How do you improve SEO for WordPress websites? Using proper SEO along side a plugin or two can provide all that is needed to optimize for search engines. First thing is, don’t over use plugins, they were not all built by the same people, which means many will not work with one another. It’s an odds game, the more plugin you use, the more likely you are to run into that one that just doesn’t play well with others.

The Yoast SEO Plugin Can Do Wonders For WordPress

When you have many hands in the WordPress cookie jar, it’s easy to let SEO slip past the radar. Thankfully Yoast has made a plugin to help. Adding extra inputs for important on page SEO factors that not only help improve SEO but guide you along the way. From sentence structure to keyword density and word count, every webpage will get the proper attention no matter who is writing. Yoast even handles the xml sitemap and adds the ability to set individual canonical tags for each webpage.

You’ll still need to optimize each webpage later on like normal SEO, Yoast’s plugin just makes it easier to handle in bulk. Speaking of bulk, even changing meta titles and meta descriptions can be done in bulk. Many who use Yoast SEO plugin already will swear by it’s export function, allowing just the right info to start any sleuthing with. Yoast also has a decent amount of settings to mess with, so it’s important to read their many informative articles about each section. Sure there are other SEO plugins, but from experience, Yoast has worked well and is constantly updated.

Webpage Planning Goes Along Way For SEO

Just like any website, organization is key to SEO success. If you don’t have a clear website structure or layout, then content often doesn’t get created for important sections. Content siloing is where content categories are organized according to relevancy. The deeper content pages go, the further sub pages they become to the parent webpage. This helps users find content easier as well as searchbots understand relevancy better for keywords.

When using WordPress it’s even more important to focus on URL optimization to properly target core pages with blog post topics. Use targeted keywords even if you don’t use the Yoast SEO plugin, use a targeted keyword for each webpage to help focus on content relevancy.

Core Pages Target Keywords & Blogs Target Core Pages

When focusing on SEO for WordPress it’s important to use ” Pages ” for landing pages that target core services or product groups. Then use ” Posts ” as the relevant and current blog topics that can tie current events with keywords sending to core pages. When calls to action are setup properly, core pages become the best funnel from blog content users found from relevant searches. The content speaks to the user since intent is more present and users feel more trusting of the content if it’s well written. When planning keyword research it’s important to consider the interlinking between core pages and blog posts, to get the most out of the search engine marketing.

User Optimization Means Good Navigation Menus

Navigation is important for user optimization. If users cannot easier find the webpages of interest they will click the back button just as fast as they found the website. Every webpage doesn’t need to be listed, but having the most important webpages in your main menu will increase click through rate which will also improve goal conversions. When users can find what they want easily, they aren’t frustrated an are more likely to be enticed by calls to action. This is also a good chance to highlight that webpage planning and silo structure of relevant webpages you believe potential customers will find interesting enough to click through to.

Is Your WordPress Site Optimized Correctly?

Contact SEOByMichael to schedule a WordPress SEO audit and let’s plan a SEO recovery plan!