WordPress is the most used content management system for building websites and blogs.
But is WordPress good for SEO, and why should you use it instead of another content management system like Joomla, Drupal, or even Squarespace?
All WordPress sites come with built-in SEO features like the ability to allow search engines to crawl content, ping search engines when content is published, and other SEO features.
However it’s the third-party SEO tools, resources, and services you have access to that is most beneficial. I’m referring to everything from WordPress themes that are SEO-friendly to SEO plugins, WordPress SEO guides, and people who specialize in WordPress SEO may work on your site – all of which will likely play a part in your SEO journey.
SEO-Friendly WordPress Themes
One of the first things you do when setting up a WordPress site is choose a WordPress theme – also known as a template. Some themes are more SEO-friendly than others, for example themes that load fast are good since website speed is a factor in Google.
You can view my list of SEO-Friendly themes all of which are mobile responsive, HTML5, secure, and are built with optimized code. They all use the Genesis Framework which is recommended by most WordPress SEO gurus.
Content And Site Structure
Part of having good SEO is having a well organized website, called “site structure.”
WordPress naturally structures your content by organizing it into pages, blog posts, blog categories and tags. When you create a piece of content, all you have to do is specify what type of content you’re writing (page or blog post), then if it’s post, assign it the proper categories and tags. The categories are tags are topics you write about in your blog.
Permalink Structure
Similar to content and site structure, the structure of your permalinks (URLs) also helps SEO. WordPress allows you to set your own unique permalink structure (for your blog posts) and use Parent Pages (for pages) to organize your permalinks.
Unfortunately the default permalink structure in WordPress is not optimal, but it’s very easy to change and you can use my tutorial on SEO-friendly permalinks to set yours up.
WordPress SEO Plugins Allow For Further Optimization
This is where WordPress is very good for SEO. WordPress Plugins are extensions you can add to your website – kind of like adding an app to your phone. The Yoast WordPress SEO Plugin allows you to configure sitewide SEO settings, as well as optimize individual pieces of content for their keywords.
Once your configure the optimal Yoast settings, you can start optimizing your content. Just set the focus keyword you want that page or post to rank higher for and Yoast’s content analysis feature will tell you where to use your keyword along with other optimizations.
Access to WordPress SEO Specialists
After installing SEO plugins, reviewing WordPress SEO guides and doing everything you can to improve your SEO, you might eventually seek an SEO specialist who can learn your goals and take your search engine traffic to the next level.
Since WordPress is the most popular content management system, there is no shortage of SEOs who specialize in WordPress SEO, including myself. By hiring an SEO expert who specializes in WordPress it can be much easier for them to work on your website, SEO plugins, website speed, and make optimizations that are specific to WordPress.
Potential Issues With Website Speed
A common issue I hear about WordPress and how it relates to SEO is that many WordPress websites can be slow to load. Luckily there a few things you can do to prevent this, as well as speed up your WordPress site if this is already an issue.
You’ll want to start by choosing a fast WordPress host and use a fast WordPress theme. Other things should be done like on any other website, like optimizing images and minifying code. This is all covered in my WordPress speed guide.
Overall, WordPress is awesome for SEO. Use some of the WordPress SEO guides I mentioned and you will be on track to higher rankings, traffic, and more customers.