Nuxt SEO Checklist

Nuxt handles most SEO by default with built-in SSR, but proper configuration ensures maximum visibility. This checklist covers pre-launch setup, post-launch verification, and ongoing monitoring.

Pre-Launch Checklist

SSR & Rendering

• Rendering mode verified (SSR by default, configure routeRules for hybrid rendering if needed)
• Route rules configured for special cases (SPA mode for authenticated routes, prerendering for static pages)
• Hydration errors resolved (check browser console for mismatches)
• "View Source" tested on deployed site (meta tags visible in raw HTML, not just rendered)

Meta Tags

• Page titles configured per route (under 60 chars, descriptive, unique)
• Meta descriptions set per page (under 160 chars, actionable, unique)
• Open Graph tags configured (OG image, title, description)
• Twitter Cards configured (summary_large_image preferred)
• Schema.org structured data added if applicable (products, recipes, FAQs, articles)
• Meta tags tested in Google Rich Results Test and Facebook Debugger

URL Structure

• URL structure uses hyphens (not underscores), lowercase paths, descriptive slugs
• Trailing slashes handled consistently (configure trailingSlash in nuxt.config.ts)
• Dynamic routes configured with unique meta per route param (use pages/[slug].vue pattern)
• Query parameters excluded from indexing via canonicals (filter/sort/tracking params)
• Pagination uses self-referencing canonicals (not rel=prev/next—deprecated)
• 404 pages return proper 404 status via createError({ statusCode: 404 })

Crawler Control

• robots.txt configured (via @nuxtjs/robots module or manual configuration)
• XML sitemap generated (via @nuxtjs/sitemap module—under 50,000 URLs, updates dynamically)
• Canonical URLs set on every page (self-referencing or pointing to preferred version)
• Meta robots tags configured for noindex pages (staging, user profiles, duplicate content)
• Redirects use 301 status codes via routeRules (avoid redirect chains)

Nuxt SEO Module

Consider installing Nuxt SEO for automatic configuration of all the above:

Individual modules if you prefer granular control:

Security

• HTTPS configured with valid SSL certificate
• Security headers set (CSP, X-Frame-Options, HSTS) without blocking crawlers
• No sensitive data exposed in HTML source or robots.txt
• NUXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL environment variable set for production

Performance

• Images optimized via @nuxt/image module (automatic lazy loading, responsive images, format conversion)
• Critical CSS inlined automatically (Nuxt handles this by default)
• JavaScript code-split by route (automatic in Nuxt)
• CDN configured for static assets (/_nuxt/ directory)
• Fonts preloaded (WOFF2 format, use link: [{ rel: 'preload' }] in nuxt.config.ts)

Post-Launch Checklist

Google Search Console

• GSC property created and verified (DNS, meta tag, or HTML file method)
• Sitemap submitted via GSC (check Sitemaps report for errors)
• URL Inspection tool tested on key pages (check if indexable, view rendered HTML)
• Page Indexing report reviewed (resolve "Crawled - currently not indexed" and "Discovered - currently not indexed")

Indexing Verification

• Indexing status checked for important pages (site:yoursite.com in Google)
• Rendered HTML verified (use URL Inspection tool—check if meta tags appear in rendered output)
• Soft 404 errors resolved (404 pages must use createError({ statusCode: 404 }), not return 200)
• No "Duplicate without user-selected canonical" errors in GSC
• Orphan pages linked from sitemap or internal navigation

Performance & Core Web Vitals

• Core Web Vitals passing thresholds (LCP ≤2.5s, INP ≤200ms, CLS ≤0.1)
• Mobile-first indexing verified (use Mobile-Friendly Test)
• Page Speed Insights run on key pages (address blocking resources, unused CSS/JS)
• Real user metrics monitored via web-vitals library or RUM tool

Social Sharing

• OG images tested in Facebook Debugger (clear cache if needed)
• Twitter Cards validated (compose tweet without posting to preview card)
• Slack link previews tested (OG tags control Slack unfurls)
• LinkedIn share tested (uses OG tags, sometimes caches aggressively)

Analytics

• Analytics configured (GA4, Plausible, Fathom, or Umami)
• SPA-style navigation tracking configured if using routeRules with client-side routing
• Search terms tracking enabled (Google Search Console > Performance report)
• Goals/conversions tracked (signups, purchases, downloads)

Ongoing Monitoring

Weekly Tasks

• GSC Performance report reviewed (track impressions, clicks, CTR, position)
• Page Indexing report checked (resolve new indexing issues)
• Core Web Vitals monitored (check for regressions after deploys)
• Broken links scanned (use Link Checker or Screaming Frog)

Monthly Tasks

• SEO monitoring tools reviewed (Ahrefs, SEMrush, or free alternatives)
• Competitor rankings tracked (identify keyword gaps and opportunities)
• Search rankings monitored for target keywords (track position changes)
• Backlink profile reviewed (identify new links, lost links, disavow spam if needed)
• Content gaps identified (check GSC for queries where you rank #5-#20, optimize pages)

Quarterly Tasks

• Full technical SEO audit (crawl site with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb)
• Sitemap reviewed for bloat (remove low-value pages, add new pages)
• Redirect chains audited (flatten chains via routeRules, remove unnecessary redirects after 1 year)
• Structured data updated for deprecated types (Google removes schema types periodically)
• Canonical URL configuration verified (GSC shows user-declared vs Google-selected canonical)

After Major Changes

• Site migration checklist followed if domain or URL structure changed
• IndexNow or URL submission used for urgent updates (new pages, content changes)
• Redirects tested after URL structure changes (301s in routeRules, no 404s)
• GSC URL Inspection re-run on changed pages (request indexing for critical updates)
• Search rankings monitored weekly for 60 days post-migration (track recovery timeline)

Common Mistakes

Not setting NUXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL - Absolute URLs in sitemaps and canonicals require this environment variable in production.

Generic meta descriptions - "Welcome to page" template descriptions hurt CTR. Write unique descriptions per route.

Ignoring GSC warnings - Page Indexing report shows why pages excluded. 67.6% of sites have duplicate content issues.

Soft 404s - 404 pages must use createError({ statusCode: 404 }), not just display "Page not found" with 200 status.

Redirect chains - A→B→C dilutes authority. Flatten to A→C in routeRules after fixing the root cause.

Forgetting mobile - Google uses mobile-first indexing. Desktop-only testing misses most issues.

Not monitoring CWV - 53% of sites fail Core Web Vitals. Poor metrics tank rankings in competitive queries.

Skipping prerendering for static routes - Use routeRules: { '/blog/**': { prerender: true } } for better performance and faster indexing.

Tools Referenced

• Google Search Console - Free indexing, performance, and technical SEO monitoring
• Google Rich Results Test - Structured data validator
• Facebook Sharing Debugger - OG tags validator (works for most platforms)
• PageSpeed Insights - Core Web Vitals and performance analysis
• Mobile-Friendly Test - Mobile usability checker
• Screaming Frog - Desktop SEO spider (free up to 500 URLs)
• Ahrefs - Paid SEO suite (backlinks, keywords, rankings)
• SEMrush - Paid SEO suite (keyword research, competitor analysis)
• Nuxt DevTools - Built-in development tools for debugging SSR, routes, and meta tags

Next Steps

Start with Mastering Meta if you haven't configured meta tags yet.

Already launched? Check Launch and Listen for post-launch monitoring.

Want automated SEO? Install Nuxt SEO for zero-config meta tags, sitemaps, robots.txt, and OG images.