PSEO Launch Checklist: 25 Pre-Publish Checks

You've built 500 new comparison pages. The templates look great. The data is populated. You're ready to launch—but are you really? Programmatic SEO mistakes multiply at scale. A single template error affects every page. A sitemap misconfiguration means nothing gets indexed. A missing canonical tag creates thousands of duplicate content issues.

This pre-launch checklist catches problems before they compound. It's designed for programmatic content launches—situations where you're publishing many pages from templates at once. Run through every check before going live. The hour spent on verification saves weeks of troubleshooting.

The checklist is organized into categories: technical foundation, content quality, internal linking, schema and metadata, and post-launch monitoring. Each check includes what to verify, why it matters, and how to fix common issues.

Technical Foundation (Checks 1-7)

Core technical requirements for successful indexing.

Check 1: Pages Are Crawlable

Check 2: Canonical Tags Are Correct

What to verify:

• Every page has a canonical tag
• Canonical points to self (for unique pages)
• Canonical uses absolute URLs
• No conflicting canonicals (header vs. HTML)

Check 3: URLs Are Clean and Consistent

URL requirements:

✓ Lowercase only

✓ Hyphens between words (not underscores)

✓ No special characters

✓ No trailing slashes (or consistent trailing slashes)

✓ No duplicate content via URL variations

✓ Keywords present where appropriate

Check 4: Sitemap Is Ready

Verify:

1. New pages are included in sitemap
2. Sitemap validates (no errors)
3. Sitemap is referenced in robots.txt
4. Sitemap is submitted to GSC
5. If using sitemap index, new sitemap is included

Check 5: Page Speed Is Acceptable

Check 6: Mobile Rendering Works

Test on mobile:

• Tables display correctly (responsive or scrollable)
• Text is readable without zooming
• No horizontal scroll
• Touch targets are adequately sized
• Mobile menu functions

Check 7: JavaScript Doesn't Block Content

JS rendering check:

• View page with JS disabled—is content visible?

• Use GSC URL inspection—does rendered HTML show content?

• Check for client-side-only rendering issues

• Ensure critical content is in initial HTML

Content Quality (Checks 8-14)

Ensuring content meets quality thresholds.

Check 8: Unique Content Per Page

Check 9: No Empty or Broken Elements

Check for:

• Empty product entries (missing data)
• Broken images (404 images)
• Missing prices or ratings
• Placeholder text left in templates
• Empty comparison cells

Check 10: Minimum Content Depth

Content requirements by page type:

1. Best-of listicles: Minimum 5 products, 300+ words per product
2. Versus pages: Minimum 1,500 words total
3. Alternative pages: Minimum 5 alternatives, substantive descriptions
4. Reviews: Minimum 1,000 words

Check 11: Titles and Meta Descriptions

Title requirements:

✓ Under 60 characters

✓ Includes target keyword

✓ Compelling (click-worthy)

✓ Unique per page

✓ No keyword stuffing

Meta description requirements:

✓ 150-160 characters

✓ Includes target keyword

✓ Call to action or value prop

✓ Unique per page

Check 12: Heading Structure

Check 13: Images Have Alt Text

Image requirements:

• All images have alt attributes
• Alt text is descriptive (not “image123.jpg”)
• Product screenshots describe what's shown
• Decorative images can have empty alt (alt=“”)

Check 14: Links Work

Link verification:

1. No broken internal links
2. External links open in new tab (optional but common)
3. Affiliate links are properly formatted
4. CTAs link to correct destinations

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Internal Linking (Checks 15-18)

Ensuring new pages are properly connected.

Check 15: No Orphan Pages

Orphan page prevention:

• Every new page has at least one internal link pointing to it

• Category/hub pages link to new content

• Related content sections include new pages

• Navigation updated if applicable

Check 16: Breadcrumbs Are Correct

Check 17: Cross-Links Are Implemented

Cross-linking verification:

• Best-of pages link to individual reviews
• Versus pages link to related best-of lists
• Alternative pages link to product reviews
• Related content sections populated

Check 18: Hub Pages Updated

If adding to existing category:

1. Category hub page links to new content
2. Category page updated with new entries if applicable
3. Navigation menus updated if needed
4. Footer links updated if applicable

Schema and Metadata (Checks 19-22)

Structured data and metadata verification.

Check 19: Schema Validates

Check 20: Open Graph Tags

OG tag requirements:

• og:title (matches or relates to page title)
• og:description (compelling summary)
• og:image (appropriate image, correct dimensions)
• og:url (canonical URL)
• og:type (article for content pages)

Check 21: Twitter Cards

Twitter card verification:

1. twitter:card (summary_large_image recommended)
2. twitter:title
3. twitter:description
4. twitter:image
5. Test with Twitter Card Validator

Check 22: Hreflang (If Multilingual)

If you have multiple language/region versions:

✓ Hreflang tags implemented correctly

✓ Self-referencing hreflang present

✓ X-default specified

✓ Reciprocal hreflang on all versions

✓ Language/region codes correct (ISO format)

Monitoring Setup (Checks 23-25)

Setting up post-launch monitoring.

Check 23: GSC Ready

Check 24: Analytics Tracking

Analytics verification:

• GA4 (or your analytics) tracking on all new pages
• Events firing correctly (if applicable)
• Conversions/goals tracking affiliate clicks
• Content groupings set up for new content type

Check 25: Alerting Configured

Set up alerts for:

1. Traffic drops (>20% week-over-week)
2. GSC coverage errors
3. 404 spikes
4. Core Web Vitals issues
5. Indexing ratio changes

Complete Checklist Template

Use this template for every PSEO launch.

Launch Checklist Summary

Pre-Launch Checklist (25 Items)

TECHNICAL (7 checks)

☐ 1. Pages are crawlable (robots, noindex, 200 status)

☐ 2. Canonical tags correct and self-referencing

☐ 3. URLs clean and consistent

☐ 4. Sitemap ready and submitted

☐ 5. Page speed acceptable (Core Web Vitals pass)

☐ 6. Mobile rendering works

☐ 7. JS doesn't block content

CONTENT (7 checks)

☐ 8. Unique content per page (>50%)

☐ 9. No empty or broken elements

☐ 10. Minimum content depth met

☐ 11. Titles and meta descriptions optimized

☐ 12. Heading structure correct

☐ 13. Images have alt text

☐ 14. Links work

INTERNAL LINKING (4 checks)

☐ 15. No orphan pages

☐ 16. Breadcrumbs correct

☐ 17. Cross-links implemented

☐ 18. Hub pages updated

SCHEMA & METADATA (4 checks)

☐ 19. Schema validates

☐ 20. Open Graph tags present

☐ 21. Twitter Cards configured

☐ 22. Hreflang correct (if multilingual)

MONITORING (3 checks)

☐ 23. GSC ready (sitemap submitted)

☐ 24. Analytics tracking verified

☐ 25. Alerting configured

Sample Verification Process

1. Select samples: Check 5-10% of pages manually (minimum 10 pages)
2. Run automated checks: Crawl with Screaming Frog or similar
3. Validate schema: Test 3-5 pages in Rich Results Test
4. Test cross-browser: Check Chrome, Safari, Firefox, mobile
5. Sign off: Get stakeholder approval before launch

Conclusion: Launch with Confidence

Programmatic SEO launches are high-stakes. A single template error affects hundreds or thousands of pages. This 25-point checklist catches the issues that derail launches—before they become problems.

Run through every check. Sample-test thoroughly. Set up monitoring before you launch. The hour or two of verification prevents weeks of post-launch troubleshooting and protects your investment in content creation.

Make this checklist part of your standard PSEO workflow. Customize it as you learn what issues are most common for your templates. Build verification into your launch process, and launches become routine successes rather than anxious events.

For sitemap strategy, see Sitemap Strategy for Large PSEO. For content quality frameworks, see Content QA at Scale.

About the Author

Yue Zhu@BestPage

Product Manager at BestPage. Pioneer in AEO research since 2024, exploring the convergence of SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Led multiple AI-powered content optimization projects that achieved 300%+ citation increases in ChatGPT and Perplexity.