The Hidden SEO Features of WordPress You’re Not Using

When people think about WordPress SEO, they often stop at installing Yoast or Rank Math and calling it a day. But WordPress has powerful native features and overlooked techniques that can seriously level up your site’s visibility — if you know where to look. In this post, we’ll uncover those hidden SEO gems and show you how to take full advantage of them.

🔍 1. Built-in Permalink Settings

Go to Setting > Permalinks and switch from the default ?p=123 to a more SEO-friendly structure like /post-name/.

Why it matters:

• Clean URLs improve click-through rates.
• Keyword-rich URLs are more readable by search engines and users.

👉 Pro Tip: If you’re targeting local SEO, include a location in the slug:
/plumber-in-miami instead of just /plumber.

🏷️ 2. Post Categories and Tags – When Used Right

Categories and tags are not just for organizing content—they can help with internal linking and semantic structure.

SEO Bonus:
Each category/tag archive page creates a new indexed page. If optimized, these can rank on their own.

👉 Example:
A blog about car shipping can have a “Florida Car Shipping” category. Optimize that archive page and it could rank for that exact term!

📑 3. Custom Excerpts = Better Meta Descriptions

Instead of letting Google guess what your page is about, use the “Excerpt” field in your posts. Many themes and SEO plugins pull this for meta descriptions.

Why it’s awesome:

• You control what appears on search engine results.
• You can write keyword-rich, click-worthy snippets.

🧱 4. Internal Linking with Gutenberg Blocks

Gutenberg lets you create reusable blocks with links to important internal pages like service pages or lead magnets.

👉 Strategy:

Build a “Related Services” block and insert it into relevant blog posts.

⚙️ 5. Media Attachment Pages – Disable Them

WordPress creates separate pages for every image you upload. These pages usually have no value and can clutter your site index.

How to fix:

• Use your SEO plugin to redirect attachment pages back to the parent post or disable them altogether.

📊 6. Leverage WordPress RSS Feed for Indexing

Submit your RSS feed to tools like IndexMeNow or Ping-O-Matic to trigger faster indexing of new content.

RSS Feed example: https://yoursite.com/feed/

🔧 7. Use the “Last Updated” Date for Freshness Signals

Google loves fresh content. By showing “Last Updated” instead of “Published,” you can boost click-through rates and stay relevant.

How to do it:

• Many themes have this option in theme settings.
• Or use a plugin like “WP Last Modified Info.”

Tip: Rather than updating dates solely to appear fresh, ensure each update brings meaningful value to the content.