Scanning Your WordPress Website for Pages

Most WordPress users are aware of the value of having a properly set up website from the perspective of search engine optimisation (SEO). However, not many know just how much their website’s overall structure and design can influence their rankings on search engines like Google. In order to properly understand why, let’s take a quick detour and discuss some of the basic rules of SEO.

On-Page SEO Factors

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and it’s something that you’ll be doing from the very first day that you set up your blog. As the name would suggest, SEO involves making changes to your website that will influence the rankings of your content on search engines. There are certain basic rules that you have to follow in order to optimise your pages for search engines, and we’ll go over a couple of them here.

• Have a proper heading for each page
• Use the semantic keywords throughout the content
• Incorporate keywords in your titles and sub-titles
• Make sure that your images are relevant to the content that they accompany
• Keep the content on each page relevant and interesting
• Use bold and italics where necessary
• Avoid getting too wordy
• Use the H1, H2 and H3 tags where applicable
• Use the ALT tag for additional keywords

Off-Page SEO Factors

Just because your page is optimised for search engines doesn’t mean that it’ll appear at the top of search engine results for any query that you might enter. In order to make your blog stand out, you’ll also need to do a lot of off-page SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimisation off-page. This involves getting other websites to link to your blog, which in turn could give your blog a boost in rankings on search engines.

There are a few basic guidelines that you need to follow in order to get other websites to link to your blog, and we’ll go over a couple of them here.

• Find blogs that are relevant to your niche. For example, if you run a wellness blog, you might want to find other blogs that are focused on healthy eating or wellness. If you want to blog about fashion, you might want to link to other fashion blogs
• Make sure that your off-page SEO is relevant to your on-page SEO. For example, if you’re trying to optimise your blog for the health-related keywords that we just discussed, make sure that your off-page SEO is also focused on health-related topics. If you have two blogs that both focus on fitness, you might want to try and link to both on your off-page SEO. This could potentially help your overall blog to stand out above the rest
• Use keywords throughout your content.
• Create compelling content that’ll draw in the reader.
• Make sure that your website isn’t overloaded with text.
• Don’t go overboard with links.
• Make sure that you’re not violating any of Google’s policies, and don’t get kicked off the platform. Check the Footer of your website at the bottom to make sure that you’re not violating any rules.

With SEO being such a critical factor in driving traffic to your blog, it’s important to note that you should never think that you’re done optimising your page once you’ve had it up for a while. As your blog grows in popularity, you’ll gain the attention of more and more people, which in turn could lead to your page being flagged for having too many links. Because of this, you should always be looking for ways to improve your page’s SEO, even if it’s just a matter of following the basic guidelines laid out above.

Why Is Your WordPress Website’s Structure Important?

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’ll know that your blog’s design can have a profound impact on your overall blog’s success, and this is mainly because each visitor that comes to your blog is also a potential future customer. As a business owner or manager, you’ll be accountable for attracting new customers and retaining the ones that you already have.

When it comes to SEO, the structure of your website is also important because it sets the stage for the content that you have within it. From the very first moment that a web user sees your website, they can get an idea of what’s to come — whether or not you actually follow up on that idea remains to be seen. When designing your site, you need to bear this in mind as well and make sure that the structure of your site works for both you and the search engines.

The Importance of On-Page SEO Vs Off-Page SEO

On-page SEO is relatively easy to do, and it involves making changes to your own website that will have a direct impact on the ranking of your content on search engines. Off-page SEO, on the other hand, involves getting other websites to link to your blog, which in turn could give your blog a boost in rankings on search engines. In order to do off-page SEO, you have to be actively involved in building links to your blog, and this involves getting other websites to link to it through some sort of inner linking or backlinking. There are a few simple ways to get links to your site, and we’ll discuss a couple of them here.

• Just ask bloggers in your niche to link to you. If you’re looking for guest bloggers, make sure that their posts are relevant to your blog’s content. If you have a specific topic that you want to blog about, make sure that the guest blogger is someone that’s knowledgeable in this area. You could ask other bloggers for suggestions on who to approach. This could potentially lead to some great content being pitched to you. Plus, you’ll have people to thank when their content gets picked up by a major news publication.
• Start a blog club. In return for joining your blog club, potential bloggers will be able to link to your blog. When people link to your blog, it’ll also have an impact on your rankings on search engines. You could try out a tool like Blogger Boost for getting started. It’ll help you find relevant blogs for your niche, and then you can contact the bloggers directly to ask if they’ll be interested in participating in your club.
• Use social media. On social media platforms like Twitter, you can find relevant blogs that are already connected to other bloggers and content creators in your niche. Just follow them, and you’ll see their content appear in your Twitter feed. As you follow more and more people, you’ll start seeing content that is relevant to your niche appear in your feed. When this happens, it gives you a good feeling because it means that your work is finally starting to pay off. Plus, you’ll be able to thank the person who inspired the content that you’re reading. On top of this, you can also use the platform to promote your blog. Once you have some content published, you can ask Twitter users to follow you so that you can grow your audience.
• Blogs can be a great way to gain credibility in your niche, especially if they’re well-established in your niche. When people see that you’re actively participating in the conversation, it shows that you’re a serious thought leader in your niche. When others begin to notice your efforts, it’ll lead to greater credibility within your niche.

With the power of blogs and the connected nature of the internet, it’s no longer safe to assume that just because your page is up it’ll do all the talking for your blog. In the SEO world, you can’t afford to have one-sided conversations with your customers, partners, and stakeholders. Search engines like Google are becoming more sophisticated, and they’re now looking for a variety of factors, including user experience, when ranking content.

Word of mouth is a powerful tool, and this is why a lot of people hate marketing and salespeople. However, the thing about word of mouth is that it’s mostly uncontrolled and unmonitored. This is why you need to make sure that your on-page SEO is sound regardless of what marketing folk might be saying about you. Word of mouth can certainly work in your favour, but you have to be prepared to do a whole lot of promoting yourself if it doesn’t work out in the end.

The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a way to improve your presence on the internet, you might want to consider focusing on your WordPress website’s structure and design. From the moment that a web user lands on your site, you can take them on a journey that will make them want to keep coming back for more. Just be sure to follow the rules laid out above, and you’ll be able to keep those visitors coming back for more.