magic Tool. For "email marketing automation", related terms include drip campaigns, triggered emails, workflow builder, segmentation, lead nurturing, conversion tracking, API integrations, and CRM sync. ## Section 2: structure and formatting (checks 5 to 10) **5. One H1 that matches the title tag.** The H1 matches or closely paraphrases the title tag. Take the title tag "Email Marketing Automation Guide for SaaS Companies". The H1 can match it or read "The Complete Guide to Email Marketing Automation for SaaS". Use one H1 on each page. **6. H2s as questions or benefits.** Write H2s such as "What is email marketing automation?" or "How email automation raises conversions". Replace generic H2s such as "Overview", "Getting started", and "Conclusion". Question H2s match how people search, and Google often draws featured snippets from them. Aim for 5 to 8 H2s in a 2,000 to 2,500-word article. **7. A logical heading hierarchy.** Put H3s only under H2s, and H4s only under H3s. Do not skip a level, such as H2 to H4. Screen readers and crawlers both rely on the structure: ```text H1: Email marketing automation guide H2: What is email marketing automation? H3: Definition H3: Core components H2: Benefits of email automation H3: Higher conversion rates H3: Time savings H2: How to set up email automation H3: Step 1: Choose a platform H3: Step 2: Build workflows ``` **8. Short paragraphs.** Keep each paragraph to three or four sentences, and under about 100 words. Online readers scan, and dense blocks lose them. Break long paragraphs at natural transitions, with one idea in each. This paragraph is too dense: > Email automation sends messages based on what a user does. It beats batch campaigns because each message arrives at the right moment. It also scales, because nobody has to send each email by hand. That matters for SaaS companies with thousands of trial users. Without automation, manual sends break down after the first hundred customers. Split it into three paragraphs. The first covers what automation does and why it beats batch campaigns. The second covers scale for SaaS, and the third the manual limit. **9. A list every 300 to 400 words.** Lists make content easier to scan, and Google often uses lists in featured snippets. Turn instructions into numbered steps, and turn features, benefits, tools, or resources into bullets. **10. Clear names for key terms.** Name products, technical terms, and concepts the same way each time, such as HubSpot, drip campaigns, and segmentation. Bold a term only when it helps a reader who scans the page, such as a definition. Bold text does not tell Google what an entity is. If half the text is bold, the bold means nothing. ## Section 3: meta tags and URLs (checks 11 to 14) **11. Title tag of about 50 to 60 characters.** Google shortens titles by pixel width, which works out to about 60 characters. Most SEO plugins show the width. Use a pattern of primary keyword, qualifier, and benefit: - Good: "Email Marketing Automation Guide for SaaS Companies" (51 characters) - Too long: "The Ultimate Comprehensive Email Marketing Automation Guide for SaaS Companies Using Modern Tools" (97 characters) **12. Meta description of 150 to 160 characters.** Include the primary keyword (Google often bolds matching terms), a clear benefit, and a call to action. The description does not affect rankings directly, but it affects how many searchers click. For example: "Learn email marketing automation for SaaS. Build workflows that convert free trials into paying customers. Step-by-step guide with tools and templates." (151 characters) **13. A short, keyword-rich URL slug.** Use three to five words with the primary keyword, and no dates, stop words, post IDs, or extra subdirectories. Short URLs are easier to read and share, though URL length is not a major ranking factor. - Weak: `domain.com/blog/2026/01/15/the-ultimate-guide-to-email-marketing-automation-for-saas-companies` - Weak: `domain.com/p=12345` - Strong: `domain.com/email-marketing-automation-saas` **14. No keyword stuffing in meta tags.** "Email Marketing Automation | Email Marketing Automation Tools | Email Marketing Automation Guide" reads as spam to users. "Email Marketing Automation Guide: Tools and Best Practices" does the same job. ## Section 4: internal and external links (checks 15 to 18) **15. Three to five internal links in the first 500 words.** Internal links help Google find and understand your pages. They also keep readers on the site. Link to related topics that the introduction mentions. The [internal linking guide for content writers](/articles/internal-linking-content-writers) covers placement in depth. **16. Descriptive anchor text.** The anchor text tells readers and Google what the linked page covers. - Weak: "Click here to learn more about email automation." - Strong: "Learn how to build automated email workflows." **17. Two or three external links to strong sources.** Cite the original source for each statistic, not a blog post that repeats it. Link tools to their official sites, and link technical claims to official documentation, such as Google Search Central. Write the citation with the source name and year in the anchor, such as `[Source name, year](URL)`. Never cite a figure that you cannot trace to its source. **18. No broken links.** Confirm that each internal and external link returns a 200 status code. Broken links frustrate readers and waste link value. Use the Check My Links Chrome extension, or Screaming Frog for many pages. ## Section 5: media and technical (checks 19 to 22) **19. One original image near the top.** Put a relevant image within the first two or three paragraphs, ideally a custom graphic, screenshot, or diagram. Original images serve readers better than stock photos. Keep each image small, ideally under 200 KB. The [image optimization guide](/articles/image-optimization-ux-seo) covers formats and sizes. **20. Alt text on each image.** Write 10 to 15 words that describe the image literally, with the keyword only where it fits. For example: "Screenshot of an email marketing automation workflow in HubSpot." Alt text serves screen reader users and feeds Google Images. Do not stuff it. **21. Descriptive file names before upload.** Google treats file names as a light clue about image content. - Weak: `IMG_1234.jpg`, `screenshot.png`, `image-final-final-2.jpg` - Strong: `email-automation-workflow-example.png`, `saas-email-funnel-diagram.jpg` **22. A page that loads in under 3 seconds on mobile.** Test the page in PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Speed is part of Google's page experience signals, and slow pages lose readers and conversions. If the page is slow, compress images to WebP and remove unneeded plugins or scripts. Turn on caching, and serve media from a CDN. ## Follow the pre-publish workflow 1. Write the draft. Focus on quality and clarity, and do not over-optimize as you write. 2. Run the 22 checks, in about 15 minutes. 3. Optionally, run the draft through Clearscope, Surfer, or Frase. A score of 70 to 80+ is a common target. Add missing related terms or sections. 4. Run a grammar and readability check in Grammarly or ProWritingAid. Fix passive voice, long sentences, and errors. Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score above 60, about an 8th- to 9th-grade level. 5. If your team requires it, run a plagiarism check in Copyscape or Grammarly. Keep similarity to any single source under 5%. 6. Read the article aloud. Check the formatting in the CMS preview, and confirm that each link opens. The whole workflow adds 15 to 25 minutes to the draft. For commercial and pillar content, such as product pages, complete guides, and comparison posts, run all 22 checks. For lower-priority posts, run checks 1 to 6, 11 to 14, and 19 to 20. Your team's [content brief template](/articles/content-brief-template-seo) should give you the keyword, intent, and links that several of these checks need. ## Avoid five writer mistakes **Forced keywords.** If a keyword such as "email marketing automation software tools" reads awkwardly, target a natural variation. "Email automation software" is one. Do not force an exact match. **The wrong format for the intent.** A 3,000-word guide does not rank where the top results are comparison lists. Match the format that already ranks for that query. **Keyword-heavy H2s.** "Email Marketing Automation", "Email Marketing Automation Tools", "Email Marketing Automation Best Practices" in a row looks like spam. Use natural variations. **No original insight.** A rewrite of competitor articles adds nothing. Add original research, examples from real work, or your own data. The [E-E-A-T guide for content writers](/articles/eeat-content-writers) shows what experience signals look like on the page. **Your language instead of the searcher's.** If searchers say "email automation", do not call it only by your product's branded term. ## Answer common writer questions **One keyword or several?** Target one primary keyword for each article, and include 5 to 10 related long-tail variations naturally. A page on "email automation" also mentions automated email campaigns, email workflows, and drip campaigns. Google can rank one page for dozens of related queries. **What if the editor changes the title tag?** Share the checklist requirements up front, so that editors know the character limits and keyword placement. If brand voice needs a change, agree on a version that keeps the keyword near the start. **Can AI write the draft?** Google does not penalize content only because AI wrote it. AI drafts do tend to lack original insight, firsthand experience, and specific examples, which are the signals behind E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness). Use AI for research and outlines. Write the final draft yourself, or rewrite AI output heavily with what you know. **What is the minimum length?** No universal minimum exists. Many competitive queries need 1,500 to 2,500 words for full coverage. Read the top results, and match or exceed their depth without padding. If 1,200 words cover the topic completely, stop at 1,200. **How often should you update articles?** Update top performers, such as pages with 500+ monthly sessions, each quarter. Update evergreen content each year. Add new statistics, examples, or sections. Change the published date only when the update is substantial. 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Scale With Search 2026 [scalewithsearch.com](https://scalewithsearch.com) ```