Showit SEO Checklist: 18 Things to Do Before You Go Live

This Showit SEO checklist covers every configuration step your site needs before going live. Most photographers skip it entirely – and a Showit site launched without this work is invisible to Google until you go back and fix each item one by one. That means weeks or months of missed traffic and bookings you can’t get back.

Work through these 18 items in order before (and immediately after) going live. Every item here exists because skipping it causes a real, measurable problem.

Showit SEO Checklist: Site-Level Setup (Do These First)

These settings affect your entire site and take about 15 minutes to complete. Do them before you touch any individual page settings.

☐ 1. Set your site name in Showit Site Settings → SEO.
Use your business name exactly as you want it to appear publicly. This feeds into your default title format and appears in browser tabs. Match it to your Google Business Profile name for consistency across local signals.

☐ 2. Set a default title format.
Go to Site Settings → SEO → Title Format. Set a fallback like [Page Name] | [Site Name]. This ensures that if you ever add a new page and forget to write a custom title, it at least has something meaningful in the title tag rather than nothing.

☐ 3. Upload a default social sharing image (1200×630px).
This is the image displayed when anyone shares any page from your site on Facebook, LinkedIn, or in messages. Use a strong brand image – your best portrait with your name overlaid, or a branded graphic. This applies to any page that doesn’t have its own Open Graph image set.

☐ 4. Add your Google Search Console verification code.
Go to Google Search Console → Settings → Ownership Verification → HTML tag. Copy the meta tag. Paste it in Showit → Site Settings → SEO → Google Verification field. Publish your site, then verify in GSC. Do this before launch so you’re monitoring from day one.

Page-Level Setup (Repeat for Every Main Page)

This is the most time-intensive section but also the highest-impact. Click each page in the Showit sidebar → Page Settings → SEO tab. Repeat for: Homepage, About, Portfolio, Services/Investment, Contact, and any other pages you want indexed.

☐ 5. Write a unique page title for every page (under 60 characters).
Every page needs a unique, keyword-targeted title. For photographers, include your city and specialty on main pages: Austin Wedding Photographer | Jane Smith Photography. Never leave two pages with the same title – duplicate titles signal to Google that your pages are interchangeable, which hurts ranking for both.

☐ 6. Write a unique meta description for every page (140–155 characters).
Include your target keyword naturally and write a compelling reason to click. Avoid generic copy like “Welcome to my website.” A good meta description reads like a mini ad for that specific page. Example: Austin wedding photographer capturing natural, emotional moments across Texas. Booking 2026 and 2027 – view packages and enquire.

☐ 7. Upload an Open Graph image for each key page (1200×630px).
At minimum, do this for your homepage, portfolio, and services pages. These are the pages most likely to be shared socially. Use images that look good cropped to 2:1 aspect ratio – landscape, not portrait.

☐ 8. Confirm all main pages are set to Index, Follow.
Check Page Settings → SEO → Robots for every main page. The default is Index, Follow – but verify it on each page. Set only thank-you pages, private client delivery pages, and test pages to Noindex.

☐ 9. Add a crawlable text section to each main page.
This is the Showit-specific SEO step that most guides skip. Showit’s canvas text elements aren’t always crawled as efficiently as standard HTML by Google. Use the WordPress embed feature in Showit to pull content from a matching WordPress page into your canvas layout. This gives Google clean, crawlable text on your homepage, about page, and services page. For the full walkthrough, see our Showit SEO settings guide.

Image SEO (Every Image on Every Page)

☐ 10. Add alt text to every image on every page.
Click each image in the canvas → Image Settings → Alt Text. Write a natural description of the photo: who, what, where. Include relevant keywords where they fit naturally. Never leave alt text empty – empty alt text means Google has nothing to associate with that image, and screen readers announce nothing to visually impaired visitors.

Examples of good alt text:

• bride and groom first dance at The Hermitage Hotel Nashville
• newborn wrapped in cream knit swaddle, Austin family portrait session
• couple laughing during engagement session in wildflower field, Texas Hill Country

☐ 11. Compress all images before uploading.
Use Squoosh (free, browser-based) or TinyPNG to compress images before uploading to Showit. Target under 500KB per image. Photography websites with uncompressed images can have page load times of 8–15 seconds – which tanks both user experience and Google Core Web Vitals scores. Compressed images routinely cut load times by 40–60% on image-heavy pages.

WordPress Blog Setup

If you’re on the Basic + Blog or Advanced + Blog plan, your WordPress blog needs its own complete SEO setup. Don’t assume the main site settings carry over – the blog is a separate WordPress installation.

☐ 12. Install Yoast SEO (free) on your WordPress blog.
Log in to your WordPress dashboard at yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin/. Go to Plugins → Add New → search “Yoast SEO” → Install and Activate. Run the Yoast setup wizard. Enable the XML sitemap during setup – this is what you’ll submit to Google.

☐ 13. Set a Yoast title template for posts and pages.
In Yoast → Search Appearance → Content Types → Posts, set your title template to %%title%% %%page%%. This produces clean titles from your post title alone. You’ll override this per post when you write the Yoast meta box – but the template ensures every post has a sensible fallback.

☐ 14. Write and publish at least one blog post before launch.
Launching with zero blog posts is a missed opportunity. Publish one solid post – a venue feature, a behind-the-scenes piece, or a tips post for your target client – before going live. This signals to Google that the blog is active, not an empty placeholder. One genuine post with keyword-targeted content is enough to start.

Technical SEO

☐ 15. Submit your Showit main site sitemap to Google Search Console.
Your Showit site generates a sitemap at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml. In Search Console → Sitemaps → enter the URL → Submit. This tells Google every page that should be indexed on your main site.

☐ 16. Submit your WordPress blog sitemap to Google Search Console.
Submit yourdomain.com/blog/wp-sitemap.xml as a second separate sitemap. This covers all your blog posts and WordPress pages independently. Having both submitted ensures nothing is missed.

☐ 17. Set up Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Create a GA4 property at analytics.google.com. Get your Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX). In Showit → Site Settings → Integrations → Analytics → paste your Measurement ID. Verify it’s tracking by checking Real-Time in GA4 while browsing your site. You want traffic data from day one – retroactive data collection isn’t possible.

☐ 18. Request indexing for key pages in Google Search Console immediately after launch.
After going live, go to GSC → URL Inspection → enter your homepage URL → Request Indexing. Do this for your homepage, about, services, and portfolio pages. This doesn’t guarantee immediate ranking, but it triggers Google’s crawler faster than waiting for natural crawl discovery – which can take weeks on a new domain.

Post-Launch: What to Do in the First 30 Days

The checklist above covers launch day. In the 30 days following launch, complete these additional steps:

• Check Search Console for crawl errors and indexing issues weekly
• Publish at least two blog posts to signal that the site is active and content is growing
• Set up your Google Business Profile if you haven’t already – this is your local SEO foundation
• Check your Core Web Vitals score in Search Console → Experience → Core Web Vitals. Address any pages flagged as “Poor”
• Request indexing for each new blog post within 48 hours of publishing

The first 30–60 days after launch are when Google forms its initial impression of your site’s quality and content depth. Starting with a clean, fully-optimised launch gives you the strongest possible foundation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does it take for a new Showit site to appear in Google after launch?

After submitting your sitemap and requesting indexing in Google Search Console, most new Showit sites begin appearing in Google within one to four weeks. Appearing in Google (being indexed) is different from ranking well – indexing happens relatively quickly, but ranking for competitive keywords takes months of consistent content publishing and building your site’s authority through backlinks and engagement signals.

Q: Do I need Google Analytics if I already have Google Search Console?

Yes – they serve completely different purposes. Google Search Console shows how your site performs in search results: impressions, clicks, rankings, and crawl errors. Google Analytics shows what visitors do on your site once they arrive: which pages they visit, how long they stay, where they drop off, and whether they submit your contact form. You need both to make good decisions about your website and SEO strategy.

Q: What if I already launched my Showit site without doing any SEO setup?

Work through this checklist now – it is never too late. Most improvements take effect within four to eight weeks of implementation. The highest-impact quick fixes are page titles, meta descriptions, and image alt text, which can be done in a single focused work session. Crawlable text sections and WordPress blog SEO setup may take longer but are equally important for long-term results.

Q: Should I hire someone to do my Showit SEO setup?

The technical checklist (items 1–18 above) is within reach for most photographers without hiring help – it takes a few focused hours. Where a specialist adds the most value is in keyword research, content strategy, and building backlinks – the ongoing, strategic work that compounds over months and years. If your budget allows, completing the technical setup yourself and hiring for ongoing strategy is often the best use of money.

Q: How often should I check and update my Showit SEO settings?

Review your page titles and meta descriptions every six months – they may need updating as your offerings change or as you discover new keyword opportunities in Search Console. Check Search Console for crawl errors monthly. Update image alt text any time you add new images. Your WordPress blog SEO (Yoast per-post settings) should be completed at the time of every new post publication.

Ready to Build a Website That Gets Results?

If you’re serious about your photography business or service-based website, getting the foundations right makes every other marketing effort work better. Adil Makhdoom specialises in Showit and WordPress websites for photographers and small businesses – built to rank, built to convert. Reach out on TheAdil.me to discuss your project.