Search engine optimization (SEO) is key to a successful website. A WordPress SEO plugin is a great tool for beginners and experts alike as it takes the guess work out of optimizing your posts and pages. No more guessing if you’ve written something that Google will like, a plugin can show you exactly what you need to fix in order to make your post look good for search engines.
How Does a WordPress Plugin Help With SEO
In Easy Steps for Search Engine Optimization we discussed how keywords are crucial for your website. Keywords are used by Google and users to find your website and the content that you publish. But, how exactly should you be using keywords when you post something on your website? This can be a big challenge for people, especially those just starting out with their website and online business. A plugin can be a big help in this area. The primary goal of an SEO plugin is to focus on the keywords and to make sure that you have optimized the phrase before you publish it.
How Does an SEO Plugin Work
For most SEO plugins, it’s about checking your content to see if the keyword has been used properly throughout the document. This is done by entering your key phrase for the post. The plugin then keeps track of how many times you use the phrase throughout the post/page and lets you know if you have it listed too many times. On top of that, some SEO WordPress plugins can show you how your page will look in Google search results. This is very helpful and allows you to make changes to optimize the page and how it looks to people. After all, the way it looks on Google will lead to more click-throughs to your website and hopefully more sales.
Choosing a WordPress SEO Plugin
There are a number of wordpress plugins available that help with SEO. The key to a good one is that it should be easy to use, make your content better and not negatively impact your site. Let’s look at these 3 items more closely.
Easy to Use
I think this is key for any good plugin. It should make life easier for you and save you time. But in order to do this, it needs to be straight forward and easy to use.
Make Your Content Better
It’s not just about telling you how many times your key phrase has been used, it’s about giving you feedback on how you can make your content better. A plugin can give you a readability analysis and let you know if you are being too wordy, or your sentences don’t make sense. It can also point out where you should have your key phrase. Is it in your image alt tag? Have you included it in headings? There are very specific areas where Google looks for your keyphrase and this is where a plugin can be a great help.
Have a Positive Impact on Site
A plugin is only good if it’s helping your site. Unfortunately, some plugins can be buggy or slow down your site. This is why it’s always important to go with trusted companies when you install a plugin. Be sure to check the ratings for a plugin, make sure it has been updated recently and has a lot of installs. These are all good indicators when evaluating plugins. And after you install the plugin, check to make sure that it hasn’t negatively impacted the speed of your site. Since how quickly your page loads is also something that Google looks at for search engine optimization, your plugin should not negatively impact this.
SEO Plugin Options
There are a lot of SEO plugins available. These are just a few of the most popular ones. As mentioned above, take a look at the ratings and reviews to help guide your decision for choosing the best WordPress SEO plugin for your site.