The Next.js Technical SEO Launch Checklist (2026)

App Router Metadata

The Next.js App Router handles SEO tags through the metadata export and the generateMetadata function. Make sure every public page exports its own:

• Title template: set a consistent pattern such as %s · Hauntboard in your root layout.
• Meta description: answer the search directly in the first sentence. Google has no fixed length limit and truncates snippets as needed, so put the important words first rather than counting characters.
• Open Graph and Twitter cards: add a social image (1200x630 is a common size) so links look right when shared on X, LinkedIn and Slack.

Our meta tag generator previews all of these before you ship.

Canonical URLs and Duplicate Content

The same page is often reachable at several URLs (trailing slashes, query parameters, uppercase letters). That doesn't earn a penalty: Google has said there is no duplicate content penalty unless the duplication is meant to deceive. But Google will pick one URL to show, and it may not be the one you want. Set an explicit canonical:

export const metadata = {
  alternates: {
    canonical: "/guides/technical-seo-launch-checklist",
  },
};

Structured Data (Schema.org JSON-LD)

Structured data helps search engines understand what a page is and can make it eligible for rich results. Useful types for a launch:

• BreadcrumbList: can show a breadcrumb trail instead of a raw URL in results.
• Article: for guides and blog posts, with the author and published and updated dates.
• SoftwareApplication: for your product page, with category, price and operating system. Only include ratings that real users left.

Skip FAQPage and HowTo if you're adding them for rich results: since August 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results only for well-known, authoritative government and health sites, and it no longer shows HowTo rich results.

Sitemaps and robots.ts

Instead of writing XML by hand, add app/sitemap.ts and app/robots.ts. Next.js turns them into sitemap.xml and robots.txt, built from your data, so new products and guides appear when the sitemap is regenerated. Give each URL a real lastModified date rather than the build time, and leave out pages you've marked noindex.

Core Web Vitals and Performance

Google's ranking systems use Core Web Vitals as part of page experience, although relevant content still matters more. Use Server Components by default (they don't add their own JavaScript to the client bundle), defer analytics scripts, and serve images through next/image.

When you're done, run through the launch checklist for the non-technical side of launch day.