Search engine optimization and using the WordPress SEO plugin

This presentation can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/wordpress90

Connect With Me:Email: Michelle@CastilloMediaGroup.comLinkedInTwitterFacebook ( Feel Free to Like us )

Website: CastilloMediaGroup.com

A presentation given to the WordPressInsider meetup on October 24, 2012

Visibility + Attraction = Traffic

Visibility: Ranking highAttraction: People are enticed to click

Ranking 101Search engines have a selfish interest in

providing the best search results possible. Which means:User finds what she is looking for - Content is

relevant and reliableLocationFast Load time

Your job is to make YOUR Web pages the most relevant pages available for your business related keywords.

Ranking - What do search engines look atOn page parametersOff page – LinksSocial Media - Links shared through Twitter

and Facebook have a direct impact on rankings(http://www.seomoz.org/blog/google-bing-confirm-twitter-facebook-influence-seo)

On Page SEOThe single most important thing you

can do on a page to improve its ranking when you're on WordPress and have it properly set up, is write better copy, better article headings, and a better (SEO) title.

Source: Yoast.com

Site StructureA good site structure is a requirement for Search Engine Optimization. It allows both your users and search engines to find content within your site more easily. A good structure is well categorized, and pages within it only link to other pages on the same topic.Read more: http://yoast.com/site-structure-seo/PermalinksInternal linksXML Site map

Configure Permalinks Permalink the permanent URL to your Individual posts Always make sure to configure your permalink. This is a general

WordPress functionality and can be accesses in the WordPress admin area under settings>>permalinks

It is recommended to use either “Post Name”

or /%category%/%postname%/

Including date may reduce click through rate, use date in news sites when thedate is really important

Body textGenerally, Web pages should have about 200 to 300 words of text with

special emphasis on two or three carefully chosen keywords.

About Headings : The most important heading on the page should be the H1. There is usually only one H1 on any page. Sub-headings should be H2's, sub-sub-headings should be H3's, etc. Each heading should contain valuable keywords, if not, it's a wasted heading. In longer pieces of content, a heading is what helps a reader skip to the parts

that they find interesting.

Other ways to highlight important Keywords: Bold, italics, lists

Images: Always make sure to give a meaningful name to images and add alt text

Title Tags and meta descriptionTitle Tag

Meta Description

Getting qualified visitors to click

Your site on the webIf you type into the Google search box

“site:YourDomain.com” you will be able to see:

1. What pages of your site are indexed by Google -You will probably find that not all indexed page need to be indexed.

2. The way the pages are represented at the search results. Is this the way you want the search results to look? Is the text displayed going to entice potential visitor to click and come visit your site?

Site pages on the search results

Title

Description

About TitlesUsed for search engine ranking – must include the key words

Shown on the browser tabIs the first line people see in the search results

Using WordPress SEO PluginEach page and post have a WordPress SEO

area.Chose a focus keywordEdit Title and meta descriptionFor even better results use “Page Analysis”.

You must publish/update the post/page before being able to use this functionality.

If you dot want the search engine to visit a page ( for pages such as Terms and conditions, privacy policy etc ). Use advanced and set Meta Robots Index to “No Index”

Controlling titlesDefine global default rules in WordPress SEO

>> Titles menuOverwrite the default at a post, page, category

or tag levelGuidelines for creating good titles:

They should always contain the focus keyword ; preferably be at the beginning of the title.

They should always contain your brand, preferably at the end, so people may recognize you in consecutive searches.

The title should entice people to click.

About IndexationWhen you install WordPress SEO, your admin

pages and search result pages are by default not indexed

Disable date based archives indexation – Unless your site is a news site.

At a page level , under WordPress SEO >> Advanced you can set a page to be “Nonindex” . Pages such as “Terms and Conditions” , shopping cart and are examples for pages you do not want indexed.

DescriptionsAn accurate description communicates to

prospective visitors the make-up and content relevancy of the page, and compels (or not) that visitor to click through and visit your site page.

If you fail to include a description of the page, search engines are likely going to fabricate a description of their choosing by returning a snippet of text from your page.

You can control the description at the page, post , category and tag level using WordPress SEO interface

XML Site mapsTo enable the creation of XML site maps by

WordPress SEO plugin, all you have to is check the box and save the settings

The xml sitemap should be submitted to Google Webmaster Tools in the Configuration>>Sitemaps panel.

WordPress SEO pings Google and Bing automatically every time you have a new post

Preferred Domain URLDecided what your preferred domain (Aka canonical domain) is. In

other words you need to decide if you want the world to use www.MyWebsite.com or MyWebsite.com

You will need to use the same format both in the general settings section as well as in the Google Webmaster tool.

Preferred Domain URL Cont. In Google Webmaster tools you will need to add the site twice.

Once with the www prefix and once without it. No account yet? Read my How to setup Google Webmaster Tools To verify ownership you may use WordPress SEO Dashboard After you verifying the ownership of both domain names, go to

Google Webmaster Tools>>Site Configuration>>settings and

select the prefer domain

ResourcesVideo - WordPress SEO with Yoast

, Joost de ValkYoast: WordPress SEO ArticleWordPressInsider – WordPress SEO

Thank You

Connect With Me:Email: Michelle@CastilloMediaGroup.comLinkedInTwitterFacebook ( Feel Free to Like us )

Website: CastilloMediaGroup.com