SEO

Tips to Improve Your WordPress SEO Rankings

WordPress is one of the most popular and widely used content management systems. Many internationally and globally renowned websites run on WordPress. 

However, there is no denying that you can achieve better rankings on search engines with proper WordPress SEO. WordPress SEO takes time to show favorable results. But one of the benefits is that WordPress can handle various issues which hamper website rankings. 

Mentioned below are some important and practical tips for improving WordPress SEO rankings:

  • It Is Best to Use a Focus Keyword 

We all know that Google follows an algorithm to rank pages. The algorithm lays a lot of emphasis on keywords, and thus, you cannot undermine their importance. 

Writing smart is the mantra for getting more visitors to your website. You should follow SEO best practices while creating content for your target audience. While publishing a page or blogging for your site, make sure you have a focus keyword in mind. Don’t create a post just for the sake of creating. Do your research and make sure that you include the target keywords in the content. 

You should also analyze the keyword density of the content. The point to note is too much keyword density can be detrimental. So, make sure to maintain a balance. There are various SEO tools available for this purpose.

  • Installing a WordPress SEO plugin 

WordPress Plugins

When it comes to SEO, WordPress is quite good in itself. But, to get better results, it is highly recommended to install an SEO plugin. An SEO plugin provides total control on optimizing how search engines view your website. 

There are many WordPress SEO plugins available. Among them, the Yoast SEO plugin is the most popular choice with web marketers. This plugin has been downloaded millions of times for installation and comes with a 5-star rating. Using this SEO plugin, it is possible to edit meta-descriptions. 

You can also add schema markup, generate XML sitemaps, and write better content.

  • Installing an SEO-Friendly WordPress Theme

Add theme

With the initial installation of WordPress, there is a default theme that appears. Very few use this default theme since there are several different themes available, both free and premium. Frankly, you will be spoilt for choices when it comes to WordPress themes. 

However,  do choose an SEO-friendly theme for your website if you want to rank high. Though many themes claim to be SEO-friendly, they are not. Such themes have plugins and scripts that can lower the performance of the site. You can run the themes through the web development tool by Google to get insights on SEO issues and potential performances. Run your chosen theme through this tool before applying it to ensure that it will not hamper your website’s ranking.

  • Keyword Research Is Very Important

We all know how the ranking of any website depends on its content. What many don’t know is keyword research is the most crucial part of creating quality content. With proper research, you will have an idea of the search terms you should use for optimizing your website content. 

Keyword research should be the first action item you should do, right at the beginning of any SEO project. Keyword research is not only required for the content of the website but also for on-page optimization. Identification of the right keywords is crucial. 

It remains applicable whether you are looking to optimize your website or looking to create new content. The website or page will rank higher in search engines with the proper choice of keywords. There are countless keyword-research tools available for you to choose from.

  • Choosing a Reliable Hosting Provider 

Another thing to be mindful of when trying to improve WordPress SEO rankings is the hosting provider. You have to ensure that your website is hosted with a reliable provider. You must check things like security, site speed, and uptime when deciding about a hosting provider. 

You might not realize it, but the speed of your website has a direct impact on the SEO performance of your WordPress site. It is also good to know that security vulnerabilities and poor uptime might lead to quality issues. It is a general tendency to choose cheap hosting providers. 

But an unreliable hosting provider results in poor performance of the website. If you are new to SEO, follow the suggestions provided by WordPress regarding hosting providers.

  • Check the Website’s Visibility SettingsWebsite visibility check

With WordPress, you will be able to “discourage search engines from indexing” your website. Simply put, the meaning of this technical term is that the website will not rank in search engines. 

The term is used commonly by developers when the website is in the development phase. During this phase, the content and pages are still not ready and complete. 

Hence, the site shouldn’t be indexed. It is interesting to note that many developers leave this option active, even after the website goes live. Therefore, the website doesn’t get ranked on search engines. You have to check the visibility settings of the website. 

Make sure to uncheck the box next to “discourage search engines from indexing.” You have to go to Settings and then to Reading to find the visibility settings.

Related: How does Website Security Affect your SEO Rankings?

  • Setting Preferred Domain 

This point is a bit technical but is equally vital for your WordPress website ranking. 

You can choose your domain as domain.com or www.domain.com. It will not impact your website’s SEO performance. But at the same time, you have to ensure that the website remains accessible on one of these domains. 

Google considers these as two different URLs. For setting your preferred domain, you have to go to Settings – General. The other domain version gets redirected to the preferred domain. In case of the launching of a completely new website, you can choose from either option. 

However, if you are replacing an existing site, you have to use the same version that you previously used. For running your website using ‘HTTPS,’ you would need an SSL certificate.

  • Setting up Friendly Permalinks Help

SEO Friendly Parameters

WordPress creates different kinds of messy permalinks by default, which are not clear and very confusing. In the default structure, the date and post name are included in the URL. However, Google has a different story. It prefers URLs, which contain keywords or the title of the content. 

Moreover, it has preferences for shorter URLs. You should instead use the post name permalink setting. It is not only clean, but it has shown excellent positive results for the website’s SEO. 

However, there is a small risk factor in changing the structure of the permalink. Once the post goes live, all the previous links might break. The developer and SEO experts have to work on this aspect closely to avoid issues in the website. 

  • Meta Descriptions Help in Increasing Click-Through Rates

Many SEO experts opine that meta descriptions do not have a role to play in improving rankings of websites in WordPress SEO. It is not true. Meta descriptions play an important role in affecting click-through rates (CTR). 

A well-written meta description makes users click on the post/page in the search engine result pages. Higher the CTR, Google will find your content to be more relevant. The result is that the page will rank higher. So, meta descriptions do impact page rankings. 

Meta descriptions can be set manually via various plugins used for WordPress SEO. For writing meta descriptions, there is a limitation of 150 – 170 characters. 

Anything more than that will not be visible on search engine result pages. It is best to have the focus keyword in the meta description. Google highlights the keyword in search results. However, if you don’t have a meta description, there are times when Google will create a meta description automatically. 

  • Word Count Is Vital 

High-quality content is not only appreciated by visitors and readers but also by Google. 

Along with quality, word count is also important. You should post long-form blogs with more word count rather than shorter pieces. Research reports show that websites with longer content rank high on search engine result pages. Content length influences various SEO factors. Longer posts also generate more backlinks. However, depending upon the type of content, the word count will vary. 

Readers wouldn’t want to go through a very long news article. Along with the focus keywords, you should also use long-tail keyword variations in the content. It will help Google in indexing the website quickly.

  • Using Proper Heading Tags 

Google bots or Google crawlers check various HTML header tags like H1, H2, or H3. Such tags help in determining the relevance of the content on the website. In general, the best idea is to have one H1 tag per page or post. There can be many H2 and H3 tags beneath the H1 tag. It is evident from the hierarchy that the most important header of the content is H1. 

Preferably this header should contain the focus keyword. The keyword or long-tail variations of the keyword might be present in the other headers as well. 

Headers are a great way of organizing the content in a better manner for easy readability. Apart from the heading tags, it is also possible to add HTML tags manually. 

  • Adding Internal Links in the Content 

It is a beneficial and valuable WordPress SEO tip. Insert internal links from your website to other blog posts and pages. This internal linking is done within the main content only. With internal linking, interconnectivity is enhanced. 

Search engines establish a connection between two connected pages. It helps in better crawling. Internal links help in effective navigation as readers can find links of related contents of their interest. As a result, they end up spending more time on the website. 

Link equity is delegated to the most important content. Thus, search engines give these pages higher value. The final result is that the page/site appears higher on search engine result pages. 

  • Adding Alt Text to the Images and Adding Image Title Tags 

Alt text stands for alternative text, which is applied for images on the website. Alt tags are mainly used by screen readers so that extra context for images is obtained for visually impaired users. Alt-text is a favorite with search engines, too, as better image content is obtained. 

Adding Alt text to images is highly recommended. In WordPress, it is straightforward to add Alt text. If possible, try adding the focus keyword to the image. However, don’t overdo anything and don’t start adding the focus keyword to all the images. Google will treat this as spamming. 

  • Mark up the Pages with Schema 

Schema markup plays a vital role in enhancing all SEO efforts by adding context to data and content. Google can understand the content of the website in a better manner. Schema also presents the content in various practical ways. 

Hence a person looking for some information will have a great searching experience. With the addition of contexts to the pages, the page or website will also rank higher in search engine result pages. You will also get clicks when the page or website gets impressions. 

  • Make Sure That Content Is Updated Regularly 

The freshness of content is a crucial aspect when it comes to WordPress SEO. It has been seen that if a page in a website or a blog post contains old and outdated information, it impacts rankings adversely. The page or the blog post loses its ranking if it isn’t updated. That is the reason it is highly recommended to evaluate and revise your website page contents regularly. 

While you are updating the posts and the pages on the website, there are few essential things that you must remember. Check the facts provided in the content and concentrate on the search intent. Also, while updating the information, take care that the new data has depth. 

Along with quality improvement, this ensures that readers will be more interested in reading the content. It will attract more backlinks as well. 

“Try including actionable tips and credible sources. Update the images in the website or blog post and think about changing the headlines”, says Mark from Red Houston SEO Agency.

Last but not least, make sure that there are no broken links. Once the content is updated completely, ensure that the last modification date is displayed on the website. 

  • Understand the Differences Between Dofollow, Nofollow, UGC, and Sponsored Links

When it comes to WordPress SEO, there are different kinds of primary links available on the internet. It is important to know about these links and understand their differences as well:

  • Nofollow links – The ‘rel’ attribute of “Nofollow” is contained in this link. It is evident from the name that such links send messages to search engine crawlers to ignore them. Even then, these links play an essential role in generating traffic. They don’t impact rankings or pass authority. Such links are often used when you place a link at the request of a linked website. 
  • Dofollow links – As a default feature, every link you create in WordPress becomes a Dofollow link. When your website is analyzed, these links are crawled by Google. If your website is compliant with all the SEO rules, ranking is boosted, and it also helps establish authority. Many marketers talk of boosting backlinks. It means that they are looking for Dofollow links from different high authority websites. 
  • UGC links – UGC stands for ‘User Generated Content’ links. The primary purpose of these links is to show the time when a user initially created the link.
  • Sponsored links – It is pretty clear from the name of the link that sponsored links are generally used as a part of paid campaigns. The main ambition of the link is to drive traffic to the website. 

Related: 7 Things That Can Harm Your Domain Authority

  • Concentrate on Setting up an XML Sitemap

When it comes to WordPress SEO, one of the most important things you must do is set up an XML sitemap. All the leading search engines use these sitemaps. They help in understanding the structure and hierarchy of the WordPress website. 

As a result, you can expect better crawling of your website. It is not that sitemaps are mandatory, but it is possible to obtain detailed reporting data about the website if you have one. By using an XML sitemap, it is possible to boost the chances of scoring Google site links. You can turn on the XML sitemap setting from the WordPress dashboard to implement this feature.

Conclusion:

Indeed, SEO can contribute to the success of any business. When you have a WordPress website, you must take care of the various SEO aspects. It will help in maintaining the quality and lifespan of the website successfully. 

With the above-mentioned SEO tips, take your WordPress website higher up on search engine ranking pages. 

WordPress SEO FAQs

Some frequently asked questions on WordPress SEO along with their answers:

1. How Can SEO Be Improved with WordPress Widgets?

WordPress widgets allow publishing the same content on multiple pages like footers or sidebars. The best way to use WordPress widgets is using customized content for a specific page. As visitors will find relevant information on that page, it acts as a value addition. It is not only user-friendly but also enhances the browsing experience significantly. It is also possible to get valuable inbound links with WordPress widgets. 

2. Will It Harm My SEO If I Add a Post to Many WordPress Categories?

WordPress gives you the option of assigning posts and pages to many categories. If handled in the right way, this will not affect SEO adversely. When the same content appears in different categories with separate URLs, it appears as duplicate content. However, if the content is seen only on one URL, there is no chance of duplication. Handling of categories is also dependent on WordPress themes – check that out.

3. How to Choose the Best WordPress SEO Plugin for My Website?

Popularity, compatibility, support, etc., are important factors for selecting a WordPress SEO plugin. If the plugin has been downloaded many times, it means that it is used widely. It is crucial to find out if the plugin is compatible with other technologies and functionalities on the site. There should be abundant technical support for the plugin. Finally, there should be updates and revisions available for the plugin. 

4. Is It True That Installing a WordPress SEO Plugin Will Not Require an SEO Consultant?

It is one of the most common questions asked for WordPress SEO. Well, sadly, the answer to this question is no. SEO is not turnkey, which is easy to install and comes with instant results. A single WordPress SEO plugin cannot cover all elements of SEO. You will need a specialist who has a thorough understanding and knowledge of all SEO attributes. 

5. What Are the Ways of Optimizing a WordPress Site for the Search Engines?

There are some excellent ways in which a WordPress site can be optimized for search engines:

  • Creating attractive descriptions and titles for each page on the website
  • Using the correct URL (also known as the domain name)
  • Adding proper texts to all the images used on the site
  • Utilizing anchor text
  • Using proper headers so that the site gets proper structure
  • Proper internal linking of pages
  • Optimizing the speed of the website

6. What Is the Best WordPress SEO Plugin in 2021?

There are many WordPress SEO plugins available. However, the best ones of 2021 include the following:

  • AIO SEO – This is an excellent plugin for business websites. Features provided by the plugin include XML sitemap, Schema adding, robots.txt, etc. 
  • Yoast – One of the most trusted and oldest SEO plugins, Yoast covers the majority of on-page SEO features. It also creates sitemap and robots.txt files and provides Schema adding for better ranking on Google. 
  • Rank Math – Rank Math has features like ‘on-page SEO checklist,’ ‘XML sitemap adding,’ ‘Robots.txt,’ etc. It is an affordable WordPress SEO plugin. 

Conclusion:

Because of its flexible and powerful features, WordPress has become a favorite platform for many web developers. But only less than 5% of the sites are successful in getting organic traffic from search engines. So, make sure to implement these tips on your WordPress website to gain natural rankings and organic traffic from search engines.