WordPress Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for website owners who want their WordPress websites to rank higher in search engine result pages. However, the crucial part is that SEO is not a one-time task; rather, it is an ongoing task.
As a website and business owner, you would want your website to rank higher for a particular service or product. However, with the increasing competition, you will require a robust strategy to help you beat the competition.
That’s why it is best to collaborate with a custom WordPress development company. They can help you build, deploy, and manage your website. They can also assist you in keeping your website up to date with the latest SEO practices. As the leading WordPress SEO company, we’ll share some expert tips that you can implement in your SEO strategy.
14 WordPress SEO Checklists: Things You Need to Consider
SEO is all about techniques used to remain at the top of search engines. From choosing the right keywords to building an intuitive website design, let’s check out the top 14 SEO tips coming from the leading WordPress SEO company:
1. Invest in Advanced Analytic Tools.
You can enhance your WordPress SEO performance with advanced organic traffic rise tools. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner and Google Analytics to achieve a measurable performance boost in SEO and keep an eye on your KPIs. These tools aid in tracking bounce rate, keyword analyzer, and organic traffic. Analyze these criteria on a regular basis and improve them accordingly.
2. Conduct a Thorough Keyword Research.
This keyword planning should be implemented before writing the blogs or website content. You can use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush to research keywords and find high-value (high search volume) keywords. You can use a mix of keywords, including short-tail keywords, long-tail keywords, and even question-based keywords.
For instance, if you are a cleaning company, then our SEO experts recommend using 1-2 question-based keywords only once in the blog, like how to start a cleaning company and what is the number 1 cleaning company in roseville.
Besides, we recommend including keywords in the format business name + near me (e.g., cleaning company near me or salon near me) if you are writing a blog highlighting your services.
3. Produce High-Quality Backlinks.
Backlinks are important for SEO because they indicate to Google that another resource finds your content valuable enough to link it to their own content. Search engines consider it to be valuable content worthy enough to rank higher in SERPs if there are enough backlinks.
The key to achieving this is to select top websites that have huge followers and showcase high-quality content. You can negotiate partnerships with bloggers or websites. Then, you can work according to them by writing content in their style, and you will successfully gain a backlink.
4. Utilize SEO Plugins for WordPress
As a leading WordPress SEO company, this is one of the top SEO checklists for WordPress because it provides impactful integrations like content analysis, BreadCrumbs, XML sitemaps, and popular SEOs such as All in One SEO Plugins, Rank Map, and Yoast SEO. A WordPress theme is not enough to reach your goal; a plugin gives you the necessary tools to optimize your website.
For instance, Yoast is a WordPress plugin best known for content analysis and guidance. Its traffic light system allows you to see what type of content is working for your website at a glance.
5. Install an SEO-friendly Theme.
Choose a lightweight, responsive theme that is coded with best SEO practices. These days, Studio Press, Astra, or Generate Press are quite popular. Also, do not go for overdevelopment. Try to keep the theme natural and easy to navigate and avoid keyword stuffing. You have the freedom on the creative front but donโt overdo it because visitors may find it overwhelming.
6. Avoid Black Hat SEO at All Costs.
Malpractices such as Black Hat SEO should be avoided. Remember, the wonderful results achieved using Black Hat SEO will not last long. Search Engine Systems follow a certain protocol. If this norm is broken, it might result in a low ranking. Stay honest and try all the best techniques to rank higher in SERPs. You can even hire a custom WordPress development company to assist in revamping your website and making it SEO-friendly.
7. Create and Submit an XML Sitemap.
As an experienced WordPress SEO company, an XML Sitemap plays a pivotal role in enhancing SEO. It helps index the website’s content and provides a better understanding of its structure. You can utilize plugins like Yoast SEO and Rank Map, which automatically update and generate your sitemap.
ย 8. Optimize Images
A picture speaks a thousand words, and it is essential to add images, videos, or interactive elements to your website. However, high-quality images increase the website load, increasing the loading time.
High loading time can frustrate the users, and thatโs why you can use plugins like Short Pixel or Smush to reduce the pixel size while preserving the quality of the image. Also, you can give a specific file name to your images and add Alt text to your images to make it easy for search engines to crawl and understand the images.
9. Take advantage of Internal Linking.
Internal linking allows you to link to the other pages or blogs on your website. When you do internal linking, you can create a bridge between two relevant pages, which increases a user’s time spent on your website. Internal linking is important for eCommerce websites because the site has a large number of products, and it helps provide context for users and search engines.
10. Technical SEO
Technical SEO translates to enhancing the technical aspects of your WordPress website. In this case, it is best to hire a custom WordPress development company. They will perform a website audit and find all the gaps hindering your growth. After understanding the gaps, the team will devise top-notch strategies to redesign your website so that it ranks higher and performs better.
11. Optimize For Mobile Usage
Choose an interface that makes your website compatible with different screen sizes, like mobile, tablets, laptops, and PCs. Mobile-compatible websites are essential because people use their phones to search for products. For example, if a user is looking for a cleaning company, according to our SEO experts, the user will conduct a voice search on the phone because a smartphone is the closest thing to any user.
12. Speed and Accuracy
To ensure top speed, reduce Java Script and CSS files by the content delivery network(CDN) and utilize browser caching. Use GTMetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights to test your site speed.
13. Optimize for Local SEO
Local establishments form the foundation for any business. For your business to get noticed, ensure that your business landmark with address, phone number, and Google Maps is updated. Registering a Google business page will attract consumers to get in touch. Ask your users to comment on positive reviews under your profile.
14. Enable BreadCrumbs
The pivotal aspect of BreadCrumbs is that they identify the DNA structure of your website. This will help in quick navigation. Breadcrumbs can also provide link equity and upgrade user experience.
Wrapping up,
Icecube Digital, a leading WordPress SEO company, can assist you in fulfilling your visions, and our tailored strategy can help you rank higher in SEO. From updating your website content according to the latest algorithm to redesigning your website structure, we have the team, skills, and resources. Connect with our experts to get a site audit performed today.