WordPress SEO Audit: A 20 Point Checklist You Can Run Yourself

A WordPress SEO audit is a check of everything that decides whether Google can find, read, and trust your pages.

You need two free tools: Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. An SEO plugin such as Yoast or Rank Math helps with the on-page checks.

Part 1: Can Google Find Your Pages

• Settings, Reading: "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" is unticked.
• Your XML sitemap loads and is submitted in Search Console.
• robots.txt does not block pages you want in Google.
• The Page Indexing report shows your important pages as indexed.
• No important pages are marked noindex by mistake.

Part 2: Technical Health

• The whole site loads on https, and http redirects to it.
• Only one version of the site works: www or non-www, not both.
• Core Web Vitals pass in PageSpeed Insights on mobile.
• No broken internal links or 404 pages in your menus.
• WordPress, plugins, and themes are up to date, and unused ones are removed.

Part 3: On-Page SEO

• Every important page has a unique title and meta description.
• Each page has one clear H1 that says what the page is about.
• Images have descriptive alt text and are compressed.
• Service and location pages have real, unique content, not one template with the town swapped.
• Your key pages link to each other with descriptive words.

Part 4: Trust and AI Search

• Your business name, address, and phone match everywhere online.
• LocalBusiness or Organization schema is set up.
• Your Google Business Profile is complete and active.
• Pages answer the questions customers actually ask, in plain words.
• Ask ChatGPT and Google for the best business like yours in your area, and note who gets named.

What to Fix First

Fix anything in Part 1 first. A page Google cannot index cannot rank, no matter how good it is. Then work down the list in order.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I audit? A full audit every quarter, and a quick check of Search Console every week.

Do I need paid tools? No. Search Console and PageSpeed Insights cover the most important checks.

Which SEO plugin is best? Yoast and Rank Math both cover the basics well. Use one, not both.

How long until fixes show results? Indexing fixes can show within weeks. Content and trust improvements take longer.

Want It Run for You

An audit is a snapshot. Things break again with every update. Our SEO service runs these checks every week and fixes what it finds.