WordPress gives you a head start with search engines, but only a head start. Out of the box it handles a lot of the basics well, then quietly leaves a dozen settings, habits and plugins for you to sort out. Most UK business sites we look at are not failing through one big mistake, but through twenty small ones nobody got round to fixing.

This is the checklist we wish every business owner had pinned above their desk. It covers SEO optimisation for WordPress from the very first settings screen through to the monthly jobs that keep a site healthy. There are around 40 checks, grouped into sections, written in plain English. You do not need to be a developer, though a few items are worth handing to whoever looks after your hosting.

Work through it once properly, then come back to the maintenance section every month. That routine alone puts you ahead of most local competitors.

Start with the settings most people never open

Before you touch a plugin, check the settings WordPress already gives you. They take ten minutes and some can make or break your visibility on their own.

1. Untick “Discourage search engines”

Go to Settings, then Reading, and look for the box labelled “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”. Developers often tick it while a site is being built and forget to untick it at launch. If it is ticked, you are politely asking Google to ignore you. It is the most common reason we see for a new site getting no traffic at all.

2. Set sensible permalinks

Under Settings, then Permalinks, choose “Post name”. That gives you clean addresses like yoursite.co.uk/kitchen-fitting-guildford rather than yoursite.co.uk/?p=123. On an established site, do not change the structure without setting up redirects first.

3. Pick one version of your domain

Your site should load on one address only: either www or non-www, and always https. Type all four variations into your browser (http, https, with and without www) and check they all land on the same version. If not, you are splitting your authority across duplicate copies of your site.

4. Make sure your SSL certificate is working

Https is a confirmed, if light, ranking signal, and browsers flag sites without it as “not secure”, which puts visitors off. Most UK hosts include a free certificate. Check the padlock shows on every page, including old posts with images still loading over http.

Choose one SEO plugin and set it up properly

WordPress does not give you full control over titles, descriptions, schema or redirects on its own, so an SEO plugin is close to essential. The three you will hear about most are Yoast SEO, Rank Math and All in One SEO (AIOSEO). All three have free versions and will do the job for a typical small business site. The differences are mostly interface and which extras sit behind the paid tier.

We have already done the side-by-side work, so rather than repeat it here, have a read of our comparison of the best SEO plugin for WordPress if you are still deciding which is the best SEO WP plugin for you.

5. Install only one SEO plugin

Running two SEO plugins at once is a recipe for duplicate meta tags, clashing sitemaps and confused search engines. If you are switching, use the new plugin’s import tool, check everything carried over, then delete the old one.

6. Run the setup wizard, then check it

Every major plugin has a setup wizard. Run it, but do not assume the defaults suit you. Tell it you are a business, add your logo and connect your social profiles.

7. Decide what should and should not be indexed

Your plugin will let you set content types to “noindex”. Media attachment pages, author archives on a one-author site, and tag archives are often better left out of search results.

Sitemaps and Search Console are your line to Google

An XML sitemap is simply a list of the pages you want search engines to know about. Google Search Console is Google’s free tool for telling you how it sees your site. You want both set up on day one.

8. Confirm your XML sitemap exists

WordPress has produced a basic sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml since version 5.5, but most SEO plugins replace it with their own (Yoast, for example, uses /sitemap_index.xml). Visit the address in your browser and check it loads and only lists pages you actually want found.

9. Verify your site in Google Search Console

Add your site as a “Domain property” if you can, as it covers every version of your address in one go. Verification usually needs a DNS record, which your domain provider can help with. Google’s own Search Console verification guide walks you through each method.

10. Submit your sitemap

In Search Console, go to Sitemaps and paste in your sitemap address. Check back after a few days to see how many pages Google has discovered.

11. Check the Pages report for indexing problems

Search Console’s Pages report shows which URLs are indexed and which are not, with a reason for each. “Crawled, currently not indexed” on important pages is a sign that Google does not think they are worth showing yet, usually because of thin or duplicated content.

Titles, descriptions and headings are your shop window

The page title and meta description are what people see in Google before they decide whether to click. Your SEO plugin gives you a box for each on every page and post. Headings then take over once someone lands, telling readers and search engines how the page is organised.

12. Write a unique title for every page

Lead with the main keyword, add your location if you serve a local area, and finish with your brand if it fits. Aim for roughly 50 to 60 characters so it does not get cut off. “Boiler Servicing in Portsmouth | Smith Heating” beats “Services | Home”. If ten pages share a title, Google struggles to tell them apart.

13. Write meta descriptions that sell the click

Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor and Google often rewrites them, but a good one still earns more clicks. Keep it to around 150 to 160 characters, say what the page offers and give a reason to choose you.

15. One H1 per page

In most themes the page or post title becomes the H1 automatically. Check your theme is not also wrapping the logo or a hero banner in an H1, which leaves you with two. Then break the content into sections with H2s, use H3s for points within them, and make each heading describe what follows. “Our process” tells nobody anything.

Content and keywords still do the heavy lifting

No amount of technical work will rank a page that does not answer the searcher’s question. This is where most of your time should go.

16. Give every page one clear focus

Each page should target one main topic and the phrases people use for it. If two pages chase the same keyword, they compete with each other. Merge them or give each a distinct angle.

17. Write for people first

Use the words your customers use, answer the questions they ask you on the phone, and include the details that prove you know your stuff: prices or price ranges, timescales, areas covered, what happens next.

18. Beef up thin pages

A service page with two sentences and a contact form is unlikely to rank. Add what is included, who it is for, frequently asked questions, examples of work and reviews. Genuine customer testimonials are one of the easiest wins here.

19. Keep important content up to date

Old posts with out-of-date prices or advice drag down trust. Refresh your best performers once or twice a year.

Internal links and tidy archives tell Google what matters

Internal links are the links from one page of your site to another. They help visitors find related content and show search engines which pages are most important. We go into the strategy in depth in our guide to an SEO internal linking strategy, but here are the checks.

20. Link every blog post to at least one service page

Your blog should feed your money pages. If you write about choosing a new boiler, link to your boiler installation page. Use descriptive anchor text: “our emergency plumbing service” beats “click here”.

21. Find and fix orphan pages

An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it, so search engines struggle to find it and treat it as unimportant. Some SEO plugins flag these, as do crawlers like Screaming Frog.

WordPress also creates an archive page for every category and every tag. Used carelessly, they create hundreds of near-empty pages.

22. Keep categories few and meaningful

Five to ten categories that match your main topics or services is plenty for most small business blogs. Give each category page a short introduction so it is more than a list of links.

23. Avoid thin tag archives

If you have 200 tags each used once, you have 200 thin pages competing for attention. Either use tags sparingly and consistently, or set tag archives to noindex in your SEO plugin.

Speed and images: visitors feel them before Google measures them

Google’s Core Web Vitals measure how real visitors experience your pages. The three metrics are Largest Contentful Paint (how quickly the main content appears, with 2.5 seconds or less counted as good), Interaction to Next Paint (how quickly the page responds when someone taps or clicks, with 200 milliseconds or less counted as good) and Cumulative Layout Shift (how much things jump around while loading, with 0.1 or less counted as good). You can see your scores in Search Console or by running a page through PageSpeed Insights.

Images are usually the heaviest part of a WordPress page, so they are the best place to start. Get them right and you improve speed, accessibility and image search visibility all at once.

24. Add descriptive alt text

Alt text describes an image for people using screen readers and for search engines. Describe what is actually in the picture, naturally. “Oak kitchen with white quartz worktops fitted in Farnham” is useful. “Kitchen kitchen fitter Surrey best kitchens” is not. While you are at it, rename “IMG_4471.jpg” to something descriptive before uploading.

25. Resize before you upload

A photo straight off a phone can be 4,000 pixels wide and several megabytes. Your content area is probably under 1,400 pixels wide, so resize first.

26. Compress and use modern formats

WebP images are typically much smaller than JPEGs at similar quality, and WordPress has supported uploading them since version 5.8. An image optimisation plugin such as ShortPixel, Imagify or EWWW can compress your library and serve WebP (or AVIF) versions automatically.

27. Use decent hosting

Cheap shared hosting is often the biggest single cause of a slow WordPress site. Look for UK or European data centres, up-to-date PHP versions and server-level caching.

28. Turn on caching

Caching stores a ready-made copy of each page so the server does not rebuild it for every visitor. Many hosts provide it built in. If yours does not, a plugin such as WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache (on LiteSpeed servers) or W3 Total Cache will help. Use one caching solution, not three.

29. Limit your plugins

Every plugin adds code, and some load scripts on every page whether they are needed or not. Remove anything you are not using, and replace heavy page builder add-ons where you can. If you cannot explain why a plugin is there, it probably should not be. People often ask us for the top WordPress plugins to install, and honestly the best list is a short one.

30. Keep your theme lean

Bloated multipurpose themes, sliders and lots of web fonts slow things down. A lean theme with one or two font families will nearly always score better.

Mobile, schema and local signals win the near-me searches

Google indexes the mobile version of your site, so that is the version that counts. And if you serve a local area, a few extra checks make a big difference.

31. Test every key page on a phone

Pick up an actual phone and check that buttons are easy to tap, text is readable without zooming, forms work and pop-ups do not cover the content.

32. Add schema markup

Schema is code that labels your content for search engines: your business details, reviews, FAQs, products, articles. Most SEO plugins add basic schema automatically. Check your organisation or LocalBusiness details are filled in correctly, and test pages with Google’s Rich Results Test.

33. Make your name, address and phone number consistent

Your business name, address and phone number should match exactly across your website, your Google Business Profile and directories. Put them in your footer and on your contact page, and embed a map on the contact page.

34. Build proper location pages

If you serve Guildford, Woking and Farnham, a page for each with genuinely local content (jobs done there, travel times, local reviews) beats a single page listing every town. Avoid copying the same text and swapping the place name. Our plain-English local SEO audit guide covers this in more detail.

Security, broken links and redirects protect what you have built

Rankings take months to earn and can drop quickly if a site is hacked, starts throwing errors or loses pages without redirects.

35. Keep WordPress, themes and plugins updated

Most WordPress hacks come through out-of-date plugins and themes. Update regularly, but take a backup first and check the site afterwards. Delete deactivated plugins and themes.

36. Use strong logins and two-factor authentication

Do not use “admin” as a username, use strong unique passwords and turn on two-factor authentication. A security plugin such as Wordfence or Solid Security can limit login attempts and flag suspicious activity.

37. Take automatic off-site backups

Many hosts include daily backups. Make sure at least one copy is stored somewhere other than the same server, and test that you can actually restore it.

38. Redirect any URL you change or delete

If you remove a page or change its address, set up a 301 redirect to the most relevant live page. Most SEO plugins include a redirect manager, or you can use the free Redirection plugin. This is especially important during a rebuild, when dozens of addresses can change at once.

39. Fix broken links

Links to pages that no longer exist frustrate visitors and waste crawl time. Search Console lists 404 errors it has found, and a crawler will find broken links within your own content.

A monthly maintenance routine that keeps you ahead

SEO is not a job you finish. Here is a simple monthly routine that takes an hour or two once the setup work above is done.

1. Back up, then update. Update WordPress core, your theme and plugins, then click through your key pages to check nothing has broken.
2. Check Search Console. Look at the Pages report for new indexing errors and the Core Web Vitals report for any slow pages.
3. Review performance. In the Performance report, note which pages gained or lost clicks, and which search terms are bringing people in.
4. Find quick wins. Look for pages ranking in positions 8 to 20. A better title, extra content or a couple of internal links can often nudge them onto page one.
5. Fix broken links and 404s. Redirect or repair anything new.
6. Publish or refresh content. Add at least one useful new post or update an existing one, with internal links to your service pages.
7. Record the numbers. Keep a simple monthly log of clicks, impressions, enquiries and rankings for your main terms. Trends over six months tell you far more than any single month.

Frequently asked questions

Is WordPress good for SEO?

Yes. It produces clean code, handles permalinks and sitemaps well, and has excellent SEO plugins. But it will not rank a site on its own. The settings, content and maintenance in this checklist are what make the difference.

Which is the best SEO WP plugin?

For most small business sites, Yoast SEO, Rank Math and AIOSEO are all solid choices. Pick one, set it up properly and stick with it.

How many plugins is too many?

There is no fixed number. Ten well-built plugins can run faster than three badly built ones. The test is whether each one earns its place and whether your Core Web Vitals scores are healthy.

How long does SEO optimisation for WordPress take to show results?

Technical fixes like unticking the search engine visibility box can show results within days. Content and authority building usually takes three to six months to show meaningful movement, sometimes longer in competitive markets.

Do I need to do all 40-odd checks?

Start with the settings, plugin, Search Console and title checks, as they have the biggest impact for the least effort. Then work through the rest over a few weeks.

Want a second pair of eyes on your WordPress site?

If something still does not add up, or you would rather someone else took care of it, that is what we do every day. Our SEO team works with businesses across Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex on everything from one-off technical fixes to ongoing monthly SEO, and we build and look after WordPress websites too.

Not sure where to start? Book a free Social Clinic. It is a relaxed one-to-one session where we look at your site together, point out the quick wins and answer your questions. No hard sell, just useful advice you can act on straight away.