WordPress, by default, is not exactly the most user-friendly CMS system when it comes to search engine optimisation. To obtain high rankings in search results, you will have to tweak your WordPress site and its content accordingly. But where do you start? How do you optimise your WordPress site without messing up its original design? We’ve compiled a list of 10 ways to optimise your WordPress site to help you rank higher in search engines like Google and Bing. Also contact SEO services Perth professionals to make the difference. Read on to learn how to optimize your WordPress site for search engines!
1) Fix your 404 page
Google considers your 404 page as an important indicator of site health. If you don’t have a 404 page, Google will automatically display your homepage. A good 404 page provides visitors with enough information to navigate to their original content (like a table of contents) or continue browsing your site. It also tells Google that you care about users who enter a non-existent URL on your site, increasing your rankings in search results and building trust.
2) Use readable titles
This tip seems like a no-brainer, but it’s quite important. If your readers can’t tell what your content is about within two seconds of looking at your page, they won’t read it. Start with a descriptive title and include keywords associated with your subject matter in your subtitle. In addition, tag each piece of content properly (we’ll get into tags later) so that search engines can better categorize your articles and make them easier to find by readers. Since search engines are also scanning URLs, be sure they spell out what your post is about as clearly as possible. Add relevant HTML tags: SEO encompasses more than just keyword usage and page titles—page design plays an integral role in achieving high SERPs too.
3) Liven up your meta description
Search engines consider meta descriptions in their ranking algorithms, so they’re just as important as content for your site’s search performance. Try these two tips to improve your chances of getting a click on Google: 1) Write your meta description in a conversational tone; don’t sound like a press release. 2) Make sure your copy is 100 characters or less, keeping it concise and on-point. Click here for an example of what not to do and see how you can learn from it by checking out our meta description examples.
4) Create optimized tags
Some tags are no-brainers. For example, if you’re writing a post about The Wizard of Oz, using those words in your title tag will be helpful. Tags in your body content don’t have that same weight, but they can still help Google associate keywords with your content. Try including related words that frequently appear throughout your piece, especially near headings or links. However, make sure you don’t go overboard and add them too many times or overstuff your page (because there will always be someone who tries harder than you). Remember: search engines like relevance and value just as much as humans do—sometimes more so.
5) Avoid duplicate content
This is key and something that many people overlook when it comes to SEO. Google’s Panda update was specifically designed to penalize sites that published duplicate content on their website. One way to avoid duplicate content is to use excerpts instead of copying and pasting your entire post into a sister site’s meta description. This also helps with user experience because you provide more information than just a couple of sentences. The other great thing about using excerpts instead of copying and pasting your post into every meta description? You don’t have as much control over what gets indexed by search engines.
6) Use Schema markup where appropriate
Structured data markup—schema, microdata, and HTML5—is a language that search engines can read. Schema has been around since about 2011, and it helps Google understand what information is on your site: What’s a person’s job title? What are their credentials? You can easily apply schema markup to contact info, business hours, event dates/times and more. Schema isn’t just for online businesses; it’s also helpful for organizing personal data (for example: keeping track of your movies or books on IMDB). Here’s a basic introduction to how you could use a schema in some common places on your site.
7) Update your images’ ALT text
Image optimization is an important step in your overall site optimization. ALT tags are what search engines use to index your images. By updating these tags, you can increase their visibility. They should include a brief, relevant description of each image, followed by keywords that describe that image. Once you have updated all of your images’ ALT text, run another page analysis using Google Webmaster Tools to see how it affects your site’s rankings.
8) Add keywords in headings, paragraphs and links
Your top priorities should be adding relevant keywords and phrases into headings, paragraphs and links. Look at any popular site in your niche, and you’ll probably see how they incorporate primary keywords and long-tail keyword phrases into their content. Keywords should be sprinkled throughout a page naturally so that it doesn’t look forced or awkward. Don’t just throw in keywords willy-nilly, though; put them where people read stuff! And don’t just rely on one strategy: Try implementing various SEO techniques such as internal linking, directory submissions, et cetera. This can help boost your rankings with search engines like Google even more than any single tactic alone can achieve.
9) Enable social media sharing on posts
Although some great plugins allow users to share your posts on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, many of them aren’t optimized for search engines. So, if you want your content to be indexed faster, it’s better to add a line of code that allows social media sharing. When someone shares a post on Facebook or Twitter, it will be loaded with keywords; in turn, that increases its chances of appearing in search results. You don’t use any plugins that automatically re-post content across all platforms.
10) Check your site with Yoast SEO Plugin
Yoast SEO is a free WordPress SEO plugin used by millions of websites worldwide. Yoast allows you to optimize your page based on search engine rules, including title tags, meta descriptions, and keyword research. The plugin also contains internal links and external links features so you can connect pages within your site and link to valuable content on other sites. Using Yoast SEO helps improve your SEO rankings.
To Conclude
If you are a newbie, it will be a big deal if you work on optimising your articles. As we said earlier, content with keywords attracts more traffic. If you want your site or page to be successful in attracting customers and increasing revenue, then better start writing! Those who know how to utilise an SEO-friendly title and meta description will benefit from them. And lastly, make sure that you use your keyword but don’t abuse it because Google might not appreciate it. So choose wisely and always aim high in terms of success when blogging about something. Cheers!
