SEO checklist for a new website: Google and three languages
What to check before launch: indexing, sitemap, canonical, hreflang for ru/en/ka, structured data, speed and Core Web Vitals, Search Console.
Published — 6 min read
Most search problems are created on launch day: a site blocked from indexing, duplicate pages, broken language versions. We run this list before every release.
Indexing
- robots.txt does not block the site and points to sitemap.xml.
- The sitemap lists only canonical URLs that return 200.
- Every page has a self-referencing canonical.
- The hosting’s technical subdomain is noindexed to avoid duplicates.
- Old URLs return 301, not 404.
Language versions
In Georgia you usually need Russian, English and Georgian. Every page needs hreflang links to all language versions plus x-default, and the language switcher must lead to the same page in another language, not the home page.
The page
- One h1, a clear title under 60 characters and a description under 160.
- A 1200×630 Open Graph image for messengers.
- Structured data: Organization or LocalBusiness, Service, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, Article.
- Alt text on images, width and height to prevent layout shift.
Speed
Aim for green PageSpeed Insights on mobile: LCP under 2.5 s, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200 ms. Static generation, self-hosted fonts, WebP or AVIF images and deferred analytics get you there.
After launch
- Verify the site in Google Search Console.
- Submit the sitemap.
- A week later check the coverage report and fix excluded pages.
- Monthly, review the queries the site shows for and add pages for them.