On-Page SEO
Complete on-page optimization with the SEO metabox, content analysis engine, focus keywords, readability scoring, and bulk management tools.
The SEO Metabox
The SEO metabox () appears below the editor on every post, page, and custom post type. It provides real-time SEO analysis and optimization controls.
Metabox Fields
| Field | Post Meta Key | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SEO Title | — | Custom title tag override. If empty, falls back to post title + separator + site name. |
| Meta Description | — | Custom meta description. If empty, auto-generated from first 160 chars of content. |
| Focus Keyword(s) | — | Primary keyword(s) for analysis. Stored as Tagify JSON. Multiple keywords with Pro. |
| SEO Score | — | Computed score (0–100) based on content analysis checks. |
| Noindex | — | When checked, adds <meta name="robots" content="noindex"> to the page. |
SEO Title
The SEO title is the most important on-page ranking factor. It appears in search engine results as the clickable blue link.
- Keep titles between 50–60 characters
- Include the focus keyword near the beginning
- Use the title separator configured in General Settings
- Make each title unique across your site
Title Placeholders
You can use dynamic placeholders in your title templates:
| Placeholder | Output |
|---|---|
{site_name} | Your WordPress site title |
{site_desc} | Your WordPress tagline |
{title} | Current post/page title |
{sep} | Title separator (default: |) |
Meta Description
The meta description appears as the snippet text below the title in search results. While not a direct ranking factor, it significantly impacts click-through rates.
Focus Keywords
Focus keywords drive the content analysis engine. Enter your target keyword(s) and the metabox will check multiple on-page factors.
multi_keyword feature gate.
Content Analysis Engine
The content analysis engine runs every time you save or update a post. It also runs in real-time as you type.
SEO Checks Performed
| Check | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Keyword in Title | High | Focus keyword appears in the SEO title |
| Keyword in H1 | High | Focus keyword found in the first H1 heading |
| Keyword in URL | Medium | Focus keyword or variant present in the post slug |
| Keyword in First Paragraph | Medium | Focus keyword appears within the first 100 words |
| Keyword in Meta Description | Medium | Focus keyword present in the meta description |
| Keyword Density | Medium | Keyword appears 1–3% of total word count (optimal range) |
| Keyword in Subheadings | Low | Focus keyword found in at least one H2/H3 heading |
| Image Alt Attributes | Low | At least one image has alt text containing the focus keyword |
| Internal Links | Medium | Content contains at least one internal link |
| External Links | Low | Content contains at least one outbound link |
| Content Length | Medium | Minimum 300 words (optimal: 1000+ for blog posts) |
| Title Length | Medium | Between 50–60 characters |
| Description Length | Medium | Between 120–160 characters |
Readability Score
The readability module analyzes your content's reading ease using the Flesch Reading Ease formula. It runs automatically when you edit a post.
| Score | Level | Target Audience |
|---|---|---|
| 90–100 | Very Easy | 5th grader |
| 80–89 | Easy | 6th grader |
| 70–79 | Fairly Easy | 7th grader |
| 60–69 | Standard | 8th–9th grader (recommended for web content) |
| 50–59 | Fairly Difficult | 10th–12th grader |
| 30–49 | Difficult | College student |
| 0–29 | Very Difficult | College graduate / professional |
Readability results are stored in the table fields: readability_score, flesch_ease, word_count.
SERP Snippet Preview
The metabox includes a live Google SERP snippet preview that shows exactly how your page will appear in search results. It updates in real-time as you type your SEO title and meta description.
Noindex / Nofollow Controls
Per-page robot directives can be set via the SEO metabox:
- Noindex: Tells search engines not to index this page ()
- Nofollow: Tells search engines not to follow links on this page
Global noindex settings are available in Settings:
- — Noindex archive pages (default: off)
- — Noindex tag archives (default: on)
Bulk SEO Manager
The Bulk SEO Manager (, slug: serpelo-bulk-manager) lets you view and edit SEO titles, descriptions, and robot directives for all posts in a spreadsheet-like interface.
Features
- Filter by post type, post status, SEO score range
- Inline edit SEO title and description
- Bulk toggle noindex on multiple posts
- Quick-view SEO score and readability for each post
Titles & Meta Settings
Global title and meta patterns are configured in Settings → Titles & Meta (serpelo-titles).
| Setting | Option Key | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Title Separator | — | | |
| Homepage Title | — | {site_name} | {site_desc} |
| Homepage Description | — | {site_desc} |
| Noindex Archives | — | 0 (off) |
| Noindex Tags | — | 1 (on) |