If you have WordPress website, you’re not alone. Most businesses and bloggers are creating WordPress websites because it is a fast and easy way to start a website. Publishing is simple and you can start building your online presence within a day. Having a WordPress site is not enough to get noticed. You need to optimize your set to boost conversions and traffic.
One: Basic SEO
While some people claim SEO is dead, it is still alive and well. You just need to approach it differently. The days of poor content and keyword stuffing are over. Useful content with a few essential keywords helps to increase traffic. Include meaningful and persuasive meta titles and descriptions. A compelling title encourages people to link on your content when it appears on SERPs and social media. Make sure your title offers to answer an important question, provides essential tips or makes people want to find out more about the subject. Update your content regularly to give people a reason to come back to your site.
Two: Select a WordPress Theme
There are a limited variety of WordPress themes available to free users. You can purchase WordPress premium themes to get a more sophisticated-looking site. Select a theme that matches the tone of your business. Invest in a logo for your business to include in the header of your WordPress site. This logo can also be used for your business cards and other printed materials for a consistent look that brands your business or blog. Choose a long and unique password using a combination of letters and numbers to create a strong defense.
Three: Include a Sitemap
While it might seem obvious to some, often people forget to submit a sitemap to search engines. This makes it possible for search engines such as Google and Bing to crawl your web pages. They get pinged whenever your update your WordPress site. You can manually submit your sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools as well as make manual submissions to other leading search engines. Include your sitemap on your website so visitors can instantly find what they want. This also improves your conversion rates.
Four: Focus on Effective Keywords
Give your site an SEO boost by focusing on the proper keywords for your business. Consider variations of popular keywords to make your content appear in a particular niche. The leading keywords are typically saturated. Your content can get lost in the crowd or even downgraded on search engines for using too many common keywords. You want to select keywords that have search volume but are not super-competitive.
Five: Keep Track of Visitors and Conversions
Do you know how many visitors you site gets each day? What country are they from and which content are they visiting? These are important questions to develop future content for your WordPress site. Keep track of your site analytics with free tools such as Google Analytics. Check to see how many visitors you had, how long they visited the site and if they are return visitors. You want to attract return visitors by offering content they want to read. Determine which content is most popular and post more article about those subjects.
Six: Faster is Definitely Better
Adding lots of gadgets and widgets to your site can slow it down. Include images and content with links to reference resources. Post a few relevant videos with your content. Steer clear of excessive images, videos and pop-ups that make your site move like a turtle. If it takes forever to load your web pages, your visitors will start surfing over the the competition. Obviously this is not good for conversion rates. When it comes to your need for speed, more is not necessarily better.
Seven: Create a Landing Page
You want to get information about your visitors to reach out to them in the future. If they arrived at your website, they were searching for something you have – or might be willing to offer. Create a landing page, which is a form to gather information. Offer visitors something such as an email newsletters, updates about deals or a free report to encourage them to provide their names and emails addresses. This can help you build a customer email list to further promote your site. Over time, these ongoing communications can lead to conversions.
Eight: Post Quality Content
There are writers who will create an article for a couple of bucks. Often they have poor writing skills and use a lot of “fluff.” This means they repeat the same statements and offer little or no value to the reader. People are busy and don’t have time for fluff. It can even make people decide not to visit your website again. Spun content regurgitates content other people wrote but uses different words. There are even automated article spinners to do this in minutes. This type of content will never make you a leader in your field. Often we get ideas from others but need to present them in our own unique way. This leads us into number nine.
Nine: Develop Your Own Voice
People should know your site by its voice. Everyone has their own personality and that should shine through on your WordPress site and blog. Dare to be different. Show what you know and say it with pizzazz. Grab attention by making people smile, encouraging them to think or stirring up a bit of controversy. Offer authoritative content they want to share with others. Your one-of-a-kind voice helps brand your enterprise. Create social media accounts for your site on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Post updates on social media and connect with others. Visit blogs in your industry and comment on them. Communicate all over the Internet so your voice is heard.
Ten: Update Your WordPress Site Regularly
Take advantage of WordPress updates to revamp your site on a regular basis. The most recent updates typically include new security and maintenance features. A variety of safeguards are part of each new WordPress update. Often updates are released every few months. Make sure to keep up with the changes!
[box type=”shadow”]Main Takeaway: Many people create dynamic business and blog websites by using WordPress. Provide quality content, incorporate SEO strategies and include a sitemap as well as landing pages. Take advantage of stylish WordPress themes and ongoing updates Create a unique brand by using your own one-of-a-kind voice.[/box]
