Nowadays, everything goes around SEO (Search Engine Optimization) regarding websites and blogs – and not unreasonably. If it is not easy for your possible visitors to find you in search engines, then your reputation will never grow up. So that brings other effects depending on the type of website or blog. In this article, we will point out crucial SEO tips in WordPress.
You can achieve a high-rank position on your website in two different ways. The first includes techniques and coding, while the second is related to the content. But don’t worry, it is not necessary to be a developer. There are other ways to reach the desirable results.
Why need to focus on SEO
If you are about to create a new website or blog, you should spend time optimizing it. It demands time and continuous engagement, but it is worth it.
SEO includes techniques to improve your website ranking in search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. You should consider it carefully because:
- Your visitors and customers can find you easily on the web
- The high ranking shows a more reliable profile of a business
So you increase website/blog traffic and then sales for your business.
Don’t underestimate the importance of search engines. We lack knowing the algorithms that they use to classify their results. But it is obvious to understand SEO necessity knowing how many websites are out there and that most people only see the first results of the first page.
Theme
The first and maybe the most valuable factor is your website code. There are many techniques that you can follow to create SEO-optimized code. If you’re not a developer or don’t want to create a theme yourself, you need to find a WordPress theme. So, when it comes to theme selection, you must look for an SEO-friendly product. Most premium WordPress themes have this benefit.
Premium themes like Movedo and Crocal are themes with clean code that follows SEO standards, and search engines would love it! Their clean code combines the next most important factors for search engines: They are fully responsive and speed optimized. We will speak about those two later.
SEO Plugin
The second most useful way is to use proper tools. An SEO plugin is a practical tool that indicates SEO best practices.
The most popular plugins are Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack, which are both free. They are here to remind you and help you keep SEO standards, such as adding META Description and META Keywords – as well as many of the following tips.
Content
Next comes from the side of the author. Your content must be easy to read and unique. One of the biggest mistakes is copying content from another source. Search engines “punish” those who steal text from other websites. So try to set goals, avoid mistakes and create content that is easy to understand from your specific audience.
Keywords are also essential for your content. Think wisely and choose keywords that are related to your content and it is the actual subject of what you’re writing. For example, we use the “WordPress SEO tips” key phrase in this article. This key phrase should be placed in your page/post content a few times.
Besides, don’t forget to use categories and tags in your posts. It will be faster for your visitors to find what they need and for the search engines to know what you post about.
Every page or post should contain internal and external links. Internal links connect you to other pages or posts from your website. External links are those that send you to other websites. They are both necessary.
Last, concerning your content, Image Alternative Text (ALT Text) should be used in all your images. This technique is useful as search engines use ALT Tags to relate images to your content. So, remember to add ALT Text to new or existing images from Media > Library.
Responsiveness
Make sure that your website is fully-responsive. Today, most users check webpages from a mobile device. So, it is worth noting that search engines give much weight to responsiveness. If your website doesn’t adapt or is not functional on every screen, many users will not stay for more than a few seconds. A theme like Movedo guarantees a mobile-friendly result.
Security
If your website gets hacked, you will encounter issues and face problems with search engines too. Google blacklists hacked websites every day. So, keeping your website safe is more than vital for your website’s reputation. There are many ways to enhance website security, even if you are not a code guru.
Speed Optimization
As we’ve already mentioned, search engine ranking is also related to website performance. If your website takes too much to load or your images are not optimized, you won’t see your website on the first results. We have explained ways to improve your website speed in this article here.
URLs
Your pages and posts’ URLs must be related to your subject, short and easy to remember. If your URL is just a number, it doesn’t help search engines to index it. You can easily change your Permalinks in WordPress under Settings > Permalinks globally or when you edit Pages/Posts.
Social Media
Last, and not only related to WordPress, is your business presence in Social Media. Like it or not, social media has increased users and possibilities. Promoting your work, products, or services is the most popular way. Posts, tweets and shares promote your brand/work because search engines work by how many mentions of a business can be found on the entire internet.
These are fundamental WordPress SEO tips for everyone taking website development seriously, as SEO is not something you should ignore.
