SEO (search engine optimization) is a field that is always changing. In 2025, WordPress users need to stay on top of the changes more than ever. Folks who blog, run a business, or work in digital marketing can all benefit from not making these common SEO mistakes. They can mean the difference between a website that does well and one that doesn’t get many users.
In this detailed guide, we’ll look at the most common WordPress SEO mistakes in 2025 and show you how to fix them in the real world. This will make your site run faster, show up higher in search results, and be more enjoyable for people who visit.
1. Putting off page speed and other important web data
This is why it’s not a good idea:
There are some important things that Google looks at when ranking pages. These include how fast they load, how interactive they are, and how stable their pictures are. If your WordPress site is slow to load or hard to use, it can hurt your SEO and make people less likely to come back.
Fix It:
- Make sure that the pictures are set up correctly. You can do this by shrinking the files without losing quality with tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel.
- Set up caching: Add caching apps like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache to speed up load times.
- Make use of a Content Delivery Network (CDN). Two services, Cloudflare and BunnyCDN, copy data to computers all over the world so it can be sent more quickly.
- Get rid of extra CSS and JavaScript code with tools like Autoptimize or WP-Optimize.
- Pick a hosting service that is fast: Pick hosting that is optimised for speed, like SiteGround, WP Engine, or Kinsta.
2. Using the wrong WordPress SEO tool is a bad idea.
This is why:
You can use WordPress SEO plugins to keep track of meta titles, sitemaps, style code, and other important parts. But if you use an old or badly made SEO tool, it might stop your site from growing.
How to Fix It:
- Choose an SEO plugin you can trust. A lot of people like Rank Math, Yoast SEO, and All in One SEO.
- Update the plugin often: It should always be up to date so that it works with the most recent changes to Google’s code.
- Make sure the plugin is set up right: To get the most out of SEO, use setup tips and do things the right way.
3. Mobile SEO and flexible design are not being used:
Why this is not a good idea:
Google’s mobile-first search means that they look at your site on a phone first to decide how to rank it. If your site doesn’t work well on phones, you might lose visitors and search engine results.
Fix It:
- Switch to a responsive theme: Choose a WordPress theme that works well on phones, like Kadence, Astra, or GeneratePress.
- Find and fix mistakes: This tool from Google will let you know if your site works well on phones.
- Make it simple for people who use touchscreens to use by making sure that all of the buttons, menus, and forms can be used on phones.
- AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. Check out AMP plugins to speed up watching on mobile devices.
4. Broken links and trackbacks
This is why it’s not a good idea:
People and search engines both hate URLs that are all over the place and have strange letters and numbers in them.
As an example:
❌yourwebsite.com/?p=123
✅ yourwebsite.com/seo-tips-2025
How to Fix It:
- For SEO, use permalinks that work well. To do this, go to Settings > Permalinks and pick “Post Name.”
- Don’t add extra numbers or words to URLs; they should be short and clear.
- Use these words: Make sure that important terms are in your URLs to help search engines find them.
5. Not improving Meta Titles and Descriptions
This is why it’s not a good idea:
The titles and details of meta tags change the search results and the number of clicks (CTR). They won’t bring people in if they are missing, copied, or not written well.
Fix It:
- Make certain that every page has its own title and body text: Make sure that the title and description of each page are different and interesting.
- Use words Of course: Names should start with the most important words.
- Don’t use more lines than you have. There shouldn’t be more than 60 characters in meta names or 160 characters in descriptions.
- You can use SEO tools like Rank Math or Yoast SEO to help you deal with meta data.
6. Not paying attention to the plan for internal linking
This is why it’s not a good idea:
Internal links help search engines figure out how your site is organized and keep people on it longer. Pages might not be found properly if they don’t have the right links.
How to Fix It:
- Link to connected Pages: Join blog posts and pages that are linked.
- As your anchor text, change “click here” to “best SEO tips for WordPress.”
- Too many links on a page can hurt its SEO.
7. For rich results, don’t forget to use schema code.
This is why it’s not a good idea:
Rich snippets, such as Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and star reviews, are shown in search results more often when schema code is used. This increases the click-through rate (CTR). What you write might not look interesting without it.
Fix It:
- Use a Schema Plugin. You can add schema with Rank Math, Schema Pro, or Yoast SEO.
- Sort the information you put in frequently asked questions (FAQs) or how-to guides (How-To Schemas).
- Look Over Your Markup: Use Google’s Rich Results Test tool to make sure your syntax is right.
8. The website isn’t safe (HTTPS and security problems)
This is why it’s not a good idea:
Google gives more weight to sites that are safe. Sites that don’t use HTTPS can lose users and search engine results.
How to Fix It:
- Sign up for an SSL certificate. You can get these for free from most server companies.
- Use a tool like Really Simple SSL to move HTTP to HTTPS.
- Do not forget to update WordPress. When you make changes to your site often, security holes are closed.
9. Not setting up voice search
Voice assistants like Alexa and Siri have made more people use voice search, which is not a good thing. People will not visit your site if it is not prepared to answer common questions.
How to Make It Right:
- Talky language and daily words should be used.
- Keywords that are long: With these terms, you can ask things like, “How do I optimize WordPress SEO?”
- Get ready for featured snippets: Be clear and to the point when you answer common questions.
10. Not paying attention to technical SEO problems
Why it’s not a good idea?
Technical SEO makes sure that search engines can crawl your site and put it in the right place. Problems like broken links, duplicate information, and the wrong search settings happen a lot.
How to Make It Right:
- To find and fix crawl issues, use Google Search Console.
- To find dead links, use a program like dead Link Chequer.
- Make a sitemap in XML: Use Rank Math or Yoast SEO to make sitemaps and send them.
- Don’t index pages that aren’t important: Pages that aren’t important, like admin sites, should not be searched. You can do this with robots.txt or noindex tags.
That being said, many WordPress sites make these mistakes in 2025. If you don’t, your site will do better in search results, with users, and in general. SEO is an ongoing process, so you will need to keep an eye on and make changes to your site to make sure it stays successful in the long run.
Want to make your WordPress SEO better? Right away, make these changes, and you’ll see your organic traffic go up!
