As the digital world becomes more competitive, Google continues to make daily efforts to deliver better, quicker, and more secure services.
Google provides both the website owners and the website visitors an equal chance to generate and acquire useful content.
However, digital competition has sparked a race to the top among website owners. In today’s world, every digital creator and website owner wants to be the one who responds to a Google inquiry with the correct information and can establish a distinct identity among the public.
Imagine yourself as a searcher; if you do a Google search for something, you will find a plethora of websites that will offer you the exact information you want.
Now put yourself in the shoes of a website owner who has delivered correct and timely information in response to a customer’s inquiry, but your site is not among the top rankings.
What causes this to happen?
Here’s where SEO comes in. For some, SEO is a friend, while for others, it is a foe.
But once you understand SEO tactics, then trust me that your website will soon be in the top rankings on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).
In this blog, I will cover the best WordPress SEO tactics and practices of 2022 that you may use to boost the ranking of your website.
And believe me, this time SEO will not turn into Foe.
Let’s dive right in..!!
Best WordPress SEO Tips for 2022
As I have already mentioned, the competition is on the higher side, website owners hire an SEO specialist to boost their SERP rankings. ANd those SEO specialists apply robust SEO strategies to make the website in front of the audience’s eyeballs.
So, now it is no longer practical to keep relying on the old WordPress SEO strategies. Now you have to go deeper to mint the diamond.
But don’t worry, I have researched all the best WordPress SEO tips and practices. Just read them carefully and apply them methodically.
1. Consider Search Intent
The goal or purpose of a user’s search is known as search intent. It’s also known as a user, audience, or keyword intent.
If you:
- Understand the search intent of the user and generate relevant content around that intent or inquiry.
- Use more effective keyword research by focusing on search keywords that are relevant to your company’s and audience’s demands.
- Answer the user’s inquiries in your piece of content.
Then more and more visitors will come to your website to grab that information.
Types of User Intent
There are four types of user intent that you need to focus on:
i. Informational Intent: When a user trying to know about a particular product or service (e.g. Best WordPress development company)
ii. Navigational Intent: Here the user has more refined search terms, he wants to know about a specific product, services, domain, and address ( e.g. Sunarc Technologies)
iii. Transactional Intent: When a user is looking to make a purchase or when a user is in buying mode (eg. Magento 2 migration pricing)
iv. Commercial Intent: When a user compares services or products before buying ( eg. Best website development company in Bikaner)
So, first and foremost, understand the intent of your target customers and then create content by targeting those keywords which you want to bring in front of your target customers.
2. Meta Tags Optimization
Meta tags are small content descriptions that assist search engines to understand what a website is about.
Although meta tags do not have a direct influence on SEO, title tags and meta descriptions do. The more direct and problem-solving the headline, the more clicks it will receive.
Similarly, the more you explain with greater depth and keywords in the meta description, the more it will appear in front of the eyes of the viewer. Aside from that, meta tags assist Google crawlers in grasping the content.
Meta Rules for SEO (Title Tags and Meta Description):
i. Title Tags: One of the most crucial sections of a Web page is to optimize the title tag. It shows as the first line (that primarily interacts with the audience) on the search engine results page and at the top (title bar) of the Web browser. Apply these tips to optimize it:
- Place the TITLE tag within the <HEAD> Tag.
- Must include the space between <TITLE> and </TITLE>, and keep it to 60-70 characters.
- Don’t repeat the same word again and again.
- Stop using the words like “the,” “a,” “as,” and “of”.
- Include the most important keyword in the title.
- A title should be easy to read and convey a solution to the problem.
- Keep it concise and to the point.
ii. Meta Description: Meta description or we can say description tag is the important section of the web page that must be optimized. It concisely tells the reader about the website or the blog and establishes a connection with the reader by giving him an overview of what he will get after clicking on it.
- Limit the number of characters to 150–180.
- Use keywords that are specific to the Web page.
- Combine on-page keywords with a compelling marketing message and call to action.
- Avoid using the same words again and again.
- Start your meta description with compelling words.
3. Update Old Posts
Although content is king.
but..!!
What is the value of the king whom no one knows about?
Typically, everyone uploads information to their website, and after a while, it occurs to them that “now on which topic should I write,” “which topic is left connected to my domain,” or that they have uploaded more content than is required.
To get rid of all these unwanted questions in your mind, constantly upgrading your previous content is a perfect idea. If you update your previous material, you will save time and effort, and the value of your old content will be preserved.
Best Ways to Update Old Content
i. Keyword Optimization: Google’s keyword preferences are always on the shifting side. The keyword which was rocking a year ago might not be in the hit list of Google now. So whenever you are updating the content of your website just look at the keywords and update or change them if needed.
ii. Check out the Links: Thoroughly check out the location of the links. Besides, check out the availability of the links, and look for the more recent alternative if the linked material is unavailable or obsolete.
iii. Check out the Dates: Right now the best practice is to preserve or keep the original dates and update your content with the “last updated” date. It is the perfect idea to include the word “updated” in the title.
iv. Updated Images: Images become outdated rapidly, and we often neglect to change the images when updating the content, therefore this is a crucial aspect of WordPress SEO. carry it out. Make sure your photographs don’t include previous interfaces, skylines that have changed, older product models, or cultural allusions that are no longer relevant.
v. Republish Updated Content: Last but not least, there’s Content Republish. Now that the content and images have been updated, it’s time to share them with your audience. Always republish the material after modifying it.
4. Optimize Website for Page Experience and Core Web Vitals
For a long time, Google has prioritized enhancing the user experience. And Page Experience is one of the most extensively used SEO variables.
Websites with pleasant page experiences will now be favored in the search results, especially for rich results like Top Stories or Featured Snippets, thanks to the addition of page experience metrics to Google’s search ranking criteria. To optimize the page experience, you must focus on:
- Mobile-friendliness
- Safe browsing
- HTTP
- No interstitials
Along with the Page Experience, you must focus on Core Web vitals, as they are also an important part of Google’s overall evaluation of Page Experience that adds value to WordPress SEO. To optimize the Core Web Vitals, you must focus on:
- First input delay
- Largest contentful paint
- Cumulative layout shift
5. Schema Markup
Never underestimate the power of structural data. It adds rich value to your WordPress SEO. When you use schema markup in the right way on your site pages, you make them eligible for Google Rich Results.
And your click-through rates on Google search results will undoubtedly improve as a result of this optimization.
With Schema Markup the users may view details of your page at a moment. It allows them to determine whether to click through or move on to a more appropriate one.
This information also assists your website in ranking higher for all types of content. Apply it, get found and receive more clicks.
As structural data does not add direct value when it comes to WordPress SEO, Besides, it also takes time and effort. Due to this many website owners ignore it. But don’t worry there are various solutions available in the market to assist you in automating this tedious process.
There are WordPress Plugins that assist users to apply schema markups. With those plugins, you can easily create schema markups, that too without any WordPress development experience.
Most Common Schema Markups
i. Organization Schema Markup: The organization schema markup highlights the introduction of your firm, including the official logo, contact information, location, and social accounts.
ii. Local Business Schema Markup: The Local Business Schema Markup is ideal for small businesses or branches of larger corporations. It includes the address, operating hours, contact information, and so on.
iii. Article Schema Markup: Article Schema Markup is best for news and blog entries. It helps search engines analyze the content by including the title, the date it was published, a prominent image, and a Video in some cases.
iv. Video Schema Markup: Video Schema Markup is a useful tool for assisting Google in crawling and indexing videos on your site. It also helps your video appear alongside those from YouTube in Google Video Search.
v. Event Schema Markup: Date, place, and pricing are all provided by Event Schema Markup for planned events (such as webinars, concerts, and lectures).
vi. Person Market Schema Markup: The Person Market Schema displays personal information such as a person’s name, birthday, residence, education, and family members.
vii. Rating/Review Schema Markup: This will allow users to acquire relevant buying information right away without having to search further. It includes ratings and reviews.
Final Thought
WordPress is an excellent platform for creating websites. An efficient WordPress SEO is a must for any website. The better the WordPress SEO the higher the website traffic and visibility which aids in the acquisition of new consumers.
Look, there are many common ways to do WordPress SEO that I haven’t covered here because you’re probably already doing them, such as using SEO friendly themes, SEO friendly URLs, mobile optimization, page loading speed, local SEO, search engine submission, backlinks, and so on.
The points I’ve made here were made with the ever-increasing competition in consideration. If these factors are updated on your website now, you will see a lot of great outcomes in the future.
