Are you confused about how to approach SEO for WordPress? If so, you’re not the only one!

When I first started my own blog, I admit I was a little confused, too. How do you optimize a website or a blog for search engines? How do you correctly use these plugins? What on earth is a meta description??

Trust me, I get it!

But after plenty of experience and research, I’m happy to show you what I’ve learned.

What Is Search Engine Optimization?

First, to understand SEO for WordPress, you need to understand what SEO (search engine optimization) actually is.

It’s the process of creating and shaping your content so that it’s more likely to rank in search engines. You know, those coveted spots on Google’s first page…

The higher you rank on search engines like Google, the more likely people are to find your content and click on your website.

That requires understanding the kinds of words to use, how to structure the article, and where to strategically place your keywords and key phrases.

You can go pretty far down the SEO rabbit hole because there’s a lot of tech involved. It includes domain authority, backlinks, knowing which links to set to no-follow on your blog and more…

But for today, I’m keeping it simple and giving you the basics you need.

How to Get Started With SEO for WordPress

Thankfully, WordPress makes it pretty easy for you to optimize for search engines … as long as you have the right tools handy.

Tools You Need for WordPress SEO

There are several tools I recommend you use as you approach SEO for your blog.

SEO Plugins can function like a checklist to make sure your blogs are meeting the basic requirements for SEO. They can tell you if you’re using enough keywords and synonyms or if you forgot a necessary SEO element.

Some good plugins are:

• Yoast SEO
• Rank Math
• SEOPress
• SEOquake (plugin for your browser)

Start With the Yoast SEO Plugin

Starting with Yoast is great because you get a lot of guidance, even with the free version. It helps you optimize with SEO by giving you a red, orange, or green light. Red means bad SEO, orange means it needs improvement, and green means you’re good to go!

The free version of Yoast allows you to check for one keyword or phrase. This, unfortunately, isn’t enough if you’re super serious about ranking No. 1 on Google.

That’s because search engines have changed the way they rank content in recent years. It’s no longer about making sure you’re optimized for one single keyword.

Instead, Google looks at your content as a whole.

They want to make sure that anyone who stumbles upon your blog will thoroughly enjoy the reading experience and find your content useful.

According to Neil Patel, new bloggers might have a naive view of SEO and think that it depends almost entirely on repeating the main keyword.

Instead, he says about …

• 40% of SEO is repeating the main keyword.
• 30% is your page’s design and readability.
• 15% is the depth and value of the content.
• 7.5% is using related keywords.
• Another 7.5% is the topic and theme of your page.

The free version of Yoast will only help you with the main keyword and the readability of your blog. For more comprehensive help, you’ll need the paid version.

Keyword Research Tools

Keyword research tools are super important because they help you discern which keywords to optimize for.

I’m ashamed to say that in the beginning of my blog, I was not writing at all with specific keywords in mind. I was writing only for my audience. Because of that, my keywords were pretty vague and pitiful.

And while it’s important to write for your audience, if you don’t have good keywords in mind when writing, your content will fall flat.

So what is a good keyword? For business bloggers like you and me, it’s a keyword that:

1. Gets searches each month (at least a couple hundred to a few thousand)
2. Has lower competition (e.g., the competition for “eggs” is much higher than it is for “how to cook poached eggs”)
3. Your audience searches for on Google (it’s what they want to read about)

This is why it’s better to try to rank for “long-tail keywords” (which are more specific, like “how to cook poached eggs”) as opposed to “short-tail keywords” (which are more generic, like “eggs”).

Here are several good tools to use:

• Ubersuggest
• SEMRush
• Google Keyword Planner
• BuzzSumo

Start Searching for Keywords on Ubersuggest

Most of those keyword research tools above are pretty expensive to use. That’s why I recommend starting with Ubersuggest if you’re just starting out.

Neil Patel created Ubersuggest with a free version that gives you access to a limited set of features and a limited number of keyword searches per day. 

Here’s how to use it:

1. Type in the keyword you think you’d like to rank for.

Let’s say you have a recipe blog and you’re thinking of ranking for “how to cook poached eggs.”

In the photo above, you see that the long-tail keyword has 2,400 monthly searches on search engines like Google. That’s good!

The “CPC” means “Cost Per Click,” and refers to how much each click likely costs if you run ads for that keyword on Google.

“PD” stands for “Paid Difficulty” and tells you how high the paid competition is for that keyword. The lower the number, the easier it is for your ad to rank for that phrase.

“SD” is “SEO Difficulty,” which tells you how high the organic competition is for that phrase. Again, the lower the number, the easier it is to rank organically for that keyword.

2. Click through the various tabs to see synonyms you can use in your article.

The keywords under these tabs may be great synonyms to use throughout your article. This gives Google a better context for what your article is about.

Pro Tip: Don’t try to rank for the same keyword in multiple articles. Instead, choose several short-tail keywords you want your website to rank for overall and use those in as many articles on your site as you can.

But make sure your primary long-tail keyword for each article is unique. This gives Google a better picture of the core theme of your site, which helps them know which searches to rank you for.

How to Write Blogs for SEO

Now that you know how to plan your blogs with keywords in mind, let’s move into how to actually flesh the content out in your blog articles.

The first things you need to keep in mind is that Google wants your content to be authentically excellent and trustworthy. That means spammy practices like stuffing your article full of the same keyword over and over will actually hurt your ranking on search engines.

That’s why you need to … 

Write for Humans First and Search Engines Second

Writing only with search engines in mind keeps you from being able to think about what your reader wants to read.

When you sit down to write, think about creating the kind of content that captures your audience’s attention and makes them finish your blog with a smile on their face.

Your goal is to get people to say, “I am SO glad I found this article! It’s so helpful!”

That means using language that your audience easily understands and identifies with. And it also means using examples that they can relate to.

I encourage people to:

1. Choose their keywords first.
2. Then write the blog with their audience in mind.
3. Then go back through the article and optimize it for search engines.

Use Keywords Strategically in Your Blog

The secret to great SEO isn’t slapping your keyword into every sentence where it could possibly go. Again, keyword stuffing hurts your ranking!

Instead, Yoast recommends that the number of times you use your primary keyword be between 0.5% and 3.5% of your total word count.

This includes slight variations of your keyword. For instance, if you’re optimizing for “how to cook poached eggs,” then saying, “I learned how to cook the best poached eggs” still counts.

(The free version of Yoast doesn’t recognize variations, so if you’re not using premium, you’ll have to keep track of this yourself!)

Where to Put Your Keywords

When optimizing for search engines, make sure you put your primary keyword in:

1. In your headings

These are your H2, H3, and H4 headings. Don’t use H1 in your actual blog copy because that’s the same as your blog title and it’ll only confuse Google. Make sure your primary keyword is in at least a few of your H2 headings.

2. In your body copy

Sprinkle your keyword throughout the regular body copy of your blog. Google looks for this as well.

3. In your photo names and their alt text

When you’re saving your blog photo to your computer, put your main keyword in it. To use our eggs article example, a smart blogger would name the photo file “how-to-cook-poached-eggs.jpg”

A smart blogger would also add the keyword to the alt text when they upload their photo to WordPress. Here’s what that would look like:

If you’ll notice, I put the primary keyword in the section that says “Alt Text” under the photo attachment details to the right. (You’ll also notice the “Title” contains the keyword because I named the photo strategically on my computer.)

4. In your SEO title and meta description

The SEO title is the headline that shows up on Google (and if you share the article on Facebook or LinkedIn). It will automatically be the same as your headline unless you change it yourself.

You would want to change it if your headline is too long for Google. If your headline exceeds about 60 characters, Google might cut off your title in the search page.

Meanwhile, the meta description is the blurb of text that Google shows under your title in the search page. In the example below, “Jenny Rose Spaudo: Home” is the SEO title. And the phrase starting with “Through her blog…” is the meta description.

If you’re using Yoast, your SEO title and meta description are all the way at the bottom of your blog editor:

Select “Edit snippet” and you’ll see the SEO title and meta description. Yoast will let you know if you should shorten the SEO title.

For this blog you’re reading now, that’s exactly what I had to do, as you’ll see below:

How to Structure Your Blogs With SEO for WordPress in Mind

I mentioned before that one of the things Google looks at your blog for is structure. By that, I mean how you organize your blog with headings, numbers, and bullet points. These elements direct Google in how to crawl your content.

If it’s confusing for Google (or rather, their spider bots), they may show some funky formatting when showing a preview of your blog in the search function.

To prevent this kind of confusion, make sure you:

1. Use headings throughout your article (Yoast recommends not going over 300 words before your next heading).
2. Use other proper outlining markers (numbers, bullets, etc.)
3. Keep your paragraphs short and your language clear

Congratulations! You’re a Pro at Beginner SEO for WordPress!

Don’t stop at mastering the basics of SEO for your WordPress blog. Keep growing in your knowledge, and overtime, you’ll see real results!

Just remember: Always write for your audience first and search engines second.

Need more SEO training for your blog? I can coach you! Schedule a clarity call with me today.

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