WordPress SEO: A Step-by-Step plan

What is WordPress SEO? What is SEO? Most people know SEO as search engine optimization, but the technical

Get Excited about WordPress SEOdefinition isn’t very inspiring so before I dive into how to begin the search engine optimization process, I’d like to define SEO differently than what you may have heard before. So you get a bit more excited about SEO. Let’s not think of it as an acronym for a little while:

SEO: A noun: the opportunity to be an influencer in your space.

Does this definition change the paradigm a little?

WordPress SEO can be very similar to other websites, but the content management system and the tools available make it easier in some ways to optimize a WordPress website. Here are some basic tips that will help you improve SEO on WordPress:

  1. Get Analytics – You don’t know if your site is optimized without some kind of analytics application like Google Analytics.  Most of the other options use Google Analytics to work, so I don’t endorse any others, seeing that they will all ask you to get a GA account anyway.
  2. Tell the search engines your site exists – To get Google to crawl your site, you need to “Tell” Google your site is out there. The best way to do this is to sign up through Google Web Master Tools or “Google Search Console.” This service will tell you if there are nay problems.
  3. Find your best keywords – Now that you have your analytics set up, you can move on to SEO. There is another awesome tool from Google that is hidden inside of Google Adwords called the Google Keyword Planner. Right now, you can access the tool by creating a “Google Ads” account, even if you don’t purchase any adwords. This tool allows you to compare keywords and find the best keywords for your website. Guessing your keywords is not going to ensure the words you choose are the ones your prospects are using, so this step will help a lot when you are deciding which words to make your focus keywords.
  4. Use a WordPress SEO plugin to view your progress – There are many WordPress SEO plugins. Make sure the one you choose has an “page optimizing” feature.
  5. Use SEO to stay freshCreate pages on your site for these keywords – WordPress makes it so easy to add pages to your website. This wasn’t always the case. Adding pages to your site tells the Search engines that you are still in business. Do you think the search engines want to add old websites to the search results? Would you go into this building? What if it was still in business?
  6. Name and size your images – Always name your photo for the page they are on. SEO is a layering system. There are many layers. Name your images will help the search engines find your site. WordPress SEO is easier than other systems because it has fields where you can add titles and alt tags for your images.Of course using a “smashed image” will help with page load time, so make sure your image is optimized for web by using a WordPress photo optimizing plugin.
  7. Use the Featured Image Option (You’ll see why later!) – Add one of your already optimized Photos
  8. BONUS: Add other media to your page – Adding media like video our audio will engage the reader and entice the senses! Some people are audial learners, some people are visual learners. Appeal to as many learning types as possible.
  9. Add Conversion opportunities – Make sure your page will convert by added a contact form, a phone number. Similar to learning styles, everyone who visits your site isn’t going to reach out to you in the same way, so accommodate many styles or time buying phases. Contact form, purchase button, phone number, appointment scheduler. Don’t let your visitor go to another site and commit. Informational websites do not convert.
  10. Secure new domain names – Buy web addresses that make sense for this page and will point people to this page and forward them to this page. Then you can tell people quickly where this information is available. It’s pretty easy to  forward your domain name to your page, but each host is different so the best way to do this the first time is to call your web or domain host.
  11. Share this page EVERYWHERE – WordPress SEO doesn’t end on your site. Once the page is ready, use your social media and your email list to get readers to this page. Revisit this idea several times with different (and appealing) sections of the content. The featured image will make this so easy (even using a bulk posting tool). Create a slide for your homepage slider! Add the page to your nav!
  12. Check out your analytics – How are your readers finding your page?

WordPress SEO can seem daunting, but when you focus on an idea or a trend that you want to promote and use WordPress SEO tools to bring it all together, it won’t seem as boring or mundane. Use your WordPress website and to be an influencer in your space! Do you have other concerns about your website?