Description

SEO you can actually understand, and that tells you what to do.

Most SEO plugins are built for experts. Chiaro SEO is built for everyone else.

Instead of a dashboard full of settings and coloured lights you can’t decode, Chiaro SEO gives you a plain checklist: what to do, why it matters, and a button that takes you straight to the fix. One thing at a time, most important first — no problem without a solution one click away.

A site health checklist — one simple score, then a to-do list in plain English, most important first.
Guidance inside every post — a small panel that says exactly what to do so this post can be found on Google.
Finds conflicting SEO plugins — running two SEO plugins hurts your site. Chiaro SEO spots the other one and offers to bring your settings over, then switch it off.
Automatic XML sitemap — Chiaro SEO builds and updates a sitemap at /sitemap.xml and shows you exactly how to submit it to Google Search Console.
Broken-link detection — shows the dead links people hit on your site, so you always know what needs fixing.
Google descriptions & social previews — write the sentence people read under your title on Google, and control how links look when shared.
Structured data (schema.org) — adds Article, Organization, WebSite and breadcrumb markup automatically, so Google understands your pages.
Setup wizard — a short, step-by-step start for brand-new sites, in plain words.
Works with Google Site Kit — if you use Google’s own free Site Kit plugin, Chiaro SEO adds a clear shortcut to your Google statistics (clicks, impressions and traffic) inside Site Kit, and helps you submit your sitemap. Chiaro SEO itself does not collect, store or display any Google account data.

Advanced features (one-click 301 redirects, AI writing help, AI-citation optimization, advanced schema, extended Search Console history, bulk editing, local SEO, WooCommerce) are available in Chiaro SEO Pro.

Built by Wpstar.it — Francesco Mincio, Rome, Italy. Questions: info@wpstar.it

Installation

Upload the plainseo folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install through Plugins Add New.
Activate the plugin.
Open Chiaro SEO in the admin menu and follow the checklist.

FAQ

Do I need to know anything about SEO to use this?: No. That’s the whole point. Chiaro SEO tells you what to do in plain words, explains why it matters, and links you straight to the fix.
I already use Yoast or Rank Math. Can I switch?: Yes. Chiaro SEO detects the other plugin, offers to copy your settings and descriptions over, and then switches it off — so you don’t lose anything. Running two SEO plugins at once is not recommended.
Where is my sitemap?: At yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. Chiaro SEO builds and updates it automatically and shows you how to submit it to Google Search Console. If the address shows “not found” right after installing, go to Settings Permalinks and click Save once to refresh WordPress’s rewrite rules.
Is it really free?: Yes. The features above are free with no page limits. Advanced features (AI writing help, AI-citation optimization, advanced schema, extended history, bulk editing, local SEO and WooCommerce) are part of the optional Chiaro SEO Pro.
Does Chiaro SEO send my data anywhere?: No. It does not phone home and it does not collect or store any Google account data. Your Google statistics live inside Google Site Kit (Google’s own plugin); Chiaro SEO simply links you to them if you have Site Kit installed.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Chiaro SEO” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Wpstar.it

Translate “Chiaro SEO” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

0.2.1

Fixed the one-time setup wizard so it always opens (it is now a hidden admin page).
Corrected a translation text domain and cleaned up code-quality warnings.

0.2.0

The plugin is now called Chiaro SEO.
Structured data is output more safely (no value can break out of the JSON-LD script).
Clearer, accurate description of the Google Site Kit integration.

0.1.27

Upgrade page: the AI Assistant (one-click SEO titles, descriptions and FAQs, using your own AI key) is now available in Pro.

0.1.26

Upgrade page: “Get cited by AI” (an llms.txt summary for ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI) is now available in Pro.

0.1.25

Upgrade page updated: bulk edit, advanced schema (FAQ) and WooCommerce SEO are now available in Pro.

0.1.24

Added a filter so add-ons can register their own admin tabs.

0.1.23

The per-page SEO audit now analyses the rendered content, so it works with page builders (Elementor, Divi, Beaver, WPBakery, Brizy and more), not only the classic/block editor.

0.1.22

Import / Export your Chiaro SEO settings from the Setup screen — move your configuration between sites.

0.1.21

Health score history: the Checklist shows a small trend sparkline and a “you improved” message as your score changes over time.
A gentle, one-time review request, shown only after you’ve used Chiaro SEO for a while.

0.1.20

“Fix Your SEO” is now a full content overview: every published post and page with its SEO score, what it needs, an inline description fixer and a hide-from-Google toggle.

0.1.19

Live preview in the post panel: see exactly how your page looks as a Google result and as a social share card, updating as you type the title and description.

0.1.18

Upgrade page: “Available soon” badges on features still in development, plus a second Upgrade button at the end of the page.

0.1.17

New Upgrade page: the License tab becomes “Upgrade” until Pro is active and clearly shows what Chiaro SEO Pro adds.

0.1.16

Brand wordmark is now shown correctly, and the panel title no longer has a gap.

0.1.15

In-post panel: the brand (logo + name) is now the panel title; the SEO score and progress bar moved to the top with a “See details” link that scrolls to the checklist; to-do items are shown first, by priority.

0.1.14

Sitemap now excludes builder templates (Elementor), funnel checkout / thank-you pages (e.g. WooFunnels) and system post types. Listing those technical pages could make Search Console report “Blocked due to access forbidden (403)”.

0.1.13

Reordered the menu and tabs: Setup, Checklist, Fix Your SEO, Broken Links, License.
Fixed a Pro tooltip that could appear behind the admin menu.
Confirmed structured data (schema.org) status on the Setup screen.
Broken-link checker: select some or all results (with a Pro option to redirect them in one step).

0.1.12

Google statistics now rely entirely on Google Site Kit: a clear message explains that you need to activate Site Kit and connect it to Google Analytics and Search Console to enable statistics. No extra Google setup is required in Chiaro SEO.

0.1.11

New broken-link checker: one click scans your posts and pages and lists any dead links they contain, with the page each one is on. Runs in the background with a progress bar.

0.1.10

Google numbers via Google Site Kit: the “See who finds you on Google” section switches on automatically when Site Kit is connected, and explains how to turn it on (install Site Kit) when it isn’t.
Automated internal links (basic): the post panel suggests related posts to link to, with a one-click “Copy link”.

0.1.9

Cleaner home with navigation tabs across all screens; removed the duplicated plugin name.
New License tab for activating Chiaro SEO Pro.
A gentle, dismissible reminder about Chiaro SEO Pro (never shown to Pro users).

0.1.8

Added a readability check to the per-post SEO audit (flags long sentences).
The Broken links screen shows the one-click redirect feature as a Pro option, with an explanation on hover.

0.1.7

Broken-link (404) detection stays free, on its own “Broken links” screen.
Creating one-click 301 redirects moved to the optional Chiaro SEO Pro add-on.

0.1.6

Full SEO editor in the post panel, on every indexable content type (posts, pages, products, custom types): SEO title, meta description, extra keywords, main topic, and a simple “Do you want this page to show on Google? Yes / No”.
Custom “Title for Google” now overrides the page title in search results and social shares.

0.1.5

Added the Chiaro SEO logo to the in-post panel and a clearer admin menu icon.
Reliable count of posts missing a description.
Optional per-page “hide from Google” (no-index).
Bulk “batch” description fixing lives in the separate optional add-on, not the free plugin.

0.1.3

Basic schema.org structured data (Article/WebPage, Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList) as JSON-LD.
Step-by-step setup wizard for new sites.

0.1.2

New “Fix descriptions” screen: fix posts missing a description one by one, with a suggested description pre-filled from each post.
In-post panel is now a full plain-language SEO audit (main topic, title, first paragraph, subheadings, description, length, images, image alt text, internal links).
Premium, aligned admin design.

0.1.1

Sitemap is now served directly from the request, so /sitemap.xml works even before permalinks are refreshed and is not overridden by a /wp-sitemap.xml redirect.

0.1.0

First release.
Site health checklist with a plain-language, fix-linked to-do list.
In-post panel that says what to do to get found on Google.
Detects other SEO plugins and offers a safe import-then-deactivate.
Automatic XML sitemap with Search Console submission helper.
301 redirects with automatic 404 detection.
Meta description, canonical and Open Graph output.
Optional reuse of Google Site Kit’s connection.