If you've had a WordPress website for any length of time you'll start wondering about traffic and visitors. Inevitably this leads to a focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).
I'm going to show you how to set up SEO for WordPress in minutes.
Before we begin, there are many that claim they can do miracles with SEO. Even claiming they have SEO nailed down. This is utter rubbish.
Just like me, you've no doubt received unsolicited emails from dubious characters promising magical results from SEO. Exaggerations include the ability to rank your page at number 1 on Google. Don't only ignore those emails but mark them as spam and block them. After all, if these people could get your website to rank at number 1 on Google, why do they need to send you spam to try to get business!
The more I work on fine tuning my websites and content, the more I learn about SEO. I've never reached a stage where I feel like I've arrived. In fact, the more I learn, the more I realise I don't know enough. This may sound like I don't know what I'm doing. Well, I don't know that much about SEO, but what I do know is that the more I work at SEO, the more my skills improve. I'm continuously honing my skills, and you can too. The only way to get better at SEO is to jump right in and start somewhere.
That is a huge subject and well beyond the scope of this article. Briefly, SEO is making your website as search engine friendly as possible. Search engines will include Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. Optimizing includes writing relevant content, a well structured website, attractive design and a myriad of other items. It's a massive subject with a plethora of topics. For the purposes of this article, we're focusing on content optimisation. SEO is a trial and error, hit and miss business. To even seasoned web veterans it can be hit and miss, much more so for the person new to SEO. SEO for WordPress can be easier. If you are have WordPress website you're in luck, there are there are tools to help you.
I have many websites including many running on WordPress and have used many tools on each of them. The best of these WordPress SEO tools I've used is without doubt the Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin. And what's more, it's absolutely free. Just follow that link to download it and install it to your WordPress website. Then run through the setup following the instructions carefully. There are also links to excellent articles right in the plugin back end that I highly recommend reading. They will give you a basic starting point.
Another excellent resource is the Optimize Your WordPress Site ebook by Yoast. This isn't a free ebook but well worth the $19 charge. It includes a wealth of information making it a good investment for your website. It includes information on website optimization, website design, SEO and many other key areas of website optimization.
