Keeping your website optimized is easier when you know exactly what to look for. Site-First SEO was built to simplify on-site SEO management — all in one plugin. Here are 20 essential SEO checks and how you can fix them with Site-First SEO.
1. Missing or Duplicate Title Tags
Check: Some pages have no title or share the same one.
Fix: Use the Titles & Meta module to scan and edit titles with live SERP preview.
2. Title Tags Too Long or Short
Check: Titles over 60 characters or under 30.
Fix: Adjust in Titles & Meta until the length bar shows green.
3. Missing Meta Descriptions
Check: Pages without meta descriptions.
Fix: Add them in Titles & Meta; preview how they appear in search results.
4. Meta Descriptions Too Long
Check: Descriptions over ~160 characters.
Fix: Trim inside Titles & Meta until the counter is green.
5. Missing H1 Tags
Check: Pages missing an <h1> heading.
Fix: Review in Headings & Images and add a primary heading.
6. Multiple H1 Tags
Check: More than one <h1> on a page.
Fix: Limit to one H1; demote extras to H2/H3. Plugin flags this issue.
7. Orphan Pages (No Internal Links)
Check: Pages not linked anywhere on the site.
Fix: Find them in Links Overview and connect them via menus or contextual links.
8. Broken Internal Links
Check: Links pointing to 404 pages.
Fix: Logged in Redirects & 404s; correct or redirect them.
9. Broken External Links
Check: Outbound links to dead pages.
Fix: Use Links Overview to spot them and update or remove.
10. Missing Image ALT Text
Check: Images without ALT attributes.
Fix: Review in Headings & Images; add descriptive ALT text.
11. Overused ALT Text
Check: ALT attributes stuffed with keywords.
Fix: Rewrite flagged ALTs with natural, descriptive wording.
12. Slow Page Loads
Check: Heavy or slow pages reduce SEO performance.
Fix: Use bounce rate data from Visits Dashboard to spot problem pages and optimize images/scripts.
13. No Sitemap
Check: Missing or outdated sitemap.
Fix: Generate fresh XML sitemaps in the Sitemaps module.
14. Robots.txt Blocking Important Pages
Check: Robots.txt disallowing key URLs.
Fix: Edit from the Robots.txt module to allow proper crawling.
15. Duplicate Content URLs
Check: Same content available at multiple URLs.
Fix: Create 301 redirects in Redirects & 404s to consolidate.
16. Missing Canonical Tags
Check: No canonical set for duplicate variations.
Fix: Add canonical URLs in Titles & Meta settings.
17. Thin Content Pages
Check: Pages with less than 300 words.
Fix: Flagged in Headings & Images; expand content with meaningful details.
18. Keyword Cannibalization
Check: Multiple pages targeting the same keyword.
Fix: Review duplicates in Titles & Meta; consolidate or differentiate.
19. Excessive 404 Errors
Check: Too many broken or missing pages.
Fix: Use Redirects & 404s to point old URLs to relevant content.
20. Bot Traffic Distorting Analytics
Check: Fake traffic inflates stats.
Fix: Activate Bot Block to log and block suspicious crawlers, keeping Visits data accurate.
Final Word
With Site-First SEO, you don’t need a dozen plugins or complicated reports. These 20 checks cover the most common on-site SEO issues, and every one of them can be found — and fixed — directly inside your Site-First SEO dashboard.
