Technical SEO Secrets: Why Your WordPress Site Isn't Ranking (And How to Fix It)

04/14/2025

Let’s be real for a second. Your WordPress site isn’t ranking, and you’re starting to think Google has a personal vendetta against you.

It doesn’t. (Probably.)

The truth is way less dramatic but equally frustrating: technical SEO issues are silently sabotaging your WordPress site like ninjas in the night. Stealthy, effective, and completely fixable once you know what you’re looking for.

The Hidden Saboteurs of WordPress SEO

Remember that time a dentist hired us after his previous SEO agency used… wait for it… Pornhub for link building? 🍆

True story. Footer links on adult sites. Because nothing says “trustworthy dental practice” like that association, right?

But before you check your backlink profile in a panic, let’s talk about the less scandalous (but equally damaging) technical issues holding back your WordPress site:

1. Your Site is Slower Than a Sloth on Vacation

Templates need LOTS of features to meet everyone’s needs. You won’t use ALL the features, but ALL the code is still there, dragging your site down like ankle weights in a swimming pool.

The Fix: Performance optimization isn’t optional anymore. Clean up that codebase, compress those images, and implement proper caching. When Google’s Core Web Vitals are measuring your site’s speed, every millisecond counts.

Is your WordPress site moving at glacial speed? Let our SEO team take a look and show you what’s possible when performance becomes a priority.

2. Your Site Structure is a Digital Labyrinth

If users need breadcrumbs to find their way around your site, search engines definitely do. Messy URL structures, orphaned pages, and poor internal linking create a confusing maze that Google can’t (and won’t) navigate.

The Fix: Implement a logical site structure with clear categories and tags. Create an XML sitemap that actually makes sense. Make sure every important page is reachable within 3 clicks from your homepage.

3. Your Mobile Experience is Giving Users Carpal Tunnel

About 60% of Google searches happen on mobile devices. If your site looks funky on phones, Google notices – and penalizes accordingly.

The Fix: Embrace responsive design that actually works, not just technically passes Google’s mobile-friendly test. Test on real devices, not just emulators. If you can’t easily tap a button with your thumb, fix it.

4. You’re Ignoring the Accessibility Elephant in the Room

Three reasons you should care about website accessibility:

  1. You’re not a jerk
  2. Google cares
  3. 4,500+ lawsuits were filed against businesses with non-accessible websites last year, and 96.3% of websites fail accessibility standards

The Fix: Implement proper heading structures, add alt text to images, ensure keyboard navigation works, and maintain proper color contrast. Bonus: accessibility improvements often create better user experiences for everyone.

5. Your Content is Keyword Stuffed Like Thanksgiving Turkey

Remember 2010, when you could just repeat “best WordPress development” seventeen times in a paragraph and rank #1? Yeah, those days are long gone, my friend.

The Fix: Create content that actually answers user questions. Use natural language, semantic HTML, and structured data to help Google understand your content’s context and meaning.

The Bottom Line

Technical SEO isn’t sexy, but it’s like the foundation of your house – ignore it, and eventually everything comes crashing down, no matter how pretty your curb appeal.

The good news? Unlike some shady agency billing four hours for a 30-minute fix (true story), these technical issues are completely fixable with the right expertise. Whether you run a local business or an ecommerce store, the benefits of SEO for local business growth are substantial when done right.

Our search engine marketing agency approach starts with an SEO audit service that identifies exactly what’s holding your site back. For most clients, the ROI on fixing these issues far outweighs the investment in professional help.

So if you’re tired of wondering why your beautiful WordPress site is languishing on page 7 of Google, maybe it’s time to call in some technical reinforcements who know how to make Google’s algorithms swipe right on your website.

Need help identifying and fixing your WordPress site’s technical SEO issues? Let’s talk!

References

  1. Google. (2024). “Core Web Vitals.” Web.dev. https://web.dev/vitals/
  2. Moz. (2024). “The Beginner’s Guide to SEO.” Moz. https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo
  3. WordPress. (2024). “WordPress Codex: Search Engine Optimization.” WordPress.org. https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/search-engine-optimization/
  4. Search Engine Journal. (2023). “WordPress SEO: The Definitive Guide.” Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-seo/
  5. Ahrefs. (2024). “WordPress SEO: The Definitive Guide.” Ahrefs Blog. https://ahrefs.com/blog/wordpress-seo/
  6. WebAIM. (2024). “WCAG 2 Checklist.” WebAIM. https://webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist
  7. WebAIM. (2023). “The WebAIM Million – An annual accessibility analysis of the top 1,000,000 home pages.” WebAIM. https://webaim.org/projects/million/