There are several tools available to you when SEO-ing a WordPress post.
Although there are SEO plugins available (more on that later), the majority of the tools you require for effective optimisation are already included in WordPress. And for some tasks, all you need is a little knowledge and no tools at all.
The top ten suggestions for post optimisation are covered in the list below.
However, we need to take a moment to discuss keywords before moving on to the advice.
Using Keyword Phrases
The following advice includes several instances of using keyword phrases. There are numerous tools available for keyword phrase research.
Use of Google’s Keyword Planner is arguably the most popular tool.
Use a tool like Ubersuggest as well.
Exact keyword phrases are still significant, despite being slightly less so now than they once were. You won’t find the same results if you search for “purchasing a pre-owned vehicle” and “buying a used car,” for instance.
So, while you should still focus on optimising your post for a primary keyword (such as “buying a used car”), you should also consider doing so for closely related terms like “purchasing a pre-owned vehicle.”
Having said that, take care not to “over-optimize,” as it is referred to. Over-optimizing is the practise of performing tasks “too perfectly” and in excess.
Google advises us to optimise our posts, but when things are properly optimised, they don’t seem to like it. Although it may not make much sense, that is the situation. Just bear that in mind as you apply the advice provided below.
1. Keyword in Title
Your page’s title is likely the element that matters most to SEO. Make sure your keyword phrase appears in the title.
Your title ought to be automatically inserted into H1 tags in WordPress. Header 1 (H1) refers to the biggest headline that can be used.
Because a search engine recognises the H1 tag as the most significant header on the page, it gives the information (i.e., keywords) it finds there more weight.
Additionally, try to avoid using a lengthy title. Nobody seems to be able to agree on the ideal length for a title, but if you can, try to keep it between 65 and 70 characters. Even that may be a bit excessive.
Just be aware that if your title is too long, it will probably be truncated in the search results.
2. Keyword in URL
Additionally, you should check that your URL contains your primary keyword phrase.
When you create your title in WordPress, your URL ought to be generated for you automatically.
The “Edit” button is located to the right of the URL, but you can also edit it by doing so.
Additionally, you should try to keep your URL as brief and user-friendly as you can. If your title is “25 Fantastic Things to Do in Miami Beach,” for instance, you may want to shorten your URL to just the key phrases, such as “things-to-do-miami-beach.”
3. Keyword Near Beginning of Post
Use your keyword phrase near the top of your post as another helpful hint.
Not necessarily at the beginning, but perhaps within the first 100 words would be ideal.
You might want to add additional references to it throughout the text’s body.
Again, “over-optimizing” is a real problem, so don’t worry if your phrase doesn’t naturally appear in the first 100 words. The search engines should be able to figure things out as long as your post clearly addresses the subject stated in your title.
4. Use Subtitles
Subtitles can benefit your post in a variety of ways.
1. They organize the post.
Subtitles organise your post for readers and search engines, which is their first function. Well-structured content is appreciated by search engines.
2. They help readers scan the post.
They also make it easier for readers to scan the post. When they arrive at a page, most people scan it. Subtitles are simple for their eyes to land on as they move down the page because they need to decide whether to continue reading or not.
3. They give you another chance to enter important keywords.
Subtitles also give you another opportunity to use header tags to inform the search engines that these are the main points that are important.
Your next level of subtitles should be placed into H2 tags since the title of your post will go into an H1 tag and you only want one of those on your page.
You can then switch to H3 tags if you have sub-subtitles.
The keyword phrases you use in these subtitles should be significant ideas associated with the post’s main idea, which is, of course, expressed in your main keyword phrase.
5. Related Keywords and Phrases
Using related keyword phrases can be a good idea, as was mentioned in the subtitles section. They can be incorporated throughout your writing. Simply make sure that they are directly related to your main topic. Don’t stray from the subject just to include a keyword phrase. This won’t benefit you or your visitors and is likely to result in very “thin” content being provided.
6. Use Meta Data to SEO Images
Even though search engines are improving, they still fall far short of humans in their ability to identify objects in pictures.
You must therefore use the “meta data” in a photo to inform them. In other words, you must provide a description of the image for the search engines’ hidden purposes.
This is made simple by WordPress. There are boxes that you can enter this information into whenever you edit a photo or view it in the Media Library.
If you want to optimise an image in WordPress, you should consider using the following information:
Alt Text
File name
Title
Caption
Alt Text
An image’s “alt text” is its alternate text. This text serves as a description of the image if it isn’t displayed for some reason.
This text is also used for people who are blind, so considering that when using your alt text is a good idea. Just describe your image as if someone who couldn’t see it were reading it. If you have an image that’s related to your content, it should naturally require language that’s on target for you. Just keep it short and don’t stuff it with keywords.
File Name
Your image file’s name itself may be helpful. It should be descriptive.
Title
The image’s title may be useful. Naturally, the title is shorter than the alt text, and it might be the same as or very close to the file name.
Caption
It’s unclear how much a caption might directly influence the SEO of the image itself, but it does give you another chance to include a carefully chosen description. Readers find captions to be very attractive as well.
Although not all images require a caption, adding one is typically a good idea if you have one that seems to fit the bill.
Code for Images
Here is an example of how the code for an optimised image might appear. This is in reference to the picture of the woman reading a book on a beach in a tropical region that you saw at the start of this paragraph.
7. Reduce Image File Size for Speed
An SEO factor is how long it takes a visitor to load your page. Few things will irritate a visitor more than a slow-loading page, which is why search engines don’t want to send people to those pages.
Large images are frequently at least partially to blame for a page’s slow loading speed. Therefore, scaling down your images is always a wise choice.
Often, you can shrink an image’s dimensions as well as its file size.
Depending on how you want the image to appear on your website, you might want to reduce an image that is 4000px by 3200px to something more manageable, like 1000px by 800px.
There are several plugins you could use to determine the file size. In the WordPress Plugin Directory, both the EWWW Image Optimizer and the Kraken Image Optimizer have received favourable reviews.
You can also reduce your images using online tools like the Image Optimizer or Kraken.
Additionally, there are free programmes that you can download that may give you even more control, such as Image Optim for Mac and IrfanView for Windows.
8. Internal Links
Even links on your own website matter in SEO because links are still the most crucial factor. Links between related posts can therefore be helpful.
With their link tool, WordPress makes it simple to locate and link to relevant content.
Because they frequently already have the URL they want to link to copied, many people miss this part of the link tool, but if you look at the bottom of the light box that appears when you create a link, you can quickly search for related posts on your website.
9. External Links
Your SEO can also benefit from linking to reliable sources. This works because a link to a reliable source that is RELATED shows that you are giving your visitors something worthwhile.
Once more, search engines want users to enjoy their experience on a page they direct them to. People will be happier with your page if you’re acting as a helpful resource.
10. Social Media
There is no doubt that if you generate more social media buzz, you increase your chances of receiving links and mentions across the web, even though social media signals may or may not directly influence search rankings at the time of this writing.
Obviously, if your theme doesn’t already include a social media plugin for this purpose, you can use one from among the many options available. The choice you make will be influenced by your needs and the plugins’ design.
SEO Plugins
Last but not least, there are a variety of SEO plugins available that can assist with both on-page SEO and site-wide SEO.
The Yoast SEO plugin is arguably the most well-known.
We’ll just look at how it can be useful in that regard since this post is only about optimising a single post.
You can see how it keeps track of when a keyword is entered in various locations (including the Meta Description, where a box is provided).
Additionally, you can add a “SEO Title” to the post. This title will appear in the search results pages, making it visible to both search engine users and search engines. Then, if you’d like, you can have a different title for site visitors.
Optimize Your Posts, but Don’t Go Crazy
As previously mentioned, when people are doing things “too perfectly,” search engines like Google can be amusing. As such, don’t feel like you have to follow the ten suggestions above exactly in every single post.
I would advise ALWAYS using your primary keywords in both your URL and title. Use subtitles to improve your users’ reading experience and for organisational purposes. Make your page as quick-loading as you can. When necessary, intelligently link both internally and externally. Next, just make an effort to create content that will be valuable to your audience.
Depending on the post and the situation, you can focus on or ignore everything else.
