After spending countless hours and days completing your website, it’s easy to think the job is done, but unfortunately, that’s not quite the case as now is the time to improve your WordPress SEO ranking.
Kick-Ass Website Check... SEO Ranking No-Check.
Most of us have been there before. You start by Googling your company name or service you’ve mentioned on your website, yet the results come back empty. The first page… no result, the second also nothing, but the third page, it’s bound to be there. Well, chances are your website’s also not going to be there as SEO is the name of the game and without its presence, don’t expect your ranking to change any time soon. That is if you decide not to take the time for web optimization.
That’s why we’ve decided to share some basic tips on how to make your site easier to locate by Google.
Table of Contents
Firstly, What Is SEO Exactly?
Search engine optimization is the process of creating a website that helps a person solve a specific problem by answering their questions. And why exactly would I need SEO? Well, if you are interested in reaching a large market when it comes to advertising your product or service, the internet is without a doubt a place where you’d want to be. Your main goal is for your website to appear first when a person searches for the service or product you offer on the internet. With that said, the only way to reach the number one spot organically is by providing accurate information or by selling a quality product and service.
You’ll need to gain a search engine’s trust, and believe me, the reward will follow shortly thereafter.
What Is a Search Engine?
You have a question and a search engine is a tool you use to answer that question. The engine takes your question, understands it and then directs you to the content it’s organized, with the help of the search engine optimization you have done on your website. The more accurate and useful your content is, the higher your SEO ranking will become. And like I’ve mentioned earlier, the number one goal is to rank first.
“But where on earth would I ever locate a search engine, and it’s probably extremely expensive?”, you might ask? Well, your daunting search for this intricate piece of equipment has finally come to an end. You just don’t know it yet, but there’s a good chance you’ve used it to track this article down. Let’s stop beating around the bush… the engine in question is Google. While Google is the most popular option to use, there are numerous other search engines that you could use to find answers on the world wide web. If Google isn’t for you, then you could make use of alternatives like; Microsoft Bing, Yahoo and a whole string of others.
Finally, our tips to improve your WordPress SEO
1. Install your SEO plugin of choice
WordPress has some nifty SEO capabilities straight out of the gate, but if your goal is to rank first on your favourite search engine, there’s still some work to be done first. By installing an SEO plugin, you’re presented with the freedom to optimize any page or post for your chosen keyword or phrase you’d like visitors to enter to get to your content.
There are numerous SEO plugins for you to choose from, but most developers end up choosing between two, Yoast and Rank Math. While both have great features to offer and are equally impressive, you won’t go wrong when choosing either one. In the beginning, we used Yoast but moved over to Rank Math as they were the new kids on the block with promising online reviews. Both of these plugins offer a free version filled with enough tools to set you well on your way. Between the two Rank Math offer the most features with their free plan and includes some of the features you have to pay for with Yoast.
2. Activate search engine visibility
When you first start building your WordPress website, you’ll most likely at some point receive the option to make your site visible or not. At this stage, it’s still important that you do not make your website visible to search engines as none of your SEO changes has been completed.
You’ll only untick the “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”, selection box after you are happy with your search engine optimization efforts. Google does not play well with websites with little to no optimization and will penalize you for handing in an incomplete site, thus making it more difficult for you to rank first in future. After you are 100% satisfied with your website, you’ll need to untick the box as leaving it ticked will result in Google ignoring your work, making it impossible to rank first.
To see if this setting is active, navigate to Settings › Reading from within the WordPress dashboard. After scrolling down, you’ll see the section called Search Engine Visibility.
3. Make sure it's mobile-friendly
The next time you need to know something you can only find online, chances are that you’re going to reach for your trusty pocket companion, your mobile phone. The main reason is that it’s with you most of the time and with that kind of instant access comes additional work for you as a developer. You need to ensure that the experience visitors have on the desktop reflects on mobile when it comes to user-friendliness.
There aren’t many things more frustrating than struggling to navigate through a website. That’s why Google’s testing their mobile-first indexing, meaning that they’ll score your ranking according to the functionality and performance of your mobile pages.
If you are curious and would like to check how mobile-friendly your site is, you’re in luck. Head over to Google’s mobile-friendliness test, and enter your site’s URL.
4. don't forget to optimize your images
Adding images to your posts will create a more pleasant reading experience, and will ensure that your readers stay engaged. With that in mind, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with a few image properties before you start uploading all willy-nilly.
Yea, that’s correct! You’ll need to optimize each one of your images to ensure that they pop up in Google’s image search engine while also speeding up your website loading time. When it comes to optimizing your images there are two things you need to take into account, image size and alt text.
First, let’s tackle image size. When you spend loads of money on photographers, understandably, you’d like to upload those high-res images directly to your website, but don’t. While these snapshots are of high quality they are also usually extremely large, both in file size and in diameter. Both characteristics you don’t want anywhere near your website as it will only slow down your loading times.
Alt text is a must-have as this text is used to assist in indexing your image into the correct category. This text usually consists out of short down to the point descriptions of the image you are posting. It’s important to keep the SEO elders happy, so never forget to add alt text to every single image. In return, you will reap the reward of a stronger SEO ranking and the portal to your site becomes wider.
5. Write Loads of Blogs
The fact that you are currently reading this post is a testament that these tips to improve your WordPress SEO actually works. Search engines love websites that add to the ever-growing information base called the internet. Each time you upload something new you’re feeding it and in return, you’ll receive page visitors as a reward.
Blog posts act as capsules filled with valuable information that both showcase your expertise and products. Use each blog as an opportunity to guide a visitor through your website. You can do this by strategically mentioning the product or service you sell and then linking it to that specific page.
By doing this, you become more credible to the reader as you are leading them to solutions and advice compiled by yourself. As a result, search engines will also start viewing you as a reliable source of information and become less nervous about giving you a good SEO ranking.
A bonus tip worth mentioning is to make sure that there are as many links that lead to your site or post as possible. This could be achieved by strategically pointing your social media to the desired page you’d want visitors to see. Check some of our services to see how we could assist in making you rank higher in your field.
With these tips to improve your WordPress SEO, you are bound to see a positive change in your website visits and SEO ranking. There is one aspect of these tips that you will have to keep in mind… It will take time.
