Why Your Script-Based Site Is Not Ranking: A 12-Point SEO Tune-Up

Installing a script gives you a website. It does not give you a search strategy. These twelve checks fix the problems we see most often.

Page basics

1. Unique titles. Every page needs its own title tag with the main keyword near the start.
2. Unique descriptions. Write them by hand for your top 20 pages.
3. One H1 per page. Many default templates use the logo as the H1.
4. Readable URLs. Switch on clean URLs and avoid ids and parameters.

Duplicate and thin content

5. Canonical tags on filtered and paginated pages.
6. Noindex for empty pages such as categories with no listings or search results.
7. Rewrite demo text. Sample content copied from the author's demo is already on a hundred other sites.
8. Add original intros to category pages: 80–150 words about who the section is for.

Technical

9. Sitemap.xml submitted in Search Console.
10. Speed. Compress images, enable caching and keep scripts light.
11. Mobile layout. Check the template on a real phone, not a resized desktop window.
12. HTTPS and one hostname (with or without www), redirecting the other.

How long until it works?

Expect weeks, not days. Fix the technical items first, add original content steadily and let the pages be crawled. Track impressions in Search Console; rising impressions come before rising clicks.