Publishing a Recipe Blog Post Checklist

New and experienced food bloggers alike will find this thorough recipe post checklist very helpful. Customize it to make your workflow faster!

I encourage you to read through how I grouped items in the checklist and then download the PDF and create your own customized checklist! You will find a free downloadable PDF at the bottom of this post.

Don't forget to check out my other checklists! Take a look at the Recipe Research Checklist to give you some ideas on what to do before writing a post. Also, the After Publishing Checklist has some great content on what to do to help that post get traffic.

Why Blog Publishing Checklist is Helpful

As a new blogger you may find it difficult to remember all the steps to making sure your recipe post is complete before hitting the publish button. This list will make your work easier to publish more content faster!

As a seasoned blogger you probably know most of the things listed in this checklist. However, give this a quick view to see if you can add anything to your work workflow to make your posts faster. In addition, if you are thinking about hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) this list will facilitate a clear expectation for what you want included in each published post.

I personally like to write my post and then use the checklist as a way to quickly go through, and make sure that nothing was forgotten before publishing.

Keyword

The keyword is often the recipe title or H1 of the post. Sometimes additional words are added to your target keyword. Check out my post about Researching Your Recipe for tips on finding your recipe Keyword.

Remember, that these are just suggestions on what to include in your own checklist. They may not apply to all recipe posts.

• Keyword is in the H1 (title).
• Title uses an attention grabber (Easy, Simple, Best etc).
• Keyword is in recipe card title.
• Keyword is in the first 1-2 sentences of the post.
• Keyword is in meta description in Yoast.
• Keyword is in the optional "excerpt" that is in the right side column of your WordPress window.

• All keyword variations are used in the post. The Research Post talks more about finding keyword variations during your recipe research.

Images

Image dimensions are described universally as being width x height. Google state's that the image must be 1200px width minimum.

• Images on computer are saved under file names with the target keyword and dashes (-) between words.
• Images have alt text in WordPress Media.
  • A maximum of 120 characters.
  • A complete sentence with a period at the end.
• Images have a caption below (optional).
• Image file sizes are under 200KB each.
  • Feast says up to 250KB per image.
• Images are 1200px wide.
• Featured Hero Image is 1200 x 1200px.
• Add Featured Image to Post column in WordPress.

Pinterest

I currently use Hubbub for Pinterest hidden pins. You will want to customize this section with whatever system you have in place for your Pinterest pins.

• Add hidden pin.
• Add Pinterest Title and Description.
  • Include keywords in title and description.

SEO

Some of the previous checklist items will also help your post to be SEO friendly. The following items will also help you to follow the SEO best practices.

• Link 2-3 of your other blog posts near the top of the post.
  • These should be relevant to post you are currently publishing.
• Internal links open in the same window.
• External links open in the same window. This is a new update. Previously they were opened in a different window.
• Target keyword density is below 2%.

Recipe Card

I use the WP Recipe Maker plugin for the recipe cards on my website. The free version is great to start with. The paid version gives you some added features like nutrition labels, equipment links, and star ratings in the recipe card.

• Add Important recipe notes to the recipe card.
• Add how to store, reheat and freeze leftovers in the recipe card.
• Check to make sure the recipe card is filled out as much as possible.
• Embed video to recipe card.
• Add affiliate links to recipe card.

Feast Theme

If you are looking for a website theme that is always up to date with the best SEO practices for food blogs then the Feast Design Co Theme is an awesome option. You pay yearly for the plugin, but you never have to worry about your blog sending red flags to Google.

• Add Post ID numbers to the FSRI block (or add recipe pictures with links if not using Feast).
  • The FSRI block allows you to link to previous recipes that you think your readers may be interested in. It shows the picture and name of the recipe. This is helpful, but because the longer a user stays on the website the more potential ad revenue. Example Below:

A Few Other Items

These are just a few more random items that I like to have checked off before publishing a post

• Most important questions found during research are answered using the Yoast FAQ Block.
• URL includes keyword
  • You may not want to include numbers (20-homemade-dressings) or dates (2022-new-years-appetizers) in the URL because you may want to update the post title later with a different number or year.
• Paragraphs are short and formatted for easy reading (2-3 sentences).
• Add Categories and uncheck uncategorized (right side column).
• Create Group Blocks
  • Creates a better user experience when placing ads on your website.

Free Printable Publishing a Post Checklist

As promised here is the PDF with all of these included. It is the simplified version of what you have read above. I am no expert and I am always learning, so let me know if I should add something to the list or if you think I need to make a change to the list.

I hope you find this Publishing a Recipe Checklist helpful!