Select Page

WordPress pages are used when creating the backbone of a website. Home, Services, About, Contact… these are examples of content I would place on a page. WordPress posts are normally used to quickly promote a sale or seasonal offering. Google likes showing new content and posts are time-stamped.

Page Title & URL

When creating a post or a page, the first 2 things I consider with regards to SEO are the title and URL. The title is very important since it’s the line of text on a Google search returns page that links to your website. If the title isn’t good, page 1 or page 20, no-one will click it. When you’re building your page or post you’ll have the option to edit your URL so that it does not mimic your title. It’s normally appropriate to edit the URL during publishing, especially when publishing a post.

Meta Description

Another consideration is the meta description. It’s a very important part since it will end up on the Google search returns page as the descriptive block of text under the linked title. I normally keep my meta description very focused and if the post or page is services related I normally add my phone number. That way any googler may find my telephone number without ever visiting my website.

OK, now we’ve covered the aspects of the creation of a post or page that can be seen on the Google search returns page. Let’s touch on a couple parts that are ‘unseen’,

Categories & Tags

Creating a category should not be done lightly. Only create categories that you know you’ll use again and again. In my example you’ll notice I’ve checked WordPress SEO & SEO from my available list.

Adding too many categories WILL hurt the ranking of the page so don’t do it. Same goes for Tags. If you’re reading this post you’ve probably heard of keyword stuffing, which is essentially adding too many keywords to a post. Think of a tag as a keyword and again, post on the side of caution by using the fewest number of tags that will still convey the essential meaning of a post.

SEO pro tip: add an image or 2. Be sure to include alt and title tags.

Well, that sums up the main aspects of creating an optimized post or page… besides the really important and most difficult part, good writing.

Reference:

edited for 2019