Optimising Your WordPress Website for SEO: Best Practices?

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Categorised: Optimising Custom WordPress
Posted by Lilli Foreman. Posted: November 13, 2023 | Updated: October 21, 2024

Now you have a bespoke WP site, here are some tips for sorting your SEO.

One of the benefits of custom-building your WordPress site is that it can be easier and quicker to optimise for SEO.

There are three main types of SEO: technical, on-page, and off-page, and this article covers each of these.

Contents

  1. What is SEO Anyway?
  2. Keyword Research and Analysis
  3. On-Page SEO
  4. Technical SEO
  5. Quality Content Creation
  6. Link Building Strategies
  7. User Experience (UX) and Site Navigation
  8. Social Media Integration
  9. Monitoring and Analytics
  10. Security and SEO
  11. Local SEO Strategies
  12. Final Thoughts

What is SEO, Anyway?

Optimising a bespoke WordPress website for SEO involves implementing highly technical measures to improve its standing with search engines.

The goal? Convince Google that your site is the authority in your niche. This might include everything from creating specialised content and optimising new site pages to ensuring technical enhancements for search engine compatibility. It’s all about balancing the needs of users with the nuances of search engine algorithms.

Keyword Research and Analysis

For your WordPress site, targeted keyword research is essential for improved discoverability.

Exploration of Relevant Terms:
  • Dig Deep: Identify terms your audience uses, diving into your niche’s specific language.
  • Research Tools: Use keyword tools to find high-volume and long-tail keywords relevant to your goals.
  • Intent Focus: Choose keywords that reflect your site’s content, services, or products.
Competitor Keyword Analysis:
  • Understand Competitors: Identify competitor keywords to find strategic gaps.
  • Opportunities for Edge: Look for content areas they may overlook.
  • Audience Insights: Assess high-ranking competitor content to see what resonates.
Crafting a Strategic Keyword Strategy:
  • Align with Objectives: Tailor your strategy to suit both your business aims and audience.
  • Keyword Diversity: Include short-tail and long-tail keywords to reach various searches.
  • Thematic Clustering: Organise keywords into clusters to help form content silos.
CHarlotte Brown

Charlotte Brown
Head of Digital

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Integration into Content Creation:
  • Natural Flow: Integrate keywords smoothly for readability and engagement.
  • Informative Content: Beyond keywords, ensure your content addresses user queries.
  • Quality Balance: Optimise without sacrificing content quality.
Regular Review and Adjustment:
  • Stay Current: Adjust keywords with evolving trends and industry shifts.
  • Trend Awareness: Track search trends for relevance.
  • Flexible Strategy: Adapt to keep pace with dynamic search behaviours.

On-Page SEO

Effective on-page SEO is essential to ensure your bespoke WordPress site’s visibility and relevance.

SEO-Friendly Titles and Meta Descriptions:
  • Create Impactful Titles: Write concise, accurate titles for each page.
  • Optimise Meta Descriptions: Summarise page content enticingly.
  • Keyword Inclusion: Signal relevance by naturally incorporating keywords.
Optimised Header Tags and Content Structure:
  • Use Header Tags: Establish a clear hierarchy (H1, H2, H3) for readability.
  • Logical Information Flow: Make content easy to navigate for both users and bots.
  • Keyword Relevance: Use keywords in headers where suitable.
Strategic Keyword Placement:
  • Natural Integration: Distribute keywords fluidly in the text.
  • Strategic Placement: Prioritise in introductions, headings, and key text areas.
  • Avoid Overloading: Aim for readability over keyword stuffing.
Image Optimisation with Alt Text:
  • Accessibility and SEO: Describe images with relevant alt text.
  • SEO Benefits: Optimise image names and descriptions.
  • Reinforce Content Relevance: Align visuals with your overall SEO strategy.

Technical SEO

For bespoke WordPress installs, technical SEO builds the foundation for a high-performing site, impacting both user experience and search engine visibility.

Mobile-Friendly Design:

Final Thoughts

SEO can be complex, but the benefits for a bespoke WordPress site are enormous.

By optimising for SEO, you not only save on paid ads but also create a site that attracts organic traffic and boosts engagement.

Lilli Foreman

Lilli Foreman

Lilli is an SEO content researcher and writer for Toast and client sites. She writes effective SEO-driven content across a wide range of subjects as well as working on site builds and populating content and optimising content for larger website projects, all using custom content management.

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