If your WordPress site is “indexed” but not “ranking”, it’s usually because the basics aren’t consistent. This guide covers the 3 highest-impact SEO fixes you can apply in under an hour.
1) Titles: write for humans + search intent
- Put the primary keyword near the start (without stuffing).
- Make the promise specific (numbers, year, clear benefit).
- Keep it scannable: ~50–60 characters is a safe target.
Quick checklist
- One clear topic per page/post
- No duplicate titles across posts
- H1 matches the page topic (not necessarily the exact title tag)
2) Permalinks: choose a stable structure
Go to Settings → Permalinks and use a readable structure like /%category%/%postname%/ or /%postname%/. Avoid changing it later unless you plan redirects.
If you must change permalinks
- Set 301 redirects for old URLs → new URLs.
- Update internal links and sitemap.
- Re-crawl key pages in Search Console.
3) Internal links: build topical clusters
Internal links help Google discover pages and understand relationships. Create clusters like “WordPress performance”, “WordPress security”, “Magento upgrades”, etc.
Internal linking rules that work
- Link from high-traffic posts → important money pages.
- Use descriptive anchors (not “click here”).
- Add 2–5 internal links in every new post.
Next steps
Once these are stable, focus on content depth, page speed, and backlinks. Those only work well when the foundations are correct.