How to Write Perfect SEO Optimized Articles in WordPress

In the longer run, Search Engine Optimization is what helps you pull traffic from previously published posts.

The quality of a blog is what predominantly determines its pull. Each blog post can be compared to a web page as far as search engine rankings are concerned. Therefore, each post can be made keyword rich to optimize its search engine ranking.

Let’s now find out how you can write SEO-optimized articles:

Meta Title and Post Title

A lot of writers think that meta title is the same thing as post title. But that’s far from true. Post title is typically how your readers view your post’s title and meta title is the way in which search engines like Google display your post as search results. If you wish for your post and meta title to be the same, you have the option of not specifying latter in the Search Engine Optimization settings. However, remember that you have a keyword rich meta title to have a good SEO rank.

TIP: Do not exceed 66 characters while writing post titles

Post Meta Description

You can add meta descriptions through most SEO plugins. Meta description has a primary role to play in SEO rankings. It provides you with 156 characters to add keywords that make your description attractive enough for viewers. If you missed out on adding meta descriptions to your previously published posts, go back to them and add one now. By doing so, you will ensure that your posts drive maximum online traffic to your website.

Image Alt Attribute

Image names are crucial in posts as Google does not recognize images, so make sure that you have proper image names when you upload photos. Do not commit the SEO blunder of uploading an image by the name of image002.jpg or the like. Give a name to your picture that makes it easy for search engines to push the image in search results.

TIP: Use a plugin like SEO Friendly Image to help people land on one of your blog posts when they search for an image on Google. If you do not wish to choose a plugin, alt attributes can also be added manually.

Anchor Text and Interlink

Each time you add a post to your blog, try to link it back with an older blog post. This helps the reader stay glued to your website for a longer duration and also lets search engines up the ranks of the old posts. This, in turn, reduces the bounce rate and adds to the SEO rankings. Try to create anchor text while creating interlinks. You will get an option that permits you to add a title as well as a link when you link to an older post. Ensure that you use primary keywords for the post you are linking to, to fill out the “Post Title” column.

Permalinks

This step requires you to remove all “stop words”. While writing a blog post, the post title is often full of stop words. For instance, if the title of your post is “5 ways to become a rich businessman”, your default permalink will be domain.com/5-ways-to-become-a-rich-businessman.html. In this case, words like “to” and “a” will be considered as stop words. You have an option to edit the permalink and modify it such that it becomes “Become-Rich-Businessman”, hence eliminating the unnecessary stop words.

TIP: Make changes to your permalink before you publish your post. Never edit the permalink once your post has been published.

Headings (H1, H2, H3)

One of the most significant facets of Search Engine Optimization revolves around the appropriate use of H1, H2, and H3 heading tags. As per the default settings, the title of the post uses an H1 heading tag, in all SEO-optimized themes. Therefore, for the next subheading, you must ideally use the H2 tag, and then the H3 tag and so on. This is extremely helpful particularly in the case of long posts where the reader may find it difficult to understand long pieces of data or information. Breaking the content into parts helps in increasing the attention span of the reader and also helps him understand the content better. Thus, the proper utilization of heading tags can go a long way in ensuring a good SEO ranking.

TIP: Use most of your keywords that highlight the major aspects of your blog post in the heading tags.

Summary

• Post titles are for readers, while meta title is for the search engines
• Optimize post meta description by using target keyword
• Use a keyword to name your images (Image Alt text)
• Use an effective anchor text to link your current post with an older blog post
• Eliminate all stop words such as a, an, to, the etc. from permalinks
• Use appropriate heading tags to create pockets of content that make it easy for the reader to understand long posts

Follow the above-mentioned steps to create blog posts that will not only attract online traffic but also generate potential leads by providing value to your target segment.

**About the Author: Swaraj Das Mohanty is a Content Marketer at PagePotato. Being a graduate in Journalism from Bangalore University and an ex-Radio Jockey, he helps brands put their best content up front. Beyond work, he is a bookworm who knows to cook & drive in search of lip-smacking street food. Follow him on Instagram at BoredBelly.