WordPress SEO isn’t rocket science, but it does require a moderate level of expertise and understanding of common SEO practices. WordPress is my favorite CMS to work with as it allows you to index all the pages of a website with less work. Here are some of the best tips to optimize the WordPress SEO of your website.
1. no WWW versus WWW
How do you want your website to look like? no WWW (example.com) or WWW (www example com) In your WP dashboard, go to Settings > General, to make sure the version you want to display is set. If you don’t already have Google Webmaster Tools set up for your domain, I suggest you do so; and check that your settings are also set there.
2. Optimizing page titles for SEO
Your page title page is one of the most important factors in determining your search engine visibility. This title becomes the “name” of the browser tab or window. This is also the first thing people will see in search results, followed by the URL and the short snippet or description of the page.
Search engines put a lot of weight on the first few words, so be sure to keep your keywords near the beginning of the page title. If you read my previous post on the new SEO, you will remember that it is very important to consider how a real pair of eyes see your content. People naturally gravitate towards search engine listings that match their search terms.
3. Optimize Post Titles for SEO
You should already have a plugin installed for optimizing your post, such as Platinum SEO. These allow you to easily determine the title and description of each post. A couple of cool things to keep in mind when writing your post titles
has. The title should always contain the keyword that you think is the most important, I refer to it as the focus keyword. Ideally, you want it at the beginning of your title.
b. If your goal is to increase the exposure of your Brand, include it in the title of each of your posts. Remember that title descriptions are limited to 70 characters, so be creative.
vs. Above all else, try to “sell” the viewer with your title. This is what they see in search engine results and can be the difference between clicking on your post and clicking on your competitor.
We’ll explore more WordPress SEO tips in future posts, including topics like XML sitemaps, author highlighting, and using links throughout your site (think blogroll). In the meantime, you should start reaping the rewards of more targeted traffic if you begin to understand that optimizing your website for search engines should be a priority.