SEO Recovery After a WordPress Hack: Site Health From 80% to 99% for Flint & Steel
After a security breach put a brand advocacy agency’s search presence at risk, we cleaned up the site, hardened it and fixed every SEO issue the audit found. Ahrefs site health climbed from 80% to 99% in four weeks.
- Ahrefs site health score
- 80% → 99%
- From breach to recovery
- 4 wks
- Firewall, plugins & security protocols
- Hardened
The challenge
Where they were stuck
Flint & Steel is a creative agency specializing in brand advocacy. Its WordPress website suffered a significant security breach that put its search performance at risk.
An Ahrefs audit scored site health at 80% and flagged orphaned pages, missing alt text and other technical issues. The site needed immediate action to restore its integrity before search penalties set in.
The solution
What we built
We diagnosed and closed the breach first, then ran a full SEO audit. We fixed the technical issues it surfaced, including orphaned pages and missing alt text, and hardened the site with a firewall, updated plugins and stronger security protocols.
- 01
Breach diagnosis & cleanup
Found and removed the compromise to restore the site’s integrity.
- 02
Full SEO audit
An Ahrefs audit of every issue affecting search performance.
- 03
Technical fixes
Orphaned pages linked, missing alt text added and crawl issues resolved.
- 04
Security hardening
Firewall, plugin updates and protocols to prevent a repeat.
The results
What changed
- Ahrefs site health rose from 80% to 99%
- Lower risk of future breaches with hardened security
- Search performance protected and strengthened after the incident
- A secure, optimized site that supports the agency’s brand
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