Simple WordPress Modifications That Will Improve Search Engine Rankings

The popularity of WordPress is so large that people with literally zero SEO knowledge manage to have high ranking websites. The CMS system is really well built so you can just focus on the content you write. While all this is true, you do want to take some extra steps to improve search engine rankings. This is especially the case in highly competitive industries where a lot of money is put in professional SEO. For instance, the competition between instant payday loans businesses is so huge that even one simple WordPress modification can create a huge difference. With this in mind, here are some very simple WordPress changes that anyone can do.

Install An SEO Plugin

It is surprising to see how many WordPress websites do not have an SEO plugin installed. You can choose out of many very good SEO plugins. Look at them and install the one that you are really comfortable with. The reason for this is that all plugins automatically make changes to the CMS while giving you suggestions about what can be done to improve on-page SEO. Follow the offered indications and the strength of the website automatically becomes higher in search engines.

Optimize Images For Web Use

You can do this manually with photo editing software or can install a WordPress plugin that does this automatically for you. The reason why images have to be optimized is that this is going to reduce page load speed. While many will tell you that this is not an important factor, having faster loading images makes people stay on web pages for a longer time frame. When time on page is higher, Google realizes this is the case and will think that your content is of a higher value. This little trick can increase the time people spend on your site, thus increasing authority, which is vital for modern search engines.

Modify Web Page Titles And Meta Descriptions

After you install the SEO plugin you are obviously tempted to let it take care of everything for you. This is not a bad idea but you can make things better when you modify the title and add a compelling meta description. The title needs to be attractive so that the visitor is tempted to click on it when the page appears in the search engine results. The same thing goes for the meta description. Using keywords in these two parts of every single post is important. You do want to have persuasive blog posts written but you should also put extra effort in your titles and descriptions for extra strength in search engines.

Simplify Navigation

Last but not least, when you make it easy for the visitor to find the content he needs, there is a much higher possibility that he/she will stay on the site. Simplifying navigation practically means you want to only use important categories in the main navigation bar and you want the search bar to be clearly visible on all pages. Do this and you will increase time spent on site.