If you’ve been in the web world for any amount of time, you know about keywords and SEO (search engine optimization). You’ve heard of them; you know what they are and you know they’re a big deal. We don’t need to drive those points home. If you want to rank on Google, you do need a keyword strategy to build your SEO ranking, and you do need to utilize keywords throughout your website and blog. What we want to drive home today is that while the keyword process might seem a little complicated, there are easy things you can do on your own to help your website’s keyword ranking. These easy SEO fixes on their own will not get you to the top of Google, but, when used consistently, they will show Google that your site is an expert on certain topics and they will help users find you.
So, here are a few, easy SEO fixes that you can do on your own.
Use Alt Tags in Images
Every post and every page needs an image. They break up text and make pages more appealing and visually pleasing, but they can also boost your SEO ranking. Whenever you upload an image to a page, you will see a field called, “Alt text.” Give a basic, short description of the image using a keyword you are trying to rank for. Google can’t see images but it can read, and it will read the text in this field.
Use Keywords in Headlines
Every blog post and web page should utilize headlines. They make text scannable and make pages more appealing to users. Large chunks of copy will turn visitors away. Headlines that make it clear what a page or paragraph is about will help both readers and Google soak in the information on your page. And, it tells Google that the information on that page covers the keyword you are trying to rank for.
Use Keywords in URLs
WordPress gives pages generic URLs — don’t leave them this way. Create a URL that is unique to your content and keywords. Make it short yet descriptive and leave out words like “and,” “or,” and “of.” Also, be sure to keep it less than 60 words.
Fill in the Meta Description
Another spot you don’t want to ignore is the Meta description. This is what shows up on Google when users search for you. This brief paragraph will tell readers that they’ve found exactly what they are looking for and don’t have to keep browsing. So, make this is an accurate and succinct description of what your page is about.
Install Yoast SEO
We probably could have saved some time by putting this first and letting Yoast do the work, but we’re all about making your lives easier. So, in the future, to make your lives easier, install the Yoast SEO plugin on your WordPress site. On each page, Yoast will give you an SEO score and tell you where to add keywords in order to boost that score.
Remember, you don’t want to create content for search engines, you want to create it for your audience. But, if you are putting your keywords in the right places and utilizing the easy SEO fixes we mentioned, you can do both.
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