The Indie Maker SEO Checklist: 15 Things to Do Before and After You Launch

Most indie products launch into a search engine void. The product is live, but Google has no idea it exists. No meta description. No backlinks. No structured data. The homepage title is still the boilerplate from the template. This checklist fixes that in the order that actually matters.

Before you launch

1. Write a real title tag

Your title tag is the single most important on-page SEO element. It should include your primary keyword and your product name, stay under 60 characters, and describe what you actually do. Not "Welcome to [Product]" and not just your brand name. Something like "Invoicing Software for Freelancers | Invoicer" tells Google and the user exactly what the page is about.

2. Write a meta description that earns the click

Meta descriptions do not directly affect rankings, but they directly affect click-through rate, which does. Write 150 to 160 characters that describe the problem you solve and the action you want the user to take. Include your primary keyword naturally. Every page on your site should have a unique one.

3. Set your OG image

When someone shares your link on X, LinkedIn, or Slack, the OG image is the first thing people see. A blank or broken preview kills click-throughs instantly. Set a 1200x630 image for every page. Your homepage, blog posts, and product detail pages all need their own. Tools like BuiltByMe's OG tag generator let you preview exactly how your link will appear before you share it.

4. Add structured data to your homepage

Structured data (JSON-LD schema) tells Google what your product is, who built it, what it does, and how to reach you. A basic SoftwareApplication or WebSite schema on your homepage increases your chances of rich snippets in search results. Validate it with BuiltByMe's schema validator before launch.

5. Set your canonical URLs

If your site is accessible at both example.com and www.example.com, or at both HTTP and HTTPS, Google may index them as duplicate pages and split your ranking signals. Set canonical tags on every page to tell Google which version is authoritative.

6. Create a sitemap and submit it

A sitemap tells Google which pages exist and when they were last updated. Most frameworks generate one automatically. Once it exists, submit it to Google Search Console. This is not optional if you want fast indexing.

7. Check your robots.txt

A misconfigured robots.txt file can accidentally block Google from crawling your entire site. This happens more than you think, especially with staging environments that get promoted to production. Use BuiltByMe's robots.txt validator to confirm your configuration is correct before launch.

After you launch

8. Submit to Google Search Console immediately

Do not wait for Google to discover your site organically. Verify ownership in Search Console and submit your sitemap on day one. Use the URL Inspection tool to request indexing for your most important pages. Organic discovery can take weeks. Manual submission takes minutes.

9. Get your first backlinks from directories

Backlinks are still one of the strongest ranking signals. The fastest way to build them as an indie maker is directory submissions. Each listing is a permanent DoFollow or NoFollow link pointing at your site. Start with BuiltByMe, Product Hunt, and Hacker News (Show HN), then expand from there. If you want to cover 200+ directories without doing it manually, Submitwell handles the distribution for you.

10. Write one piece of SEO content in your first month

Your homepage will rank for your brand name eventually. To rank for anything else, you need content. Pick one keyword your target user would search before they know about your product and write a thorough post on it. "How to X", "Best tools for Y", "What is Z" formats all work. One post in your first month is better than none in your first year.

11. Check your Core Web Vitals

Google uses page speed and Core Web Vitals as ranking factors. A slow site with poor LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) will rank below a faster competitor with similar content. Use BuiltByMe's page speed checker to see where you stand and what to fix first.

12. Make sure your favicon is set

This sounds trivial but it is a trust signal. A site without a favicon looks unfinished in search results and browser tabs. Use BuiltByMe's favicon checker to confirm yours is loading correctly across all formats.

13. Add internal links from every new page

Every new page you create should link to at least two other pages on your site. Internal links distribute authority and help Google understand the structure of your content. If you write a blog post, link to your homepage and to one related post. If you add a features page, link to your pricing page. This is free SEO that most indie makers ignore entirely.

14. Monitor your Search Console data weekly

Once Search Console is set up, check it every week. Look at which queries are bringing impressions with no clicks. Those are your lowest-hanging keyword opportunities. A page getting impressions at position 12 for a keyword is very close to page one with minimal optimization. This is where most of your quick SEO wins will come from.

15. Build one new backlink per week

Backlink building does not need to be aggressive to be effective. One new quality link per week from a relevant site, directory, or community compounds significantly over 6 to 12 months. Write one guest post. Get listed in one niche directory. Answer a question in a forum and link to a relevant piece of your content. Small consistent effort beats large sporadic effort every time.

SEO is not a launch task. It is a habit. The indie makers whose products rank after 12 months are the ones who treated SEO as a weekly discipline from week one, not a one-time setup.

The quick-start order

If you are launching in the next 48 hours and only have time for a few things, do these in order: title tag, meta description, OG image, sitemap submission to GSC, and one directory listing. Everything else can follow in the first month. A solid foundation beats a perfect strategy you never execute.