WordPress SEO checklist for beginners (the essentials that matter)

Getting WordPress SEO right is mostly about clean foundations. You don’t need 30 plugins or complicated hacks—just a setup that helps search engines understand your site and helps readers navigate it.

1) Confirm your site is indexable

Before you do anything else:

• In WordPress, make sure the setting “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is off.
• Check that your site is reachable without a login.
• Verify you’re not blocking key pages via robots.txt.

If indexing is blocked, nothing else matters.

2) Set one canonical domain

Pick one primary version:

• https://www.example.com (www)
• or https://example.com (apex)

Then redirect the other version to it. This prevents duplicate indexing and makes your analytics cleaner.

3) Use clean permalinks

Use a readable structure (commonly “Post name”) so URLs are stable and human-friendly.

• Good: /how-to-start-a-blog/
• Not great: /?p=123

4) Create a sitemap and submit it

Most SEO plugins can generate a sitemap. Once you have it:

1. Open Google Search Console.
2. Add your property and verify ownership.
3. Submit sitemap.xml.

A sitemap doesn’t guarantee ranking—but it removes guesswork for discovery.

5) Write titles and descriptions that match intent

For each post:

• Title should clearly describe the topic.
• Meta description should summarize what the reader will get.
• Avoid clickbait; reviewers and users want accuracy.

A simple pattern:

• Title: “How to speed up WordPress (beginner steps)”
• Description: “Simple fixes for slow WordPress sites: caching basics, image optimization, and common plugin issues.”

6) Build internal links like a guide, not a maze

Internal links help:

• search engines understand your topic coverage
• readers discover related posts

Add:

• 2–4 links to related posts inside each article
• a “Recommended next” section at the bottom of long guides

7) Keep your site fast and stable

You don’t need perfection. You need:

• pages that load quickly on mobile
• layouts that don’t jump around
• limited third-party scripts

If you run ads, keep containers stable so they don’t cause layout shift.

8) Add trust pages and clear navigation

For AdSense and for users, make sure these pages are easy to find:

• About
• Contact
• Privacy Policy
• Terms
• Disclaimer (if applicable)

9) Publish with consistency

A new site doesn’t need daily posts, but it does need steady publishing and a coherent niche.

If you do these fundamentals well, you’ll have an SEO foundation that stays strong even when algorithms and tools change.