# Verification Checklist — VACC Backlink (T-5)

**Sprint:** Factronics — Sprint SEO · Backlink VACC
**Run after:** `PUBLISH_PACKAGE.md` Part 1 and Part 2 are done.
**Goal:** Confirm both outbound links to venezuelanchamber.org are live, loading, and
dofollow, and that the blog post is indexable. Record the result for the sprint.

---

## Pre-check: is it published yet?

Run this. A 404 means the post is not live yet.

```powershell
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://factronicsusa.com/factronics-usa-venezuelan-american-chamber-of-commerce/" -UseBasicParsing -Method Head | Select-Object StatusCode
```

Expected after publish: `200`. Before publish: `404`.

---

## Check 1. Blog post returns HTTP 200

```powershell
$u = "https://factronicsusa.com/factronics-usa-venezuelan-american-chamber-of-commerce/"
$r = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -UseBasicParsing
"Status: $($r.StatusCode)"
```

- [ ] Status is **200**
- [ ] Page title shows "Factronics USA Is a Member of the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce (VACC)"

---

## Check 2. Dofollow link to the chamber in the body

Extract every link to venezuelanchamber.org and inspect for `rel="nofollow"`.

```powershell
$u = "https://factronicsusa.com/factronics-usa-venezuelan-american-chamber-of-commerce/"
$c = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -UseBasicParsing).Content
[regex]::Matches($c, '<a [^>]*venezuelanchamber\.org[^>]*>.*?</a>') | ForEach-Object { $_.Value }
```

Expected: at least one `<a href="https://www.venezuelanchamber.org">Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce</a>` with **no** `rel="nofollow"`.

- [ ] Link present with anchor "Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce"
- [ ] NO `rel="nofollow"` on it (dofollow)
- [ ] Directory link (`/directory`) also present

---

## Check 3. Footer link is global and dofollow

Check the homepage, then spot-check one more page.

```powershell
$c = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://factronicsusa.com/" -UseBasicParsing).Content
$m = [regex]::Matches($c, '<a [^>]*vene-usa-chamber[^>]*>')
if ($m.Count -eq 0) { "FAIL: chamber image not linked in footer" } else { $m | ForEach-Object { $_.Value } }
```

Expected: a wrapping anchor to `https://www.venezuelanchamber.org` with `rel="noopener"` and no `nofollow`.

- [ ] Homepage footer chamber logo is wrapped in a link to venezuelanchamber.org
- [ ] No `rel="nofollow"`
- [ ] `alt="Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce (VACC)"` present
- [ ] Spot-check a second page (e.g. `/about-us/`) shows the same link

---

## Check 4. Indexability

- [ ] **Rank Math robots** on the post: view page source and confirm the meta robots tag
      shows index (e.g. `content="follow, index, ..."`). A `noindex` fails this check.
- [ ] **Sitemap:** the post URL appears in `https://factronicsusa.com/sitemap_index.xml`
      (follow into the posts sitemap; new posts can take a few minutes to appear).

```powershell
$ix = (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://factronicsusa.com/sitemap_index.xml" -UseBasicParsing).Content
[regex]::Matches($ix, 'https://factronicsusa\.com/[a-z0-9\-]+-sitemap\d*\.xml') | ForEach-Object { $_.Value } | Select-Object -Unique
```

---

## Check 5. Bonus. VACC directory still links to Factronics (dofollow)

The reverse link already existed at T-2 (FACTRONICS USA LLC, Medley FL, dofollow). Confirm it
is still live. The directory is a JS widget (Chamber Nation), so curl alone will not render
it. Use a real browser:

1. Open https://www.venezuelanchamber.org/directory
2. Filter by "F" and locate FACTRONICS USA LLC.
3. Confirm the Website link still points to factronicsusa.com.
4. Open dev tools, inspect the anchor, confirm no `rel="nofollow"`.

- [ ] Factronics still listed in the VACC directory
- [ ] Website link still dofollow

---

## Evidence to capture

- [ ] Screenshot of the published blog post (rendered)
- [ ] Screenshot of the page source showing the dofollow body link
- [ ] Screenshot of the footer with the linked chamber logo
- [ ] Screenshot of the Rank Math robots tag (index)
- [ ] Sitemap confirmation

---

## Tracker row (add to the Factronics SEO tracker)

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 Sep 2026 |
| Sprint | Backlink VACC |
| Outbound link 1 | Blog post body -> https://www.venezuelanchamber.org (dofollow, anchor "Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce") |
| Outbound link 2 | Global footer logo -> https://www.venezuelanchamber.org (dofollow) |
| Post URL | https://factronicsusa.com/factronics-usa-venezuelan-american-chamber-of-commerce/ |
| Post status | 200 / index / in sitemap |
| Inbound link | VACC directory -> factronicsusa.com (dofollow, pre-existing) |
| Verified by | |
| Notes | Sprint pivot 17 Sep: work executed on factronicsusa.com, not the VACC site. |

---

## Success criteria (from the dashboard)

**Done** = link live + dofollow + verified + registered. Out of scope for this sprint:
measuring ranking impact, which takes weeks and depends on Google.