WordPress SEO

Key access and input materials are the set of permissions and information needed to assess the state of the website and prepare the priorities for the WordPress SEO work. The basis is access to the WordPress dashboard and the ability to edit the theme or settings, so that the elements affecting indexing and on-page can be verified and implemented. Depending on the needs, access to the server or files is also useful, if some of the changes require work outside the dashboard itself. Input materials from the client make it possible to focus the work straight away on the pages that are key to the business.

In practice, at the start I ask for the following access and information, so that we can move on smoothly to the audit and further work:

• access to the WordPress dashboard,
• the ability to edit the theme and settings,
• access to the server or files (if needed),
• a list of key pages/products/services to prioritise.

This set of inputs also matters because the scope of the work depends on the real options for editing the theme and components and on the quality of the content supplied by the client. The plan and the order of the work are also affected by the number of pages and by sign-off of structural changes, if they were to be considered. For these reasons, at the arrangements stage we clarify what can be implemented directly in WordPress and what requires additional arrangements or work on the client’s side. At the same time, the cooperation does not involve guarantees of specific rankings or deadlines.

An SEO audit of the website is a technical and on-page review whose aim is to detect indexing blocks, problems with architecture and content, and elements that affect visibility. The audit verifies the areas that most often make it harder for search engines to crawl and assess pages. In parallel, it identifies the places where the structure or content of the site makes it harder to match user intent. The audit is the basis for planning the order of optimisation and for preparing the implementation tasks.

Indexing and accessibility

Indexing and accessibility cover checking whether important pages are available for crawling and indexing. Blocking rules, canonical tags, redirects and server response errors are checked. This makes it possible to detect situations in which important sections of the site are not correctly made available to search engines, or in which there are conflicts between URL versions. The results of this part of the audit affect the priority of the work, especially when critical blocks appear.

Architecture and internal linking

Architecture and internal linking is an assessment of the category structure, click depth, navigation and contextual linking. The audit identifies orphan pages and cases of intent cannibalisation resulting from competing pages within the site. The analysis shows where the structure needs simplifying or making consistent, so that the key sections are easier to reach and better linked topically. These findings are later used when planning changes to menus, taxonomies and linking.

On-page and content

On-page and content cover checking titles, descriptions, headings and the repetition of content across the site. Thin pages and the match of the content to intent are verified, in order to point out the pages that need expanding or consolidating. The audit also makes it possible to determine where a topic should be made more precise and where it is better to split it into separate pages, in order to limit keyword cannibalisation. The conclusions from this part are the basis for standardising on-page elements and for preparing the editorial work.

Performance and technical UX

Performance and technical UX cover an assessment of the elements that affect loading speed and stability, including the size of resources, images, scripts and the impact of the theme. Mobile problems that may have a negative effect on SEO are checked as well. This stage points out the areas where the configuration or the way the website works makes it harder for users to use the site and at the same time limits the efficiency of indexing. The findings are used to prioritise technical fixes in the further optimisation plan.

Audit report + task backlog

The audit report + task backlog is the result of the audit in the form of a list of problems and recommendations written up as tasks to carry out. Each task contains a priority, an implementation description and acceptance criteria, which makes it easier to agree on the scope and the way it is delivered. The report also points out the risks associated with structural changes, which may require additional tests and sign-off. This backlog later feeds the optimisation plan and makes it easier to decide who implements the changes and how they are approved.

Post-implementation verification and monitoring of changes cover checking that the implementations are correct and further iterations based on observations and updated priorities. After the changes have been made, I check whether any errors have appeared in the redirects and whether the key pages remain indexable and have consistent canonical versions. The check also covers the consistency of titles and headings and the correctness of the key templates that affect recurring on-page elements across the whole website. The results of the verification are set against the acceptance criteria from the backlog, to confirm clearly what has been implemented as intended.

Monitoring and iterations mean regularly analysing changes in visibility and catching new or recurring technical problems that may affect SEO. On that basis the task backlog is updated and the work continues in further iterations, in line with current priorities and implementation resources. As part of the iterations, the content and internal linking are refined, if that follows from the observations and findings after implementation. On the deliverables side, a change log is kept (what, where, why), together with a list of the remaining tasks and recommendations for the next steps.