There's a version of SEO, getting your business to show up in Google search results, that most people are familiar with: use the right keywords, write good content, get other websites to link to you. But before any of that works, your website needs to be technically set up in a way that allows Google to find, read, and understand it in the first place. If the technical foundation isn't right, all the content and keyword work in the world won't produce the results you're hoping for.
This checklist covers the technical requirements that have the most direct impact on whether Google can find your site and rank it for relevant searches. Most of these can be checked without any technical background, and understanding what they mean helps you have more informed conversations with whoever manages your website or SEO.
Can Google Find and Read Your Pages?
Is your website indexed? "Indexed" means Google has found your pages and included them in the database it uses to serve search results. To check: open Google and search for "site:yourdomain.com" (replacing yourdomain.com with your actual domain). The results that appear are the pages of your site that Google has in its index. If you see zero results, or dramatically fewer pages than you have on your site, something is preventing Google from finding your content.
Do you have a sitemap submitted to Google? A sitemap is a file on your website that lists all the pages Google should index, think of it as a table of contents that you hand directly to Google. Without one, Google finds your pages by following links from page to page, which can be slow and can miss pages that aren't well-linked. Google provides a free tool called Google Search Console (searchconsole.google.com) where you can submit your sitemap and see how Google is reading your site. If you haven't set up Google Search Console, this is a priority, it's one of the most useful free tools available to any business with a website.
Does your site have an HTTPS certificate? HTTPS is the security layer that encrypts information between your visitors' browsers and your website. Your site has it if your URL starts with "https://" and a padlock icon appears in the browser address bar. If your site still starts with "http://", Google marks it as "not secure" to visitors, which discourages them from entering personal information, and Google treats it as slightly less trustworthy than secured sites. Most modern hosting providers include HTTPS for free.
How Fast Is Your Website?
Check your mobile speed score. Google uses a free tool at pagespeed.web.dev to measure how fast and usable your site is for visitors. Enter your URL and look at the "Mobile" tab score. Google takes these measurements, how quickly the main content appears on screen, how quickly the site responds when you tap something, and whether the page is stable while loading, into account when deciding how to rank your site versus competitors. A mobile score above 90 is excellent. 70-90 is good. Below 70 means your site has meaningful speed issues that are likely affecting both your rankings and your conversion rate. Below 50 means the site is significantly underperforming and the problem almost always requires technical work to fix properly.
Are your images unnecessarily large? Images are the most common cause of slow website load times. A photo straight from your camera or phone is typically 3-8MB. For a website, images should almost never exceed 200KB, and many can be under 50KB without any visible quality loss if properly compressed. Free tools like Squoosh (squoosh.app) let you drag and drop an image and compress it for web use in under a minute. If your website was built with images uploaded directly from a camera, compressing them can produce dramatic speed improvements with no technical expertise required.
Is Your Site Designed for Mobile Visitors?
Does your site pass Google's mobile-friendly test? Google offers a free mobile-friendly test at search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly. Enter your URL and Google will tell you whether your site is mobile-friendly and flag any specific problems it finds. A failing result means Google considers your site poorly suited for phone screens, which is especially significant because the majority of local searches in Houston happen on mobile devices, and Google primarily uses the mobile version of your site to determine your search rankings.
Does the text read without zooming? This is the simplest mobile test you can run yourself: open your website on your phone and try to read a paragraph of body text without double-tapping to zoom in. If you have to zoom to read comfortably, your text is too small for mobile. Google's recommendation is body text of at least 16 pixels (a standard paragraph size on most sites), though 18px is even better for readability on small screens.
Are Your Pages Properly Titled and Described?
Does each page have a unique title that describes what's on it? The title of each page on your website, the text that appears in the browser tab and as the blue headline in Google search results, is one of the most important signals Google uses to understand what each page is about. Every page should have a unique title that includes the specific topic of that page plus your location. "Web Design Services in Houston, TX | D8.Digital" is a title that tells Google and searchers exactly what that page covers. "Home" or "Page 1" tells them nothing useful.
Check what your current page titles say: right-click on any page of your site, select "View Page Source" (or similar in your browser), and search for the text between the <title> tags near the top of the code. That's your title tag. If it's generic, missing, or duplicated across multiple pages, it's an SEO improvement opportunity.
Do your pages have meta descriptions? A meta description is the short paragraph that appears under your page title in Google search results, it's what convinces a searcher to click your result rather than the one above or below it. It doesn't directly affect your rankings, but it significantly affects whether people click your result. A compelling meta description that describes what the page is about and gives a specific reason to click consistently improves click-through rates from search by 10-30%.
Is Your Business Information Correct Across the Web?
Are your name, address, and phone number consistent everywhere? Google checks your business information across dozens of websites, your Google Business Profile, your Yelp listing, your Facebook page, your website footer, business directories, and more. If these all say the same thing, Google is confident it has accurate data about your business. If some say "Suite 200" and others say "Ste. 200" or "#200", even though they mean the same thing, Google sees inconsistency and treats your business information as less reliable. This inconsistency is one of the most common and most fixable local SEO problems for Houston businesses.
Do you have a Google Business Profile and is it claimed? Your Google Business Profile is the listing that appears on Google Maps and in the box on the right side of desktop search results when someone searches your business name. Claiming and fully completing this profile, adding your services, hours, photos, business description, and responding to reviews, is one of the highest-impact actions you can take for local search visibility. If you haven't claimed it, search your business name on Google Maps and look for the "Claim this business" link.
If you've gone through this list and found problems, or want help identifying what your site's specific technical issues are and what to prioritize, reach out at hello@d8.digital. A technical website audit is one of the most useful starting points for any Houston business that wants to improve their search visibility.
Related service: See how we handle Houston SEO for Houston businesses →
Free tool: No sign-up needed, run the six-point website checklist →