Optimizing your blog for the search engines is crucial! There are so many different blogs out there that you’ll quickly sink to the bottom if you don’t optimize. Follow these seven tips and you’ll be well on your way to high rankings.
#1 – Create the Right Permalink Structure
The permalinks WordPress uses by default are not search engine friendly. You can make this simple change by putting %postname% instead of the default that is there. This will create URL’s that include your post name — which should include your targeted keywords.
#2 – Install All in One SEO Plugin
This plugin is a must-have. It allows you to specify a title, description, and the keywords for the search engines. It can really help you reach the top of the listings, whereas the standard WP installation can fall short.
#3 – Install Related Posts Plugin
Search engines love it when content pages are interlinked. It also works very well for the search engines. It will automatically include links to other posts that are similar. Very convenient!
#4 – Research your Keywords
When people search, they do so by keyword. You need to know what these keywords are if you want to rank at the top of the search engines. Your posts should be centered around these keywords.
#5 – Include Your Keywords in the Title
You need to include your main keyword in the title of your blog. Also, include your main keyword and select others in the titles of your posts and sprinkled throughout your pages.
#6 – Make Your Blog Easy to Navigate
Easy navigation is essential for your guests and the search engines. That means including your blog’s categories, recent posts (to make sure they get indexed) and pages. Easy navigation is also part of choosing a good design.
#7 – Expand the Ping List
When you make a new blog post WordPress will “ping” the blog search engines. This alerts them that content on your site has changed. This can help you get indexed fast so you can start making income fast. Do a Google search to find an expanded ping list you can include in your wp-admin so you make sure you get as many of these sites to update you as possible.
Using these seven plugins will make your job of ranking highly in the search engines easier than ever. If you’re new to blogging with WordPress then the terms might seem incredibly strange to you right now. As you study them and put them into action it will start to feel like second nature!