WordPress is a great platform with a lot to offer users in terms of design and functionality. However, it is important to remember that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of SEO in order to make sure that your site is visible to your target audience.
The following tips will help you to fine-tune your SEO strategy and make the most of WordPress.
Never try to trick the search engines. This always backfires, sooner or later. Keep your tactics clean from the start and you have a good chance of establishing a positive relationship with Google; try the black hat route and you’re likely to have a lot of backlash.
Avoid the use of flash
You don’t want to slow down the load times of your pages and you don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with search engines: Flash is controversial, at best, with companies like Google having to build special files to deal with Flash in their browsers. Keep it simple, and avoid Flash in WordPress.
Name and tag your photos
Search engines can’t “see” photos, so you have to tell them the topic of all your pics. Use the alt and title tags, plus, use file names that tell search engines about the pics as you save them.
Use your permalinks properly
The first four words after your WordPress.com name in a URL are very important, so avoid using nondescriptive or random words.
Make a sitemap
Search engines LOVE sitemaps, thus, having one is an essential strategy for your SEO.
Social media shares
Show off your WordPress site on social media. Leave links on your various social media accounts pointing back to your site – announce new posts, contests or whatever you have going on.
Chose your theme wisely
Choose themes that don’t bring your SEO down. Even a beautiful theme may have too much code for the search engines to sift through. That’s why you want a responsive theme that works on all devices and loads quickly.
Constantly promote your WordPress site. Many people make the mistake of building a site, thinking people will just show up. Doesn’t work that way and the search engines are only going to do so much for you, even if your site is tops. Promote it yourself at every turn.
Fresh content
Update regularly with amazing content. No matter what platform you use, you always want to keep your content fresh. According to Search Engine Journal having content updated is a Google ranking factor
There’s so much to love about WordPress, but if you neglect your SEO, your efforts may be totally in vain.
