Just because you are using WordPress plugins, it does not mean that results will come automatically. You have to make the plugins work for you, which needs proper optimization. Although WordPress is very much SEO friendly, it depends on how well you can extract its powers and use it to your advantage. Besides choosing the right plugins that could boost your SEO efforts, you have to understand how it could impact your campaign favorably. Using plugins just for the sake of it does not bode well for the marketing campaign. You should know how to optimize the ranking factors by using proper on-page SEO techniques so that the content of a blog post becomes a potent weapon in marketing. If you have chosen Yoast SEO, then look no further because you have the plugin of your choice.
Look beyond keywords
It is indeed essential to focus on keywords that propel your SEO campaign, but it is not an end in itself. The nature of searches has changed because people frame their queries not always around keywords but might use a long phrase that contains the keyword. They might even use some related words that closely resemble the keywords or choose synonyms to explain what they are looking for. In simple words, the scope of searches has expanded, and it is now possible for search engines to capture the user intent behind searches. The use of variants of the keywords has led to the emergence of long tail keywords that have higher chances of ranking than focus keywords. The free version of the Yoast SEO allows optimisation for one focus keyword and with the paid version of the plugin; you could do it for five keywords.
Focus on Meta descriptions
Taking into account that users have the first look at the titles and descriptions when viewing the search results page, it becomes clear that Meta descriptions are still important. It will be wrong to think that Meta descriptions have little value. Even the various social media platforms consider Meta descriptions essential along with other SEO ranking factors. To know what lies hidden in the article you have to depend on Meta descriptions that carry the hint. This helps search engines to figure out quickly how relevant the article would be for certain search queries.
Stay within the 155-character limit when creating Meta descriptions and make it as much revealing as possible. Place the focus keyword in it as well as long tail keywords, if possible. Position the focus keywords towards the starting of the description and avoid placing it at the end.
Create SEO friendly titles
Besides creating catchy titles, you must follow the SEO guidelines so that it attracts both viewers and search engines. In addition to the keywords, you have to consider other SEO elements like Meta descriptions, categories, and tags. When using Yoast SEO, use the focus keyword as the first word of the title and never make it longer than 70 characters. Using attractive adjectives in the title is an easy way to draw attraction and stand out from the crowd.
Build a strong network of internal links
By creating internal links, it is possible to tell search engines that there is much more under the post than the eye catches. You can lead viewers to the related posts by linking to it and can even expose them to the entire website. It helps to meet the increasing need of users who seek more information as they can walk through much other useful content. The internal links are like annexure to the main article as it allows packing more information in the article without using up space. Study the blog categories to understand how closely these relate to one another so that you can create internal links accordingly when optimising the main blog post. In the process, you build a huge body of information that users would find valuable, treat your website’s authority with a reverence that ultimately boosts rankings.
Pay attention to categories and tags
If titles are not enough to tell viewers and search engines about what to expect from the article you can use categories and tags to reveal more about the contents. The relevance of the content to search engines goes up many times if you can use the focus keyword in the categories and place long tail keywords in tags. Although there may be only one or two categories at the beginning, as the blog grows old, it would require creating new categories and sub-categories to accommodate a wider variety of content.
While on page optimization helps a lot, the real power lies in the content, and you must ensure that you create it with the audience in mind first as search engines would also then like it.
