Finding a great web host for your WordPress site will definitely speed up and improve your SEO rankings. However, there's a lot more, including the keywords you're targeting for your product pages and blog posts, the size of your image files, and whether your content is readable.
Several WordPress SEO plugins make this task easier. In addition, you can find third-party SEO tools to view powerful stats, keyword rankings, and backlink information.
SEO is confusing, even for experienced website owners. Finding high-potential posts and pages, fixing broken links, improving site structure, or performing a full SEO audit isn't easy for most website owners. But when you're armed with the right tools and the knowledge to implement those tools, you'll be well on your way to search engine success.
How to do SEO for my WordPress Website?
If you want to increase the ranking of your WordPress website in search engines, of course you need to know how to optimize WordPress SEO. There are many ways to optimize WordPress SEO. Examples include doing keyword research, creating quality content, and much more.
In the midst of the many WordPress SEO optimization options available, of course you need to focus on the things you need to do first.
1. How do I incorporate SEO into content?
How do you write good articles for WordPress SEO? Let's look at various ways to optimize quality content below!
a. Do Keyword Research
Keywords are one of the factors Google considers in determining the ranking of articles on search results pages. Therefore, you need to do keyword research so that WordPress SEO is optimal.
Apart from research, you can also find out the right words regarding what keywords should be used in articles.
You can use keyword tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner to research and determine the right keywords. If your content is in Indonesian, we recommend that you use Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner.
b. Use Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)
Google crawlers will check HTML header tags such as H1, H2, H3 and so on to determine the level of relevance of your content. Generally, an article has one H1 tag and several H2 and H3 tags in it. By default, the H1 tag in WordPress is found in the article title and the tag must contain keywords.
Apart from the title, keywords must also be in the subtitle, namely the H2 or H3 tag, which can be a keyword or a variation of a long tail keyword. But remember, your content is for visitors, so create content with sentences that are easy to understand.
c. Add keywords in the first paragraph
Please add keywords in the first paragraph, if possible. This is because Google will crawl starting from the first paragraph.
If you use the Yoast SEO plugin, if you haven't added keywords in the first paragraph there will be a notification, as seen in the image below with a red mark.
d. Add Internal Links
To improve the SEO of an article, you also need to add internal links. Internal links are links that lead to other articles on your website. Internal links themselves are useful for helping visitors read relevant articles on your website, so they can increase their time visiting your website.
Apart from that, the information on your website is more structured. It is recommended to add 3-5 internal links for each post. But if your content has a lot of words, you can add more.
To add an internal link, please block a word or sentence, then click the chain icon and type the keyword from the target article, then press enter.
e. Optimize Permalinks
By default, WordPress generates a fairly long permalink structure. The default structure is a date and URL name. By default, WordPress generates a fairly long permalink structure. The default structure is a date and URL name. For example, as shown below.
https://erzedka.com/2020/08/10/post-title
However, the permalinks that Google likes contain titles or keywords. Then, shorter permalinks will provide even better performance. You can change the permalink via the WordPress dashboard. Please select the Settings menu > Permalinks. Then select the Post name radio button and click the Save Changes button to save the changes.
Remember, if your post is already online and you change the permalink when you have already shared the post on social media, you can be sure that the post will not be accessible.
Therefore, make sure to redirect the old post URL to a post with a new permalink so that visitors can still visit easily. You can use a plugin called Change Permalink Helper.
f. Determine the SEO Title
SEO title is the title of the page that appears in Google search results. Different from ordinary titles, SEO titles are intended to optimize articles for search engines. If you use Yoast SEO, you can enter it in the SEO Title column. We recommend putting keywords at the beginning of the title tag.
For example, if the keyword is SEO WordPress, you can use the title "SEO WordPress for your website. Watch carefully. We put the keyword 'WordPress SEO' at the beginning of the title tag as part of this optimization step.
Please remember, the maximum title tag characters that can be displayed in search results is 65 characters. Apart from affecting SEO, title tags also affect Click Through Rate, so make them one that attracts attention.
You can experiment with A/B testing titles, to see which titles have a high CTR. To do this, you can use the help of plugins such as Title Experiments and Nelio AB Testing.
g. Determine the Meta Description
Meta description is a concise description of your article. This element also influences WordPress SEO performance. Because, meta descriptions are able to attract more clicks from visitors.
The more people click on your content, Google has the potential to see the relevance of your content as quite high. So this will affect WordPress SEO on Google and there is a big possibility that your website will be able to appear in the top results of the search engine.
2. How do I optimize images for SEO in WordPress?
Next, WordPress SEO on images aka Image SEO. Images are an important element for improving WordPress SEO, but they are often overlooked. In fact, images can be a strategic place to optimize WordPress SEO.
Let's take a look at some of the easiest image SEO techniques for you..!!
a. Give the image file a name
Add names to image files of your content that are relevant to your content. For example, if your image file name is DCF001.JPG, replace it with seo-wordpress.JPG.
Apart from that, use a separator in the form of a dash, for example seo-wordpress.JPG, so that Google can read it as two words. If possible, add keywords to the name of your image file, which can be added to the featured image of your content.
b. Fill in the Title Text in the Image
Title text itself has no effect on WordPress SEO, but it will add to the user experience. When the mouse is hovered over an image, the title text of the image will appear. So, the image will be easier to identify.
c. Fill in the Alt Text on the Image
ALT tags are used to determine how relevant an image is to the content created. So adding Alt tags is quite important for every image on your website.
After that, please enter a description of the image. If possible, enter keywords from your content, as long as they are still related to the image and content.
3. How to do technical SEO for WordPress?
In order to improve WordPress SEO more optimally, you also need to pay attention to the website configuration. That way, your site will have a good structure to increase ranking in search engines.
a. Create an XML sitemap
An XML sitemap can make it easier for search engines to index your website, to make it you can follow the tutorial in the article How to Make a Sitemap in WordPress.
b. Verify Bing and Google Webmaster
Please verify your website with Bing and Google Webmaster, to do this you can follow the tutorial on how to verify WordPress on Bing Webmaster and how to verify Google Webmaster Tools.
c. Build Backlinks
Currently, backlinks are a factor that is still quite important for a website to increase its ranking so that it is easy to compete in search results. To build quality backlinks, it is recommended to link directly from website articles that have a high ranking to your website.
There are several ways to get direct links from other people's website articles, one of which is by offering your article to be published on their website. Of course accompanied by a link that leads to your article or website.
What is Best SEO Plugin for WordPress?
As we know, there are lots of WordPress SEO plugins out there and you can get them for free. But of the many WordPress SEO plugins, which WordPress SEO plugin is the best and you shouldn't miss it? On this occasion, we will provide information regarding recommendations for the best WordPress SEO plugins that you must try and that you can use to optimize your website. Check out more below!
1. SEMrush
best quality in its class. Often used by SEO Expert experts, bloggers, and business people from various circles. It's no wonder why SEMrush is topped as the best WordPress SEO plugin that provides complex tools to increase your website traffic.
With SEMrush, it's easier for you to find organic keywords and a more diverse search perspective so you can rank them more easily. Apart from that, you can also create an experimental competition and see what keywords your business competitors are using and how you can outperform them.
2. Yoast SEO
Who doesn't know this SEO plugin, Yoast SEO is one of the best WordPress SEO plugins on the market. This Yoast SEO plugin provides complete website optimization tools that can help you increase website traffic.
By using the Yoast SEO plugin, it can make it easier for you to add SEO titles and meta descriptions to all posts and every page on your website. In addition, the Yoast SEO plugin can make it easier to add Open Graph metadata and also images found on social media to add to your articles.
The way the Yoast SEO plugin works is that it will automatically generate sitemaps in XML form for all content on the website, which of course makes it easier for search engines when crawling websites. Apart from that, the Yoast SEO plugin will also automatically import your SEO data, if you have used other SEO plugins before.
3. Google Keyword Planner
Many roads lead to Rome, perhaps this proverb describes one of the best WordPress SEO plugins. Yes, it's called Google Keyword Planner. With Google Keyword Planner, you can get more ideas about keywords from Google.
This WordPress SEO plugin is designed and offered free of charge to anyone who wants it and wants to use it. The main goal is to be able to show advertisers the keywords they can use for their ad campaigns or promotions.
In addition, Google Keyword Planner can make it easier for advertisers to choose the most appropriate keywords by giving them estimates of search volume, the number of results obtained and also the level of difficulty.
Of course, as a blogger, you can use data from Google Keyword Planner to find keywords or keywords with the highest search volume, high advertiser interest, and most importantly, keywords that can outperform all other website sites.
4. SEOPress
The SEOPress plugin is a WordPress SEO plugin that looks simple but provides so many benefits. All the features you would expect are included in this SEOPress plugin which includes meta titles, meta descriptions, open graph support, image and XML map content, redirects, and much more.
Comes with an easy settings menu for beginners and also comes with advanced control settings for experienced users. With all the advantages and benefits it has, it's no wonder that the SEOPress Plugin is one of the top-notch SEO plugins that many users love.
Why do WordPress users prefer the SEOPress plugin over the Yoast SEO plugin? The reason is because the premium version of this SEOPress plugin is much cheaper and comes with many advanced features which are almost similar to the Yoast SEO plugin.
5. RankMath
The Rank Math plugin is a user-friendly WordPress SEO plugin whose usage is currently growing rapidly. You can optimize your website on Google search sites and also on social media more easily. Comes with a setup guide, the Rank Math plugin can automatically import all data contained from the previous SEO plugin.
Apart from that, you can also easily add meta titles, meta descriptions, and graphical metadata to your website posts, can create XML sitemaps, can connect to Google Search Console, and can control some access to plugin features based on the role of the user. user.
6. GoogleSearchConsole
Google Search Console is a tool provided by Google free of charge which is intended for website owners to help them monitor and maintain the presence of their website in Google search results. The Google Search Console plugin, or GSC for short, can tell you when Google is unable to browse and index pages on your website.
Apart from that, you will also get some useful tips on how to fix those browsing errors. This GSC can show you some good keyword choices for your website, text links, average position, impressions and much more.
By using this data from GSC (Google Search Console), you can easily find the best keywords just by optimizing the content on your website. Apart from that, with the existing data, you will get new post ideas for your articles. Interested in using Google Search Console? Let's start with a website listing guide on Google Search Console!
7. Ahrefs
The Ahrefs plugin is an all in one WordPress SEO tool and is intended for website owners, bloggers, and business owners. This WordPress SEO plugin is the most familiar alternative to SEMrush and offers many of the same tools and features.
With the Ahrefs plugin, you can make observations of the right keywords, analyze competition with competitors, observe the right backlinks, can monitor the ranking of the best keywords and much more. In addition, the Ahrefs plugin also offers tools that can be used to analyze content in detail which can help you to improve content while targeting certain keywords.
Unlike other WordPress SEO plugins, the advantage of the Ahrefs plugin is that it can analyze backlinks. Where you can see which websites are linked to several competitor website links. With the Ahrefs plugin, you can get more backlinks and build connections.
Another advantage of the Ahrefs plugin is that it can help you better identify duplicate content and cannibalize keywords, which can help you combine and also increase your ranking on the Google search engine.
8. KeywordTool.io
KeywordTool.io is one of the top SEO tools used to research keywords which can be obtained for free. With KeywordTool.io, you can generate keyword ideas by just typing in the keywords you want. Later the right keyword suggestions will appear and be collected from Google's suggestion feature automatically.
Apart from that, with KeywordTool.io you can easily get search volume, cost per click and other data for per keyword but you have to upgrade your KeywordTool.io tools to the paid plan they provide.
9. All in One SEO Pack
SEO All in One SEO Pack is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins that offers a lot of complete tools that can be used to improve your website. With the All in One SEO Pack, it can make it easier for you to add the SEO title you want, meta tags, open graph meta tags, XML sitemaps, image website sitemaps, and many more.
Comes with several easier settings that allow you to access different settings using the management feature. Which All in One SEO Pack plugin can give you more access to many addons.
10. All in One Schema Rich Snippets
Rich Snippets is a WordPress SEO plugin that allows you to make your website look more prominent in Google search results by showing rankings in the form of stars below reviews, prices below products, images or videos next to descriptions and so on. Where the Google search engine uses data that is in Schema format to get this information.
The All in One Schema Rich Snippets plugin can help you optimize your website by adding Schema meta data to your website.
11. MonsterInsights
Currently, there are many beginners who still rely on their best guess to make a marketing decision. With the presence of the MonsterInsights plugin, you no longer need to do that. Because you can easily get the insight and knowledge you need when you want to improve the SEO strategy for your website.
What is the MonsterInsights plugin? The MonsterInsights plugin is one of the Google Analytics plugins for WordPress that allows you to easily install Google Analytics on WordPress and display multiple human-readable reports in your WordPress dashboard.
With the MonsterInsights plugin, it can tell you about where your website users are coming from, your top content, what users are doing on your website and much more. Apart from that, you can also track your WooCommerce SEO by seeing which products are the most popular and where you are losing customers.
12. SEOquakes
SEOquake is a useful SEO tool for website owners. Comes as a browser addon for several web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari. With SEOquake, you can get information or data about SEO for any website.
This information or data includes page health, site ranking on Alexa, last update, and many other parameters. In other words, SEOquake is a browser add-on that is widely used and downloaded by SEO experts.
In addition, the toolbar on SEOquake can display all search results for the same information when you type in keywords or keywords. This information and data can be very useful if you are doing an assessment of the competition for different keywords. You can even upload keyword search results in .CSV format.
13. Broken Link Checker
Do you know? If the link or links are broken it can affect the SEO on the website and can also provide a bad experience for users. If you have been running a website for a while, you should periodically check your website for broken links or links and if something is broken you must fix it immediately.
The Broken Link Checker Plugin is a free WordPress SEO plugin that allows you to find broken links or links on your WordPress site. With the Broken Link Checker Plugin, you can immediately fix the link or links without having to edit your post first.
14. WP Rocket
The speed of a website in search engines is one of the main factors in search engines. That's why you should always monitor the speed and performance of your website to make sure that speed doesn't affect your SEO.
Therefore, the way you can do to increase website speed is to enable caching. The WP Rocket plugin is one of the best WordPress SEO plugins on the market that allows you to manage caching without having to go deep into technical matters.
Conclusion
There are tons of WordPress SEO plugins that you can try, but choose the topnotch that has been proven to give good results for your website. As explained in this article, there are 14 of the best WordPress SEO plugins that you must try and you shouldn't miss them.
As a website owner, of course, you really need an SEO plugin to make it easier to optimize your website. With an SEO plugin, of course, increasing rankings on the Google search engine becomes easier.