Run the SEO Analyzer on Your Site

The SEO Analyzer performs a comprehensive site-wide SEO audit. It checks your WordPress configuration, content optimization, technical SEO settings, and performance factors to identify issues that may affect your search rankings.

Where to find it

Go to SEOvault AI > SEO Analyzer. This dedicated page runs all tests and displays results with actionable recommendations.

How to run the analyzer

Go to SEOvault AI > SEO Analyzer
Click Run SEO Analysis
The analyzer runs all tests and displays results grouped by category
Review the overall score and individual test results
Click on any test to see detailed information and how to fix issues

Results are stored in your database, so you can review them later without re-running the analyzer. Click Clear Results to reset and run a fresh analysis.

Overall score calculation

The analyzer calculates an overall SEO score based on weighted test results:

OK status: Full points for the test
Warning status: Half points for the test
Fail status: Zero points for the test

Score grades:

Good: 70% or higher
Average: 50-69%
Bad: Below 50%

Each test has a different weight based on its importance to SEO. Priority tests carry more weight than advanced tests.

Test categories

Results are grouped into three categories:

Priority

Critical configuration issues that prevent your site from being indexed or ranked properly.

Search Engine Visibility: Checks if your site is visible to search engines (not blocked by the “Discourage search engines” setting)
Permalink Structure: Verifies you’re using SEO-friendly permalinks with %postname%

Basic

Content optimization and essential SEO settings.

Site Tagline: Ensures your site has a custom tagline instead of the default WordPress text
Focus Keywords: Checks if published posts have focus keywords set for content analysis
Focus Keyword in Titles: Verifies focus keywords appear in post titles
Title & Meta Description Templates: Confirms custom templates are configured for consistent SEO
Static Homepage SEO: Assesses SEO metadata for static homepages

Advanced

Technical SEO, performance, and advanced configuration.

XML Sitemap: Verifies your sitemap is accessible at /sitemap.xml
robots.txt: Checks if a robots.txt file exists and contains valid directives
HTTPS / SSL: Confirms your site uses HTTPS
Schema Markup: Checks if structured data (schema.org) is enabled
Open Graph Tags: Verifies social sharing tags are being output
Canonical URLs: Confirms canonical tags are being generated
RSS Feeds: Checks if RSS feeds are available
Server Response Time: Measures Time To First Byte (TTFB) for performance
H1 Heading on Homepage: Ensures the homepage has exactly one H1 heading
Caching Plugin: Detects if a caching plugin is active
WWW Consistency: Checks if www and non-www versions redirect properly

Individual test details

Search Engine Visibility

Checks the blog_public option. If “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is checked in Settings > Reading, this test fails.

Fix: Go to Settings > Reading and uncheck “Discourage search engines from indexing this site.”

Permalink Structure

Verifies your permalink structure includes %postname% for SEO-friendly URLs.

Fix: Go to Settings > Permalinks and select the “Post name” option.

Site Tagline

Checks if your site tagline is set and not the default “Just another WordPress site.”

Fix: Go to Settings > General and set a unique, descriptive tagline that includes your main keyword.

Focus Keywords

Scans published posts to find those without a focus keyword set. Posts set to noindex are excluded.

Fix: Edit each post listed and set a focus keyword in the SEOvault AI meta box.

Focus Keyword in Titles

Checks if focus keywords appear in post titles for better relevance.

Fix: Edit the posts listed and add the focus keyword to the post title.

Title & Meta Description Templates

Verifies custom title and description templates are configured, not using defaults.

Fix: Go to SEOvault AI > General > Templates and configure your templates.

Static Homepage SEO

If you use a static homepage, this test assesses its SEO metadata and runs a page-level SEO assessment. Skipped if your homepage displays latest posts.

Fix: Edit your static homepage page and complete its SEOvault AI title, description, keyword, indexing, and canonical settings.

XML Sitemap

Tests if sitemap.xml is accessible and returns HTTP 200.

Fix: Ensure the sitemap is enabled in SEOvault AI settings. Verify the sitemap is accessible at your-site/sitemap.xml.

robots.txt

Checks if robots.txt exists and contains valid directives like User-agent.

Fix: Create or verify a robots.txt file in your site root. Ensure it does not block important pages.

HTTPS / SSL

Checks if your site is served over HTTPS.

Fix: Install an SSL certificate and force HTTPS via Settings > General. Update your site URLs to use https://.

Schema Markup

Counts enabled schema types in SEOvault AI settings.

Fix: Go to SEOvault AI > General > Schema and enable at least one schema type (Organization or Website).

Open Graph Tags

Checks if Open Graph output is enabled and a default social image is set.

Fix: Ensure output mode is not Disabled. Set a default social image in SEOvault AI > General > Social.

Canonical URLs

Verifies canonical URLs are being output in Auto mode.

Fix: Ensure SEOvault AI is in Auto output mode so canonical URLs are automatically generated.

RSS Feeds

Tests if your RSS feed is accessible.

Fix: Ensure RSS feeds are not disabled. WordPress generates feeds automatically—check Settings > Reading.

Server Response Time

Measures Time To First Byte (TTFB) by requesting your homepage.

Fix: Use a caching plugin, optimize your database, and consider a CDN. Aim for TTFB under 600ms.

H1 Heading on Homepage

Fetches your homepage and counts H1 tags.

Fix: Ensure your homepage has exactly one H1 tag. Edit your theme or page builder to add or fix the H1.

Caching Plugin

Detects active caching plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or WP Super Cache.

Fix: Install a caching plugin to improve page load speed.

WWW Consistency

Tests if the non-preferred domain version (www or non-www) redirects to the preferred one.

Fix: Set your preferred domain in Settings > General and add a redirect from the non-preferred version.

Results storage

Analyzer results are stored in WordPress options:

seovaultseo_analyzer_results: The full results array
seovaultseo_analyzer_date: Timestamp of the last run

Results persist until you click Clear Results or manually delete the options. This lets you track progress over time without re-running tests.

Performance considerations

The analyzer makes HTTP requests to your own site for some tests (sitemap, robots.txt, homepage H1, response time, www redirect). These are self-requests with a 10-15 second timeout.

If your site uses SSL with a self-signed certificate (common in local development), use the seovaultseo_analyzer_sslverify filter to disable SSL verification:

add_filter( 'seovaultseo_analyzer_sslverify', '__return_false' );

Extending the analyzer

Developers can add custom tests using the seovaultseo/analyzer/tests filter. Each test requires:

title: Test name
description: What the test checks
how_to_fix: HTML with fix instructions
category: priority, basic, or advanced
callback: Function that returns array( 'status' => 'ok|warning|fail', 'message' => '...' )
score: Weight for the overall score calculation

Notes and edge cases

Permissions: Only users with manage_options capability can run the analyzer
Homepage checks: Tests that fetch the homepage (H1, response time) may fail if your homepage returns HTTP errors or redirects
Post type filtering: Focus keyword and title tests exclude attachments and respect the seovaultseo_excluded_post_types filter
Static vs blog homepage: The homepage SEO test only applies when using a static front page
Virtual robots.txt: WordPress generates a virtual robots.txt if no physical file exists. The test warns if this virtual file is used