SEO Triage Audit

thyroiddoctornc.com — What to fix, what to delete, what to leave alone

Current State

1
Organic Visitors
4
Keywords Ranking
37
Pages Crawled
10
Real Pages
The core problem: 27 of 37 crawled pages are junk — author archives, query param duplicates, category pagination. Google is wasting crawl budget on noise instead of your actual content. Meanwhile your 10 real pages have no meta descriptions and weak keyword targeting.

Page Triage Summary

16
Delete / Noindex
11
Optimize
10
Fine As-Is

Pages to Kill (16 pages)

These pages serve no purpose. Noindex them or block via robots.txt. Don't waste time fixing H1s on pages nobody will ever read.

Noindex Author Archives (6)
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/page/2/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/page/3/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/page/4/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/page/5/?et_blog=
Your email as an author archive? Nobody searches for this. Noindex all of them.
Noindex ?et_blog= Duplicates (7)
/blog/?et_blog=
/blog/page/2/?et_blog=
/blog/category/blog/?et_blog=
/blog/category/blog/page/2/?et_blog=
/blog/category/blog/page/3/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/?et_blog=
/blog/author/shanemdlmgmail-com/page/2/?et_blog=
Divi theme query param creates duplicate copies of every paginated page. Handle with canonical tags or parameter settings in GSC.
Noindex Category Archives (3)
/blog/category/blog/
/blog/category/blog/?et_blog=
/blog/category/blog/page/2/?et_blog=
Only one category ("blog"). Category archives add zero value for a single-category site.
Delete Coming Soon Page
/coming-soon/
Site is live. Delete or redirect to homepage.

Pages to Optimize (11 pages)

These are your real pages. Every one is missing a meta description. The blog posts ranking for keywords need the most attention first.

Priority Homepage
thyroiddoctornc.com
  • ! Add meta description targeting "thyroid doctor Wilmington NC" or similar local intent
  • ! Verify H1 matches primary keyword
  • ! Add schema markup (LocalBusiness / MedicalBusiness)
Priority About Page
/about-us/
  • ! Ranks #63 for "wilmington functional medicine dr hilary rutledge" — only branded keyword. Optimize title + meta for that search.
  • ! Add meta description with credentials + location
Optimize Blog Posts (8 articles)
  • ! Add meta descriptions to ALL 8 posts — every single one is missing
  • ! "Can My Excess Stress Be Causing My Hypothyroidism?" ranks #92 for "high cortisol and hypothyroidism" (vol 50, CPC $5.05). Expand content, add internal links.
  • ! "What Is Hyperthyroidism" ranks #83-99 for two keywords (vol 210+170). This post has the most potential — beef it up.
  • ! Add alt text to all images (6 flagged)
  • ! Fix thin content on 4 posts (expand or consolidate)

Keyword Positions

You rank for 4 keywords. All on page 3+. Two keywords worth chasing.

KeywordRankVolumeCPCPage
the overproduction of thyroid hormones83210/blog/what-is-hyperthyroidism/
high thyroid causes99170$0.48/blog/what-is-hyperthyroidism/
wilmington functional medicine dr hilary rutledge63170/about-us/
high cortisol and hypothyroidism9250$5.05/blog/stress-hypothyroidism/
Quick win: The hyperthyroidism post ranks for 2 keywords with combined volume of 380/mo. That should be your #1 content priority — expand it, add FAQ schema, internal link from homepage.

This Week's Action Plan

Step 1: Kill the Junk (30 min)

  • 1 Install Yoast or Rank Math if not already active
  • 2 Noindex all author archive pages
  • 3 Noindex category archive pages
  • 4 Set canonical tags to handle ?et_blog= params
  • 5 Delete or redirect /coming-soon/

Step 2: Fix Meta Descriptions (45 min)

  • 1 Write unique meta descriptions for all 10 real pages
  • 2 Homepage + About: include "Wilmington NC" + service keywords
  • 3 Blog posts: include the target keyword + a reason to click

Step 3: Boost the Hyperthyroidism Post (1 hr)

  • 1 Expand to 1500+ words (currently thin)
  • 2 Add FAQ schema for "what causes high thyroid"
  • 3 Internal link from homepage and related posts
  • 4 Target: move from rank 83 to top 20

Step 4: Connect Analytics (10 min)

  • 1 Connect Google Search Console to OpenSEO
  • 2 Connect Google Analytics to OpenSEO
  • 3 This unlocks free keyword data, traffic trends, and real click-through rates

Change Log

What's been done and what still needs to be done. Updated live as changes are made.

ItemStatusDetailsDate
Coming-soon pageDoneSet to draft (ID: 7). No longer live on site.2026-09-17
Homepage meta descriptionDoneAdded keyword-targeted meta via Rank Math (imported from SEOPress).2026-09-17
About page meta descriptionDoneAdded keyword-targeted meta via Rank Math (imported from SEOPress).2026-09-17
Blog post meta descriptions (13)DoneAll 13 blog posts now have unique meta descriptions via Rank Math.2026-09-17
Switch SEOPress to Rank MathDoneRank Math imported all SEOPress data. SEOPress deleted.2026-09-17
Noindex author archivesTo DoWP Admin → Rank Math → Titles & Metas → Misc. 6 pages.
Noindex category archivesTo DoWP Admin → Rank Math → Titles & Metas → Categories. Single category.
Handle ?et_blog= duplicatesTo DoDivi theme duplicate param. Set canonical tags or block via GSC.
Add alt text to imagesTo Do6 images missing alt text across blog posts.
Fix thin content postsTo Do4 posts flagged thin. Expand or consolidate.
Boost hyperthyroidism postTo DoRanks #83-99, vol 380/mo. Expand to 1500+ words, add FAQ schema.
Connect GSC to OpenSEOTo DoFree keyword data, CTR, search appearance.
Connect GA4 to OpenSEOTo DoFree traffic trends, landing pages, audience data.