SEO for Wordpress
Content
SEO for WordPress Blogs
How to use WordPress to ensure success for your weblog in the Organic Search Engine Results
Blogs, by their very nature, are search engine friendly and give you built-in advantages in opti i!ing for the Search Engines" #or a variety of reasons, nearly all SEOs agree that WordPress provides opti i!ation benefits other blog platfor s do not" By following our si ple tips and using our reco ended plug-ins, you can have an easy-to-use content anage ent syste which also ran$s well in the Search Engines"
by Carrie Hill & Mary Bowling Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" www"Bli!!ard%nternet"co ' info(bli!!ardinternet"co
)opyright *++, ' Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting ' -ll Rights Reserved -.-
/able of )ontents
WHY A WORDPRESS BLOG?......................................................................................................3 SETTING UP WORDPRESS FOR SEO SUCCESS.......................................................................4 START BLOGGING.......................................................................................................................6 PROMOTE YOUR BLOG...............................................................................................................9 WORDPRESS SEO PLUG-INS....................................................................................................11 GLOSSARY..................................................................................................................................13 BLIZZARD INTERNET MARKETING INC..................................................................................14 ABOUT THE AUTHORS..............................................................................................................14
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Why a WordPress Blog?
Superior SEO Functionality
SEOs are ena ored with WordPress because it allows the to perfor Search Engine Opti i!ation functions that ost of the other blog platfor s do not support" /his includes ele ents li$e title tags, eta descriptions, related posts, optional e0cerpts, and other easy ways of a$ing the Search Engines clearly aware of your content and what it is about"
Everybody wins with WordPress
/he open source platfor of WordPress encourages web developers fro any corner of the world to contribute to its loo$ and functionality by creating their own the es, plug-ins, and widgets or by i proving upon those others have released" -nyone ay then use the at no cost and a$e the better, if they can" /his has created a culture of continual i prove ent and upgrading of all things WordPress" Wordpress"Org catalogs these i prove ents and a$es the available to everyone" )onse1uently, the platfor continues to grow, contributing web developers gain recognition and lin$s, SEOs get tools to help the with their 2obs, and bloggers get web sites which ran$ well in the Search Engine Results Pages for relevant ter s"
WordPress wor s !or non"technical people
/he platfor is co pletely web based, and you can build and aintain your site within a si ple browser window" /his alleviates the need to buy and learn e0pensive software progra s, li$e 3rea weaver" Pages on your conventional site can be set up as blog pages, or you can design your entire web site with WordPress" Even if you have a professional do the initial design wor$, you can add pages, edit pages, add videos, change photos, install new plugins, enable RSS feeds, and add social edia voting buttons yourself" Here are so e e0a ples of websites which use WordPress e0clusively for their website, including content anage ent4 5avarre Properties 6 5avarre Beach, #7 )ondo 8 Ho e Rentals
&ountain Property &anage ent - 9ac$son Hole :acation Rentals Hotel Ele ents 6 a San 9an %slands Hotel in Washington State
/here are e0cellent hosting co panies who will load WordPress onto your do ain for you, a$ing it super si ple for non-techies to get their blog set up" /ry BlueHost or Host&ySite for ine0pensive options" WordPress has an e0cellent support and resource base across the web a$eing it easy for web design novices to learn ore and to find help with building their blog" So e great resources we use are 7orelle on WordPress and also the Wordpress"org Support #oru "
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Setting <p WordPress for SEO Success
#se the right Server
&a$e sure that whoever is hosting your blog installs it on a 7inu0 server" Windows servers are basically for Windows applications and WordPress is definitely 5O/ a Windows application" %t ay cost an e0tra few dollars to set up your blog on 7inu0, but it can save you technical headaches in the future that can be difficult or i practical to correct"
Enable Pinging
Pinging sends a signal to the Search Engines to co e ta$e a loo$ at your blog every ti e new content is added or changes are ade" /his gives you a big SEO advantage, as it ensures your content is seen i ediately by =oogle and inde0ed 1uic$ly" /his can help your posts ran$ right away for less-co petitive $eywords"
$a e advantage o! slugs
5o, not the sli y garden creatures, Post slugs allow you to insert a topic or $eyword phrase into your <R7" #or e0a ple, you can use www"blog"yourdo ain"co >blog-setup-basics"php instead of so ething li$e www"blog"yourdo ain"co >?p@.,A
%n order for post slugs to appear in your <R7s, you ust do so e easy custo i!ation" /his capability is built right into WordPress, but you need to enable it before you begin blogging" )hanging your per alin$ structure after youBve added content is tric$y and it is difficult to switch when posts are already e0isting on a C? p@D <R7" %n your WordPress Dashboard, go to Options and then to Permalinks.
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<nder Common Options, clic$ on the radio button for Custom, specify below and in the Custom Structure field add /%category%/%postname%/.
/his will a$e your <R7s appear as www"yourdo ain"co >category>postna e Fwhere postname is the slug you give each post"G #or e0a ple, a post in the videos category of this blog, with this post slug4
Will display this <R74
-fter setting this up, try a test post or two to a$e sure it is wor$ing properly prior to adding a lot of content" <sing a 7inu0 server is ey to a$ing sure this step wor$sH Iou can custo i!e your <R7s to display in any other ways, but this configuration gives the Search Engines and hu an viewers additional hints as to what the post is about, which will help with your SEO"
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Start Blogging
Chec your blog a!ter %a ing a post & always'
Iou need to avoid bro$en lin$s, issing i ages, e pty pages, etc", because when the Search Engines find these, they ay discontinue crawling your pages" &a$e certain the title, description, and category display properly" Be prepared for occasional blow ups" 7earning what caused the proble and figuring out how to fi0 it is part of the learning curve"
Pages( Categories( and Posts
#se pages to !eature static content that should stay the sa%e and in the sa%e place( without changing !re)uently* We use static pages for things li$e Road Condition lin$s and Travel Resource Information Fpassports and suchG" #se categories to arrange your posts into logical the%es within your blog* )ategori!ation a$es it easier for both the Search Engines and hu ans to tell what a post is about and to find other posts containing related infor ation" )hoose only one category for each post, whenever practical" Putting a post in ore than one category creates duplicate content because the snippet or optional e0cerpt will display on each category page that is chosen for the post" /herefore, itBs better to set up ore categories on your blog and to li it the nu ber of categories for each post to only one 6 never ore than two"
#se +eywords in your post titles
<se $eywords in your post titles, but donKt li it your blog posts to topics that relate to great $eyword phrases" When you write your title, si ply thin$ about how you want a searcher to find that article in the Search Engine results" %f your post is about the wide variety of widgets available, it is feasible so eone would possibly search for Cwidget optionsD to find your article"
,on-t build out pages until you have content !or the%
/he Search Engines frown upon you wasting their ti e and resources spidering Under Construction pages or pages without content" So, do not create pages until you have so ething worthwhile to put on the "
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,o not copy and paste content directly !ro% Microso!t Word into WordPress
&icrosoftKs built-in for atting can cause a ultitude of proble s within WordPress pages and posts" %n addition to Cblowing outD your blog, it can create very odd <R7s with things li$e percentage signs in the or unwanted for atting of your te0t" )opy your content fro Word into 5otepad, which strips out the Word for atting, and then put it into your blog"
$he%e .our Posts
3onBt 2ust cra your $eyword phrases in a post five ti es 6 thin$ about appropriately theming your post using synony ous and supporting words" #or e0a ple, if your post is about travel use words li$e vacation, trip, expedition, adventure, and getaway in your article" %f you have good infor ation and insight to share with your readers, youBll find that your posts will beco e naturally the ed as you write the " %f this isnBt happening for you, you ay need to narrow your focus on your topic"
/in
out' 0t helps your readers and the Search Engines" Where useful to the reader, lin$ fro your posts to e0ternal resources" 7in$ing to authority sites, li$e Wi$ipedia or WordPress, using good anchor te0t supporting the content of your page helps to the e it and establish relevance"
Spread the lin love &any of us who have been in the SEO bi! for a while tend to want to direct and anipulate the PageRan$ on our sites" However, blogs are all about lin$ing freely, not 2ust to other posts and pages within your own site, but also out to other web sites and blogs" <se the Follow plugin in our SE Plugins section to counteract the WordPress no-follow default" People usually find out when you lin$ to the , especially other bloggers" /his often pro pts the to co e to your blog to find out who you are and what you said about the " /hey ay then lin$ bac$ to you and beco e a e ber of your co unity" Spread your lin$ love around and $ar a ay bring it bac$ to youH #se a blogroll <se the blogroll feature of WordPress to point lin$s to other blogs on your topic you read and respect" /hose bloggers will be alerted to your interest and ay respond in $ind" %nclusion of your lin$ in the blog rolls of others ay be an indicator of blog 1uality to =oogle"
/in
Between 1elated Posts
Where useful to the reader, lin$ fro one post to another using good lin$ te0t" /his will greatly i prove the SEO of your internal lin$ing structure"
#se one Post !or One $opic
/he best way to $eep each post relevant to its title is to write powerful, $eyword-rich te0t about a single topic" %f you find yourself straying off-topic, then write another post and lin$ to it fro the original post" /his will help to $eep your content focused on particular the es and a$e the ore relevant to the Search Engines"
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#se Optional Excerpts
Everyone $nows that duplicate content is no good for SEO, so be certain to use the Optional Excerpt feature built into WordPress to a$e your category pages uni1ue" Without it, category pages will contain content duplicated fro the post pages in that category" When you put te0t in this bo0 for a post4
%t will show up on your category page li$e this4
When this field is left blan$, the post snippet on the category pages display duplicate te0t ta$en fro the first part of the post, li$e this4
Iour category pages are very i portant because they help to the e your content and to lin$ to related posts fro a powerfully on-topic page" /herefore, it is i portant to $eep the fro being ignored because they only contain content found elsewhere"
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2o"0nde3 .our 4rchives
-rchive pages can be useful to hu ans in finding infor ation on your blog" However, these can be flagged as duplicate content, as well, since they will either duplicate te0t found on either your post pages Fif you do not use ptional ExcerptsG or on your category pages Fif you do use ptional ExcerptsG" /herefore, a$e your rchi!es pages by placing no index tags on the " ore or less invisible to the Search Engines
Pro ote Iour Blog
Sub%it to blog directories
/here are a illion out there 6 do a si ple =oogle 1uery for !log directories and start sub itting" %deally, youKll sub it to directories featuring other blogs about your topic" 3onBt sub it to a directory that doesnBt acco odate your specific niche" Read the directions carefully 6 so eti es they only want your RSS feed <R7, and not your blog <R7"
Blog !re)uently
Fresh content eeps both the Search Engines and hu%an visitors co%ing bac to your site* Without fresh content to call the spiders, your blog will get crawled and inde0ed infre1uently, a$ing it ore difficult to get your pages and posts to ran$" %f you cannot co it to at least two posts a wee$, a blog is probably not going to be very successful for you" -fter adding two posts a wee$ for a few onths, you can probably bac$ off to one post a wee$, but fresh content is what a blog is all about" /he ore, the better"
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Sociali5e your blog
$hese actions all %a e you a part o! the blogging co%%unity and encourage other bloggers to lin to you" #se social sites li e &yBlog7og to networ your blog" Iou can search tags for other blogs with related topics and 2oin co unities with bloggers who have si ilar interests" Provide ways for others to pro ote your blog" Place buttons on your site a$ing it easy for readers to boo$ ar$ your site, tag it as a favorite, or vote for it on other sites, li$e 3igg, Sphinn and Stu ble<pon"
6oin the conversation* Write posts on your blog co enting on interesting topics on others and lin$ to the " )o ent on other blogs and e ail people who ay be interested in your topic" #se $rac bac s* When co enting on posts on other blogs, you can so eti es leave a trac"!ac" to a post on your blog which has related sub2ect atter" While this feature is not always enabled, you should ta$e advantage of it when it is and when your post is truly relevant and adds to the conversation" /hese lin$s are valuable, even if they are no-followed, because they ay draw the blogger and his readership onto your blog and into your co unity" /his ay result in lin$s fro elsewhere, such as blogrolls" #se !eeds* Sub it your RSS feeds" Subscribe to other feeds" Place tools on your site that a$e subscribing to your feeds easy4
We reco end anaging your feeds via #eedburner" /his has been purchased by =oogle and is now a free and robust way to trac$ and analy!e who is subscribing to your feeds and what is attracting the "
Beco%e a resource
5othing gets people to lin$ to you better than fresh, uni1ue content that is entertaining and>or useful" /hin$ about your recent searches on your topic" 3id you find useful infor ation? %f it was less than infor ative, chances are others have had the sa e e0perience" Provide the issing infor ation in your blog and let people $now youKve done so" Sub it the infor ation to various niche web sites and tal$ about your posts in the foru s you belong to" =reat resources often get placed in Top #$ lists or %est f articles, which can a$e the even ore popular and lin$worthy"
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WordPress SEO Plug-ins
Plug"ins are s%all !iles o! code( considered 7hac s(7 that can add !un and use!ul !eatures to your blog* /here are vast nu bers of open source plug-ins available" Iou can usually choose fro two or three that will do essentially the sa e thing" Iou ay have to try several plug-ins before you find the one that wor$s for you" =enerally, adding a plug-in to your blog after it is set up and running isnBt a proble , but so eti es you can run into issues" We suggest researching what you want your blog to do and finding the right plug-ins to a$e it happen" /a$e a loo$ at our reco ended list of plug-ins for SEO and then search the WordPress )ode0 for ore ideas"
SEO $itle $ag
Since page titles are very powerful in the Search Engines, this plug-in really helps your WordPress blogBs opti i!ation" %t allows you to give each post its own uni1ue title tag 6 one that is uncoupled fro the title of the post" /his enables you to write a title tag thatBs good for the Search Engines while $eeping a post title that will appeal to hu ans" SEO /itle /ag was built by the developers at 5et)oncepts" 3onBt forget to follow their instructions for odifying the code in /he e Editor or it wonBt wor$ e0actly right"
#lti%ate $ag Warrior
/his plug-in creates a tag cloud for your blog by enabling you to group posts together based on NtagsN you include when you write your posts" /ag clouds help your SEO by creating internal lin$s to relevant pages using good $eywords" <lti ate /ag Warrior is not co patible with WordPress *"+ B. 0$SE/F 6 so be sure you download the )o patibility /hing here" /his oneBs fro 5eato"co"n! )aution4 /his plugin ay be a bit difficult for non-coders to get wor$ing right"
4dd"Meta"$ags
/his add-on a$es it easy for you to add eta $eywords and eta descriptions to each post and page on your blog" While these ay not help in =oogle, they do still have so e influence in other Search Engines"
Follow #1/
By default, every lin$ placed within the WordPress comments section is auto atically no-followed" -lthough this a$es it uch easier to control spa co ents, it also discourages legiti ate co ents on your blog" -llowing those who share good infor ation to gain a lin$ fro your blog encourages ore good co ents and will li$ely attract lin$s to your site"
Conte3tual 1elated Posts
/his plug-in will display five conte0tually related post titles at the end of your post" %t shows readers where they can find ore infor ation about the topic theyKre already reading about" /his can pro pt your visitors to spend ore ti e on your site, viewing ore pages"
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%tKs also a great way to the e your blog and to direct the Search Engines, via good lin$ te0t, to other pages on your site about the sa e topic" So e of these ay be old posts that are now buried deep within your blog and lin$ing to the fro a new post can bring the attention of your readers and the Search Engines bac$ to the "
Social Boo %ar ing
/here are 1uite a few plug-ins available to enable social boo$ ar$ing on your WordPress blog" /his one fro -postolos 3ountsis is fairly co prehensive"
However, the easiest way to add buttons to 8ust the sites you want to your sidebar is with a te0t bo0 widget" &any of the newer WordPress the es have easy widget selection built right into the and offer several te0t bo0es you can place in your sidebarFsG" Once the te0t bo0 is enabled, you can go to your favorite social sites, grab the code for the displays you prefer, and add the in the bo0"
Plug"ins and #pdates
-fter a a2or WordPress update is released, we reco end waiting before upgrading" /his gives the coders ti e to a$e sure there are no bugs in the update" -lso, so e plug-ins ay need to be reconfigured to wor$ properly, and it gives plugin progra ers ti e to update their code hac$s to wor$ with the latest version"
Want a /in 9 :ive #s So%e Feedbac '
%f you have any other good tips Fwe get to &udge w'at(s good) youBd li$e to share for opti i!ing WordPress blogs, please e ail the to us at editor;bli55ardinternet*co% and weBll add the to our Bli!!ard 5ewsletter Blog, co plete with a citation and a lin$H
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=lossary
Blog - - blog Fa port anteau of web logG is a web site where entries are co only displayed in reverse chronological order" NBlogN can also be used as a verb, eaning to maintain or add content to a !log. Plug"in - - Plug"in is a group of php functions that can e0tend the functionality present in a standard WordPress weblog" - plug-in is a "php file that can be uploaded to the Nwp-content>plug-insN directory on your server, where you have installed WordPress" Once you have uploaded the plug-in file, you should be able to Nturn it onN or enable it fro the NPlug-insN page in the ad inistration interface of your weblog" E3tension - %n a co puting conte0t, Ne0tensionN ost co only refers to a co puter progra that, although not useful or functional in its own right, is designed to be incorporated into another piece of software in order to enhance, or extend, the functionality" Ping 6 Otherwise $nown in WordPress as a Pingbac$ or /rac$bac$* Pingbac lets you notify the author of an article if you lin$ to his article Farticle on a blog, of courseG" %f the lin$s you include in an article you write on a blog lead to a blog which is pingbac$-enabled, then the author of that blog gets a notification in the for of a pingbac$ that you lin$ed to his article" Iou can also NPingN a search engine to let the $now youKve added new content" Slug - - slug is a few words describing a post or a page" Slugs are usually a <R7-friendly version of the post title Fwhich has been auto atically generated by WordPressG, but a slug can be anything you li$e" Slugs are eant to be used with per alin$s as they help to describe what the content at the <R7 is" /inu3 Server - 7inu0 is a free <ni0-type operating syste originally created by 7inus /orvalds with the assistance of developers around the world" 3eveloped under the =5< =eneral Public 7icense, the source code for 7inu0 is freely available to everyone"
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Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc"
Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" speciali!es in web site design, hosting, and pro otion for hospitality, travel, and touris industry clients across 5orth, )entral, and South - erica, and in the )aribbean" 5a ed one of the /op J+ #a ily-Owned )o panies in )olorado in *++J, Bli!!ardBs focus is on delivering high return-on-invest ent online ar$eting solutions to the hospitality industry" By speciali!ing in hotel, resort, and vacation rental properties, we increase our depth of research and wor$ to utili!e our findings for all of our clients"
-bout the -uthors
Mary Bowling is the senior SEO )onsultant at Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" and is certified in -dvanced Search Engine Strategies through Search Engine Wor$shops" She also perfor s web site pro otion for hospitality industry clients and researches and develops new products and strategies for the co pany and has developed speciali!ed e0pertise in opti i!ing for 7ocal Search" &ary feels Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$etingBs strength lies in its co it ent to4 serve one industry, to be the best within its chosen niche, and to provide co plete Search Engine &ar$eting services 6 hosting, design, develop ent, trac$ing, and pro otion to its clients" Originally fro 5orthern &innesota, Carrie Hill oved to )olorado in .M,L and to the =lenwood Springs area eight years later" She and her husband, /odd, have two children, &adison and -eri$" -s a &ar$eting )onsultant with Bli!!ard, her wor$ carries an e phasis in on-page opti i!ation, brand anage ent, and apping" )arrie has received -dvanced Search Engine &ar$eting Strategies )ertification fro the Search Engine Wor$shops Wor$shop Resource )enter and is a regular colu nist for SearchEngineWatch"co , where she helps s all business owners navigate the world of online ar$eting" )arrie is actively involved with Research and 3evelop ent at Bli!!ard and has established herself as a leader in online ar$eting for /ravel 8 /ouris web sites" Both )arrie and &ary presented and oderated at the inaugural Search Engine Strategies 6 /ravel conference in 9une *++A" /hey have been guests on the E&ar$eting /al$ Show and fre1uently oderate online chats" 3ownload their free whitepapers here"
)opyright *++, ' Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting ' -ll Rights Reserved - .E -
How to use WordPress to ensure success for your weblog in the Organic Search Engine Results
Blogs, by their very nature, are search engine friendly and give you built-in advantages in opti i!ing for the Search Engines" #or a variety of reasons, nearly all SEOs agree that WordPress provides opti i!ation benefits other blog platfor s do not" By following our si ple tips and using our reco ended plug-ins, you can have an easy-to-use content anage ent syste which also ran$s well in the Search Engines"
by Carrie Hill & Mary Bowling Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" www"Bli!!ard%nternet"co ' info(bli!!ardinternet"co
)opyright *++, ' Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting ' -ll Rights Reserved -.-
/able of )ontents
WHY A WORDPRESS BLOG?......................................................................................................3 SETTING UP WORDPRESS FOR SEO SUCCESS.......................................................................4 START BLOGGING.......................................................................................................................6 PROMOTE YOUR BLOG...............................................................................................................9 WORDPRESS SEO PLUG-INS....................................................................................................11 GLOSSARY..................................................................................................................................13 BLIZZARD INTERNET MARKETING INC..................................................................................14 ABOUT THE AUTHORS..............................................................................................................14
)opyright *++, ' Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting ' -ll Rights Reserved -*-
Why a WordPress Blog?
Superior SEO Functionality
SEOs are ena ored with WordPress because it allows the to perfor Search Engine Opti i!ation functions that ost of the other blog platfor s do not support" /his includes ele ents li$e title tags, eta descriptions, related posts, optional e0cerpts, and other easy ways of a$ing the Search Engines clearly aware of your content and what it is about"
Everybody wins with WordPress
/he open source platfor of WordPress encourages web developers fro any corner of the world to contribute to its loo$ and functionality by creating their own the es, plug-ins, and widgets or by i proving upon those others have released" -nyone ay then use the at no cost and a$e the better, if they can" /his has created a culture of continual i prove ent and upgrading of all things WordPress" Wordpress"Org catalogs these i prove ents and a$es the available to everyone" )onse1uently, the platfor continues to grow, contributing web developers gain recognition and lin$s, SEOs get tools to help the with their 2obs, and bloggers get web sites which ran$ well in the Search Engine Results Pages for relevant ter s"
WordPress wor s !or non"technical people
/he platfor is co pletely web based, and you can build and aintain your site within a si ple browser window" /his alleviates the need to buy and learn e0pensive software progra s, li$e 3rea weaver" Pages on your conventional site can be set up as blog pages, or you can design your entire web site with WordPress" Even if you have a professional do the initial design wor$, you can add pages, edit pages, add videos, change photos, install new plugins, enable RSS feeds, and add social edia voting buttons yourself" Here are so e e0a ples of websites which use WordPress e0clusively for their website, including content anage ent4 5avarre Properties 6 5avarre Beach, #7 )ondo 8 Ho e Rentals
&ountain Property &anage ent - 9ac$son Hole :acation Rentals Hotel Ele ents 6 a San 9an %slands Hotel in Washington State
/here are e0cellent hosting co panies who will load WordPress onto your do ain for you, a$ing it super si ple for non-techies to get their blog set up" /ry BlueHost or Host&ySite for ine0pensive options" WordPress has an e0cellent support and resource base across the web a$eing it easy for web design novices to learn ore and to find help with building their blog" So e great resources we use are 7orelle on WordPress and also the Wordpress"org Support #oru "
)opyright *++, ' Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting ' -ll Rights Reserved -;-
Setting <p WordPress for SEO Success
#se the right Server
&a$e sure that whoever is hosting your blog installs it on a 7inu0 server" Windows servers are basically for Windows applications and WordPress is definitely 5O/ a Windows application" %t ay cost an e0tra few dollars to set up your blog on 7inu0, but it can save you technical headaches in the future that can be difficult or i practical to correct"
Enable Pinging
Pinging sends a signal to the Search Engines to co e ta$e a loo$ at your blog every ti e new content is added or changes are ade" /his gives you a big SEO advantage, as it ensures your content is seen i ediately by =oogle and inde0ed 1uic$ly" /his can help your posts ran$ right away for less-co petitive $eywords"
$a e advantage o! slugs
5o, not the sli y garden creatures, Post slugs allow you to insert a topic or $eyword phrase into your <R7" #or e0a ple, you can use www"blog"yourdo ain"co >blog-setup-basics"php instead of so ething li$e www"blog"yourdo ain"co >?p@.,A
%n order for post slugs to appear in your <R7s, you ust do so e easy custo i!ation" /his capability is built right into WordPress, but you need to enable it before you begin blogging" )hanging your per alin$ structure after youBve added content is tric$y and it is difficult to switch when posts are already e0isting on a C? p@D <R7" %n your WordPress Dashboard, go to Options and then to Permalinks.
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<nder Common Options, clic$ on the radio button for Custom, specify below and in the Custom Structure field add /%category%/%postname%/.
/his will a$e your <R7s appear as www"yourdo ain"co >category>postna e Fwhere postname is the slug you give each post"G #or e0a ple, a post in the videos category of this blog, with this post slug4
Will display this <R74
-fter setting this up, try a test post or two to a$e sure it is wor$ing properly prior to adding a lot of content" <sing a 7inu0 server is ey to a$ing sure this step wor$sH Iou can custo i!e your <R7s to display in any other ways, but this configuration gives the Search Engines and hu an viewers additional hints as to what the post is about, which will help with your SEO"
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Start Blogging
Chec your blog a!ter %a ing a post & always'
Iou need to avoid bro$en lin$s, issing i ages, e pty pages, etc", because when the Search Engines find these, they ay discontinue crawling your pages" &a$e certain the title, description, and category display properly" Be prepared for occasional blow ups" 7earning what caused the proble and figuring out how to fi0 it is part of the learning curve"
Pages( Categories( and Posts
#se pages to !eature static content that should stay the sa%e and in the sa%e place( without changing !re)uently* We use static pages for things li$e Road Condition lin$s and Travel Resource Information Fpassports and suchG" #se categories to arrange your posts into logical the%es within your blog* )ategori!ation a$es it easier for both the Search Engines and hu ans to tell what a post is about and to find other posts containing related infor ation" )hoose only one category for each post, whenever practical" Putting a post in ore than one category creates duplicate content because the snippet or optional e0cerpt will display on each category page that is chosen for the post" /herefore, itBs better to set up ore categories on your blog and to li it the nu ber of categories for each post to only one 6 never ore than two"
#se +eywords in your post titles
<se $eywords in your post titles, but donKt li it your blog posts to topics that relate to great $eyword phrases" When you write your title, si ply thin$ about how you want a searcher to find that article in the Search Engine results" %f your post is about the wide variety of widgets available, it is feasible so eone would possibly search for Cwidget optionsD to find your article"
,on-t build out pages until you have content !or the%
/he Search Engines frown upon you wasting their ti e and resources spidering Under Construction pages or pages without content" So, do not create pages until you have so ething worthwhile to put on the "
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,o not copy and paste content directly !ro% Microso!t Word into WordPress
&icrosoftKs built-in for atting can cause a ultitude of proble s within WordPress pages and posts" %n addition to Cblowing outD your blog, it can create very odd <R7s with things li$e percentage signs in the or unwanted for atting of your te0t" )opy your content fro Word into 5otepad, which strips out the Word for atting, and then put it into your blog"
$he%e .our Posts
3onBt 2ust cra your $eyword phrases in a post five ti es 6 thin$ about appropriately theming your post using synony ous and supporting words" #or e0a ple, if your post is about travel use words li$e vacation, trip, expedition, adventure, and getaway in your article" %f you have good infor ation and insight to share with your readers, youBll find that your posts will beco e naturally the ed as you write the " %f this isnBt happening for you, you ay need to narrow your focus on your topic"
/in
out' 0t helps your readers and the Search Engines" Where useful to the reader, lin$ fro your posts to e0ternal resources" 7in$ing to authority sites, li$e Wi$ipedia or WordPress, using good anchor te0t supporting the content of your page helps to the e it and establish relevance"
Spread the lin love &any of us who have been in the SEO bi! for a while tend to want to direct and anipulate the PageRan$ on our sites" However, blogs are all about lin$ing freely, not 2ust to other posts and pages within your own site, but also out to other web sites and blogs" <se the Follow plugin in our SE Plugins section to counteract the WordPress no-follow default" People usually find out when you lin$ to the , especially other bloggers" /his often pro pts the to co e to your blog to find out who you are and what you said about the " /hey ay then lin$ bac$ to you and beco e a e ber of your co unity" Spread your lin$ love around and $ar a ay bring it bac$ to youH #se a blogroll <se the blogroll feature of WordPress to point lin$s to other blogs on your topic you read and respect" /hose bloggers will be alerted to your interest and ay respond in $ind" %nclusion of your lin$ in the blog rolls of others ay be an indicator of blog 1uality to =oogle"
/in
Between 1elated Posts
Where useful to the reader, lin$ fro one post to another using good lin$ te0t" /his will greatly i prove the SEO of your internal lin$ing structure"
#se one Post !or One $opic
/he best way to $eep each post relevant to its title is to write powerful, $eyword-rich te0t about a single topic" %f you find yourself straying off-topic, then write another post and lin$ to it fro the original post" /his will help to $eep your content focused on particular the es and a$e the ore relevant to the Search Engines"
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#se Optional Excerpts
Everyone $nows that duplicate content is no good for SEO, so be certain to use the Optional Excerpt feature built into WordPress to a$e your category pages uni1ue" Without it, category pages will contain content duplicated fro the post pages in that category" When you put te0t in this bo0 for a post4
%t will show up on your category page li$e this4
When this field is left blan$, the post snippet on the category pages display duplicate te0t ta$en fro the first part of the post, li$e this4
Iour category pages are very i portant because they help to the e your content and to lin$ to related posts fro a powerfully on-topic page" /herefore, it is i portant to $eep the fro being ignored because they only contain content found elsewhere"
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2o"0nde3 .our 4rchives
-rchive pages can be useful to hu ans in finding infor ation on your blog" However, these can be flagged as duplicate content, as well, since they will either duplicate te0t found on either your post pages Fif you do not use ptional ExcerptsG or on your category pages Fif you do use ptional ExcerptsG" /herefore, a$e your rchi!es pages by placing no index tags on the " ore or less invisible to the Search Engines
Pro ote Iour Blog
Sub%it to blog directories
/here are a illion out there 6 do a si ple =oogle 1uery for !log directories and start sub itting" %deally, youKll sub it to directories featuring other blogs about your topic" 3onBt sub it to a directory that doesnBt acco odate your specific niche" Read the directions carefully 6 so eti es they only want your RSS feed <R7, and not your blog <R7"
Blog !re)uently
Fresh content eeps both the Search Engines and hu%an visitors co%ing bac to your site* Without fresh content to call the spiders, your blog will get crawled and inde0ed infre1uently, a$ing it ore difficult to get your pages and posts to ran$" %f you cannot co it to at least two posts a wee$, a blog is probably not going to be very successful for you" -fter adding two posts a wee$ for a few onths, you can probably bac$ off to one post a wee$, but fresh content is what a blog is all about" /he ore, the better"
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Sociali5e your blog
$hese actions all %a e you a part o! the blogging co%%unity and encourage other bloggers to lin to you" #se social sites li e &yBlog7og to networ your blog" Iou can search tags for other blogs with related topics and 2oin co unities with bloggers who have si ilar interests" Provide ways for others to pro ote your blog" Place buttons on your site a$ing it easy for readers to boo$ ar$ your site, tag it as a favorite, or vote for it on other sites, li$e 3igg, Sphinn and Stu ble<pon"
6oin the conversation* Write posts on your blog co enting on interesting topics on others and lin$ to the " )o ent on other blogs and e ail people who ay be interested in your topic" #se $rac bac s* When co enting on posts on other blogs, you can so eti es leave a trac"!ac" to a post on your blog which has related sub2ect atter" While this feature is not always enabled, you should ta$e advantage of it when it is and when your post is truly relevant and adds to the conversation" /hese lin$s are valuable, even if they are no-followed, because they ay draw the blogger and his readership onto your blog and into your co unity" /his ay result in lin$s fro elsewhere, such as blogrolls" #se !eeds* Sub it your RSS feeds" Subscribe to other feeds" Place tools on your site that a$e subscribing to your feeds easy4
We reco end anaging your feeds via #eedburner" /his has been purchased by =oogle and is now a free and robust way to trac$ and analy!e who is subscribing to your feeds and what is attracting the "
Beco%e a resource
5othing gets people to lin$ to you better than fresh, uni1ue content that is entertaining and>or useful" /hin$ about your recent searches on your topic" 3id you find useful infor ation? %f it was less than infor ative, chances are others have had the sa e e0perience" Provide the issing infor ation in your blog and let people $now youKve done so" Sub it the infor ation to various niche web sites and tal$ about your posts in the foru s you belong to" =reat resources often get placed in Top #$ lists or %est f articles, which can a$e the even ore popular and lin$worthy"
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WordPress SEO Plug-ins
Plug"ins are s%all !iles o! code( considered 7hac s(7 that can add !un and use!ul !eatures to your blog* /here are vast nu bers of open source plug-ins available" Iou can usually choose fro two or three that will do essentially the sa e thing" Iou ay have to try several plug-ins before you find the one that wor$s for you" =enerally, adding a plug-in to your blog after it is set up and running isnBt a proble , but so eti es you can run into issues" We suggest researching what you want your blog to do and finding the right plug-ins to a$e it happen" /a$e a loo$ at our reco ended list of plug-ins for SEO and then search the WordPress )ode0 for ore ideas"
SEO $itle $ag
Since page titles are very powerful in the Search Engines, this plug-in really helps your WordPress blogBs opti i!ation" %t allows you to give each post its own uni1ue title tag 6 one that is uncoupled fro the title of the post" /his enables you to write a title tag thatBs good for the Search Engines while $eeping a post title that will appeal to hu ans" SEO /itle /ag was built by the developers at 5et)oncepts" 3onBt forget to follow their instructions for odifying the code in /he e Editor or it wonBt wor$ e0actly right"
#lti%ate $ag Warrior
/his plug-in creates a tag cloud for your blog by enabling you to group posts together based on NtagsN you include when you write your posts" /ag clouds help your SEO by creating internal lin$s to relevant pages using good $eywords" <lti ate /ag Warrior is not co patible with WordPress *"+ B. 0$SE/F 6 so be sure you download the )o patibility /hing here" /his oneBs fro 5eato"co"n! )aution4 /his plugin ay be a bit difficult for non-coders to get wor$ing right"
4dd"Meta"$ags
/his add-on a$es it easy for you to add eta $eywords and eta descriptions to each post and page on your blog" While these ay not help in =oogle, they do still have so e influence in other Search Engines"
Follow #1/
By default, every lin$ placed within the WordPress comments section is auto atically no-followed" -lthough this a$es it uch easier to control spa co ents, it also discourages legiti ate co ents on your blog" -llowing those who share good infor ation to gain a lin$ fro your blog encourages ore good co ents and will li$ely attract lin$s to your site"
Conte3tual 1elated Posts
/his plug-in will display five conte0tually related post titles at the end of your post" %t shows readers where they can find ore infor ation about the topic theyKre already reading about" /his can pro pt your visitors to spend ore ti e on your site, viewing ore pages"
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%tKs also a great way to the e your blog and to direct the Search Engines, via good lin$ te0t, to other pages on your site about the sa e topic" So e of these ay be old posts that are now buried deep within your blog and lin$ing to the fro a new post can bring the attention of your readers and the Search Engines bac$ to the "
Social Boo %ar ing
/here are 1uite a few plug-ins available to enable social boo$ ar$ing on your WordPress blog" /his one fro -postolos 3ountsis is fairly co prehensive"
However, the easiest way to add buttons to 8ust the sites you want to your sidebar is with a te0t bo0 widget" &any of the newer WordPress the es have easy widget selection built right into the and offer several te0t bo0es you can place in your sidebarFsG" Once the te0t bo0 is enabled, you can go to your favorite social sites, grab the code for the displays you prefer, and add the in the bo0"
Plug"ins and #pdates
-fter a a2or WordPress update is released, we reco end waiting before upgrading" /his gives the coders ti e to a$e sure there are no bugs in the update" -lso, so e plug-ins ay need to be reconfigured to wor$ properly, and it gives plugin progra ers ti e to update their code hac$s to wor$ with the latest version"
Want a /in 9 :ive #s So%e Feedbac '
%f you have any other good tips Fwe get to &udge w'at(s good) youBd li$e to share for opti i!ing WordPress blogs, please e ail the to us at editor;bli55ardinternet*co% and weBll add the to our Bli!!ard 5ewsletter Blog, co plete with a citation and a lin$H
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=lossary
Blog - - blog Fa port anteau of web logG is a web site where entries are co only displayed in reverse chronological order" NBlogN can also be used as a verb, eaning to maintain or add content to a !log. Plug"in - - Plug"in is a group of php functions that can e0tend the functionality present in a standard WordPress weblog" - plug-in is a "php file that can be uploaded to the Nwp-content>plug-insN directory on your server, where you have installed WordPress" Once you have uploaded the plug-in file, you should be able to Nturn it onN or enable it fro the NPlug-insN page in the ad inistration interface of your weblog" E3tension - %n a co puting conte0t, Ne0tensionN ost co only refers to a co puter progra that, although not useful or functional in its own right, is designed to be incorporated into another piece of software in order to enhance, or extend, the functionality" Ping 6 Otherwise $nown in WordPress as a Pingbac$ or /rac$bac$* Pingbac lets you notify the author of an article if you lin$ to his article Farticle on a blog, of courseG" %f the lin$s you include in an article you write on a blog lead to a blog which is pingbac$-enabled, then the author of that blog gets a notification in the for of a pingbac$ that you lin$ed to his article" Iou can also NPingN a search engine to let the $now youKve added new content" Slug - - slug is a few words describing a post or a page" Slugs are usually a <R7-friendly version of the post title Fwhich has been auto atically generated by WordPressG, but a slug can be anything you li$e" Slugs are eant to be used with per alin$s as they help to describe what the content at the <R7 is" /inu3 Server - 7inu0 is a free <ni0-type operating syste originally created by 7inus /orvalds with the assistance of developers around the world" 3eveloped under the =5< =eneral Public 7icense, the source code for 7inu0 is freely available to everyone"
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Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc"
Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" speciali!es in web site design, hosting, and pro otion for hospitality, travel, and touris industry clients across 5orth, )entral, and South - erica, and in the )aribbean" 5a ed one of the /op J+ #a ily-Owned )o panies in )olorado in *++J, Bli!!ardBs focus is on delivering high return-on-invest ent online ar$eting solutions to the hospitality industry" By speciali!ing in hotel, resort, and vacation rental properties, we increase our depth of research and wor$ to utili!e our findings for all of our clients"
-bout the -uthors
Mary Bowling is the senior SEO )onsultant at Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$eting, %nc" and is certified in -dvanced Search Engine Strategies through Search Engine Wor$shops" She also perfor s web site pro otion for hospitality industry clients and researches and develops new products and strategies for the co pany and has developed speciali!ed e0pertise in opti i!ing for 7ocal Search" &ary feels Bli!!ard %nternet &ar$etingBs strength lies in its co it ent to4 serve one industry, to be the best within its chosen niche, and to provide co plete Search Engine &ar$eting services 6 hosting, design, develop ent, trac$ing, and pro otion to its clients" Originally fro 5orthern &innesota, Carrie Hill oved to )olorado in .M,L and to the =lenwood Springs area eight years later" She and her husband, /odd, have two children, &adison and -eri$" -s a &ar$eting )onsultant with Bli!!ard, her wor$ carries an e phasis in on-page opti i!ation, brand anage ent, and apping" )arrie has received -dvanced Search Engine &ar$eting Strategies )ertification fro the Search Engine Wor$shops Wor$shop Resource )enter and is a regular colu nist for SearchEngineWatch"co , where she helps s all business owners navigate the world of online ar$eting" )arrie is actively involved with Research and 3evelop ent at Bli!!ard and has established herself as a leader in online ar$eting for /ravel 8 /ouris web sites" Both )arrie and &ary presented and oderated at the inaugural Search Engine Strategies 6 /ravel conference in 9une *++A" /hey have been guests on the E&ar$eting /al$ Show and fre1uently oderate online chats" 3ownload their free whitepapers here"
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