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Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for WordPress Sites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Showing up in searches for high-value keywords is one of the most important goals for our clients. SEO is a complex and ever-changing field, and there are a ton of both on- and off-page factors that go into determining your website\u2019s search rankings. One of the reasons we love WordPress is that it makes SEO easy, but that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s automatic. Here are some of the most important fundamentals of SEO optimization<\/a> for your WordPress website: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Site speed is a direct SEO factor. Choosing the right hosting provider<\/a>, optimizing images<\/a>, and potentially using a content delivery network (CDN) <\/a>service will help speed up your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Vital, we use the WordPress Block Editor<\/a> to custom-build mobile-friendly sites for our clients. If you want to use a WordPress theme, make sure it\u2019s responsive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several options for free SEO plugins on WordPress<\/a>. Installing an SEO plugin doesn\u2019t automatically optimize your site, but it gives you all the tools you need to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optimizing your page content is one of the basics of good SEO site-building. WordPress makes this really easy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only does alt text<\/a> make your site more accessible to all, it also gives Google more context about the content of your page, which helps you rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The default permalinks and URLs are not necessarily the best for SEO. Make sure you use custom URLs<\/a> that use your main keywords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is another basic step, but it\u2019s easy to overlook. If you\u2019re working with a professional web developer, make sure they check this box.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWordPress is great for SEO because once you build a template that supports these best practices, your content team can easily and quickly generate pages that automatically populate with the most important metrics for SEO.\u201d<\/p>\nDave Currier, SEO Manager & Senior Developer at Vital<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Building a search-optimized website<\/a> using WordPress is step one. To make sure you\u2019re actually attracting the visitors you want and getting them to take the actions you want them to take\u2014and making necessary adjustments if that\u2019s not the case\u2014you need data-driven insights. Google Analytics<\/a> to the rescue. You can integrate Google Analytics<\/a> with your WordPress site in order to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress plugins are great. They also come with periodic updates, and that can cause problems if you don\u2019t take a few simple steps to make sure your site is up to date and playing nicely with your plugins. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Build periodic audits into your site to make sure your plugins are up to date<\/a> and you\u2019re running the most recent version of WordPress<\/a>. Sticking with outdated versions can cause functionality and security issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes the changes made with a plugin update will cause site bugs or even full-on crashes. To avoid site downtime, make sure you test updates using a dev or staging environment<\/a> first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the reasons we like WP Engine is its proactive management of WordPress core updates and security patching. And their Smart Plugin Manager<\/a> helps make sure plugin updates don\u2019t break your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll need to assign posts and pages to categories, and you can also tag them by topic. Done well, categories and tags enable easy search and sort functionality so users can find the content they\u2019re looking for, and let you populate areas of your site dynamically. This can also have a huge impact on SEO. Here are a few tips for using categories and tags:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Used properly, sites built with WordPress are very secure. The biggest things to look out for here are out-of-date plugins, and third-party plugins and themes. While tools and themes created by third parties are often perfectly reputable and trustworthy, some are not, and using them can cause security concerns for your site. Be sure you do your research<\/a> and read plenty of user reviews before deciding to go with third-party tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your hosting provider also makes a huge difference when it comes to security. We choose WP Engine because it\u2019s the most secure, professionally managed hosting provider for WordPress<\/a> out there. In addition to making sure you\u2019re on top of WordPress updates and security patches, they utilize enterprise-grade firewalls and take tons of other measures to make sure their hosted sites stay secure. (And if you still get hacked, they\u2019ll fix it for free.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most common challenges clients come to us to solve is an outdated website with an impossible-to-update back-end. Home energy specialists EnergyPro were no different. Their content and design wasn\u2019t clicking with their young, eco-conscious audience, and their digital marketing efforts were stalling out because their platform didn\u2019t allow their site to easily scale. We transitioned them to WordPress and built a new site with an intuitive user interface, rock-solid SEO, and tons of conversion-friendly features. (It\u2019s easy on the eyes, too.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n We hosted the site with WP Engine to make sure it would be fast and secure and continue to perform for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the EnergyPro site here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more about working with Vital<\/a>, and speak with a representative<\/a> to find out more about WP Engine\u2019s plans and pricing<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whether you\u2019re brand new to WordPress or you\u2019ve been using it for years, following a few simple but important best practices will ensure that you get the most out of your website. From attracting more visitors through search engine optimization (SEO) to using analytics to track user activity once you\u2019ve got them on your site…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[683,11,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agency","category-guest-post","category-how-to"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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\n\n\n\nUse Google Analytics to Improve SEO and Conversions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nHandle WordPress Core Updates and Plugin Updates with Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nKeep Your Site Optimized for Search with Categories and Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nMake Sure Your Site Is Secure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSuccess Story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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