Pre-Launch Marketing Checklist

What this is

A single-page printable checklist of 46 items that must be verified before any website, campaign, or product goes live. Organised by function: SEO, analytics, paid media, content, lifecycle/email, and legal.

Born from expensive mistakes — every item on this list exists because someone (usually me) forgot it at least once and paid the price.

The checklist

SEO (12 items)

1. XML sitemap generated and submitted to Google Search Console
2. Robots.txt reviewed — nothing important is blocked
3. Canonical tags set on all pages (especially paginated and filtered pages)
4. Title tags unique per page, under 60 characters, keyword-forward
5. Meta descriptions written for all key pages, under 155 characters
6. H1 tags present and unique on every page
7. Image alt text filled in for all meaningful images
8. Internal linking structure connects pillar pages to cluster content
9. 301 redirects in place for any old URLs being replaced
10. Structured data (JSON-LD) validated via Rich Results Test
11. Core Web Vitals passing on mobile (LCP < 2.5s, INP < 200ms, CLS < 0.1)
12. Open Graph and Twitter Card tags set with correct images

Analytics (8 items)

13. Google Analytics 4 installed and receiving data
14. Google Search Console verified and connected
15. Conversion events configured (form submissions, purchases, sign-ups)
16. UTM parameter strategy documented for campaign links
17. Cross-domain tracking configured (if applicable)
18. Referral exclusion list updated (payment gateways, auth providers)
19. Data retention settings configured per privacy policy
20. Real-time view confirmed — at least one test conversion fired

Paid Media (8 items)

21. Google Ads conversion tracking pixel installed and verified
22. Meta Pixel installed and test events confirmed
23. Remarketing audiences created (visitors, cart abandoners, converters)
24. Landing pages load in under 3 seconds on mobile
25. Ad copy reviewed for policy compliance (Google, Meta)
26. Negative keyword lists applied to search campaigns
27. Budget caps and bid limits set (prevent runaway spend on day one)
28. Attribution model selected and documented

Content (8 items)

29. Homepage copy proofread by someone who didn’t write it
30. About page reflects current team, credentials, and positioning
31. Blog/resources section has at least 5 published pieces at launch
32. All CTAs link to the correct destination (tested manually)
33. Contact form tested — submission reaches the right inbox
34. Social proof (testimonials, logos, case studies) placed on key pages
35. 404 page customised with navigation and search
36. Content calendar for the first 90 days post-launch is ready

Lifecycle & Email (6 items)

37. Welcome email sequence built and tested (at least 3 emails)
38. Transactional emails tested (order confirmation, password reset)
39. Unsubscribe link working and compliant
40. Email templates render correctly on Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail
41. List segmentation rules configured
42. Opt-in forms connected to the correct email lists

Legal & Compliance (4 items)

43. Privacy policy published and linked in footer
44. Cookie consent banner implemented (GDPR/ePrivacy compliant)
45. Terms of service published (if applicable)
46. Accessibility basics checked: alt text, keyboard navigation, contrast ratios

How to use it

Pre-launch (the week before)

Print the PDF. Walk through every item with your developer and content person in the room. Mark each item: done, not applicable, or needs fixing. Anything marked “needs fixing” becomes a task with an owner and a deadline.

Post-launch (day one)

Recheck items 13–20 (analytics) and 21–28 (paid) — these are the ones that break silently. A misconfigured conversion pixel on launch day means your first week of paid data is useless.

Ongoing

Run a trimmed version (SEO + Analytics sections) every quarter. Things drift — pages get published without meta descriptions, new forms get added without conversion tracking, Core Web Vitals regress after a dependency update.

Why a checklist, not a process

Checklists work because they don’t require expertise — they require discipline. A junior marketer can run this checklist and catch 90% of the issues that a senior marketer would catch instinctively. The checklist makes the floor higher without requiring the ceiling.

Version history

Version	Date	Notes
3.0	May 2026	Added lifecycle/email section, updated CWV thresholds to INP
2.0	November 2025	Added paid media and legal sections
1.0	June 2025	Initial release (SEO + analytics only)