The technical SEO checklist we use for every Next.js site
Metadata, canonicals, structured data and Core Web Vitals: the checks we run before any Next.js site goes live.
By Turtle IT Solution EngineeringPublished 6 min read
Choose the right rendering strategy
Search engines need the important content in the initial HTML. Static generation gives you that with the best performance, so we use it for every page whose content does not change per request.
Server rendering everywhere is not an SEO requirement. It adds latency and cost without improving how well a page is crawled.
Unique metadata and canonical URLs
Every indexable page needs a unique title, a unique meta description and a self-referencing canonical URL.
- Generate metadata for dynamic routes from the same data that renders the page.
- Set Open Graph and Twitter card data so shared links look intentional.
- Keep URLs lowercase, hyphenated and free of query parameters.
Structured data that matches the page
Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList and Article markup help search engines understand a site. The markup must describe content that is visible on the page, or it does more harm than good.
Core Web Vitals
Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift are measured on real users' devices. Fixed image dimensions, self-hosted fonts and minimal client-side JavaScript solve most problems before they start.