📖 WordPress SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical to the success of any site, since 90% of all web traffic comes from a search engine. Sites must be configured properly to take advantage of search engine rankings to help potential site visitors find your site.

We have already done a variety of things that help with SEO in our WordPress site.

  • Created a descriptive blog title.
  • Changed tagline to descriptive text that defines your site.
  • Configured permalinks for more search engine (and user) friendly names that includes the postname.
  • Created meaningful categories and tags for your site - you may want to browse popular tags or hot topics to find tags that may attract users.

Yoast SEO plugin

  • Optimizes your site for search engines.
  • Configures search snippets and meta tags.
  • Analyzes SEO and recommends improvements.
  • Creates an XML sitemap of your site especially for search engines.

Optimize Your Content for SEO

Now that you have created your content, you should consider ways to make them more search-engine friendly.

Choose filenames that reflect the page content.

  • Use your keywords when possible.
  • You should never use spaces in a filename, but a hyphen or underscore can have the same effect.
  • Keep names short and simple: 1-3 words.

Optimize Your Title Tag

Summarize the page content.

  • Usually displayed in search engine results pageConcise (65 characters maximum).
  • Over 65 characters may not display.

Use 1 or 2 keywords you want to rank with each page.

  • Each page title should be unique.
  • Use your brand to increase name recognition.

Use Meta Tags Effectively

Meta Description

  • Displayed in results page from some search engines.
  • Brief and compelling description of your page - maximum 155 characters.
  • Unique for each page.
  • Not as critical in search engine rankings - write for humans, not spiders.

Meta Keywords

  • No longer significant for search engine rankings, but easy and worthwhile anyway.
  • Maximum 10 keywords.
  • At least 1 unique keyword on each page.

Meta Robots

  • Tells search-engine spiders whether to index the page and follow links.
  • Generally used to prevent a page from being indexed - for pages that a user should not get to directly (i.e. payment page).

Emphasize Keywords in Header Tags and Text Modifier Tags

  • Emphasize keywords and topics visually.
  • Indicates importance to search engines.
  • Visual significance to users.
  • Use CSS to customize the appearance.

Optimize Images

  • Search engines can't 'see' images.
  • Use alt attribute in img tag to describe image for accessibility and search engines.
  • Write unique, relevant descriptions.
  • Don't repeat unless image repeats.
  • Images should only be used where they add value.
  • Use URL's - not script-based linking.
  • The clickable text should be meaningful and use keywords when possible.
  • Avoid image links when possible.
  • Include links to all tier-2 pages on the home page to increase their page rank.
  • Don't overdo links - too many on a page dilutes their impact.
  • Inline text links carry more weight than menus or lists.
  • Links higher on the page carry more weight than those lower on the page.

Structure Your Page for SEO

  • Place the most important information and links at the top of the page to give them more weight in page rankings.

Consider keyword density

  • Density is the number of times a word is placed in the readable content of a page. If you have ten readable words and one word is a keyword the density of 10%. If you have 100 words and one of them is a keyword you now have a density of 1%. Keep your density between 3.5 and 7 percent.
  • Make sure to use keywords in your titles or aliases, links, and content. Use your keywords wherever possible without making the text seem stilted.
  • DO NOT STUFF keywords.
  • Content that does not make sense and is full of keywords for the sole purpose of raising the keyword density will cause your site to be penalized in the search engines.
  • Use the company or site name in place of we or us.
  • Use keywords in place of it, they, them, etc.