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WordPress-specific SEO faults, from sitemaps and feeds to plugin defaults. 13 posts, newest first.
Why WooCommerce cart and checkout pages show up in GoogleWooCommerce has noindexed cart, checkout and my account since version 3.2. If yours are in Google, the guard missed them. Why, and the fix order.
Default robots.txt for WordPress: what core actually servesThe three lines WordPress core outputs, where the Sitemap line comes from, and why a physical robots.txt file silently switches all of it off.
WordPress search result pages in Google: why ?s= URLs show upWordPress noindexes ?s= search pages by default since 5.7. Here is why they still fill your Page indexing report, and when it is worth acting.
Should WordPress /page/2/ be indexed? What Google does with archivesShould WordPress /page/2/ be indexed? Yoast and Rank Math both leave paginated archives indexable by default, and the plugin advice online is stale.
WordPress redirect loop: how to fix it, and what it costs you in GoogleA WordPress redirect loop is usually two rules disagreeing about www or https. How to find which one, and what Google does to the URL meanwhile.
WordPress Core Security Initiative: what it is and why it matters for SEOWordPress announced a Core Security Initiative on 28 August: three pillars, driven by AI-assisted reports. Why hacked sites are an SEO problem.
Rank Math's support agent creates an admin application password: I read the codeRank Math 1.0.277 provisions an application password for its new support agent. I read the plugin code; here is what it does and how to revoke it.
What is wp-sitemap.xml? The WordPress core sitemapWordPress has shipped its own sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml since 5.5. What it lists, why entries have no lastmod, and when to disable or extend it.
Why WordPress /feed/ URLs show as crawled, not indexedEvery WordPress install publishes a stack of RSS feeds you never made. Why they fill the Page indexing report, and why the obvious fix backfires.
Should you noindex WordPress category and tag pages?WordPress creates an archive for every category and tag whether you use it or not. When those pages help indexing, when they hurt, and how to decide.
WordPress robots.txt: where it is, what it contains, how to edit itWordPress has no robots.txt file on disk. It builds one per request. What the default contains, what quietly rewrites it, and the three ways to edit it.
WordPress attachment pages are still on your siteWordPress 6.4 turned attachment pages off, but only for brand new installs. Every upgraded site kept them, and Google still crawls them.
Discourage search engines from indexing this site: what it doesThe WordPress checkbox does not edit robots.txt any more. Since 5.3 it prints noindex, nofollow sitewide. Here is what that means and how to undo it.Nothing in that category yet.
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