Checklist · Employee Giving
Employee Giving SEO checklist — Step by Step 2026
This SEO checklist is designed to help Employee Giving platforms improve their search engine visibility and attract more businesses looking to implement or scale their giving programs. By following these steps, you can optimize your website and content to rank higher in search results and drive more qualified leads.
Phase 01
Keyword Research & Strategy
- 1.1critical4 hours
Identify primary keywords related to 'employee giving' and related terms.
Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to find high-volume, low-competition keywords. Focus on terms like 'employee giving platform', 'corporate giving', and 'volunteer programs'.
- 1.2high3 hours
Analyze competitor keyword strategies (the category leader, a leading competitor).
Examine the keywords your competitors are targeting and identify gaps in your own strategy. Look at their content, backlinks, and overall SEO approach.
- 1.3high2 hours
Create a keyword map aligning keywords with specific pages on your website.
Organize your keywords and assign them to relevant pages. This ensures that each page is optimized for a specific set of keywords.
- 1.4medium2 hours
Incorporate long-tail keywords related to specific employee giving solutions.
Target longer, more specific phrases like 'employee giving platform for small business' or 'best employee donation matching software'.
- 1.5medium1 hour
Research keywords related to integrations with platforms like Salesforce or Workday.
If your platform integrates with other popular business tools, target keywords related to these integrations.
- 1.6low1 hour
Identify seasonal keywords related to end-of-year giving or Giving Tuesday.
Plan your content calendar around seasonal events and target relevant keywords during these periods.
- 1.7medium30 minutes
Monitor keyword rankings using a tracking tool.
Track your progress over time and identify areas where you need to improve your SEO efforts.
- 1.8high1 hour
Analyze search intent for target keywords.
Understand what users are looking for when they search for specific keywords and tailor your content accordingly.
- 1.9critical2 hours
Use keyword research to inform content strategy.
Create content that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience based on your keyword research.
- 1.10medium1 hour
Optimize for 'employee giving' + [industry] (e.g., 'employee giving for healthcare').
Cater your SEO to specific industries to attract more relevant traffic.
Phase 02
On-Page Optimization
- 2.1critical4 hours
Optimize title tags and meta descriptions for target keywords.
Craft compelling title tags and meta descriptions that accurately reflect the content of each page and entice users to click.
- 2.2high3 hours
Use target keywords in headings (H1, H2, H3) and body text.
Incorporate keywords naturally throughout your content to improve its relevance for search engines.
- 2.3medium2 hours
Optimize images with alt text describing the image and including relevant keywords.
Use descriptive alt text for all images to improve accessibility and SEO.
- 2.4critical4 hours
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive.
Optimize your website for mobile devices to provide a seamless user experience and improve your search ranking.
- 2.5high3 hours
Improve website loading speed by optimizing images and leveraging caching.
Faster loading speeds improve user experience and can boost your search ranking. Consider using a CDN.
- 2.6medium2 hours
Use internal linking to connect related pages on your website.
Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your website and improve the flow of link juice.
- 2.7critical6 hours
Create high-quality, informative content that addresses the needs of your target audience.
Focus on creating valuable content that provides solutions to common problems faced by companies implementing employee giving programs.
- 2.8medium2 hours
Use schema markup to provide search engines with more information about your content.
Implement schema markup to help search engines understand the context of your content and display rich snippets in search results.
- 2.9low1 hour
Optimize URL structure for SEO.
Use short, descriptive URLs that include your target keywords.
- 2.10low1 hour
Ensure content is easily shareable on social media.
Add social sharing buttons to your content to encourage users to share it with their networks.
Phase 03
Off-Page Optimization & Link Building
- 3.1critical8 hours
Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in the CSR and nonprofit space.
Focus on earning backlinks from authoritative websites to improve your website's credibility and search ranking.
- 3.2medium4 hours
Participate in industry forums and communities to build relationships and earn backlinks.
Engage with other professionals in the employee giving space and share your expertise to earn backlinks and build your reputation.
- 3.3high3 hours
Promote your content on social media to increase its visibility and attract backlinks.
Share your content on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to reach a wider audience and encourage them to link to your website.
- 3.4medium6 hours
Guest post on relevant websites to reach a new audience and earn backlinks.
Write guest posts for other websites in the CSR and nonprofit space to share your expertise and earn backlinks to your website.
- 3.5medium2 hours
Monitor your backlink profile to identify and disavow any low-quality or spammy links.
Regularly check your backlink profile and disavow any links that could harm your website's search ranking.
- 3.6low4 hours
Reach out to journalists and bloggers to get coverage for your platform.
Pitch your platform to journalists and bloggers in the CSR and nonprofit space to get media coverage and earn backlinks.
- 3.7medium8 hours
Create infographics and other visual content to attract backlinks.
Visual content is more likely to be shared and linked to, so create infographics and other visuals to attract backlinks to your website.
- 3.8low8 hours
Participate in industry events and conferences to network and build relationships.
Attend industry events to meet other professionals in the employee giving space and build relationships that could lead to backlinks and other opportunities.
- 3.9medium12 hours
Offer a free tool or resource to attract backlinks.
Create a free tool or resource that is valuable to your target audience and promote it to attract backlinks to your website.
- 3.10low4 hours
Leverage customer testimonials and case studies to earn backlinks from customer websites.
Showcase success stories and highlight the impact of your platform to encourage customers to link back to your site.
Phase 04
Technical SEO
- 4.1critical2 hours
Ensure your website is crawlable by search engine bots.
Check your robots.txt file and sitemap to ensure that search engine bots can access and crawl all of your website's pages.
- 4.2high4 hours
Fix any broken links or 404 errors on your website.
Broken links and 404 errors can negatively impact your website's search ranking and user experience.
- 4.3medium2 hours
Implement proper redirects for any moved or deleted pages.
Use 301 redirects to redirect users and search engines to the new location of any moved or deleted pages.
- 4.4medium2 hours
Optimize your website's sitemap to ensure that search engines can easily find and index your content.
Create and submit a sitemap to search engines to help them discover and index your website's pages more efficiently.
- 4.5critical1 hour
Ensure your website is secure with HTTPS.
HTTPS encrypts the communication between your website and users, protecting their data and improving your search ranking.
- 4.6high4 hours
Check Core Web Vitals using Google PageSpeed Insights.
Optimize for Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for better user experience.
- 4.7low2 hours
Implement hreflang tags for multilingual websites.
Use hreflang tags to tell search engines which language and region your content is targeted to.
- 4.8medium4 hours
Fix any duplicate content issues on your website.
Duplicate content can confuse search engines and negatively impact your website's search ranking.
- 4.9medium2 hours
Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to improve website loading speed.
A CDN distributes your website's content across multiple servers, reducing loading times for users around the world.
- 4.10critical1 hour
Set up Google Search Console to monitor your website's performance and identify any technical issues.
Use Google Search Console to track your website's search ranking, identify crawl errors, and submit your sitemap.
Phase 05
Analytics & Reporting
- 5.1critical1 hour
Set up Google Analytics to track website traffic and user behavior.
Use Google Analytics to track key metrics like website traffic, bounce rate, and conversion rate.
- 5.2high30 minutes
Track keyword rankings to monitor your SEO progress.
Use a keyword tracking tool to monitor your website's ranking for target keywords.
- 5.3high1 hour
Monitor website traffic from organic search.
Analyze your website's organic search traffic to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
- 5.4medium1 hour
Track conversions and leads generated from organic search.
Measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts by tracking conversions and leads generated from organic search traffic.
- 5.5medium2 hours
Analyze user behavior on your website to identify areas for improvement.
Use Google Analytics to analyze user behavior and identify areas where you can improve the user experience.
- 5.6medium2 hours
Create regular SEO reports to track your progress and identify areas for improvement.
Generate regular SEO reports to track your progress and identify areas where you need to focus your efforts.
- 5.7low1 hour
Track the ROI of your SEO efforts.
Measure the return on investment of your SEO efforts to justify your budget and demonstrate the value of your work.
- 5.8critical2 hours
Use data to inform your SEO strategy and make adjustments as needed.
Use data from Google Analytics and other sources to inform your SEO strategy and make adjustments as needed to improve your results.
- 5.9medium1 hour
Monitor competitor SEO performance.
Track competitor rankings and strategies to identify opportunities and stay ahead of the curve.
- 5.10low30 minutes
Set up conversion tracking in Google Ads if running paid search campaigns.
Integrate Google Analytics with Google Ads to see how organic search assists paid campaigns and vice-versa.
Pro tips
- Focus on creating high-quality content that addresses the specific needs and pain points of companies seeking employee giving solutions. Highlight integration capabilities with platforms like Benevity and YourCause.
- Optimize your website for mobile devices to provide a seamless user experience for the growing number of mobile users. Ensure fast loading times, especially on mobile.
- Build relationships with influencers and thought leaders in the CSR and nonprofit space to promote your platform and earn backlinks. Engage with industry experts on LinkedIn.
- Use schema markup to provide search engines with more information about your content and improve your chances of earning rich snippets in search results. Use schema for 'Service' and 'Organization'.
- Regularly monitor your website's performance and make adjustments to your SEO strategy as needed to stay ahead of the competition. Keep up with algorithm updates from Google.