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SEO, simply stated, is the activity of making sure your web site can be found by folks who are searching for what you’re selling (your awesome real estate counsel!) on search engines like Google.. As an oversimplification if this is something very new to you (or just, understandably, confusing): if you’re an agent in Fargo, North Dakota, and someone searches for “real estate agents in Fargo, ND” or “homes for sales in Fargo, ND” it’s the actions you can take on your website to increase the likelihood that they’ll find YOUR site in their search. Search engines are constantly scanning web site content (both the cool stuff you can see on your site and the technical stuff you can’t see in the background) to decide where and how to include a site in a search result. Pages that are the most thorough and structured with regard to their content typically have a better chance of showing up higher on the page for a search. |
Just as our LIVE data IDX plugin makes it easy to add home search to your Wordpress site, SEO plugins provide easy-to-use input fields that make sure you can DIY your SEO to the best of your ability, without having to take a coding class (phew! It’s ok to wipe your brow now.) Then, when searches are conducted in your IDX site it helps improve your exposure to search engines.
What is a Wordpress Plugin?
A Wordpress plugin is software that you install from the dashboard of your Wordpress site. They are developed by many different companies and are meant to extend the functionality of your site.
YOAST – Search Engine Optimization Plugin
There are several SEO plugins available. (Just Google “SEO WordPress Plugin” if you want explore yourself.) Yoast is by far my favorite and offers the most comprehensive way to ensure your pages are optimized for all search engines. One of our affiliate Wordpress developers, Mike Mueller is a fan of Yoast and has published extensively on the subject of SEO. Click here to bookmark and read his latest entitled, SEO, you’re doing it wrong.
How to install.
- Log into your Wordpress dashboard.
- Click “Plugins” and select “Add New”
- You will see a button entitled “Keywords” and text field that says “Search Plugins….”
- Type in Yoast and hit enter
- Click Install Now and You’re ready for the next step.
Configuration Wizard
One of the great things about Yoast is the ease of set up. Also, if you have an issue, there is a video tutorial to help you from there. To use the wizard go to your Wordpress dashboard, click the plugins link, installed plugins and select Yoast. Once there, select “Settings” At the top of the page underneath “Configuration Wizard” click the “open configuration wizard” button and then follow the simple steps to get set up.
Yoast Dashboard
The Yoast Dashboard is your SEO control panel for your Wordpress site. One the best features of Yoast is the notifications panel that pops up when you go your dashboard. Yoast can identify things taking place within your site that may have a negative impact on search and provides tool-tips to understand it better and suggestions for fixing the issue(s).
Optimizing Your Pages
Each page in your site should be optimized based upon content and how it is likely to be found in search. This is where Wordpress shines as an SEO powerhouse. When you set up neighborhood pages or other niche saved searches, you have ability to assign titles, keywords and more. Yoast also has an outstanding feature that allows you to identify a page as “cornerstone content”. Yoast explains it as:
“Cornerstone content pieces are those articles on your website you’re most proud of. They reflect your business, communicate your mission and are extremely well written. These are the articles you would like to rank high in the search engines. Cornerstone articles are usually explainers; these articles combine insights from different blog posts.”
SEO For Everyone
Yoast has developed a platform that allows beginners, advanced SEO experts and everyone in between. I suggest you bookmark the Yoast SEO blog and hone your skills for writing titles, descriptions and keyword tagging.