We started with one assumption while preparing this list of SEO strategies: you’re busy. So, these are approaches that you can use right now (long-term commitment not required). There are obviously many more techniques, but this is a wonderful place to start. Remember, you don’t have to employ all of them (though you certainly may), and even a few of them can help your WordPress site rank higher in the SERPs.
Also, because Google is by far the most popular search engine and exposes the most information about its algorithms, we’ll be focusing on Google-specific tips. However, many of these tactics should work on other sites as well, such as Yahoo Search or Bing.
1. Carefully select your hosting provider.
This isn’t only because we’re a web hosting provider. It’s true, and we’re saying it because it’s real: the hosting service you choose is crucial for SEO.
Because Google considers site performance when ranking pages, a competent host can help you rise to the top of the SERPs. The amount of downtime your site encounters, as well as the physical distance between servers and users, are both ranking variables that are influenced by your host. Last but not least, as Google favors HTTPS sites, you’ll want to do so as well. It’s included in all of Search Engine Optimization’s plans for free.
If you haven’t yet built your website, you’ll want to find a host that is dependable and has a good track record. Even if your site is already up and running, you should think about switching hosts if your present provider doesn’t match these requirements.
A WordPress-specific hosting plan is a wise choice. Our fully managed WordPress solutions offer fast loading times with minimal to no downtime.
2. Select a Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Theme
One of the most essential decisions you’ll make for your WordPress site is the theme. It determines the style and layout of your site, can add new features, and contributes to its SEO. For example, your theme might have an impact on your site’s speed, which is important (as we’ve already covered). The manner a theme was created is also important, because clean code provides your site the best chance of ranking well in search engines.
As a result, while choosing a theme, look for one that is SEO-friendly. These themes are frequently described as ‘SEO-friendly.’ You could also want to seek for a theme that includes features like new header tag options that are specifically designed to help your SEO. Fortunately, there are a plethora of themes to choose from.
3. Make use of an SEO plugin that is dedicated to your site.
You might not be familiar with plugins if you’re new to WordPress. These are small bits of add-on software that you may install to give your site extra features and capabilities. There’s a plugin for almost anything, including helping your site rank higher in search engines. In fact, there are a slew of plugins that are particularly designed to boost your site’s SEO.
Small, focused functions like establishing a sitemap (more on that later) can be provided by these plugins. You may also install a full SEO plugin like Yoast SEO, which will bring a whole suite of optimization-focused features to your site for even better results.
4. Modify the structure of your ‘Permalink’
Permalinks are permanent URLs that point to specific articles, pages, and other material on your website. They’re what people will use to refer to and link back to your website, so how they look is important. Clear, descriptive links that describe the content are easier for search engines to understand and have a higher ranking.
A few (such as the Plain and Numeric alternatives) are based on numbers, which isn’t ideal because they provide little helpful information to search engines. Instead, you should use the Post Name structure because it clearly communicates what the linked material is about. By going to Settings > Permalinks in the back end of your site, you can quickly edit (or create) your permalink structure.
5. Make a ‘Sitemap’ for your website.
A sitemap is a list of all of your website’s pages and other content, usually structured in a hierarchy. It allows you to quickly view how your site is laid out and what it contains. While sitemaps were originally created to assist humans in navigating websites, they are now mostly used to send information to search engine bots (also known as crawlers).
Even if adding a sitemap to your website does not directly improve its search engine rankings, it is still a useful SEO technique. It allows spiders to see all of your site’s pages and figure out how they relate to one another. Search engines will have an easier time indexing your site and presenting relevant material in user searches as a result of this. Using a specialized plugin like Google XML Sitemaps or a complete SEO solution like Yoast SEO, you can easily add a sitemap to your WordPress site.
6. Throughout Your Content, Use Heading Tags
A sitemap is helpful for search engine crawlers to know how your site is arranged, but it doesn’t assist them understand specific content. You’ll need to utilize heading tags for this. You can apply these formatting options to section heads within pages and articles.
When you use these headings to organize your information, you accomplish two things. It adds aesthetic appeal to your content by splitting it up and making it easier to read. Crawlers also pay close attention to headlines, which they use to figure out how your material is organized and what it’s about. Don’t forget to use WordPress’ heading choices frequently and consistently while writing posts and pages.
7. Create content that revolves on keywords.
You’ve probably come across the concept of keywords before. These are short phrases that explain the topic of your material. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about basic recipe options for novices, you may use the phrase “easy recipes.” You’re forecasting that many people will type the keyword into a search engine when looking for this type of material if you do it this way.
Choosing a keyword for each post or page and utilizing it in a variety of locations — such as the title, headings, and content — is a typical strategy to communicate your topic to search engine crawlers and boost the likelihood of your material appearing in relevant searches.
Of course, you must use caution when employing this tool. It’s important to avoid ‘keyword stuffing,’ which involves cramming your keyword into too many locations, making it appear unnatural or spammy.
There are a plethora of excellent SEO tools available to help you get started, but Semrush is a tried-and-true option that we are confident in recommending. Its comprehensive capabilities check all the boxes for most websites and businesses: excellent keyword research tools, the ability to analyze your rankings over time, powerful backlink analysis, and you can even evaluate your website for SEO concerns and receive helpful recommendations.
8. Useful internal and external links should be included.
Google and other search engines don’t treat your website as if it were an island. Instead, they examine how well it is linked, both within and to other sites. Crawlers can tell how your posts and pages relate to comparable content if you use a lot of links throughout them. It also encourages others to link back to your website, signaling to search engines that your content is worthwhile!
This is a method you’ll want to apply with caution, just as you would with keywords. Your search engine results will certainly suffer if you stuff too many links into your content or use a lot of links that refer to useless pages or exist just to advertise things.
Instead, aim to include links where they make sense and to direct users to high-quality websites that already score well in search engine results pages. The effective use of both internal and external links is essential for attaining the best potential SEO results.
9. Make Your Website Responsive.
Mobile devices are being used by more individuals than ever before to access the internet. This means that your website must look and run well on any device that a visitor may use. You can achieve this by employing the responsive design method, which entails creating a site that reacts and adjusts to each user’s device.
Google employs responsive design as a ranking criteria because it is so crucial. If your site is responsive, it will have a significantly better chance of ranking high in the SERPs. The best approach to get started with responsive design on WordPress is to use a theme that supports it (which many, if not most, now do). Don’t forget to look at the various SEO features that each theme has to offer!
10. Improve the quality of your images
Images are essential for almost any website. They add visual interest and context to text, as well as helping to break it up and make it more readable. They can also have an impact on your SEO, as you may have anticipated. For starters, the quality and size of your photographs might have an impact on the speed with which your sites load, which is a ranking criteria. When crawlers try to index and comprehend your site, they will check at particular information related to images, such as filenames and ‘alt text.’
Taking care of these two problems will go a long way toward improving your SEO. To begin, make sure that your photos and other material are optimized so that they have the least potential impact on your site’s performance. After that, give each image a meaningful filename and alt text (bonus points if you use a keyword in one or both places).
11. When at all possible, write long-form content
Google’s algorithms pay great attention to the length of material when choosing how to rank it. That isn’t to say that shorter content isn’t valuable. Longer content, on the other hand, has a benefit because search engines believe it to be more useful. Furthermore, the more complete your material is, the better it will be able to communicate its topic to crawlers using keywords, headings, and other means.
Longer content is also more beneficial to readers, as it increases your perceived legitimacy and encourages people to stay on your site longer. As a result, when generating content, attempt to be as detailed as possible. There are a variety of approaches, but one worth considering is the ‘skyscraper technique,’ which entails upgrading current information by making yours better and more complete.
12. Frequently Add and Update Your Posts
When selecting how to rank your sites, Google’s algorithms take into account the frequency of content as well as the length. Of course, older, high-quality content will do well, but newer, ‘fresh’ information is given a boost because it is more likely to be relevant to searchers.
As a result, if you want your site to rank well in the SERPs over time, you’ll need to publish new material on a frequent basis. To stay on track, make a publishing schedule and mix up the types of content you create to keep yourself and your readers interested. Don’t forget about past postings and pages. When you update your existing material, crawlers re-evaluate it and give it a higher ranking.
13. Prioritize high-quality content
The purpose of Google and other search engines when developing sophisticated algorithms for ranking websites is to assist the most relevant and useful sites rank highly. The specific ranking variables and their impacts change over time, but the overall idea does not. If you want to see results from your SEO efforts, you should concentrate on producing high-quality content rather than attempting to game the system.
Long-form content, which we’ve already mentioned, is a great method to improve the quality of your posts and pages. There are, however, a variety of additional options for achieving this purpose. Consider what your target readers want or require the most, and tailor your content to meet their needs. Also, remember to fact-check and edit whatever you post on your website — the fine print counts!
Ascending the SERPs
Because SEO involves such a broad range of strategies and techniques, it can be frightening. To help your site rank higher in the SERPs, you don’t need to become an SEO professional. All you have to do is follow a few easy guidelines to start seeing results.
Choosing WordPress as your platform is, of course, a great place to start when it comes to developing a well-optimized website. Then you’ll need to choose an appropriate host, a suitable theme, and possibly one or more targeted plugins. You’ll be well on your way to increasing your site’s exposure and traffic by applying these tactics (along with the rest of the advice on this list).
