The SEO landscape is a very dynamic space due to a variety of reasons. If you were to ask any marketer what they hate most, the majority of them would tell you it has to do with how Google changes its algorithm when you least expect it.
Google does this to make the online world a more reliable, secure, and fast environment for us all and make some profits in the process, of course. They have a lot to benefit from it, but so can you if you want to take your WordPress website to the next level.
The goal of any website is to rank high in search results and enhance user experience. And, of course, to also get rich in the process, if that’s possible.
In the past, it was easy to land a top position in SERPs (search engine result pages), as all you had to do was stuff your website with keywords and hope for the best. Since Google started polishing its algorithm, these tricks are no longer useful, and you can even get your website blacklisted if you continue to do this.
Now, SEO has become more complex than ever before, which is why you need to pay close attention to a lot of factors if you want to keep appearing on the first page of Google search results.
To help you out, we have put together a list of keyword-focused SEO best practices you need to keep in mind if you are looking to elevate your website.
Table of content
Conduct comprehensive keyword research
If keyword stuffing was one of the most used SEO techniques in the past, now it is frowned upon not only by Google but also by the users. When someone looks up a query online, they expect content that delivers high-quality answers. So, they won’t look twice at a website that is more focused on fitting the right words into a block of text rather than on the quality of the content.
Keywords are still an important SEO factor, but only if you learn how to use them right. If you want to rank high in Google searches, you need to perform comprehensive keyword research not only to find relevant keywords but also to observe how keyword trends fluctuate.
Your best friend in this situation is a good keyword ranking checker. These tools don’t receive the attention they should because many people think it’s enough just to put up your website, fill it with some good content, build some backlinks, and success will come overnight.
Well, that is not true at all. Because the SEO world is so volatile and dynamic, keywords that worked a few months ago may become irrelevant now. This is why you need to keep good track of all the keywords you are using, see how accurate they are, and come up with new ones when they stop bringing in the desired results.
One such tool is Rankchecker, which is a free page rank checker that allows you to keep track of the keyword your website is ranking for. Simply put in the URL, and the tool will display all the rankings for various keywords your website is using. You can also install a badge on your website, and you can receive daily ranking updates on all your keywords. This allows you to track progress every day and saves you tremendous time.
Another valuable feature of Rankchecker is its location-based checker. Google takes into consideration the location of its users when showing results, so a person in Los Angeles will see a different list of SERPs than a person in Colorado. Checking to see which type of keywords work best for people in your area is especially important for local businesses, as they have a much better chance of getting noticed by local users. You can learn more by reading a comprehensive Rankchecker review, but we are very impressed with the features of this free tool.
Focus on delivering high-quality content
Finding the right keywords will come in handy when you start creating content for your website. High-quality content is the quintessence of any website and one of the most important things Google’s algorithm takes into consideration.
If you don’t constantly post on your website, user engagement will be lower, and you will lose valuable SEO ranking points. Once you have decided on the keywords that work, it is time to start creating content around these keywords.
To put it simply, your content needs to be unique, relevant, and valuable. Google does not like plagiarism, so it punishes duplicate content very hard. Even if you can’t come up with new subjects, you can at least focus on bringing forward a unique perspective on those existing subjects. And, if your content does not bring value to the users, no one is going to look at your website twice.
Choose SEO-friendly URLs
WordPress calls these Pretty Permalinks, and they are a very important aspect of SEO. SEO-friendly URLs are easy to remember and count for SEO points as well. For example, it would be much easier to remember an URL that looks like this https://www.yourdomain.com/seo-bestpractices, rather than https://www.yourdomain.com/article226455.
Luckily, WordPress allows you to create SEO-friendly URLs, plus you can use various plugins to help you create and keep track of pretty permalinks. Simply go to Settings, then click on Permalinks, then choose Post Name, and it will create the URL for you.
Link building is very important
Keywords can also help you with link building, which is another SEO strategy that works well. Put simply, link building happens when you publish high-quality content on an authoritative website that links to you in the article. It could also be an editorial backlink — a backlink on another website that points back to your website, typically on a large publication. From a search engine perspective, such links are significantly more valuable in terms of boosting your authority, credibility, and trust.
. This shows Google you are a reliable and valuable resource and prompts it to rank your website higher in search results.
You can integrate relevant keywords into the content, but always make sure they work naturally with the content and website it is being published on. Otherwise, high-quality websites that value their content won’t agree to publish you.
Conclusion
Mastering keywords and SEO takes a long time, so don’t get scared if you can’t do it right the first time. Keep exploring your options, but always remember to not deviate from SEO best practices.
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