Free WordPress plugin
Astute SEO: Light SEO for WordPress
The SEO basics every WordPress site needs, without slowing your pages down: titles and descriptions, an XML sitemap, IndexNow, schema, redirects and a 404 monitor. Moving from Yoast, Rank Math or All in One SEO takes one click.
Free. Coming soon to the WordPress.org plugin directory.
What It Does
Titles and Descriptions
An SEO title, meta description, canonical URL and noindex or nofollow for every post and page, in the block editor sidebar or a classic meta box. Title templates for posts, pages, categories and the home page.
XML Sitemap and IndexNow
A sitemap index with posts, pages, categories, tags and images, which stands aside if another plugin already has one. IndexNow, when you switch it on, tells Bing and other engines about a post the moment you publish it.
Schema and Social Cards
Article, BlogPosting or NewsArticle schema with author, dates and image, breadcrumbs, and Organization and WebSite schema with your logo. Open Graph and X cards, with per-post overrides.
Redirects
301 redirects for pages that moved, with import and export, so old links and search history still lead somewhere.
404 Monitor
The broken addresses visitors actually hit, with bot noise filtered out, so you know which ones need a redirect.
Content Checks
Missing or repeated H1s, skipped heading levels, duplicate H1s across the site, and broken internal links found by a background scan.
Also in the Plugin
Astute SEO prints only the tags a page needs and works beside the plugins you already have, so you can try it without breaking anything.
- One-click import from Yoast SEO, Rank Math and All in One SEO
- A robots.txt editor
- Verification tags for Google Search Console, Bing and others
- An llms.txt file for AI assistants (optional)
- An optional table of contents for long posts
- No scripts loaded on the front of your site
- Steps aside for Yoast or Rank Math, so nothing prints twice
- No account, and nothing sent anywhere unless you switch IndexNow on
Need More? Astute Speed Pro
Astute Speed Pro includes everything in Astute SEO and adds a bulk SEO editor, more schema types, link tools, affiliate links, AI crawler reports and page speed features such as critical CSS and image optimization. It uses the same settings, so moving up keeps everything. Astute SEO stays free and complete on its own.
Astute SEO FAQ
Yes. Astute SEO is free and complete on its own, with no account and no paid unlock inside it. Astute Speed Pro is a separate paid plugin for sites that also want its extra SEO tools and the page speed features.
Yes, though you only need one SEO plugin. While another one is active, Astute SEO leaves titles and descriptions to it, and its sitemap stands aside if the other plugin has one. Import your settings, then deactivate the other plugin.
Open Astute SEO → Import Settings. It brings your titles, descriptions and focus keywords across from Yoast SEO, Rank Math or All in One SEO in one click.
At yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Old addresses such as /sitemap_index.xml redirect there, so links Search Console already knows keep working.
No. It adds only the tags in the page head that search engines and social networks read, and loads no scripts on the front of your site. The table of contents, if you switch it on, adds one small stylesheet.
Only if you switch IndexNow on. Then the address of each post you publish or update, and your site’s IndexNow key, are sent to api.indexnow.org. Nothing about your visitors is sent. IndexNow is off until you turn it on.
Astute Speed Pro includes everything in Astute SEO and adds a bulk SEO editor, more schema types, link tools, affiliate links, AI crawler reports and the page speed features. Both use the same settings, so moving up keeps everything, and Astute SEO stands down while Pro is active.
WordPress 6.9 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer.
Free to set up
Start Growing Your Site With Articles You Can Trust.
Connect your WordPress site, add your sources and review your first fact-checked drafts. Choose a plan when you’re ready to publish.