5 SEO Mistakes Freelance Developers Make Before Handoff

Good code doesn’t guarantee good SEO

You built a clean, fast, accessible site. But when the client’s SEO consultant runs an audit, they find a list of issues. Missing meta descriptions. No structured data. Images without alt text. A sitemap that points to staging URLs.

These are easy to miss when you’re focused on functionality. Here are the five most common gaps.

1. Missing or duplicate page titles

Every page needs a unique <title> tag that describes its content. Template-based sites often repeat the site name across every page, or omit titles entirely on dynamically generated pages.

2. No meta descriptions

Search engines use meta descriptions in results. Without one, Google pulls whatever text it finds on the page. The result is often a sentence fragment that doesn’t represent the page well.

3. Images without alt text

Alt text is both an accessibility requirement and an SEO signal. Screen readers need it. Search engines use it to understand image content. Every meaningful image should have a descriptive alt attribute.

4. Missing structured data

Schema.org markup (JSON-LD) helps search engines understand your content. Local businesses need LocalBusiness schema. Blogs need Article schema. Products need Product schema. Without it, you’re leaving rich snippet opportunities on the table.

5. No XML sitemap or a broken one

A sitemap helps search engines discover and index your pages. If the sitemap points to staging URLs, includes noindex pages, or is missing entirely, crawling suffers.

How to catch these before handoff

Run a site audit before you deliver. SiteCurl checks for all five of these issues (and 50+ more) across up to 10 pages on the Pro plan. Share the report with your client as proof that the site is ready.

It takes less time than writing a handoff email.