Fuelled SEO is a WordPress SEO agency for Australian businesses whose websites run on WordPress, which is a large share of small and medium business sites. WordPress is flexible, and that flexibility is the catch. Plugins pile up, themes and page builders add weight, archive pages multiply, and settings get changed by whoever last had the login. We sort out the technical side, then build the content and links that move rankings.
Fuelled SEO is run by Darren Franklin from Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley, near Newcastle NSW, and works with businesses Australia-wide. Everything is done remotely. For the full range of what we do, see our SEO agency page.
What our WordPress SEO services include
WordPress SEO services start with understanding how your particular site is built. Two WordPress sites can behave completely differently in Google depending on the theme, the page builder and the plugins installed.
- A plugin audit covering SEO, caching, security and anything that adds front-end code
- Theme and page builder review for speed and clean HTML
- Core Web Vitals and page speed fixes
- Permalink structure and redirect checks
- Category, tag, author and date archive clean-up
- XML sitemap and robots.txt review
- Title tags, meta descriptions and heading structure
- WooCommerce product and category optimisation
- Content planning, writing and internal linking
- Ethical link building to your key pages
Plugins: SEO, caching and everything else
SEO plugins
Most WordPress sites use an SEO plugin to manage titles, meta descriptions, canonical tags, schema and sitemaps. These tools are useful, but the defaults are not always right for your site, and we often find two SEO plugins installed at once, each outputting its own tags. That creates duplicate titles, conflicting canonicals and two competing sitemaps. We check which plugin is in charge, remove overlaps, and set it up to suit your content.
Caching and performance plugins
A caching plugin can make a big difference to load times, but aggressive settings can break layouts, forms and checkout pages. We configure caching, minification and lazy loading carefully, then test that key pages still work as they should.
Plugin bloat
Sliders, social feeds, popups and form builders often load their scripts and styles on every page, even where they aren’t used. We list what loads on each key template and recommend what to remove, replace or load only where it’s needed.
Themes, page builders and Core Web Vitals
Page builders make it easy to design a site without code, but many produce heavy HTML with nested containers, large CSS files and extra JavaScript. Multipurpose themes can do the same, loading features you never use. The result is slower pages and weaker Core Web Vitals scores, particularly on mobile.
We measure Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift on your main page types, find what’s causing the delays (often oversized images, render-blocking scripts, web fonts or hosting), and fix them. Sometimes that means tuning the existing setup. Sometimes the theme or builder is the main problem and a rebuild is the better long-term option. Fuelled offers fast, professional WordPress setups if that’s where you end up.
WordPress SEO settings that cause problems
Permalinks
Plain permalinks like ?p=123 tell Google and users nothing. Date-based structures make evergreen content look stale. We recommend clean, descriptive URLs and, if a change is needed, map every old URL to its new one with 301 redirects so you don’t lose existing rankings.
Thin category and tag archives
WordPress creates an archive page for every category, tag, author and date. A blog with 200 tags, each used once or twice, has 200 thin pages that add little value. We decide which archives deserve to rank (usually a handful of main categories, given proper intro content) and set the rest to noindex or merge them.
Sitemaps and indexing
WordPress has a built-in sitemap and most SEO plugins add their own. We make sure there is one clean sitemap, that it lists only pages you want indexed, and that it is submitted in Google Search Console. We also check the “discourage search engines” setting, which is sometimes left switched on after a site launch.
WooCommerce SEO
If your shop runs on WooCommerce, the same WordPress issues apply, plus a few more. Product filters and sorting options create parameter URLs. Product categories and tags create overlapping archives. Product descriptions are often copied from suppliers. We handle indexing rules for filtered pages, write unique category and product content, check product schema, and make sure out-of-stock and discontinued products are dealt with sensibly. Our ecommerce SEO page covers store strategy in more detail, and our Shopify SEO page is there if you’re weighing up platforms.
How our WordPress SEO agency works
Our process follows the same five steps on every site, adjusted to what we find:
- A deep technical and backlink profile audit.
- Competitor gap analysis and an anchor text strategy.
- Custom prospecting and manual blogger outreach.
- High-value content creation and editorial placement.
- Indexation verification and transparent monthly reporting.
Technical fixes get your site into shape, but rankings in competitive markets also depend on links. Our link building services are 100% non-PBN, using manual outreach to real, established websites. If the problems go beyond WordPress settings into crawling, rendering and site architecture, our technical SEO services go deeper. Local businesses on WordPress should also look at our local SEO services.
WordPress SEO pricing
Ongoing WordPress SEO runs on our monthly SEO packages: Monthly Starter Linking at $1,500 a month, Gaining Momentum at $1,799 and Full Revs Monthly at $2,100 (AUD, GST included), with no lock-in contracts. Our SEO pricing guide explains how to compare quotes.
Fuelled Monthly Packages
Month-by-month link building with no lock-in contracts. Links that build authority and ruffle your competitors' rankings.
From $1,500 AUD/mo incl. GST
SEO Domination
Our ultimate enterprise-level ranking packages for the toughest competition, major cities and national SEO.
From $5,600 AUD/mo incl. GST
Google Business Profile
A comprehensive package to power up your Google Profile, essential for local rankings and Maps visibility.
From $850 AUD incl. GST
Expect measurable movement in three to six months and stronger results over six to twelve months, with competitive markets taking longer. We don’t guarantee rankings.
WordPress SEO FAQs
Is WordPress good for SEO?
Yes. WordPress gives you full control over titles, URLs, content and code. Most problems come from how a site has been set up and which plugins and themes it uses, not from WordPress itself.
Do I need an SEO plugin?
For most sites, yes, as it makes titles, meta descriptions, canonicals and sitemaps easy to manage. You only need one, though, and it needs to be configured properly.
Will changing my theme hurt rankings?
It can if headings, content, internal links or URLs change in the process. We check those before and after any theme change so rankings are protected.
Should I noindex tag pages?
Usually, yes, unless a tag page has enough posts and its own content to be useful. Thin tag archives rarely rank and can dilute the rest of the site.
Can you work on WooCommerce sites?
Yes. We handle WooCommerce product and category pages, filter URLs, product schema and the usual WordPress technical issues together.
Get your WordPress site ranking
Call Darren on 0478 928 857, email darren@fuelledseo.com.au, or use the contact page to tell us about your site.