How do you do SEO for WordPress website? Or how do you make your WordPress site searchable? Or how do you rank higher on Google? And finally, how do you drive consistent organic traffic to your site?
About 43% of all global websites are built on WordPress, making it the most popular CMS. But with so much competition, the question is: how do you optimize your WordPress site for SEO success in 2025?
In this guide, you will learn how to set up WordPress for SEO, choose the best plugins, implement on-page and technical SEO, build backlinks, and track your performance.
Initial Setup for WordPress SEO
If you want your WordPress website to rank well on Google, you need to start with the right SEO setup. Here are some key steps and tips to get started:
1. Choose a Fast WordPress Hosting Provider
Your website’s speed affects your SEO ranking. A slow website frustrates users and increases bounce rates, which can hurt your rankings. Search engines usually prefer fast-loading sites. A fast hosting provider will help your website load much quickly, which is great for SEO.
2. Check the WordPress Visibility Settings
WordPress has a built-in setting that can block search engines from indexing your site. If this is enabled, Google won’t rank your site.
How to check and fix this:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Go to Settings > Reading.
- Look for “Search Engine Visibility”.
- Make sure “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is unchecked.
- Click Save Changes.
3. Use a WordPress SEO Plugin
An SEO plugin helps you optimize your content and fix SEO issues easily.
Top SEO Plugins:
- Yoast SEO – User-friendly, helps with meta tags, readability, and XML sitemaps.
- Rank Math SEO – Feature-rich, includes schema markup, keyword tracking, and automated suggestions.
To install a plugin:
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO.
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
- Follow the setup wizard to configure the plugin.
4. Submit Your Sitemap to Search Engines
A sitemap helps search engines understand your site’s structure and index your pages faster.
How to submit your sitemap to Google:
- Install Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO (they generate sitemaps automatically).
- Go to Google Search Console (search “Google Search Console” and sign in).
- Select your website, then go to Sitemaps.
- Enter your sitemap URL (usually yourwebsite.com/sitemap_index.xml).
- Click Submit.
5. Set Up a Permalink Structure
Permalinks are your website’s URLs. A good structure makes URLs easy to read and improves SEO.
How to set your permalink structure:
- In your WordPress dashboard, visit Settings > Permalinks.
- Choose Post name (e.g., yourwebsite.com/your-article-title/).
- Click Save Changes.
6. Enable Manual Comment Approval
Spam comments often contain harmful links that could damage your SEO and credibility.
How to enable manual comment approval:
- Go to Settings > Discussion.
- Scroll to Before a comment appears.
- Check “Comment must be manually approved”.
- Click Save Changes.
A Practical Guide to On-Page SEO for WordPress
On-page SEO helps your WordPress site rank higher in search engines by making your content and structure clear to both users and algorithms. Follow these steps to improve your site’s visibility:
1. Start with Keyword Research
Identify phrases your audience searches for. You can consider using tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest. For example, a bakery might target “gluten-free birthday cakes in [City]” or “fresh croissants near me.” Focus on terms people actually use, not industry jargon.
2. Build Expertise Through Content
Create detailed content around your main topics. If you write about gardening, cover soil preparation, seasonal planting, and pest control. Google rewards sites that thoroughly address a subject, positioning you as a trusted resource.
3. Prioritize Helpful Content
Write clear, actionable content. A post about “Starting a Vegetable Garden” should explain tools needed, planting timelines, and watering tips. Use subheadings and bullet points to break up text—readers (and search engines) prefer skimmable content.
4. Link Related Pages Internally
Connect your content naturally. In a post about WordPress security, link to your guide on choosing secure plugins. This helps visitors find more information and shows Google how your content connects.
5. Organize with Categories and Tags
Group content logically. A travel blog might use categories like “Budget Travel” and “Family Trips,” with tags like “Packing Tips” or “Europe Destinations.” Avoid creating too many tags—stick to consistent, relevant labels.
6. Write Clear Meta Titles and Descriptions
Create search-friendly titles and descriptions. For a recipe post:
- Title: “Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe | Step-by-Step Guide”
- Description: “Learn to make crispy pizza dough at home with simple ingredients. Perfect for beginners.”
Include keywords naturally—never force them.
7. Optimize Images for Speed and Clarity
Resize large images before uploading. Use descriptive filenames like “whole-wheat-pizza-dough.jpg” instead of “IMG_1234.” Add alt text that explains the image, such as “Rolling whole wheat pizza dough on floured surface.”
8. Update Older Content Regularly
Refresh outdated posts and add a “Last Updated” date. For example, a 2022 post about Google Analytics could include new screenshots reflecting the latest interface changes. This signals to search engines that your content stays relevant.
9. Use Short, Focused Videos
Embed brief tutorials or demonstrations. A 3-minute video showing “How to Knead Pizza Dough” complements a recipe post. Host videos on platforms like YouTube to avoid slowing down your site.
10. Link to Trusted External Sources
Reference authoritative sites when helpful. If discussing SEO, link to Google’s official guidelines. Avoid linking to low-quality sites or unrelated content.
11. Add Breadcrumb Navigation
Help users navigate your site with a trail like:
Home > Recipes > Italian Food > Pizza Dough
This improves user experience and clarifies your site’s structure for search engines.
12. Ensure Mobile Responsiveness
Test how your site looks on phones and tablets. Most modern WordPress themes (like Astra) automatically adjust layouts for mobile. Fix formatting issues like tiny text or overlapping buttons.
13. Optimize for Local Searches (If Applicable)
For local businesses, include your city/service in keywords (e.g., “emergency plumber in Chicago”). Create a Google Business Profile with accurate hours, photos, and contact details. Encourage customers to leave reviews.
What is Technical SEO and Why Is It Important for Your WordPress Website?
Technical SEO refers to the process of optimizing your website’s infrastructure to help search engines crawl, index, and understand your content more effectively. While content and backlinks are critical for SEO, technical SEO ensures your website meets the technical requirements search engines prioritize. Without proper technical optimization, even high-quality content may struggle to rank well due to issues like slow loading speeds, broken links, or duplicate content. For WordPress websites, which rely heavily on plugins and themes, technical SEO is essential to maintain performance, usability, and visibility.
1. Optimize Your Website Performance
Website speed directly impacts user experience and search rankings. Slow-loading pages frustrate visitors and increase bounce rates, signaling to search engines that your site offers poor quality. Google’s Core Web Vitals also measure loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability as ranking factors.
How to Improve Performance on WordPress:
- Use lightweight themes (e.g., Astra, GeneratePress).
- Compress images with tools like ShortPixel or Smush.
- Enable caching via plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache.
- Minimize CSS/JavaScript files and leverage browser caching.
- Choose a reliable hosting provider optimized for WordPress.
A fast website keeps visitors engaged, improves conversions, and satisfies search engine criteria.
2. Implement Canonical Tags to Prevent Duplicate Content
Duplicate content occurs when the same or similar content appears on multiple URLs (e.g., paginated pages, HTTP vs. HTTPS versions). This confuses search engines, dilutes ranking potential, and may lead to penalties.
Canonical tags (rel="canonical") tell search engines which version of a page is the “master” copy. For example, if you republish a blog post, the canonical tag directs search engines to prioritize the original URL.
Implementing Canonical Tags in WordPress:
- Plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math automatically add canonical tags.
- Manually set them in the header section of specific pages if needed.
This ensures search engines consolidate ranking signals for your preferred URL.
3. Add Schema Markup
Schema markup is structured data that helps search engines understand your content’s context (e.g., product details, reviews, events). It enhances how your pages appear in search results through rich snippets, which can improve click-through rates.
Adding Schema to WordPress:
- Use plugins like Schema Pro or Rank Math.
- Generate schema code manually with tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper and embed it into your theme.
For example, adding recipe schema can display cooking time and ratings directly in search results, making your listing more appealing.
4. Avoid Keyword Cannibalization
Keyword cannibalization happens when multiple pages on your site target the same keyword, causing them to compete against each other in search rankings. This confuses search engines and splits traffic between pages, weakening their authority.
How to Fix Cannibalization:
- Audit your content using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to identify overlapping keywords.
- Merge similar pages or rewrite them to focus on unique keywords.
- Use internal links to prioritize the most important page.
Consolidating content strengthens topical authority and clarifies relevance for search engines.
5. Redirect Old URLs
Broken links (404 errors) harm user experience and waste crawl budget—the number of pages search engines crawl on your site. When updating or deleting content, use 301 redirects to guide users and search engines to relevant, active pages.
Redirecting in WordPress:
- Install plugins like Redirection or Rank Math.
- Redirect old blog URLs to updated posts or related categories.
Proper redirects preserve link equity (ranking power) and ensure visitors don’t encounter dead ends.
6. Noindex Low-Value Content
Not all pages on your site should be indexed. Examples include duplicate landing pages, admin panels, or thank-you pages. These pages clutter search engine results and waste crawl budget.
How to Noindex Pages in WordPress:
- In Yoast SEO or Rank Math, toggle the “Noindex” setting for specific pages or posts.
- Use robots.txt to block crawling of non-essential directories (e.g., /wp-admin/).
Focusing crawl budget on high-value content ensures search engines prioritize pages that drive traffic and conversions.
WordPress Off-page SEO strategy
Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside your website to improve its search engine rankings and online visibility. Unlike on-page or technical SEO (which focus on optimizing your site’s content and structure), off-page SEO relies on external signals like backlinks, social media engagement, and brand mentions. These signals help search engines gauge your website’s authority, trustworthiness, and relevance. For WordPress websites, off-page SEO is critical because it strengthens your site’s reputation, drives referral traffic, and signals to search engines that your content is valuable to users.
1. Build High-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. High-quality backlinks from authoritative, relevant websites act as “votes of confidence” for your content, telling search engines your site is trustworthy.
How to Build Backlinks for WordPress:
- Create shareable content (e.g., guides, infographics, case studies) that others want to reference.
- Use outreach campaigns to connect with bloggers or journalists in your niche.
- Avoid spammy links (e.g., paid link farms), as these can penalize your site.
- Monitor backlinks using tools like Ahrefs or Moz to identify harmful links.
Without strong backlinks, even a well-optimized WordPress site may struggle to rank competitively.
2. Publish Guest Posts on Relevant Websites
Guest posting is the practice of creating content for other websites in return for a backlink to your own site. This strategy builds authority, exposes your brand to new audiences, and drives targeted traffic.
How to Implement Guest Posting:
- Identify websites in your niche that accept guest posts (use Google searches like “write for us + [your industry]”).
- Pitch unique, actionable ideas that align with the host site’s audience.
- Include a natural backlink to your WordPress site within the content or author bio.
Focus on quality over quantity—publishing on reputable sites has a stronger impact than multiple low-tier posts.
3. Use Social Media to Promote Your Content
Social media platforms help amplify your content’s reach, increase brand awareness, and drive traffic. While social signals (likes, shares) aren’t direct ranking factors, they indirectly boost SEO by attracting backlinks and engagement.
How to Leverage Social Media for WordPress SEO:
- Share blog posts, videos, or infographics on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest.
- Engage with followers by responding to comments and joining discussions.
- Use hashtags and keywords to make your posts discoverable.
- Link to your WordPress site in your social media bios or posts.
Consistent social activity keeps your content visible and encourages others to reference it.
4. Utilize Email Marketing Strategies
Email marketing helps nurture relationships with your audience and keeps them returning to your WordPress site. Regular newsletters or updates can drive repeat traffic, reduce bounce rates, and encourage content sharing.
How to Use Email Marketing for SEO:
- Build an email list using opt-in forms (plugins like WPForms or OptinMonster).
- Send newsletters featuring new blog posts, guides, or promotions.
- Include share buttons in emails to make it easy for subscribers to forward content.
- Segment your audience to deliver personalized, relevant content.
A loyal email audience can boost organic traffic and improve user engagement metrics, which search engines value.
5. Contribute to Forums and Online Communities
Participating in forums (e.g., Reddit, Quora) or niche communities (e.g., Facebook groups, industry-specific forums) positions you as an expert and drives targeted traffic. By providing helpful answers, you can subtly promote your WordPress site without appearing spammy.
How to Engage Effectively:
- Join communities where your target audience spends time.
- Answer questions thoroughly and include links to your content only when relevant.
- Avoid overt self-promotion—focus on building trust first.
- Use a forum signature (if allowed) to link to your site.
Active participation builds brand credibility and could lead to natural backlinks or collaborations.
Monitoring your SEO performance
If you’re working hard to improve your website, it’s essential to track how your SEO is performing. Without monitoring, you won’t know which strategies are effective or where adjustments are needed. Let’s explore two critical areas to focus on when evaluating your SEO progress:
1. Organic Traffic
Organic traffic consists of visitors who find your website through search engines like Google without clicking on ads. This metric matters because it reflects how well your site ranks in search results and how easily people discover your content naturally. High organic traffic signals that your content is relevant and helpful, which aligns with what search engines prioritize.
By tracking organic traffic, you can gauge whether your SEO efforts are succeeding. For instance, if traffic increases after optimizing your site, your strategy is likely working. If it stays stagnant or drops, you might need to revise your keywords, update content, or fix technical issues.
Tools like Google Search Console simplify this process. It’s free and shows how often your site appears in Google searches, including clicks and impressions. Monitoring organic traffic helps confirm whether your SEO attracts the right audience and moves you closer to your goals.
2. Primary Keyword Rankings
Your site’s ranking for primary keywords—those most important to your business—shows how visible you are for critical search terms. For example, ranking higher for “affordable wedding photography” can draw visitors actively seeking those services. These visitors are more likely to convert into customers, which is the core purpose of SEO.
Tracking keyword rankings reveals which terms drive traffic and whether you’re targeting the best ones. If you rank well for “free budget templates” but those visitors don’t convert, you might need to prioritize keywords tied to your business objectives. Tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console help track rankings and identify trends over time.
Conclusion
By following the above SEO best practices, you can make your WordPress website more attractive to search engines and visitors alike. It’s all about creating a great user experience, optimizing your content, and building a strong, well-structured website that both people and search engines can easily navigate.
Enjoyed the article? Do you want SEO done for your business WordPress website? Visit www.iwritetosell.com and let’s discuss your SEO/Copywriting needs today!
