The power of the post: optimizing WordPress posts

---

Image by Moz

WordPress, as you all know, has evolved over time to become one of the most powerful content management systems out there. From supporting blogs, it has become a platform for business and e-commerce websites too. WordPress is said to have over 40% of all websites built on it. Keeping that in mind, are you optimizing your WordPress posts?

Most people choose WordPress because it is easy to use and customize your website according to your needs. But many of them forget that it isn’t just enough to be on WordPress. It is important to have posts that will be picked up and ranked by search engines. You want the search engines to zero in on your website or post when a user searches for keywords pertaining to what you have to offer. Be it a product or an article, your website should show up on search engine pages.

Here are a few ways of optimizing your WordPress posts:

1. Plugins: First and foremost, install a plugin like Yoast SEO with your best WordPress themes that will ensure you’re doing everything needed to adhere to search engine parameters. From readability to keyword optimization, a plugin will take care of most of your SEO needs. This makes it easier on you. All you need to do is fix all the errors that the plugin points out and your post will end up being SEO friendly.

2. Content is king: It is a phrase used for longest time and applied everywhere. But for your post to be optimized, you should know that content is everything. Rich, error-free, and spam-free comments in a post are desirable. Readability includes length of the post, length of a paragraph, active voice sentences, shorter sentences, and so on.

3. Headings and post: We mentioned content is king. By extension, even headings are just as important. Search engines pick up headings with keywords that confirm the content in the post. When the headings are matched with the content, you have a winner and your post has improved its rankings.

4. Keywords: Keywords are crucial for any post to be ranked well. Firstly, research the keywords that are necessary for a post and strategically place them throughout the page. You can find several websites online that can help you with the research bit. And the plugins will help you place the keywords throughout the post.

5. Categories: After writing a post, it is important to assign it to its correct category. This helps compartmentalize your post and search engines are able to pick up the right content that belongs in the right category.

6. Images in content: Images are another important aspect of content. If you can back your writing up with some professionally taken pictures, you might have a better scoring page on your hands. With images, ensure that they are aligned properly in the webpage. And don’t forget to rename the images with the necessary keywords for that post.

These are only a few important points to remember while optimizing your WordPress post.