WordPress + SEO · Audit checklist
The 12-point WordPress teardown: speed + SEO titles
Most WordPress sites fail the same audit: heavy builders, plugin sprawl, uncompressed images and titles written for humans but invisible to search. This is the checklist we run on every site — speed first, titles second, proof at the end.
Part 1 — Speed (points 1–6)
- 1. Plugin triage. Deactivate everything non-essential on a staging copy and re-test. Count matters less than cost: one page-builder can outweigh ten light utilities. Delete — don't just deactivate — the losers.
- 2. Cache + compression. Page cache, object cache where the host allows, Brotli/Gzip on. Verify with a cold-load test, not the admin bar.
- 3. Image pipeline. WebP/AVIF, right-sized
srcset,width/heighton every image, lazy-load below the fold, preload the LCP image only. - 4. Font diet. Max 2–3 weights,
display=swap, async stylesheet, system fallback stack. Kill icon fonts serving 200 icons for 6 used. - 5. Builder output audit. If the builder emits 400 nested divs for a hero, rebuild that template by hand. Templates compound — one bad template × 50 pages.
- 6. Third-party audit. List every external script (chat, pixels, maps, embeds). Defer or facade-load each; anything without a measured conversion job gets removed.
Speed targets
| Metric | Pass |
|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (mobile) | Under 2.5 s |
| Interaction to Next Paint | Under 200 ms |
| Cumulative Layout Shift | Under 0.1 |
| Total page weight (key templates) | Under ~1 MB, trending down |
Part 2 — SEO titles (points 7–12)
- 7. One keyword job per page. Every indexable page gets one primary query. Two pages targeting the same query cannibalize each other — merge or differentiate.
- 8. Title formula.
Primary keyword + differentiator + brand, under ~60 characters, keyword front-loaded. - 9. Meta descriptions that earn clicks. 120–155 characters, benefit + proof + next step. Not a ranking factor; a CTR factor.
- 10. Headings that outline. One
H1per page matching intent,H2s as the page's table of contents. No skipped levels, no keyword stuffing. - 11. Internal links with intent. Every important page gets descriptive anchor links from related pages — not "click here".
- 12. Schema where it pays. Organization + WebSite everywhere; Article/BlogPosting on posts, FAQPage on real Q&A, Product/Review only with genuine data.
Title rewrites (before → after)
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Home — Welcome to our website! | Plumber in Lahore — Same-Day Repairs | PakFix |
| Services | ABC Co | WordPress Speed Optimization — Fix Core Web Vitals | ABC |
| Best cheap affordable quality shoes online buy now sale 2026 | Men's Running Shoes — Free Delivery in Pakistan | ABC |
The patternSpecific beats clever. Query first, proof second, brand last — and never truncate the keyword off the edge of the SERP.
Prove it worked
- Speed: same URL, same throttling, PageSpeed three-run median before and after. Record LCP/INP/CLS, not just the score.
- Titles: Search Console per-page CTR and average position, 28 days after the change, same queries.
- Business: enquiries and booked calls from organic — the only metric the owner actually feels.
FAQ
How many plugins is too many?
Cost beats count. Audit each plugin's weight on key templates; one heavy builder can cost more than ten light utilities. Remove or replace the expensive ones.
What is the ideal SEO title length?
Under ~60 characters so nothing truncates: primary keyword + differentiator + brand, keyword first.
How do I prove the fix worked?
Speed via PageSpeed medians before/after; titles via Search Console CTR and position per page after 28 days.
Next: Core Web Vitals teardown 332 KB → 28 KB with code and weights.
Also: AI chatbot 24/7 setup Workflow, guardrail prompt, rollout checklist.
Want the audit done for you?
Send your URL on LinkedIn — you get the 12-point teardown with before/after numbers and a fixed scope. No forms, no queue.