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FREE WordPress SEO Score Checker

Completely free. Find out how easily Google, and AI tools like ChatGPT, can find, understand and recommend your business. 

Answer 30 quick questions written for WordPress websites, covering the settings, plugins and upkeep that affect how you’re found, and get your score out of 1,000 straight away. At the end, you can have a comprehensive report sent to your inbox, with a fix for every gap in priority order. That’s free too.

How it works

  1. Answer each question Yes, Partly, No or Don’t know. Not sure what a question means? Tap the ? next to it.
  2. Work through the three sections: Technical, Text and Trust. It takes about 5 minutes.
  3. See your score straight away. No email needed.
  4. Enter your email at the end to get your comprehensive report, with a clear fix for every gap and what to tackle first. It’s completely free.
 

Tip: If you can, log in to WordPress in another tab, as a few questions are quicker to answer if you can check a setting. If someone else looks after your site, “Don’t know” is fine, and your report will tell you what to ask them.

  1. 1 Technical
  2. 2 Text
  3. 3 Trust
  4. 4 Score

Step 1 of 3

Technical

Can search engines and AI get into your WordPress site and read it?

1 Is 'Discourage search engines from indexing this site' unticked, under Settings → Reading?

This one tick box tells Google and AI to stay away from your whole site. It’s often ticked while a site is being built and then forgotten. Log in to WordPress and go to Settings → Reading. If the box next to Search engine visibility is ticked, answer No.

2 Are WordPress, your theme and your plugins all kept up to date?

Out-of-date plugins are the most common way WordPress sites get hacked, and a hacked site can be flagged or dropped by Google. Go to Dashboard → Updates. If several updates are waiting, or nobody checks regularly, answer No or Partly.

3 Have you deleted plugins and themes you no longer use?

Unused plugins and themes still sit on your server and can still be hacked, even when they’re switched off. Look at Plugins and Appearance → Themes. If there are deactivated plugins or several spare themes, answer No.

4 Do you have an SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math or All in One SEO) installed and set up?

WordPress needs an SEO plugin to handle titles, descriptions, sitemaps and structured data properly. Look at your Plugins list. If you have one and someone has worked through its settings, answer Yes. If it’s installed but never set up, answer Partly. Having two SEO plugins at once counts as No.

5 Are your web addresses set to 'Post name' under Settings → Permalinks, rather than numbers or dates?

Go to Settings → Permalinks. Addresses like yoursite.co.uk/boiler-servicing/ are clear to people, Google and AI. Addresses like yoursite.co.uk/?p=123 or ones full of dates are not. Don’t change this on an established site without setting up redirects, or you could lose rankings.

6 Is your site on good-quality hosting with caching switched on?

Cheap shared hosting is one of the biggest causes of slow WordPress sites. Caching saves ready-made copies of your pages so they load much faster. Many good hosts include it. If you don’t know who hosts your site or whether caching is on, answer Don’t know.

7 Does your site load in under 3 seconds on a phone?

Open your site on your phone using mobile data rather than Wi-Fi and count how long it takes to appear. For a more precise answer, put your address into PageSpeed Insights and look at the mobile result.

8 Are tag pages, image attachment pages and empty archive pages kept out of Google?

WordPress automatically creates extra pages for every tag, image and author. These are usually thin, near-empty pages that dilute your site in Google’s eyes. Your SEO plugin has settings to keep them out of search. Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk and look for pages like /tag/ or /attachment/. If you’re not sure, answer Don’t know.

9 Do you have a security plugin or firewall, plus daily backups stored away from your hosting?

A hacked site can be filled with spam pages and flagged by Google, and without a backup it can take weeks to recover. Backups stored with your host can disappear with the site. If you’re not sure where your backups go, answer Don’t know.

10 Is your site connected to Google Search Console, with your sitemap submitted and checked at least monthly?

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how your site appears in search and warns you about problems. Your SEO plugin creates a sitemap for you, usually at yoursite.co.uk/sitemap_index.xml or /sitemap.xml. If you’re not sure it has been submitted, answer Don’t know.

Step 2 of 3

Text

Can AI understand what you do and when to recommend you?

11 Do the first two sentences of your homepage say who you help, what you do and where?

Read the top of your homepage as if you were a stranger. Within two sentences, could they tell who you help, what you do and which area you cover? For example: ‘I help small Yorkshire businesses get found on Google and in AI search.’

12 Does each main service have its own dedicated page?

If all your services sit on one page, Google and AI struggle to match you to specific searches. A separate page for each main service gives each one the best chance of being found and recommended.

13 Have you written your own SEO title and description for each key page in your SEO plugin, instead of leaving the defaults?

The title is the blue headline shown in Google, and the description is the short text underneath. Your SEO plugin adds a box below each page in the editor to set them. If you’ve never filled these in, Google guesses, usually badly. Search for your business and look at your own listings.

14 Does each page have one main heading, built with proper heading blocks rather than big bold text?

Headings tell Google and AI how your page is organised. Page builders make it easy to create text that looks like a heading but isn’t one. In the editor, click a heading: it should show as a Heading block (or H1/H2/H3 in your page builder), not a paragraph made big and bold. If you’re not sure, answer Don’t know.

15 Do your service pages explain who it's for, what's included, how it works and the area you cover?

AI tools recommend businesses when they can see a clear match. A good service page explains who it’s for, what’s included, how the process works and where you work. If your pages only have a short paragraph, answer Partly.

16 Do you have FAQs answering the questions customers actually ask you?

Think about the questions people ask you on the phone or by email every week. Answering them on your site helps customers, and it’s exactly the kind of content AI tools quote when they answer questions.

17 Do you name the specific towns and areas you serve, naturally, in your content?

Mention the real towns, villages and areas you cover, written naturally into your content. A list of 50 place names in the footer doesn’t count and can do more harm than good.

18 Are your blog posts sorted into a few clear categories, rather than 'Uncategorised' or dozens of tags?

Categories help Google and AI understand what your site is about. Go to Posts → Categories. If most posts are in Uncategorised, or you have dozens of tags used only once or twice, answer No or Partly.

19 Have you published or updated a helpful article, guide or case study in the last 3 months?

Fresh, useful content shows Google and AI that your business is active and knows its subject. It doesn’t need to be long: one helpful article, guide or case study answering a real customer question is enough.

20 If you give ChatGPT your homepage address and ask what your business does, does it describe you accurately?

Go to ChatGPT, paste in your homepage address and ask: ‘What does this business do, who for and where?’ If the answer is wrong, vague or missing key services, AI doesn’t understand your site yet.

Step 3 of 3

Trust

Do search engines and AI have confidence in your business?

21 Do you have a verified, fully completed Google Business Profile?

Search for your business name on Google. A profile with your hours, photos, services and reviews should appear on the right (or at the top on a phone). Check it’s verified and that every section is filled in.

22 Do you have at least 20 Google reviews, with new ones in the last 3 months?

Reviews are one of the strongest trust signals for both Google and AI. A steady flow of recent reviews matters more than a big batch from years ago. Count only Google reviews here.

23 Are your business name, address and phone number identical on your site, Google and directories?

Your name, address and phone number (often called NAP) should match exactly everywhere: your website, Google, Facebook, Yell and other directories. Even small differences like ‘Rd’ and ‘Road’ can cause confusion.

24 Are you listed in relevant directories, trade bodies or accreditation schemes?

Directories and trade bodies relevant to your industry or area act as independent confirmation that your business is real. Think of trade associations, accreditation schemes, Checkatrade, local business directories and your chamber of commerce.

25 Do at least 5 genuine websites link to you, such as local press, suppliers, partners or associations?

A backlink is another website linking to yours. Links from genuine, relevant sites (local news, suppliers, partners, clubs you sponsor) act like recommendations. If you’re not sure, answer Don’t know.

26 Do your blog posts show a real author name, photo and bio, rather than 'admin'?

Google and AI want to see that real experts write your content. Open one of your blog posts. If it says ‘by admin’, shows no author at all, or has no bio, answer No. You can change how your name is shown and add a bio under Users → Profile.

27 Is your SEO plugin set up to tell Google who your business is, including your logo, address and social profiles?

Your SEO plugin can add hidden code (structured data) that tells Google and AI exactly who you are and links your site to your Google profile and social accounts. In Yoast look at Settings → Site representation. In Rank Math, look at Local SEO & Knowledge Graph. If it’s blank or still shows a person’s name for a business, answer No.

28 Do you show testimonials or case studies with real names and real results?

Real testimonials and case studies with names, details and results are far more convincing than anonymous quotes. They show people and AI that you deliver.

29 Have you cleared out leftovers such as 'Hello world!', 'Sample Page', spam comments and placeholder text?

WordPress installs a sample post and page, and some themes leave placeholder text like ‘Lorem ipsum’. Left in place, they make a site look unfinished to visitors, Google and AI. Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.uk “hello world” to check. Hundreds of spam comments count as No too.

30 When you ask ChatGPT or Perplexity for the best [your service] in [your town], does your business appear?

Ask ChatGPT or Perplexity: ‘Who is the best [your service] in [your town]?’ If you appear, answer Yes. If you’re mentioned but not near the top, answer Partly. If you don’t appear at all, answer No.