Your go-to guide to easy, user-friendly SEO that helps your website get found on Google + free SEO guide download.
If you’re here, you’ve probably heard about the magic of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how it can transform your WordPress site.
But let’s be honest: SEO can feel a little overwhelming at first.
The good news? I’m here to help break it down for you so that you can start bringing more organic traffic to your website, and ultimately, reach your dream customers much faster. So let’s dive in and simplify this SEO journey together. Now, these instructions are specific to WordPress but the general SEO rules apply to any website platform.
And to make things easier for you, I’ve put together a quick SEO checklist that you can download for free at the end of this post. I know your plate is already full, so this will help save you some precious time.
When we work with clients, we ensure that each of these steps are optimized. So in order of importance, we’re going to cover the following steps to WordPress SEO:
1. Choose the Right Keywords
Keyword research doesn’t have to be complicated, but it’s certainly perceived that way. The best way to do this is think about HOW your target customers are typing something into google. How would you type if if you were looking for the same thing? Think of the words your potential customers are typing into Google to find products or services like yours. Free tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest can help you uncover specific keywords to target.
Focus on a mix of broad, short-tail terms (like “watercolour landscapes”) and long-tail keywords (like “affordable custom watercolour portraits”). Having a combination of both helps you with targeting those high competition, high volume keywords but also narrow things down a bit and get found faster with a more specific search.
When creating content, aim for a natural flow. Use your focus keyphrase in places like your page title, SEO title, and meta description, but avoid overstuffing keywords, which is placing that keyword ALL over your page or post. Remember as you read all of this, the most important thing is to write for your target audience, despite being aware of and satisfying search engine rules.
The tool I personally recommend is ubersuggest.com—a user-friendly freemium option that makes keyword research simple and fast. You type in a keyword related to your topic that you think your audience is searching for, and it will provide you with an overview of that keyword along with related suggestions and content ideas based on what competitors are doing.
One particularly helpful feature is the ability to sort results by SEO difficulty (SD), which gauges how challenging it would be to rank for that keyword based on existing competition. Lower scores (preferably under 40) indicate easier-to-rank keywords, making them a great starting point.
Once you’ve identified your target keywords and phrases, integrate them throughout your content: in headings (H2s and H3s), image file names, alt text, and other strategic spots.
2. Lay a Solid Foundation
Before you start optimizing, it’s crucial to ensure your website’s visibility is set correctly.
So, do this step first: In the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Reading and confirm that the box labeled “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unchecked. This is the first step to ensuring your web pages are seen by search engines like Google.
Adding an SSL certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is another beginner’s step that’s a good idea for security and trust. This adds that little padlock icon in the URL bar and assures your visitors that your site is safe, which also boosts your search engine rankings. Most hosting providers offer free SSL certificates, so go into your domain settings wherever you’re hosting from and you can usually enable it from their dashboard.
After enabling the SSL certificate, you need to update your WordPress site to use HTTPS:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > General.
- Update both the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to start with https:// instead of http://.
- Save changes.
- You’ll want to test your site to make sure the SSL certificate is working correctly. Look for the padlock icon in the browser’s address bar.
3. SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions
Here’s where the bulk of your work will come in.
The best way to optimize your WordPress site is with the right tools. The Yoast SEO plugin is a popular options that offer a free version packed with features. This plugin guides you through optimizing your content, from meta descriptions to keyword density and even schema markup for rich snippets, increasing your chances or ranking first in search results.
Creating SEO-friendly URLs is a detail that many creatives new to SEO might overlook, but it’s crucial for how Google and other search engines rank your pages. So, let’s spend some time to understand URLs and all that comes with them.
What is a Slug?
A slug is the part of your URL that appears after your domain, acting as a unique identifier for each page or post (e.g., yourwebsite.com/your-slug). WordPress often auto-generates these slugs based on your page title. But since you’re aiming to optimize your website like a pro, it’s a good idea to refine these slugs yourself to boost your SEO.
Why Slugs Matter for SEO
Slugs help search engines and users understand what your page is about at a glance. Including your focus keyphrase and other relevant keywords in your slug can improve your search engine rankings. However, keep them concise—shorter, more straightforward slugs generally perform better than longer ones. Overloading slugs with keywords can make your site appear spammy, which can hurt your rankings.
Tips for Crafting Effective Slugs
- Use relevant keywords: Include the main keywords related to your content, but avoid keyword stuffing.
- Keep it simple: Short slugs are easier to read and tend to rank higher.
- Remove unnecessary words: Omit common stop words like “a”, “the”, and “and” unless they are essential for clarity.
How to Edit Slugs in WordPress
To change the slug of a page or post in WordPress:
- Go to the WordPress page editor for the specific post or page.
- Look for the Permalink section (usually below the title).
- Edit the URL slug field to make it more concise and keyword-focused.
- Save your changes to update the URL.
By optimizing your slugs, you’ll create cleaner, more descriptive URLs that attract both search engines and visitors, helping improve your site’s overall SEO.
What Are SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions?
These are the titles and descriptions that appear on search engine result pages (SERPs) like Google, providing a quick overview of what each page is about.
Optimizing Your SEO Titles
When crafting SEO titles:
- Use primary keywords and key phrases to clearly communicate the page’s content to search engines.
- Structure your title like this: Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword (optional) – Brand Name. Placing the most important keyword at the beginning ensures it carries the most SEO weight.
- Including your business name at the end is also recommended for brand recognition.
- Keep each page’s SEO title unique, concise, and consistent in format to maximize its impact.
Writing Effective Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions give you the opportunity to include more keywords while providing a brief summary of your page’s content (usually 1-2 sentences). These descriptions can significantly influence whether users click on your link in search results.
- Include keywords naturally to align with user search intent.
- Make each meta description unique to avoid duplicate content, which can negatively affect SEO.
- Focus on making it compelling to encourage clicks.
How to Update SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions in WordPress
To edit these in WordPress:
- Install an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math.
- Open the page or post you want to optimize in the WordPress editor.
- Scroll down to the SEO plugin section and enter your SEO title and meta description.
- Save your changes.
4. Optimize Your Blog Posts and Pages
To be found on Google, you need to create content that directly answers the queries your visitors are searching for. Offering credible, informative content is one of the best ways to drive organic traffic to your site.
Next, it’s crucial to ensure that your website or blog is formatted for both readability and SEO. Here are some tips for optimizing your content:
- Break up paragraphs into manageable chunks (2-3 sentences per paragraph). Short, digestible sentences are easier to read, scan, and understand.
- Use H2 and H3 headings to organize your topics and sections. Proper use of headers helps make your content more readable and improves your SEO by making it easier for search engines to index.
- Optimize images for faster loading times—page speed is a ranking factor, and optimized images contribute to a better user experience.
Your blog is one of the most powerful SEO tools you have. Make sure the content provides real value to your readers, showcases your expertise, and is designed to be visually appealing. This includes using an appropriate font size, clear headings, and engaging, relevant images.
When writing your blog posts, remember to use alt text for your images. This helps not just with accessibility for screen readers but also with SEO. Every image should have a relevant, descriptive alt tag.
Also, ensure your internal links are strong. Link to other blog posts and pages on your WordPress site to keep readers engaged and improve site health. External links to reputable sources can also help boost your search engine rankings.
5. Don’t Forget the Technical Bits
I know, the technical stuff can feel daunting, but don’t worry—it’s simpler than it seems!
Setting up a solid permalink structure (e.g., www.yourwebsite.com/blog-post-title) is a great first step. It helps search engines understand the content of your page.
To do this in wordpress:
- Log into your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to Settings > Permalinks from the left-hand menu.
- In the Permalink Settings page, you’ll see several options for structuring your URLs.
- The Post Name option is usually the best choice for SEO as it creates clean, keyword-rich URLs.
- Select your choice, and save.
Note here, that you’re changing the URLs to your website, which means:
- If your site is brand new, you can safely change the permalink structure without any issues.
- But for established websites, changing the structure may affect SEO temporarily and create 404 error pages from any external links, so it’s crucial to set up proper redirects if that’s the case.
Also, generate an XML sitemap and submit it to Google Search Console to help search engines index your new pages faster. This is an easy, actionable step to improve your site’s search engine visibility. We show you how to do that in this free Google Index Guide.
6. Focus on Speed and User Experience
Site speed is crucial. A slow site can affect your rankings and drive visitors away. I know I leave a site when it doesn’t load within a second or two. Use a caching plugin and make sure your site is optimized for mobile devices. Most WordPress themes today are responsive by default, but always double-check that your site’s mobile version looks great.
7. Additional Tools and Plugins to make Tracking Easier
Track Your Progress with Google Analytics
Lastly, setting up Google Analytics is a good idea to keep track of your website traffic and understand how users interact with your content. This is how you’ll know what’s working and what needs tweaking.
Use the Best WordPress SEO Plugins
The best way to optimize your WordPress site is with the right tools. The Yoast SEO plugin and Rank Math are popular options that offer a free version packed with features. These plugins guide you through optimizing your content, from meta descriptions to keyword density and even schema markup for rich snippets.
8. Free SEO Guide
As promised, here is your link to our free SEO Guide. It’ll take you through all the steps we’ve mentioned above (and more!) step by step, so your website is well on it’s way to gaining traffic and sales! Download the free guide here!
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ABOUT THIS POST
This post is written by Donata Delano – A Web Designer, Professional Artist and Architect based in Burlington, Canada. She specializing in visual communication and web design, creating branding solutions and websites that are thoughtful, unique and aesthetically pleasing.
