Modern brands have an entire selection of platforms which they can use to build their online presence and establish themselves as a relevant entity in their industry, and yet, WordPress remains high on the list of platforms most frequently chosen for precisely this purpose. As an intuitive, easy-to-implement, and scalable platform, WordPress has become the epitome of contemporary design and usability for brands that strive to grow. However, the need for ongoing SEO support is a growing one for any brand that wants to remain relevant, hence the need to utilize best practices that will deliver the desired ranking results.
You will recognize some of the following suggestions as those time-tested and indeed universal laws of successful SEO, but you’ll also discover that the platform comes with its own built-in options that make it all the more search engine-friendly, as well as user-friendly. Let’s go over some of the simplest, most widely-used strategies to grow your SEO efforts and achieve a better ranking in search engines for your WordPress website!
Build a Website Map
Once upon a time, website design was not so simple and minimalist as it tends to be today. Truth be told, there are still brands that insist on complex navigation menus and hard-to-understand sections, but the brands that have the greatest potential to succeed build WordPress sites that are simple and easy to skim for users to find what they need. Back then, sitemaps were built to help users navigate your website, but today, it’s the search engine that will appreciate the map.
Even though a map itself cannot change your SEO results, having it on your website will help Google crawlers evaluate your website and its content more efficiently. However, it’s not automatically included in your website, so you’ll need to enable the XML sitemap functionality and generate a map with the Yoast plugin or manually.
Optimize your Content
If you are trying to launch a business in an oversaturated and fast-growing market such as Australia, all the more reason to ensure that your web presence is stellar and ready to rock in the SERPs. Simply put, no new brand in the Aussie market can afford to have a subpar digital identity, especially in terms of the content your produce. Why? Well, take into account that studies have shown that Australians spend over 5 hours every day online, exposed to content of all kinds and levels of quality – yours needs to be authentic and relatable.
To be able to stand out as a relevant brand in the eyes of search engines, every professional Sydney advertising agency focuses on optimizing content with the right keywords and phrases so that a brand can rank better. Everything from your slogans and taglines, on-site content such as blogs and product descriptions, all the way to meta descriptions and alt tags, written content is there to manage your reputation as well as your ranking in the SERPs. No matter how incredibly appealing your WordPress theme may be visually, all of its content will ultimately make or break your online success.
Focus on Internal Links
Your website is a web of technical data and information that the search engine crawlers are constantly examining and ranking according to its relevance to the consumer. If you are not linking to other content on your website in a way that adds value to your content and offering as a whole, you are losing out on a lot of SEO potential, not to mention that you are depriving your visitors of some valuable information. In turn, you will also increase your bounce rate, because there is not much that’s keeping the visitor on your site once they find a solution to their problem.
The key here is to inspire and incentivize them to open other links towards your content, and browse your website further. This simple solution will help you boost your brand’s authority in the eyes of the search engines, as it will tell the algorithm that there is plenty of valuable, interconnected content on your website.
Pick a Suitable Theme
Every aspect of your website will affect your standing in the SERPs, and yes, that includes your WordPress theme. While the aesthetic aspect doesn’t matter as much to the search engine, it’s inherent functionality (or the lack thereof) will greatly affect the overall user experience and thus your website’s ranking. The design of your theme needs to boast unimpeded functionality and responsiveness, and it needs to load quickly while being able to accommodate any plugin of your choosing.
Choose a theme with a transparent, straightforward design that leads the visitor on a journey of your website rather than making it difficult to get around. Use fonts and imagery that complement the overall design to further improve UX and don’t forget to optimize the presentation for mobile and handheld devices.
Make sure you're Mobile Friendly
Ever since their introduction in 2016, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) have become some of the most elements of a high-ranking WordPress website. With the ever-increasing use of mobile devices around the world coupled with the fact that people are increasingly consuming online content on the go, Google has started to put emphasis on websites that scale their presentations to suit smaller screens.
If you want to take your SEO game to the next level, you will make sure to optimize your entire website for mobile devices via AMPs. This means optimizing content for faster loading speed and better overall performance, but also scaling imagery and text for seamless scrolling and navigation.
Conclusion
WordPress is the most popular and widely-used platform for website creation and management in the world. It’s easy to use and set up, but it can get quite complicated when it comes to maximizing your SEO potential. Let these SEO tips skyrocket your online reputation and position your brand on the top spot in the SERPs.
