WordPress SEOWordPress SEOMatt McGee@mattmcgee

© Matt McGee, 2010.

About MeAbout MeAbout MeAbout Me

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Matt McGee Editor-In-Chief, SearchEngineLand.com & MarketingLand.com

SEO consultant 1999-2012

Mostly small business clients

Tri-Cities since late 1994

Cheeseburgers

Ice cream

SEO?SEO?

SEOSEOin Thoughtin Thought

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in Thought

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Old SEO “Tools”

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in Thought

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

New SEO “Tools”

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in ThoughtSEO in Thought

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

“SEO should be unseen… and onlynoticeable to other SEOs.”

Adam Audette, RKG

SEOSEOin Actionin Action

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

200+ / 500+

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

URL/location of your blog

blog name/title

categories/tags you use

headlines of your articles

content of posts

some links (external & internal)

Signals You Control

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

most links to your blog/site

what others say about your blog/site

user signals (time on site, click-thru rate, etc.)

what your competition does

Signals You Don’t Control

Setting UpSetting UpA BlogA Blog

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

www.domain.com or just domain.com?

sub-domain or sub-directory?

permalink structure: /%postname%/%post_id%/

categories or tags?

allow comments?

Setting Up A WordPress Blog

Optimize Optimize Your PostsYour Posts

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

keyword research

headlines

different page title element?

short URLs

use internal links

ignore: meta keywords, keyword density

Optimize Your Posts

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

keyword research

headlines

different page title element?

short URLs

use internal links

ignore: meta keywords, keyword density

Optimize Your Posts

HeadlinesHeadlines

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines Remember the paper boy.

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines Remember the paper boy.

Write it first.

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines Remember the paper boy.

Write it first.

Be specific.

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines Remember the paper boy.

Write it first.

Be specific.

Focus on benefits to reader.

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Marketing Experimentshttp://bit.ly/e99fHP

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headlines

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Marketing Experimentshttp://bit.ly/e99fHP

© Matt McGee, 2010.

BloggingBloggingBloggingBlogging

Headlines Remember the paper boy.

Write it first.

Be specific.

Focus on benefits to reader.

Keep it ASAP. (as short as possible)

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Headline vs. Headline vs. Page TitlePage Title

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

Headline vs. Page Title

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

After You Hit After You Hit ““PublishPublish””

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

social media

mailing list

reply to comments

monthly recap posts

After You Hit “Publish”

PluginsPlugins

© Matt McGee, 2010.

SEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in ActionSEO in Action

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

use as few as possible

recommended:

• Yoast SEO

• Digg Digg (social sharing)

• UpdraftPlus (database backup plugin)

Plugins

FAQsFAQs

How Often How Often Should I Blog?Should I Blog?

Perfect Post Perfect Post Length?Length?

© Matt McGee, 2010.

BloggingBloggingBloggingBlogging

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2011© Matt McGee, 2011

What Should I What Should I Write About?Write About?

© Matt McGee, 2010.

WordPress SEOWordPress SEOWordPress SEOWordPress SEO

Matt McGeematt@mattmcgee.com

@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee@mattmcgee © Matt McGee, 2015© Matt McGee, 2015

Some photos via Shutterstock.com