In a recent CMS (Content Management System) statistics report, about 20% of all websites were reported to be running on WordPress. Once considered primarily a tool for blogging, the software has now evolved into a versatile platform, full of flexible features and an easy-to-use interface. Among its more recent endeavors, the platform offers a wide array of plugins to allow users easy management of information that can speak directly to search engines. It is very important to have a plan for SEO on WordPress.
What’s a Plugin?
A plugin is an additional tool that can be imported into WordPress, utilizing file packets to add features. Two of the most popular SEO plugins include All-In-One SEO (recommended for beginners) and Yoast (recommended for more advanced users). While each has its own, slightly differing appeal, both are very powerful when used to their full potential.
Initial Steps
While you’ll want to utilize a plugin for SEO, there are some steps to help optimize some SEO features beforehand, including:
- Changing Permalinks on the ‘Settings’ section to reflect post and page names (important for search engine indexing).
- Using the “H” tags (h1,h2,h3,h4…) – This is something easily streamlined into WordPress.
- Interlinking – Simply linking from one post to another within your blog.
Plugin Common Features
- XML sitemap support for indexing on search engines
- Support across all post types (including custom)
- Built-in API so other plugins can interact with the data
- Automatic title optimization for search engines
- Content analysis functionality
- Breadcrumbs to help better organize and index information
For more information on integrating SEO into your site and marketing strategies, contact us and can help you with a strategy.