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A monthly website health checklist that protects your Google rankings

Ten checks we run on websites every month to keep them secure, fast and visible in Google. Most take a few minutes and need no technical knowledge.

Published
Author
SEO Essex
Reading time
2 min read

Most websites don't drop in Google overnight. They slide, because small jobs get forgotten.

Here are ten checks worth running every month. Most take a few minutes.

Updates are the first line of defence

October 2026 showed why. A critical PHP flaw and a breach at a popular WordPress backup plugin landed in the same week. (NCSC, TeamUpdraft)

  1. Update WordPress, your theme and your plugins. Delete any plugin you no longer use.
  2. Check your PHP version. On WordPress, go to Tools, then Site Health, then Info, then Server. (WordPress) Ask your host if you're not on a supported version.
  3. Check your user list. Remove any account you don't recognise or no longer need.

A secure site is step one. Next, make sure Google can still see it.

Search Console tells you what Google sees

Search Console is free. It is where Google reports problems it finds on your site.

  1. Security issues report. It should say no issues detected. (Google)
  2. Page indexing report. Watch for a jump in pages "not indexed". (Google)
  3. Sitemap. Make sure it lists your important pages and was read recently. (Google)

If Google can see your pages, the next question is whether people can use them.

Speed and mobile matter to visitors and to Google

  1. Run your homepage through PageSpeed Insights. It is free at pagespeed.web.dev. Google explains what the scores mean in its Core Web Vitals guide.
  2. Open your site on your own phone. Can you find your phone number and your main service in under ten seconds?

Then check the bits that turn visitors into enquiries.

  1. Send yourself a test enquiry through every form. Make sure it actually arrives.
  2. Click through your main menu and footer. Every link should open a real page, not an error.

A broken contact form is one of the easiest problems to miss. Nobody tells you it has stopped working.

Keep a simple record

Write down the date and what you found each month. Patterns show up fast. A slow page this month, a missing form next month.

Want us to run it for you?

These checks are part of what we look at in our SEO audit and technical SEO work.

Want to see where your site stands today? Try our free SEO audit.