A new website launch goes well for search and AI visibility when, before going live, every page has its title, description, canonical and structured data, the site renders its content on the server, crawlers are allowed, forms and analytics work, and the staging site is protected; on launch day, staging restrictions are removed and the sitemap is submitted; and in the first month, indexing and errors are watched closely. This checklist comes partly from our own launch of brilad.com, where several of these checks caught real problems.
Before launch
Content and pages
- Every page has final text, with no placeholder or lorem ipsum.
- Unique title and meta description for every indexable page.
- One H1 per page and a logical heading outline.
- Legal pages: privacy policy and terms, with correct URLs and links.
- Company details identical everywhere: name, addresses, phone, and the cities you actually operate in.
Technical
- Main content in the server HTML; test with our AI crawler access checker.
- Canonical tags on every indexable page, including blog listings and archives.
- Organization, WebSite and BreadcrumbList structured data, validated.
- XML sitemap listing only indexable URLs, and robots.txt allowing the crawlers you want.
- A real 404 page returning status 404.
- HTTPS everywhere, with one preferred host and redirects from the others.
- Core Web Vitals checked on a mid-range phone.
Measurement and forms
- Analytics installed, with key events for enquiries; see GA4 setup.
- Cookie notice and consent in place where analytics collects personal data.
- Contact forms tested end to end, including email delivery and stored copies.
If replacing an old site
- A complete redirect map from old URLs; see the migration checklist.
Launch day
- Remove staging noindex tags, passwords and “discourage search engines” settings.
- Verify the site in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and submit the sitemap.
- Set up IndexNow, or install the IndexNow plugin on WordPress.
- Run a crawl of the live site and fix broken links.
- Create or update the Google Business Profile with the new website link.
First 30 days
- Check Search Console’s Page indexing report weekly.
- Run URL Inspection on key pages.
- Watch for 404s and server errors in Search Console and logs.
- Update profiles on LinkedIn, directories and review sites with the new URL.
- Set up monitoring; see SEO monitoring and alerts.
What our own launch taught us
Running these checks on brilad.com after launch found three real problems, each now fixed:
- The blog listing page had no canonical tag, because WordPress adds canonicals only to posts and pages and our theme did not cover listings. An automated check found it.
- The privacy policy was published at an unexpected URL, because WordPress’s own default draft already used the intended one, so links to it were broken until we changed the draft’s URL.
- Our tagline and several titles mentioned a city where we did not yet have an office. We corrected them to match the facts.
None of these was visible by looking at the site in a browser, which is why a checklist and automated checks matter.
Frequently asked questions
How long until a new site appears in Google?
Often days to a few weeks for the main pages, depending on links and crawling. Full visibility takes months.
Should we launch with a blog?
A few strong articles answering buyers’ main questions help from the start. Launch with quality, then publish regularly.
What is the most common launch mistake?
Leaving staging settings, such as noindex or “discourage search engines”, switched on after launch.
Sources
- Google Search Central, “SEO Starter Guide”
- Google Search Central, “Build and submit a sitemap”