Ever wondered how to improve SEO on a WordPress site?
How to improve WordPress SEO is a question many bloggers ask themselves when they first start off. What is SEO Optimization and what does it really mean? How does SEO Optimization work? These are all questions I´ll be helping you with in this blog post..
SEO sounded Greek to me!
When I started blogging on Blogspot I had no idea what SEO (Search Engine Ranking Optimization) meant. I never even heard of the term before! So I did what many of us do when we hear a new term for the first time, I pretended to know but actually I had no clue what it was.. Just like we do when we hear of a new gadget or song.. (How silly us humans can be! Perhaps it´s just me *smile*)
I needed to know what is SEO and how it works!
So I started to research Google and whatever resources I could find on the subject. I found out that “SEO is a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by obtaining a high-ranking placement in the search results page of a search engine for example: Google, Bing. Yahoo, etc.”
At this point I realised that my blog was definitely not up to scratch and that I needed to do something fast! I researched different ways to implement it on my blog, I was already on WordPress at that time when I heard of the Yoast WordPress Seo Plugin. It´s one of the best free SEO tools out there!
Yoast is a free SEO tool and basically assist you with the Search Engine Ranking Optimization on your posts and pages:
- keyword
- title & url
- headings
- meta tag description
- alt tags for images
- word quantity
- easiness of reading
Look at this screenshot below that I took of an update I got from the Yoast plugin while I was busy writing this post. The green dots mean that I have done it correctly, the yellow means that it is ok but could be better and the red is giving me a warning that I need to make changes. At this point I knew that I needed to use my keyword more times within the body of my post, create alt tags for my images , increasing the characters of my title if possible and adding more content to the body of the post.
What is the SEO strategy for 2015?
In his article 7 SEO strategies to implement in 2015, Mackensie Smith, highlight the following points:
1. Optimize for mobile search
2. Focus on a variety of keywords
3. Don’t ignore social media
4. Ditch complicated UX and URL
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff
6. Long tail SEO still matters
7. Pair up with PR
One of the points I agree with most is #3 where he says not to ignore social media! I fully agree with this point. Social Media is where you create brand awareness and form those invaluable relationships that are so necessary for the future of your business. Watch out for an upcoming posts on what social media platforms I use and why.
Why not also check my post How to do a blog post for a dessert blog in WordPress where I share how I do my posts from conception of an idea to publishing it! Or perhaps this post where I share with you How to start a dessert blog. Both of these posts can easily be adapted for your niche market and I strongly encourage you to read them as they contain valuable tricks and tips that I have learnt along the way.
We have a very active group called Dessert Blogging 101 on Pinterest. You can follow us there or ask to be invited to join the group as a Contributor. If you´re a Dessert or Food blogger or if you´re interested in starting one, this is the group to be!
Happy blogging guys!
Johlene
xoxo
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links are affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I have used all of the products listed and recommend them because they are helpful and are companies that I trust.
nice article!
Thanks Berl.
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I need to learn more about SEO and work on improving mine. Thanks for the awesome info. Pinning for future reference.