Short answer: WordPress covers several SEO basics on its own: it makes a sitemap, and it can use readable addresses once you choose them. Check three settings: leave «Discourage search engines» unchecked, pick a permalink structure with words, and submit your sitemap in Search Console. Then give every page its own title and description. You don’t need a plugin for the sitemap; our site uses one for titles and descriptions.
What WordPress does for SEO on its own
Since version 5.5, WordPress makes an XML sitemap at /wp-sitemap.xml and lists it in its robots.txt file, where search engines can find it. Google says that if you use a CMS such as WordPress, it has likely made a sitemap available already.
Google also says most CMSes turn the titles you write into the page’s title element. WordPress doesn’t pick readable addresses for you: it installs with Plain permalinks, which look like example.com/?p=123.
The settings to check
| Setting | What to choose | Our site |
|---|---|---|
| Search engine visibility | «Discourage search engines from indexing this site» unchecked once the site is live | Unchecked |
| Permalinks | Post name, or a custom structure with words, not Plain | /blog/post-name/ for posts |
| Sitemap | WordPress’s own at /wp-sitemap.xml, or your plugin’s | The plugin’s, listed in robots.txt |
| Title | One per page: unique, clear and true to the content | Written for every page by our plugin |
| Meta description | Short and unique to the page | Written for every page by our plugin |
| Search Console | Submit the sitemap in the Sitemaps report | Also listed in our robots.txt |
From WordPress.org documentation, the WordPress 5.5 sitemaps announcement and Google Search Central, read November 3, 2026. The last column is our own site that day.
How to set up WordPress for SEO
- In Settings, Reading, make sure «Discourage search engines from indexing this site» is unchecked once the site is live.
- In Settings, Permalinks, choose Post name or a custom structure with words, not Plain.
- Open yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml, or your plugin’s sitemap, and check that your pages are listed.
- Submit that sitemap address in the Sitemaps report of Search Console.
- Give each page a title that’s unique, clear and true to its content.
- Write a short meta description that’s unique to each page.
- Check a few pages with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console, and make sure Google can load their CSS and JavaScript.
Our guides to URL slugs, the XML sitemap and the meta description and SEO title go deeper into steps 2, 3, 5 and 6. If a page still stays out of Google, our noindex guide explains the tag that keeps it out.
How our own WordPress site is set up
We read our own site on November 3, 2026, as a visitor and on the server. «Discourage search engines» is unchecked, and the home page tells search engines to index it and follow its links. Posts use the /blog/post-name/ structure, and guides sit under /guides/.
Our SEO plugin, Rank Math, replaces the WordPress sitemap: /wp-sitemap.xml sends visitors to its sitemap index with a 301 redirect, and robots.txt lists that index. The page sitemap listed 332 pages when we read it, 166 of them in Spanish.
The plugin also writes each page’s title and description: our keyword stuffing guide has a title of 64 characters and a description of 144. When we publish or update a page, the plugin notifies IndexNow, and the last 100 notices in its log were all answered 200.
Before you call your WordPress site ready
- «Discourage search engines» is unchecked on the live site.
- Permalinks use words, not ?p= numbers.
- Your sitemap opens and lists your pages.
- Search Console has your sitemap.
- Every page has its own title and description.
- A few key pages look right in the URL Inspection tool.
RememberWordPress makes the sitemap and takes readable addresses once you choose them. The title, the description and the content of each page are still yours to write.
If you want your WordPress site checked and fixed for search, see our technical SEO service.
Quick answers about WordPress SEO
Is WordPress good for SEO?
It covers the basics Google needs to find your pages: since version 5.5 it makes a sitemap and lists it in robots.txt. Readable addresses are one setting away, in Settings, Permalinks. Titles, descriptions and content are up to you.
Do I need an SEO plugin for WordPress?
Not for the sitemap: WordPress makes its own at /wp-sitemap.xml. Our site uses one plugin, Rank Math, to write the title and the description of each page, keep the sitemap and notify IndexNow. Google asks for titles and descriptions that are unique to each page.
Why isn’t my WordPress site showing up on Google?
Check Settings, Reading first. If «Discourage search engines from indexing this site» is checked, WordPress adds a noindex, nofollow robots tag to the site and turns off its own sitemap. Uncheck it once the site is live, then submit your sitemap in Search Console.
Which permalink structure is best for SEO?
One with words. WordPress installs with Plain permalinks, such as example.com/?p=123, which say nothing about the page. Google suggests words in the URL that may be useful for users, and says a URL with only random identifiers is less helpful.
Where is my WordPress sitemap?
At yoursite.com/wp-sitemap.xml since WordPress 5.5, and robots.txt points to it. An SEO plugin may replace it with its own: on our site, /wp-sitemap.xml redirects to the plugin’s sitemap index. Submit the one your site uses in Search Console.
Sources
Read on November 3, 2026. WordPress.org documentation: Settings Reading screen and Customize permalinks. Make WordPress Core: New XML Sitemaps Functionality in WordPress 5.5. Google Search Central: Build and submit a sitemap and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide. Our own case: our WordPress site, read as a visitor and on our server on November 3, 2026.