Planning 06 — SEO Execution & Governance Rules

This checklist defines how SEO is executed and governed across the site. Its purpose is to ensure SEO actions are intentional, repeatable, and consistent rather than reactive or tool‑driven.

SEO governance focuses on process discipline and long‑term stability, not chasing rankings or short‑term trends.

Checklist Objective

Establish clear rules for how SEO decisions are made, applied, reviewed, and maintained over time.

Preconditions

• Planning 01 — Site Purpose & Scope Definition is completed and approved
• Planning 02 — Content System & Page Model is completed and approved
• Planning 03 — Navigation & Landing Page Map is completed and approved
• Planning 04 — URL, Slug & Taxonomy Rules is completed and approved
• Planning 05 — Indexing, Visibility & Crawl Control is completed and approved

Checklist Steps

1. Define SEO ownership and responsibility.
   • Identify who is allowed to change SEO settings
   • Confirm accountability for SEO decisions
2. Define SEO tool usage rules.
   • Confirm which SEO plugins or tools are authoritative
   • Disallow overlapping or redundant tools
3. Define page‑level SEO requirements.
   • Confirm required fields for pages before indexing
   • Define minimum completeness standards
4. Define post‑level SEO requirements.
   • Confirm when posts are eligible for indexing
   • Define review and approval criteria
5. Define SEO change management rules.
   • Document how SEO changes are proposed
   • Define when changes require review or approval
6. Define monitoring and review cadence.
   • Confirm how often SEO configuration is reviewed
   • Avoid reactive changes based on short‑term metrics
7. Review alignment with downstream workflows.
   • Read operation titles only
   • Confirm governance supports ongoing operations
   • Related operations:
     • Operations — SEO Audits & Maintenance

Required Output

• Defined SEO ownership and responsibility
• Approved SEO tools and exclusions
• Page‑level SEO readiness criteria
• Post‑level SEO readiness criteria
• SEO change management rules
• Monitoring and review cadence

Pause & Lock

Once approved, SEO execution and governance rules become locked inputs for configuration, publishing, and ongoing operations.

Outputs from this checklist are required context for Planning 07 — Editorial Workflow & Change Control .