If you want to SEO your WordPress blog – use few plugins and write interesting content
I am sorry but all that secret SEO sauce is not that secret. All the big websites that make a living off of WordPress SEO should be teaching how to write better and not how to hack WP. This is all you need to do.
- Install WordPress with a good theme – I can recommend the best for on-site search engine optimization factors
- Use site map and related post plugins
- Write good content
There is nothing more you have to do.
From Matt Mullenweg of WordPress to Matt Cutts of Google
The fact, Matt the guy who is behind WordPress has a good relationship with Matt the guy who is behind Google’s quality control. I think Matt Mullenweg takes hints from Matt Cutts. Nothing that Matt Cutts does not tell the rest of the world, but Matt Mullenweg simply looks to the future when it comes to the functionality of WordPress. Therefore, the functionality or WP, right out of the box is pretty up to date.
Both Matt’s have a similar philosophy that content is king. That people should not focus on optimization, but rather good writing. At least this is my interpretation of their philosophy. I agree. SEO is about good writing. You can focus a lot of energy on finding that right WordPress extends in terms of themes and plugins, but every minute you do takes one minute away from you building content for your blog.
Further, when functionality of a plugin becomes noted and important, Automattic integrates it into core system of WP and the plugins becomes obsolete. An example is the automatic updates plugin, it was once a plugin now comes with the system.
Too many WordPress plugins are not good
However, whatever your strategy for WP SEO is, my recommendation is do not overload your blog with every plugin under the sun. What might happen is errors or conflicts or sluggish functioning from bloated code. I try to limit my plugins to less then ten.
If you can find the top ten best plugins for you then this is all you need for SEO. The best plugins in the Platinum all in one SEO pack. After that you might use some site map plugin and related post type plugin for better navigation.
Avoid the best WordPress plugin lists that are dated
Another thing to avoid is reading an outdated list of the best plugins. This list is dated I would say about a year after publication because WordPress is evolving.
Semantic latent content and SEO
How not to write content. Stuff your posts and headers with keywords. How to write content. Write in a natural way as if there was not such thing as search engine optimization.
However, do achieve proper keyword relevance for your target term using a few keyword and more important semantically related terms. Use synonyms of keywords not just the keywords. For example if you are writing about “writing” use words like “composition” in your post also.
Google’s Semantic latent content tool
Google has a tool to help you see which words it considers synonyms in a search. In the Google search box type ~yourkeywords. This will give you hints on how to construct true semantic content. For this post I should use words like latent semantic,LSI, latent semantic indexing or even the word semantically. This type of writing will help search engines determine if the writer is human.
How to rank high in Google with WordPress SEO
Use WordPress, write something of value, use a good theme and organizes it without too much clutter and use a couple SEO plugins. That is it. Do not spend 1000s on SEO consulting.
This is the real trick. Many people have WordPress blogs. Further, a lot of people use WordPress as the back end for their regular site. I use WP on most of my sites even my none blogs website. I believe in WP. How do you rank high with search engines and do it honestly and ethically? Well Matt Cutt’s has written something that I have been saying all along.
Three SEO steps
1)Install WP and this will increase your chances of a good site ranking – Basically there is nothing new under the sun, and Matt’s post might be straight from Google but it has nothing ground braking in it. Matt Cutt’s ideas is that WordPress does the SEO coding for you. WP has people have been working on the back end, day and night improving it and it is for free.
WordPress people improve WordPress not for money but because they are passionate about this platform, it is not even work, it is fun for them. Use this blogging platform and use it with a few plugins. Then you know your code will be pretty well SEO -ed.
2)Rank high in Google with compelling content – The next step, and it is the hard part, is to be creative. I will write another
post about this. But basically, the Internet is the largest recycle bin in the Cosmos. Use your imagination. This is how you will get traffic. Imagination applied to your content, not to ways of spamming or tricking Google. I like creating an educational resource part of my website, such as an online series of quizzes and educational help guides. But also interesting blog posts do not hurt. Some people like crazy funny videos, it is whatever you are good at, this will attract visits and increase user experience and time on the site. Make the content something that people will spend their time on. That is a hint.
3)The last step to ranking high is marketing (Guest Posting) - I will also go into this in another post. But it is basically connected with theme optimization and plugins. I think guest posting is the best way right now to market your site. Get the buzz out there by writing quality content on another visible blog and people might visit your site and subscribe to your RSS. What if you did 50 guest posts? Can you imagine how powerful your site would be.
If you follow these three steps your sites will take off and you will rank high in Google with your WordPress and SEO applied, if you want more specific advise read my WP consulting page. I can guide you, but I think most of what you need to know about SEO can be found online. However, I can coach you and give you more specific advise. I have paid for advice before and in every case it help me get more traffic.
Therefore, in conclusion, your strategy for WP blog should be less is more. Let me know what you think about this WordPress plugin strategy or which are the best for WordPress SEO. You should focus on writing not code.
1 responses to WordPress SEO – Rank high in Search engines
SEO and Matt's on content and organic rankings
These are helpful tips that most of the newbie blog owners should remember.
In essence, time is one important factor to rank high in search engines. While some would want to blast getting links to rank well, I believe that it really takes patience and time, especially when it comes to building links.
This is not something that you can rush or be at the mercy of Google on their next update. That is why I agree with what you mentioned about the two Matts, focus on great content and natural SEO will happen over time.
Cheers,
Dave
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