One of the most common demands of a website client is SEO. So let us go about defining this most searched word on Google. First let us begin to make some terms clear so that a client can understand.
What is SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a series of steps that a web designer does to ensure that search engines are able to access the website and extract meaningful content to show to visitors. But before you build a website, you need to have a solid plan in place as to what should your website showcase and how the content will be structured. Every website needs to have a specific purpose and that purpose should be brought out in the plan and visible on the website.
So as a web designer before you begin with making the website structure, make the client sit in front of you to understand the business plan and earning model. If the client is a person or artist, the design changes.
WordPress v/s Everything else
WordPress was launched in 2003 as a personal content management system or a blogging platform. Today it is powering around 40% of the websites of the world. Sukaone is all about WordPress and will remain so. This article has been written keeping WordPress in mind.
WordPress website needs a hosting and domain name. You may want to take the hosting details from the client as it will come handy at times.
The checklist
If budget permits, go for managed WordPress hosting. Keep your PHP version at the latest. Keep WordPress and plugins up to date. Use the latest auto update feature. Keep a backup of the website on your server. You can also use the All in One Migration plugin to keep regular backups of website. Use SSL certificates for your website.
As we found out from a recent project, do check the Settings and Reading to see if the Discourage Search Engines from indexing this site is ticked. Check the permalinks to your site and whether you want the www or the non www version. This list is by no means exhaustive, but will give your client a fair idea as to how much work it means.
High quality, original and well researched content
One out of every five clients we meet need that shortcut path to fame and glory. Sukaone provides complete range of services to single person entrepreneurs. They all believe that having an online presence means getting more customers … automatically. Today there is a horde of entrepreneurs who want to setup online stores because they have been told by SEO experts that an e-commerce store will get more customers. Little do they know the overheads of maintaining one!
There is no alternative to well planned and high quality content. Search engines armed with top notch algorithms and assisted by AI can easily pick out thin or crappy content and then you can forget ranking in search. People are looking for interesting and good quality articles. They want stuff that is easy to read and understand. People look to build trust with websites which is why reliable information is important.
Keyword research is another aspect which is important for websites. As a web developer you need to hunt for all possible search terms which future visitors are going to search on google and land on the website. Use keyword research tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to discover which keywords will work for you. For this the SEO expert needs to have a close understanding of trends of the day.
Once keyword research is done, you are ready to write the pages and articles.
SEO Plugin for WordPress
The heavy lifting work is done by the SEO plugin. But you need to master the plugin first. There are three choices of plugins with their own merits and demerits.
Another important step to be done here is to install the official Google WordPress Plugin – Site Kit. It helps you to connect to Search Console and pulls up lot of data regarding traffic and earnings. Your SEO plugin and Site Kit works in conjunction to verify the entry of website on Search Console.
Generic settings for SEO Plugin
Generate a sitemap and submit it to Search Console. The plugin should generate it automatically. The link can then be submitted in search console.
Add Title, Description and Focus keyword to every page and post. Pay attention to the SEO setting while writing a post. Aim to score the max and take care of all warnings and errors. Aim for full score for the home page.
Image Details need to be filled up like alt description and caption. Make sure you have original images and correct size. Large images take time to load and are a major reason to slow down websites.
WordPress SEO best practices
Plan your Categories & Tags in advance. The most important plan of your content is to distribute it into categories. Each post should have tags and make sure to repeat them with planned articles.
Use Internal as well as External links generously. Links are good for overall SEO. Make sure you give due references wherever you quote a fact. Make sure you mark external links as no follow whenever you do not want to pass links to the search engine.
Make website Mobile Friendly. These days most of your traffic will come from mobile phones. So keep your website responsive and optimized for the small screen. Also plan to show content to mobile users on priority.
Use AMP plugin for better response from Google. AMP is a Google initiative to standardize the layout of web pages on mobile screen.
I am a techie and WordPress junkie. I can take your idea online and provide solutions tailored to your brand and business. From hosting to setting up your social media accounts, I can give you the whole picture. When not working, I am behind the lens, capturing the wonderful thing called nature.