So, you got this far making your site great. We showed you some of the basic and advanced stuff. We also presented you with solutions on how to fix certain errors. Today, we will change the topic a little, and talk about a technique that can help you with your page ranking. Have you heard anything about nofollow links in WordPress? No? That’s totally fine. That is why we are here to show you how to add nofollow links in WordPress! This tutorial works on any WordPress theme.

In this article, you can find out:

1. What is a nofollow link?
2. What are the basic examples of the nofollow links?
3. Google’s Evolving Stance on Nofollow Links
4. SEO Implications of Nofollow Links
5. How To Add Nofollow Link Manually or via Plugin?
6. Conclusion
7. FAQ

In short, a “Nofollow” is a part of the HTML tag (specifically, an attribute). It is used as a virtual note on our door (link) saying “search engines are not welcome here“. It tells Google not to go further than the line we create. When your site has an external link pointing to a potentially harmful site, you lose both the “link juice” and Google’s trust with it. Link juice is essentially a value divided among pages and sites linked from your site. It works as a measure that adds or detracts from your page ranking score. So avoiding problems like the one we just mentioned is a priority. There are 2 types of links – dofollow and nofollow.

To explain “nofollow tags” in more detail we will present some of the situations you would want to put this attribute on.

Links we are not fully confident about (untrusted links)

As described before having a link that refers to a site with suspicious data will directly hurt your site. Sites that look too good to be true are usually the ones you should stay away from (e.g. “get-a-small-loan-of-1000000-dollars-in-just-one-click.com”). To be safe, you should avoid linking these in the first place, but if you must, absolutely use the nofollow attribute!

Comments on your blog 

Yes, a big part of your audience will comply with your rules, and love you unconditionally, but, there is always that other side of the internet. The Dark Side! Some of the people will intentionally link spam or untrusted links. In this instance, you should use nofollow links in WordPress in all of the comments. Nevertheless, you are in luck. WordPress already does that automatically, so you just need to worry about links you post (since they are by default a dofollow link). As a bonus tip, we think the best practice is to just turn off links in the comments completely. This way you are protecting both your site’s score and your users.

Sponsored Content And Affiliate Links

This is another thing you should remember. Google likes to connect related content and promote sites that are based on a particular thing. However, in some situations, sponsored posts/links don’t follow this logic. If you link a sports magazine to your wedding gowns store site, Google may think you are trying something fishy (though it would definitely be great for a sport that somehow incorporates wedding theme). We all know money makes the world go round, but you should absolutely use nofollow attribute here. It will make the site you are referring to not interfere with your page ranking.

Posts or Sites Outside Of Your Niche

If you are trying to make a brand and make your site associated with a distinct subject or theme, you should avoid experimenting. The problem is not that this is going to create concern among your viewers. You should make all of the links on your site revolve around a brand you chose because it will increase your score. For other subjects/posts use nofollow technique!

Links that appear on every page

This is one of the huge minuses. If for example, you link your homepage (or any page) in all your other pages (in the footer, a sidebar or somewhere similar) every time there is an update on your site a backlink will be generated, making your site fall lower in page rankings. To fix this, just use nofollow links in WordPress and there will be no problems.

*Note that this attribute doesn’t block any user activity, so no worries there! The only things getting blocked are google bots.

Will Nofollow Link Always Be Respected By Google?

Google’s algorithm uses these things called crawlers or crawler robots to gather as much information as it can about stuff on the internet. Sites that are found are then indexed. Sometimes, the page with nofollow link will be indexed in search engines. However, Google bots won’t really search through the content and that link won’t affect your score!

Google’s Evolving Stance on Nofollow Links

As the digital landscape evolves, so does Google’s approach to nofollow links. Initially introduced in 2005 to combat spam and control outbound link quality, the nofollow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) has been a staple in the SEO toolkit.

However, Google’s perspective on nofollow links has undergone significant changes, reflecting its continuous effort to better understand and interpret web content.

From Directive to Hint

In the early days, a nofollow tag served as a strict directive to Google: “Do not follow or pass authority to this link.” This was straightforward but somewhat rigid. Recognizing the need for more nuanced link analysis, Google announced in September 2019 that nofollow would be considered a “hint” rather than a mandate.

This shift allows Google’s algorithms to decide whether to consider a nofollow link for crawling and indexing based on the link’s context and other signals.

Introduction of rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”

Alongside this shift, Google introduced two new link attributes — rel=”sponsored” for paid or sponsored links and rel=”ugc” for user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

These additions offer webmasters more granular control over signalling the nature of their links to Google, enabling a more refined interpretation of the site’s link structure and intent.

Strategic Adaptations

For webmasters and SEO professionals, adapting to these changes means reassessing link management strategies. The use of rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc” should be incorporated into the site’s SEO practices, ensuring that links are appropriately tagged based on their origin and purpose.

This not only aligns with Google’s guidelines but also enhances the site’s integrity in the eyes of both search engines and users.

SEO Implications of Nofollow Links

Understanding the SEO implications of nofollow links is crucial for any website owner or content creator aiming to optimize their site’s search engine performance.

Nofollow links, marked with a rel=”nofollow” tag, instruct search engines not to follow a particular link. This simple directive has nuanced implications for your site’s SEO strategy and link juice distribution.

Link Juice and Its Distribution

In the field of SEO, “link juice” refers to the value or equity passed from one page or site to another through hyperlinks. Typically, this value contributes to the linked page’s ranking in search engine results.

When you apply a nofollow tag to an outbound link, you’re essentially telling search engines not to pass on your page’s valuable link juice to the linked page. This decision can be strategic, especially when linking to external sites that you may not fully trust or when the link doesn’t add direct value to your content’s authority.

Influencing Your Site’s Ranking

While nofollow links do not directly contribute to the linked page’s search engine ranking, their strategic use can impact your site’s overall SEO health.

By selectively determining which links to nofollow, you preserve your site’s link equity, ensuring that you’re not inadvertently boosting the rankings of irrelevant or low-quality external pages. This careful management of outbound links enhances your site’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines.

Strategic Use in Content

The strategic use of nofollow tags is particularly relevant in certain contexts, such as sponsored content, affiliate links, or user-generated comments.

In these cases, nofollow external links is a best practice, helping to maintain the integrity of your site’s link profile and preventing any potential penalties for perceived manipulative linking practices.

Balancing Nofollow and Dofollow Links

Achieving a healthy balance between nofollow and dofollow links is key. While it’s important to be cautious with your link juice, excessively nofollow links can make your site appear guarded or unhelpful to search engines.

Offering some dofollow links to reputable, authoritative sites can enrich your content and reinforce its relevance and value in a particular subject area.

There are two ways you can do it. The manual way, and using WordPress plugins. Each way is as easy and efficient as the other, so choose whichever you like. You can also do this with robots.txt. If you want to know more about this specifically, you can check our robots.txt guide.

Manually 

To make a nofollow link with WordPress all you have to do is:

1. Make a link by pressing on the “Insert/edit link” button.
   
2. Change the mode from Visual to Text.
   
   
3. Add the “rel nofollow” attribute so it changes from this:
   
   to this:
   
4. And you are done!

Using The Plugin

We first need to install the plugin. To do this you need to:

1. Go to Plugins.
   
2. Click on “Add New“.
   
3. Find nofollow plugins you need (we will be using the “Title and Nofollow For Links” plugin)
   
4. Press “Install Now” and then “Activate“

Once you install and activate, select the text you want to make a link out of. Click on the “Insert/edit link” button and press this little gear button to configure the link.

Check the “Add rel=”nofollow” to link” option and press “Add Link”.

That’s it. It wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it!

Plugins can simplify the process of adding nofollow links, but keeping plugins updated and ensuring they don’t cause conflicts is crucial. With our WordPress site maintenance services, you can ensure that all plugins are regularly updated and functioning without disrupting your site’s performance.

Conclusion

In your pursuit of making the Greatest Site In The World, you must’ve come across at least some of the basic knowledge about Google’s algorithm and page ranking system. Thus, we have shown you one of the ways to play on their terms and now you know how to add nofollow links in WordPress. Use it wisely! For more step by step WordPress tutorials follow our WordPress blog.

FAQ Section on Nofollow Links

What is a nofollow link?

A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink on a webpage that tells search engines not to pass any credit or “link juice” to the linked page. It’s achieved by adding the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the link’s HTML code.

When should I use nofollow links on my website?

You should consider using nofollow links in several scenarios, including:

• Links within user-generated content like comments and forums to avoid associating your site with potentially untrustworthy content.
• Affiliate links or paid sponsorships to comply with search engine guidelines and maintain transparency.
  Links to login, registration pages, or internal administrative links that don’t need to be indexed by search engines.

Do nofollow links affect my site’s SEO?

Nofollow links primarily affect the distribution of your site’s link equity. They do not pass on link juice to the linked page, which helps you maintain your site’s ranking power. Strategically using nofollow links can help protect your site’s credibility and prevent potential negative SEO impacts from linking to low-quality or unrelated content.

How can I add a nofollow attribute to links in WordPress?

You can add a nofollow attribute manually by editing the HTML of your link to include rel=”nofollow” within the anchor tag. Alternatively, you can use WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO, which offer options to easily add nofollow tags to your links.

Can I apply nofollow tags to internal links?

Yes, you can apply nofollow tags to internal links, but it’s generally not recommended unless there’s a specific reason, such as directing search engine bots away from unimportant pages. For most internal linking, allowing search engines to crawl and index your pages freely is beneficial for your site’s SEO.

How do nofollow links differ from dofollow links?

Dofollow links are the default state of a link without any rel attributes specifying otherwise. These links pass link equity and can influence the search engine rankings of the linked page. In contrast, nofollow links do not pass link equity due to the rel=”nofollow” attribute, and they have less impact on the linked page’s search engine ranking.

Are there other link attributes similar to nofollow?

Yes, Google introduced two additional link attributes in 2019:
rel=”sponsored”: Used for links created as part of advertisements, sponsorships, or other compensation agreements.
rel=”ugc”: Stands for User Generated Content and is used for links within user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

Will using nofollow links protect my site from spam?

Using nofollow tags on user-generated content can help protect your site from linking to spammy or malicious content, which could potentially harm your site’s reputation and SEO. It’s a common practice to automatically add nofollow tags to all user-generated links.

How do search engines treat nofollow links now?

As of a recent update, Google treats the nofollow attribute as a “hint” rather than a strict directive. This means Google might choose to crawl and index a nofollow link if it believes the link adds value, but it typically won’t pass link equity through these links.

Can I mix nofollow with other link attributes?

Yes, you can combine rel=”nofollow” with other link attributes such as rel=”sponsored” or rel=”ugc”. For example, rel=”nofollow sponsored” is valid and indicates that a link is both sponsored and that you prefer not to pass link equity to it.

More Resources:

• How To Easily Clean Up Your WordPress Database
• The Fastest WordPress Themes Of 2019
• WordPress Meta Description

The post 2 Easy Ways To Add Nofollow Links in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Permalinks are the URLs of pages and individual posts published on your WordPress websites. Name Permalink is short for “Permanent Link” – meaning these links can always be used to access your pieces of content. We’ll take you through the process oc creating a custom WordPress permalink.

WordPress permalink by default has the URL structure https://yourwebsite.com/?p=123.

This default permalink structure is bad because it offers no clue about the post. The user only gets to know what the post is about by clicking on the link. As a result, users may be less inclined to visit the page, and search engines less inclined to rank it.

If you’re launching a new WordPress site, you’ll need to change your permalink structure the user and an SEO friendly way. Also, if you have an established WordPress site, and you want to set its permalinks, then this tutorial is for you. In this guide to WordPress permalinks, we’ll show you the right way to go about it.

In this article:

• What is a Permalink in WP?
• SEO Implications of WordPress Permalinks
• Performance Considerations of WordPress Permalinks
• How to Set Pretty WordPress Permalink (Recommended)
• How To Setup Custom WordPress Permalinks
• Editing Permalink for Posts and Pages
• Troubleshooting Permalink Issues in WordPress
• Real-world Impact of Permalink Changes: Case Studies
• Conclusion

What are WordPress Permalinks?

Permalinks are web addresses to blog posts and pages. WordPress provides web addresses for every post or page that you create. They are permanent assets and are not expected to change. However, you can customize the permalink structure if the need arises.

Permalinks consist of your domain name and the link slug. For example, in the link https://yoursite.com/woocommerce/how-to-install-woocommerce, “https://yoursite.com” is your domain, while “/woocommerce/how-to-install-woocommerce” is the slug. 

WordPress has different options to choose from.

1. Ugly permalink: WordPress creates a default permalink structure that contains numbers called the ID. This post ids are unique and identify every post or page you create. For example, https://yoursite.com/?p=99. This type is the default on all WordPress sites. Then again, this type of permalink setting is vague and is not good.

2. Pretty permalink: These are SEO friendly URLs. They contain words that refer to the post or page. They look like this https://yoursite.com/name-of-post.

This WP permalink structure requires mod_rewrite module in Apache (or a similar module in other web servers).

3. Almost pretty permalink: Similar to the pretty permalinks. Almost pretty one usually has the index.php prefix. For example, the link above would be https://yoursite.com/index.php/name-of-post.

This permalink structure can work without the mod-rewrite module.

SEO Implications of WordPress Permalinks

Optimizing your WordPress permalinks is not just about maintaining a clean and organized website structure; it plays a crucial role in enhancing your site’s search engine visibility.

The structure of your permalinks can significantly impact how search engines understand and rank your content, making it essential to adopt SEO-friendly practices in your permalink settings.

Incorporating Keywords

One of the most effective strategies for optimizing permalinks is the inclusion of relevant keywords within your URL slugs. Keywords in permalinks help search engines decipher the content of your pages, making it easier to match user queries with your content.

For instance, a permalink like https://www.yoursite.com/wordpress-seo-tips is far more descriptive and SEO-friendly than https://www.yoursite.com/?p=123. It tells search engines and users alike what to expect from the page, thereby improving your content’s relevance and discoverability.

Keeping URLs Short and Sweet

While it’s beneficial to include keywords, shortness remains key in permalink optimization. Lengthy URLs can be cumbersome and detract from the user experience. Aim for concise permalinks that capture the essence of your content without unnecessary fillers.

This approach not only enhances readability but also prevents dilution of your keyword’s impact.

Avoiding Date-based Structures

While date-based permalinks can provide chronological context to your posts, they may unintentionally signal content obsolescence, particularly for evergreen topics.

Users and search engines might perceive older posts as less relevant, even if the content remains valuable. Opting for a non-date-based structure ensures your permalinks remain timeless and consistently relevant.

Utilizing Hyphens for Separation

In crafting your permalinks, it’s advisable to use hyphens (-) to separate words within your slugs. Hyphens are universally recognized by search engines as word separators, enhancing the readability of your URLs. Avoid using underscores (_) or spaces, as these can lead to indexing issues or broken links.

Consistency is Key

Maintaining a uniform permalink structure across your site helps establish a predictable and navigable URL pattern for both users and search engines.

Consistency in your permalink strategy not only aids in user navigation but also reinforces your site’s structure, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.

Redirects and Canonical Tags

Changing permalink structures on an established site requires the use of 301 redirects to guide users and search engines from old URLs to the updated ones.

Additionally, employing canonical tags can help prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the preferred version of similar or identical content pages.

Performance Considerations of WordPress Permalinks

When configuring your WordPress site, the structure of your permalinks might seem like a minor detail, primarily concerning aesthetics and SEO.

However, the implications of permalink choices extend beyond just the surface, significantly impacting your website’s performance and loading times. Understanding these performance considerations is crucial for maintaining a fast, efficient site that provides a seamless user experience.

The Impact of Permalink Structure

At first glance, permalinks appear to be simple, user-friendly URLs that guide visitors and search engines to your content. Beneath this simplicity, however, lies a complex interaction with your WordPress site’s database and server.

Every time a user accesses a page, WordPress must parse the permalink, query the database, and retrieve the corresponding content. Complex permalink structures can, therefore, introduce unnecessary overhead, slowing down this process.

Simple vs. Complex Permalinks

WordPress offers various permalink settings, ranging from simple numeric IDs to more complex date and name-based structures. While complex permalinks provide more information and can be SEO-friendly, they can also strain your server resources.

For instance, including dates, categories, and post names in URLs might require more database queries to resolve, especially on sites with a large volume of content.

Best Practices for Performance-Optimized Permalinks

• Keep It Simple: Opt for a straightforward permalink structure that includes the post name or page ID. This approach minimizes database lookups, enhancing your site’s responsiveness.
• Avoid Using Dates: Unless your site’s content is highly time-sensitive, like a news portal, steer clear of date-based permalinks. Not only do they potentially lengthen URLs, but they also add complexity to the database queries.
• Use Caching: Implement a robust caching strategy to minimize the impact of permalink structure on performance. Caching stores frequently accessed content, reducing the need for repetitive database queries.
• Monitor Permalink Changes: If you decide to alter your permalink structure, especially on an established site, be mindful of the potential for broken links. Use redirection plugins to manage old URLs efficiently, ensuring a smooth transition without negatively impacting site speed.
• Regularly Audit Your URLs: Use tools to monitor your site’s performance and identify any bottlenecks associated with permalink structure. Regular audits can help you fine-tune your settings for optimal speed.

How to Set Pretty WordPress Permalink (Recommended)

We will now show you how to set up the pretty WP permalink structure.

Go to your WordPress admin area, and then go to Settings>>Permalinks.

Next, choose the “Post name” option. You may choose any other option listed on the page, depending on what your site is all about.

Then click Save Changes.

Your WP permalink is set.

Now you want to test to see if enabling pretty permalinks work.

To do this, create a new post on your site, enter a topic, and save it as a draft. When done, look at the permalink created. It should look like this https://yourdomain.com/name-of-post.

How To Setup Custom WordPress Permalinks

You may decide to specify a custom structure. This enables you to choose the tags you want to add to the URL of your pages and posts. 

For example, you may want every link to contain the author name, category, and post name (such as https://yoursite.com/michael/woocommerce/how-to-install-woocommerce-payment-gateways).

To do this, login to your Dashboard and go to Settings>Permalinks.

Now select your desired structure tags (in this case %author%, %category%, and %postname%), and then Save Changes.

This custom WP permalink structure will now be used for all posts and pages on your WordPress site. 

Editing Permalink for Posts and Pages

Sometimes, you may want to post slugs differently for some posts on your site, something other than the default WordPress slug. We will show you how to do this.

Method One

If you use the post name structure, you can easily edit the WordPress generated URL slug. It is usually the title of the post.

On the admin area of your site, navigate to Posts >All Posts>select an existing post. Click on the permalink text box to edit the WordPress generated slug.

Customize the slug by editing it as you wish. You may want to include SEO keywords in the URL. This can also be done in the Yoast SEO section if you have this plugin installed.

Click Update to save the changes.

If you are working on a new post, you can quickly edit the generated slug before publishing your post.

Method Two

Another way of creating WordPress custom permalinks on some posts is through the use of Permalink Manager Plugin. This plugin is lightweight and it enables you to change the slug and even the custom permalink structure.

To show you how this permalink plugin works, let’s assume that your site’s permalink structure is the Custom WP structure, and the year, month, day, and author tags are added to the post name tag.

To edit permalink on a post, select a previously published post.

Click on the Permalink Manager button under the title of the post. A textbox showing the post’s URL will be displayed. 

Edit the URL as you wish. In this case, we removed the year, month, date, and author tags. We kept only the relevant keywords.

Click Update to save these changes.

And that’s it, the permalink for this post has been customized. 

Troubleshooting Permalink Issues in WordPress

Encountering issues with permalinks is a common challenge for WordPress users, especially after making changes to permalink structures or migrating a website. Broken links, 404 errors, and unexpected redirects can significantly impact user experience and SEO. Here’s a guide to effectively troubleshoot and resolve common permalink issues.

Identifying the Issue

The first step in troubleshooting is identifying the exact nature of the problem. Is it a site-wide issue affecting all permalinks, or is it isolated to specific posts or pages? Tools like Broken Link Checker can help you identify broken links across your site.

Refreshing Permalinks

Often, permalink issues can be resolved by simply refreshing your permalink settings. Navigate to Settings > Permalinks in your WordPress dashboard, and without making any changes, click Save Changes. This action forces WordPress to flush and regenerate the permalink structure.

Checking .htaccess File

The .htaccess file plays a crucial role in URL rewriting for Apache servers. Incorrect configurations or missing rules can lead to permalink issues. Access your .htaccess file via FTP or File Manager in your hosting control panel and ensure the default WordPress rewrite rules are present:

# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress

If you’re unsure, you can temporarily replace the content of your .htaccess file with the default WordPress rules above. Remember to back up the original file before making changes.

Plugin and Theme Conflicts

Sometimes, permalink issues can stem from conflicts with plugins or themes. To diagnose, deactivate all plugins and revert to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-One.

If this resolves the issue, reactivate each plugin and theme one by one to identify the culprit.

Contacting Your Hosting Provider

If you’ve tried the above steps without success, the issue might be server-related. Contact your hosting provider for assistance. They can check for server configuration issues that might be affecting permalinks.

Setting Up 301 Redirects for Changed URLs

If you’ve changed permalink structures for existing content, you’ll need to set up 301 redirects to prevent 404 errors. This can be done using plugins like Redirection, which allow you to easily map old URLs to new ones, preserving SEO value and ensuring a smooth user experience.

First, you should install WordPress plugin and activate it.

Next, go to Tools>>Redirection>>Start setup

The basic setup page will appear on the screen. Check all the applicable options and Continue setup.

At this point, the plugin checks the site for at least one working REST API. If there is, it will indicate Good.

Next, Finish Setup. 

After setup completes, click on Finished.

Redirection is now active on your site.

To create actual permanent redirects, click Add New.

1. Enter into the “Source URL” textbox the site’s URL you want to redirect from.
2. Type in the target URL you want to redirect to.
3. Click Add Redirect.

Dealing with permalink issues can be frustrating and time-consuming. WordPress maintenance and support services can provide the expertise needed to troubleshoot and resolve these issues quickly, preventing any disruption to your site’s performance.

Real-world Impact of Permalink Changes: Case Studies

The theoretical benefits of optimizing WordPress permalinks for SEO and user experience are well-documented, but how do these changes play out in the real world?

Let’s delve into a couple of case studies that illustrate the tangible impact of modifying permalink structures on website traffic and search engine rankings.

Case Study 1: E-commerce Site Revamp

• Background: An online retailer specializing in handmade crafts noticed stagnant growth in organic traffic and poor search engine rankings for key product categories. The website initially used the default WordPress permalink structure (/?p=123), which provided no contextual clues about the content.
• Action Taken: The retailer transitioned to a more descriptive permalink structure (/category/product-name), ensuring that product names and relevant keywords were included in the URLs. They also implemented 301 redirects to preserve the SEO value of existing links.
• Results: Within three months of the change, the site experienced a 25% increase in organic traffic. Product pages began ranking higher for targeted keywords, leading to improved visibility and a 15% uptick in sales. The clear, keyword-rich permalinks contributed to a better understanding of the site’s content by search engines and users alike.

Case Study 2: Blogging Platform Optimization

• Background: A popular blogging platform with a focus on travel content was struggling to gain traction in search results, despite high-quality, engaging articles. The site’s permalinks were structured by date (/year/month/day/post-name), making the URLs lengthy and less focused on the article topics.
• Action Taken: The platform decided to remove the date components from the permalinks, opting for a simpler structure that included only the post name (/post-name). This change was complemented by a comprehensive SEO audit and the implementation of 301 redirects to handle the old URLs.
• Results: The simplification of permalinks led to a more streamlined user experience and made the URLs more shareable on social media. Within six months, the platform saw a 40% increase in organic traffic and a significant improvement in the average position of articles on search engine results pages (SERPs). The concise, topic-focused permalinks played a crucial role in enhancing the site’s SEO performance.

Key Takeaways

These case studies underscore the importance of a well-considered permalink structure in achieving SEO success and driving website traffic. Changing permalinks can seem daunting, especially for established sites, but with careful planning and the use of redirects, the benefits can far outweigh the initial challenges.

Whether you’re running an e-commerce site, a blogging platform, or any other type of website, optimizing your permalinks can lead to measurable improvements in visibility, user engagement, and overall site performance.

Remember, every website is unique, and the impact of permalink changes can vary based on numerous factors, including the site’s existing authority, content quality, and competitive landscape.

It’s always advisable to monitor closely and adjust your strategy based on the results you observe.

Conclusion

Unless you require some other format, we recommend the post name permalink structure. 

If you were using the default permalink structure and you decide to change, please ensure you take care of redirects.

If you are creating a new site, you should not have to worry about redirect rules, simply set the WordPress permalink structure you prefer and you should be good to go.

More Resources:

• How To Easily Clean Up Your WordPress Database
• The Fastest WordPress Themes Of 2019
• WordPress Meta Description

The post How To Set Up and Rewrite Custom Permalinks in WordPress appeared first on FixRunner.com.

A deep understanding of WordPress robots.txt will go a long way in helping you improve your website’s SEO. And in this guide, you will get to learn what robot.txt is all about, and most importantly learn how to use it.

Basically, robot.txt is made for robots – which, for instance, are software that crawls through web pages and index them for search results.

It allows website owners bar search bots from crawling certain pages or content on their website. The wrong use of robot.txt could ruin your site SEO.

As such, it should be used with caution. But not to worry, everything you need to learn about this subject is covered in this guide.

Content:

• • What is WordPress robots.txt file?
  • Benefits of robots.txt
  • SEO Best Practices and Common Mistakes with Robots.txt
  • Where is robots.txt file located?
  • How to create robots.txt file
  • Real-World Robots.txt Insights
  • FAQ: Navigating the World of WordPress Robots.txt
  • Conclusion

What is WordPress Robots.txt File?

The robots.txt file, a fundamental part of web development and SEO, serves as a guide for search engine bots, instructing them on which parts of a website they can and cannot crawl. Its origins trace back to the early days of the internet, making it a pivotal component in the relationship between websites and search engines.

The History of Robots.txt

In the mid-1990s, as the internet began to burgeon, the need to organize and index web content became apparent. Search engines deployed bots, also known as crawlers, to navigate and index the vast expanse of online information. However, not all website content was meant for public indexing, leading to the creation of the robots.txt protocol in 1994. This simple text file was designed to provide website owners with the means to communicate with these bots, guiding their crawl and ensuring that sensitive or irrelevant pages remained unindexed.

How Robots.txt Works

At its core, the robots.txt file is straightforward. Placed in the root directory of a website, it uses a simple syntax to instruct bots on which directories or pages to avoid. For example, a line stating “Disallow: /private” tells bots to skip over the ‘private’ directory during their crawl. Conversely, “Allow: /public” would indicate that the ‘public’ directory is open for indexing. The file can also direct bots to a website’s sitemap, further aiding the indexing process by highlighting the site’s structure.

Evolution and Best Practices

Over the years, the application of robots.txt has evolved. While its fundamental purpose remains the same, the approach to its implementation has become more nuanced. Modern best practices suggest a balanced use of the file, ensuring that it neither overly restricts bots nor leaves too much open for indexing. The goal is to guide bots efficiently through a site, enhancing the site’s SEO while protecting sensitive areas from public view.

Benefits of Creating an Optimized Robots txt File

The major reason for creating a robots.txt file is to prevent search engine robots from crawling certain content of your website.

For instance, you wouldn’t want users to access the theme and admin folder, plugin files, and categories page of your website.

Also, an optimized robots.txt file helps conserve what is known as crawl quota. Crawl quota is the maximum allowable number of pages of a website search bots can crawl at a time.

You want to ensure that only useful pages are crawled, else your crawl quota would waste away. Doing this will improve your website’s SEO greatly.

Thirdly, a well-scripted robots.txt file can help you minimize the activities of search bots, including bad bots, around your website. That way, your website’s load speed would improve greatly.

SEO Best Practices and Common Mistakes with Robots.txt

Optimizing your website’s robots.txt file is a crucial step in enhancing your SEO strategy. However, it’s easy to fall into common pitfalls that can inadvertently harm your site’s search engine visibility. Here, we’ll explore essential SEO best practices for using robots.txt effectively and highlight some common mistakes to avoid.

Best Practices for Robots.txt

• Be Specific: Use precise paths in your directives. For example, if you want to block a specific directory, use “Disallow: /example-directory/” instead of a broad rule that might unintentionally block more content than intended.
• Use with Caution: Remember, the robots.txt file is a powerful tool. A small error can prevent search engines from accessing important content. Always review your rules carefully.
• Regular Updates: As your website evolves, so should your robots.txt file. Regularly review and update it to reflect new content or structural changes on your site.
• Keep It Accessible: Place your robots.txt file in the root directory of your site. This makes it easily accessible to search engine bots.
• Avoid Blocking CSS and JS Files: Search engines like Google need to access these files to render your pages correctly. Blocking them can negatively impact your site’s rendering and indexing.
• Sitemap Inclusion: Include the path to your sitemap in the robots.txt file. This helps search engines discover and index your content more efficiently.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overuse of Disallow: Over-restricting search engine access can lead to unindexed pages and lost SEO opportunities. Only block content that truly needs to be hidden from search engines.
• Blocking Important Content: Ensure you’re not inadvertently blocking access to pages or resources that contribute to your site’s SEO value, such as product pages or important articles.
• Syntax Errors: Even small typos can have significant consequences. A misplaced “/” or “*” can change the scope of a rule, so double-check your syntax.
• Neglecting the File: An outdated robots.txt file can be as harmful as not having one at all. Make sure it reflects your current site structure and content strategy.
• Using Robots.txt for Privacy: If you’re trying to keep sensitive information private, robots.txt is not the solution. Blocked URLs can still appear in search results without content. Use password protection or noindex tags for private content.

Where Is Robots.txt File Located?

By default, a robots.txt file is created and stored in your website’s root directory whenever you install a WordPress website. To view it, open your website in a browser, then append “/robots.txt” at the end. For instance:

https://mywebsite.com/robots.txt

Here’s how ours at Fixrunner looks like:

The default WordPress robots.txt file is virtual, and so can’t be accessed nor edited. To access or edit it you would have to create one – and there are many ways to do so. Let’s see some of them!

How to Create Robots.txt File in WordPress

Creating a robots.txt file in WordPress is a straightforward process. You can either do so manually or use WordPress plugins. We are going to see both processes here, and the plugin we are going to be using is Yoast SEO.

Using Yoast SEO Plugin

Yoast SEO plugin can create a robot.txt file for WordPress on the fly. Of course, it does a whole lot more when it comes to SEO for WordPress.

First off, install and activate the plugin, if you haven’t.

Once you have Yoast up and running on your website, navigate to SEO >> Tools

Next, click on the File editor link in the Yoast dashboard.

This will take you to the page where you can create a robots.txt file. Click the Create button.

This will take you to an editor where you can add and edit rules to your WordPress’ robots.txt file.

Add new rules to the file editor and save changes. Not to worry, we will show you the rules to add shortly.

Adding Robots.txt Manually with FTP in WordPress

This method is quite simple, and just about anybody can do it. To begin with, launch Notepad – or any favorite editor of yours, as long as it’s not a word processor like Microsoft Word – on your machine.

For a start, add the following rules to the file you just created.

User-agent: *

Disallow: /wp-admin/

Allow: /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php

Save the file as robots.txt. What you want to do next is to upload it to your website via an FTP program such as FileZilla.

First off, establish a connection to your website in FileZilla. Next, navigate to your public_html folder. In this folder upload the robots.txt file you had just created.

Once the upload is completed, you are good to go.

Editing the robots.txt file can be straightforward, but errors can lead to important pages being excluded from search results. WordPress website maintenance plans ensure that your robots.txt file and other important site configurations are regularly monitored and optimized.

Adding Rules

Basically, there are just two instructions you can give to search bots: Allow and Disallow. Allow grants them access to a folder, and Disallow does the opposite.

To allow access to a folder, add:

User-Agent: *

Allow: /wp-content/uploads/

The asterisk (*) tells search bots, “hey this rule is applicable to all of you”.

To block access to a folder, use the following rule

Disallow: /wp-content/plugins/

In this instance, we are denying search bots access to the plugins folder.

It’s entirely up to you to determine which rule is most applicable to your website. If you run a forum, for instance, you may decide to block off crawlers from your forum page with the following rule:

Disallow: /forum/

As a rule of thumb, the fewer the rules the better. The following rule is enough to get the job done:

User-Agent: *

Allow: /wp-content/uploads/

Disallow: /wp-content/plugins/

Disallow: /wp-admin/

How to Test Your Created Robots.txt file in Google Search Console

Now that you’ve created the robots.txt file in WordPress, you will want to be sure it’s working as it should. And there is no better way to do that other than using a robots.txt tester tool.

Google Search Console has the right tool for this purpose. So first things first, log into your Google Console account. You can always create an account if you don’t have one.

Once in Google Search Console, scroll down and click Go to the old version.

Once you are in the old version, navigate to Crawl >> robots.txt tester.

In the text editor, paste the rules you had added to the robots.txt file, finally, click Test.

If it checks out, then you are done!

Real-World Robots.txt Insights: What Works and What Doesn’t

Let’s dive into some stories from the trenches of SEO, where robots.txt plays a starring role. These tales not only shed light on best practices but also warn of the pitfalls to avoid.

The Case of the Hidden Gems

Imagine “GlobeTrotters,” a travel blog that decided to block its entire gallery using robots.txt, thinking it would protect their bandwidth:

Disallow: /gallery/

What they didn’t foresee was the drop in user engagement. Their travel photos, a huge draw for visitors, vanished from search results. It was a classic case of out of sight, out of mind. The lesson? Your visual content can be a magnet for visitors; don’t hide it away.

The Sitemap Oversight

Next up, “GizmoGeeks,” a gadget review site, revamped their site but forgot one tiny detail in their robots.txt: the sitemap reference. It was an “oops” moment that slowed down the indexing of their fresh content. Once they added:

Sitemap: https://gizmogeeks.com/sitemap.xml

…the search engines were back on track, gobbling up their new reviews. The takeaway? Your sitemap is like a treasure map for search engines; make sure they have it.

The SEO Win with a Simple Allow

Now, let’s talk about “VeggieVibes,” a blog about plant-based diets. They used robots.txt to spotlight their best articles:

Allow: /top-recipes/

This move put their prized content in the limelight, boosting their search presence. The insight here? Directing search engines to your star content can really pay off.

A Privacy Misstep

Lastly, there’s “FinanceHub,” a site offering premium financial advice. They tried using robots.txt to hide member-only content:

Disallow: /members-only/

But here’s the catch: those pages still showed up in search results, minus the content. It was a privacy faux pas. The moral? Robots.txt isn’t a cloak of invisibility for sensitive content. For that, you need stronger measures like login barriers.

FAQ: Navigating the World of WordPress Robots.txt

What exactly is a robots.txt file in WordPress?

Think of robots.txt as a doorman for your WordPress site. It’s a simple text file that lives at the heart of your site, telling search engine bots which pages they can waltz into and which ones are off-limits.

Do I really need a robots.txt file for my WordPress site?

While your site can live without it, having a robots.txt file is like giving search engines a roadmap. It’s especially handy as your site grows, helping ensure that search engines spend their time on the pages that matter most.

Can I create a robots.txt file directly in WordPress?

Absolutely! While WordPress doesn’t have a built-in editor for this, you can use SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO. They offer a user-friendly way to whip up a robots.txt file without diving into the site’s files.

What should I include in my WordPress robots.txt file?

Start with the basics: allow search engines to index your main content and steer them away from administrative areas like /wp-admin/. Don’t forget to include a path to your sitemap to make indexing even smoother.

Can using robots.txt improve my site’s SEO?

Yes, when used wisely. By guiding bots to your site’s prime content and keeping them away from duplicate or irrelevant pages, you can make your site more appealing to search engines.

Is there anything I shouldn’t do with my robots.txt file?

Avoid using it as a privacy tool. If there’s something you don’t want the world to see, blocking it in robots.txt isn’t enough since the file itself is public. Also, be careful not to block essential elements like CSS or JS files that can impact how your site appears in search results.

 How can I check if my robots.txt file is doing its job?

Use Google Search Console’s robots.txt Tester tool. It’ll show you how Googlebot sees your file and point out any issues that might keep your content from being indexed properly.

Conclusion

Search bots can be unruly at times, and the only way to checkmate their activities on your website is to use robots.txt. Even at that, some bots will still completely ignore whatever rules you have laid out – you just have to deal with that.

While it’s true WordPress automatically generates a robots.txt file for you upon installation, creating one for yourself is a good idea. A well optimized robots.txt file will prevent search bots from doing harm to your website.

If you found this article helpful, do share. For more WordPress tutorials, follow our WordPress blog.

More Resources:

• WordPress two factor authentication
• Vary Accept-encoding Header Error: How to Fix in WordPress
• How To Find, Create And Use htaccess File In WordPress
• How to Install and Configure All in One SEO Pack Plugin

The post WordPress Robots.txt Explained – Where To Put It And How To Use It appeared first on FixRunner.com.

As the most flexible and popular Content Management System, WordPress powers 40% of all websites. To thrive in today’s digital world, small businesses should leverage the SEO-friendly features of WordPress to enhance their local search presence, without breaking the bank or needing extensive technical know-how. By following our local SEO WordPress guide and implementing SEO best practices, you can create a formidable online presence in your niche, drive significant local traffic, and boost your bottom line.

Key Takeaways

• Discover the power of local SEO WordPress to increase local business visibility
• Explore tools like the Yoast SEO plugin to optimize your site for local search
• Learn how to create local landing pages that attract your target audience
• Build a strong foundation by optimizing your site structure & performance
• Maximize your online presence using Google My Business & schema markup

Understanding the Power of Local Search for Your WordPress Site

With 46% of all Google searches showcasing local intent, understanding and leveraging local SEO is critical for businesses dependent on local traffic. Consumers increasingly rely on Google to find local products, services, and businesses; those who ignore local SEO miss out on significant opportunities for growth, customer acquisition, and ad spend reduction.

The essence of local SEO encompasses optimizing a website to rank higher in local searches, thereby being easily found in SERPs, and benefiting from Google’s tools like Google Business Profile and Google Maps to enhance visibility and relevance. In this section, we’ll explore the importance of local search for your WordPress site, discuss the factors influencing Google algorithms, and outline key aspects of a successful local SEO strategy.

Local SEO is imperative for businesses looking to grow their online presence, generate more traffic, and ultimately increase revenue in their target markets.

Why is Local SEO Important for WordPress Websites?

Local SEO directly impacts the visibility of a website on search engines, which is vital for businesses that want to be found by potential customers in their local area. An optimized WordPress site tailored to meet the demands of local search ensures that your online presence is strong and impactful.

By refining your site for local search, you can take advantage of Google algorithms that favourably rank businesses based on their relevance, proximity, and reputation. In doing so, you’ll be attracting more clicks, driving new leads, and even reducing your overall advertising expenditure as you capitalize on organic search traffic.

Factors Influencing the Google Algorithm for Local Search

1. Proximity: The closer your business is to the searcher, the better your chances of ranking higher in local search results.
2. Relevance: Google ranks businesses based on the extent to which their products or services match the specific needs of the searcher.
3. Reputation: Positive reviews and ratings, strong backlinks, and website authority contribute to overall reputation in Google’s assessment, which in turn influences ranking.

Developing a comprehensive local SEO strategy for your WordPress site requires attention to several critical elements, such as optimizing Google My Business, harnessing the power of localized content, and more. By mastering these aspects, you’ll be well-equipped to outperform competitors and become the go-to business for customers searching locally.

Choosing the Right SEO Plugin: Yoast SEO and Alternatives

One of the critical aspects of achieving success in local SEO WordPress strategies is selecting the right SEO plugin for your website. There are several options available, with Yoast SEO being a popular choice due to its user-friendly interface and useful features.

Analyzing the Features and Benefits of Yoast SEO Plugin

The Yoast SEO plugin simplifies on-page optimization for WordPress websites by offering a straightforward, color-coded scoring system. This system provides feedback on crucial factors, such as word count, keyword occurrences, and other SEO best practices. Yoast SEO plugin manages up to 20 different SEO aspects per page, making it an invaluable tool for small businesses aiming to improve their local search rankings.

“Yoast SEO plugin streamlines on-page optimization, offering an easy-to-use scoring system and actionable feedback on various SEO aspects.”

Some of the notable benefits of the Yoast SEO plugin include:

• Focused keyword analysis and suggestions
• Readability assessment and suggestions
• Meta title and description template creation
• XML sitemap generation and management
• Breadcrumb navigation customization
• Social media integration

Exploring Other SEO Plugins for WordPress Websites

While Yoast SEO is an excellent choice for optimizing WordPress SEO, there are multiple alternatives that can complement or substitute its functionalities. Depending on the specific needs and goals of a WordPress website, exploring different SEO plugins can lead to enhanced optimization and customizability. Numerous options are available in the WordPress plugin repository.

Some popular alternatives to the Yoast SEO are:

In conclusion, selecting the appropriate SEO plugin for your WordPress website is dependent on your website’s specific needs and goals. The Yoast SEO plugin is a popular and powerful tool with effective features. However, it’s essential to explore alternative options that provide different functionalities and suit your business’s unique requirements. Always keep in mind that local SEO WordPress success is achievable with the right combination of tactics and tools.

Building a Strong Foundation: Optimizing WordPress Site Structure

Creating a sound site structure is essential for any WordPress website, as it notably affects SEO performance. By generating XML sitemaps, ensuring responsive design, and properly organizing content and URLs, businesses can build a strong foundation for their sites. This facilitates an improved user experience and aids search engines in indexing their content efficiently. Let’s examine these elements in more detail.

“A well-structured WordPress site is the foundation of a successful Local SEO WordPress strategy.”

Firstly, generating XML sitemaps is a crucial aspect of optimizing your site. XML sitemaps make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your website by providing a list of all the pages on your site in a structured format. To create an XML sitemap for your WordPress site, consider using a plugin such as Google XML Sitemaps or Yoast SEO.

Secondly, ensuring responsive design is vital in today’s increasingly mobile-driven world. A responsive design adapts the layout to the device and screen size, providing a seamless experience for users on different devices. For implementing responsive design, choose a WordPress theme that supports it, or use a plugin like WPtouch to make your existing theme mobile-friendly.

Lastly, properly organizing content and URLs is a vital component of SEO best practices. A well-organized site structure improves user experience and helps search engines understand the content hierarchy on your website. Follow these guidelines for organizing your content and URLs effectively:

1. Use descriptive, keyword-rich URL structures that include the target location for local SEO WordPress efforts.
2. Implement a logical, hierarchical structure for your pages, with clear parent and child relationships.
3. Avoid duplicate content, ensuring unique pages for each service or product you offer.
4. Hold regular content audits to identify and remove outdated or irrelevant content.

Crucial aspects of maintaining a well-structured site

Maintaining a well-structured site is crucial for performance and user experience. Review the following table to ensure that your site adheres to these crucial aspects.

By focusing on these elements and incorporating local SEO WordPress strategies, you can build a strong foundation for your site that serves as a base for ongoing optimization efforts.

Creating High-Quality, Localized Content to Engage Your Audience

To create compelling and valuable content, businesses must first understand their audience’s challenges and how their offerings provide solutions. This foundational knowledge allows for the development of targeted content—from blog posts to videos—that resonates with the audience and addresses their specific needs. For effective local search optimization, incorporating location-specific keywords within content is crucial.

Identifying Your Target Audience and Their Needs

Understanding your target audience is essential for crafting the right content to engage them. To achieve this, consider the following steps:

1. Research your market and competitors to identify current trends and customer pain points.
2. Create buyer personas to better understand the demographics, interests, and behaviour of your ideal customers.
3. Survey existing customers for feedback and insights on their needs and preferences.
4. Use web analytics tools like Google Analytics to track user behaviour and identify popular content topics.

With this information, you can create relevant, localized content tailored to your audience’s needs and preferences, which in turn improves your local SEO WordPress ranking.

Strategies for Local Keyword Integration in Your Content

Integrating local keywords into your content is an essential tactic for boosting your local search presence. Follow these best practices to optimize your content and improve your business’s visibility in local searches.

• Conduct keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to identify popular local search terms related to your niche.
• Include location-based phrases in your content, such as city or neighborhood names (e.g., “best pizza in Manhattan” or “dentist in Tribeca”).
• Create specific local landing pages for each of your business locations, incorporating targeted keywords and addresses.
• Reference local news, events, or attractions in your blog posts and articles to establish your connection to the community and improve local keyword integration.

Maintaining consistency in your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all online listings is crucial to bolster your local SEO WordPress strategy. This consistency not only improves your site’s localization but also sends a strong signal to search engines about the relevance and trustworthiness of your business.

“Consistency in your NAP on all platforms is key to ensure search engines recognize your local business and can match it to corresponding searches.”

By implementing these tactics and creating high-quality, localized content, you enhance your business’s online presence and increase your reach to potential local customers.

Enhancing Site Performance with Caching Plugins and Speed Optimization Techniques

Ensuring optimal site performance is crucial for improving your local SEO WordPress rankings and providing a better user experience. To achieve this, you must utilize caching plugins and speed optimization techniques that address all aspects of your website’s performance. In this section, we will discuss the importance of caching plugins and certain speed optimization methods to increase the responsiveness of your WordPress site.

Caching Plugins

Caching plugins are essential to boosting your site’s performance by reducing server load, saving bandwidth, and speeding up page load times. Some popular caching plugins include:

• WP Super Cache
• W3 Total Cache
• WP Rocket

Image Optimization

Optimizing images can significantly improve your website’s load times and overall performance. One popular image optimization tool is WP Smush, which compresses images without losing quality.

Auditing Plugins

Identifying and resolving speed-related issues is crucial for maintaining a fast WordPress site. Auditing plugins can help in this process by pinpointing areas of concern and suggesting solutions.

“Speed is a significant factor in SEO and user experience […] Tools like WP Smush for image optimization, and caching plugins such as WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or WP Rocket can significantly improve site performance.”

When selecting caching plugins and speed optimization techniques, it is crucial to choose options that best align with your website’s needs, audience, and goals. By combining these tools and methods, you can effectively enhance your site’s performance, leading to improved local SEO WordPress rankings and happier users.

In conclusion, enhancing your site’s performance through caching plugins and speed optimization techniques should be a top priority to improve your local SEO WordPress rankings and deliver a seamless user experience. By selecting the right tools and employing the most suitable strategies, your website will reap the benefits of increased performance and attract a broader local audience.

Leveraging Google My Business for Local SEO Impact

Google My Business (GMB) plays a crucial role in local SEO. It influences search rankings through key indicators such as geographical proximity, user reviews, and business categories. If you want to boost your local search rankings, integrating GMB with your WordPress site is essential.

Integrating Google My Business with a WordPress site entails claiming and updating the business page with comprehensive information, and utilizing plugins to showcase customer reviews and maps, which fosters consumer trust and enhances visibility in local searches.

To make the most of GMB, follow these steps:

1. Claim and verify your Google My Business listing.
2. Provide accurate and up-to-date information, including your business name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and description.
3. Select the most appropriate business categories to help users find you more easily.
4. Upload high-quality images that showcase your brand and products.
5. Encourage customers to leave reviews, and actively respond to both positive and negative feedback.
6. Regularly update your GMB listing with new posts, offers, and events to keep users engaged and informed.

WordPress plugins that make managing GMB data simpler

Several WordPress plugins help make the process of integrating and managing GMB data on your website simpler. Some popular options include:

• WP Google My Business Auto Publish
• WP Google Places Review Slider
• Google Reviews Widget
• WP Google Maps

By allowing you to showcase customer reviews, maps, and location information directly on your website, these plugins not only streamline GMB management but also foster trust among potential customers and drive local search traffic.

Remember that maintaining consistency across all business listings, including your website and GMB account, is vital for local SEO success.

By implementing these strategies and utilizing the right tools, you are well on your way to maximizing your local search impact through Google My Business integration. This will not only enhance your local SEO for your WordPress website but improve overall customer engagement and increase the chances of acquiring new business leads in your area.

Maximizing Visibility with Structured Data and Schema Markup

To truly harness the power of local SEO WordPress for your business, it’s essential to implement structured data and schema markup on your website. These techniques allow search engines to better understand and index your content, leading to improved visibility and higher search rankings.

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a web page and classifying its content. Schema markup, a vocabulary developed by Schema.org, is the most popular way to implement structured data in your site’s HTML code. By employing schema markup, you enable search engines like Google to display more relevant and engaging information (known as rich snippets) about your local business in the search results page.

“Schema markup is the language of the search engines, and by using it on your site, you’re essentially speaking their same language to describe your content, providing more accurate and detailed context about your local business. ”

Adding schema markup to your local SEO WordPress strategy can boost your visibility by providing search results with enhanced details, including reviews, ratings, and operating hours. These eye-catching rich snippets often lead to increased click-through rates, which in turn can indirectly elevate your website’s search rankings.

The most relevant schema markup types for local businesses

To help you get started with structured data, here’s an overview of the most relevant schema markup types for local businesses:

• LocalBusiness
• Address
• OpeningHoursSpecification
• AggregateRating
• Review

Once the appropriate schema markup is included on your site, you can validate that your structured data has been correctly implemented by using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

Furthermore, to make the process even easier, there are various WordPress plugins specifically designed to assist with schema markup implementation:

1. Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP
2. Schema Pro
3. All In One Schema Rich Snippets

These plugins significantly streamline the integration of structured data on your WordPress site, ensuring you reap the full benefits of schema markup.

In conclusion, incorporating structured data and schema markup into your local SEO WordPress strategy is a key element in maximizing your business’s online visibility. Take full advantage of these powerful tools to create a more informative and engaging search experience for your potential customers, ultimately leading to higher rankings and growth for your local business.

Harnessing the Power of Mobile Optimization for Local Search

An increasing number of local searches are made on mobile devices. Therefore, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial for businesses to remain competitive in today’s digital landscape. Emphasizing mobile optimization and responsive design can significantly enhance mobile user engagement. It also drives the success of your local SEO WordPress strategy.

Responsive Design and Mobile User Experience

Implementing responsive design within your WordPress site ensures seamless and enjoyable browsing experiences for users across various devices. This approach allows your website to automatically adapt to different screen sizes and orientations. That alleviates any potential frustration when accessing your site on mobile. Additionally, consider creating custom mobile experiences or mobile apps to further improve user engagement and satisfaction.

Implementing Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for Faster Load Times

Speed is a key factor in retaining user interest and positively affecting search rankings. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) provide rapid mobile page loading, benefiting user experience and potentially improving mobile search rankings. WordPress supports AMPs through its default plugin. It enhances the likelihood of your site appearing at the top of mobile SERPs. Also, it meets the expectations of mobile users.

Consider the following benefits of implementing AMPs on your WordPress site:

• Enhanced mobile user experience due to faster load times
• Greater feasibility of appearing at the top of mobile search results
• Increased mobile user engagement and potential lead generation
• Support for your local SEO WordPress efforts

“Mobile optimization is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. Providing exceptional experiences for mobile users will keep your audience engaged and your business competitive in the ever-changing digital marketplace.”

Conclusion

In order to achieve success in the digital world, optimizing your WordPress site for local SEO is crucial. By focusing on a variety of techniques, such as content optimization, link profile enhancement, website speed improvement, mobile user experience prioritization, and Google My Business integration, your website can rise in search rankings and benefit from increased online visibility.

Furthermore, employing schema markup implementation and making strategic URL modifications contributes to a potent and effective local SEO WordPress strategy. Keeping yourself updated with the latest SEO news and sticking to SEO best practices can further bolster your efforts to boost your business’s local search presence.

Finally, remember that maintaining consistent directory listings and offering exceptional customer service are also critical factors in fostering a solid local SEO approach. Continue to assess your WordPress SEO performance and periodically perform a thorough SEO audit to stay ahead of the competition and promote growth and success within your business.

The post Boost Your Business with Local SEO WordPress Strategies appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Do you run a multilingual website and want to tell search engines which version of your site to display in certain regions? Hreflang tags make managing your multiple-language WordPress website easy while following SEO best practices.

In this tutorial, we’ll explain what hreflang tag means and its importance for website owners. Then we’ll cover different ways to add them to your WordPress site. Let’s begin!

Content:

• What Are Hreflang Tags?
• Benefits of Using Hreflang Tags in WordPress
• Adding Hreflang Tags in WordPress
  • Using Plugins
  • Manually Adding the Hreflang Tag
  • Using XML Sitemap
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

What Are Hreflang Tags?

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems and supports about 60 different languages. Therefore, you can expose your content to a new region by implementing multi-language support on your site.

After setting up multi-language on your site, there will likely be 2 or more versions of your web pages. Therefore, you need a way to tell search engines the language a specific page on your website uses. This is where hreflang comes into play.

Hreflang tags are attributes that tell search engines the language your webpage uses. This helps search engines understand and better serve the right content to users based on their location.

For instance, if you have 2 variants of your homepage in English and Spanish language, with hreflang tags implemented on your web page, search engines can determine the correct language to show users based on where they are located. Below is an example hreflang tag in English language.

<link rel="alternate" href=”https://yoursite.com” hreflang="en-us" />

In the code above, the ‘rel’ attribute is used to define the relationship of this page with the URL. In this case, it is an ‘alternate’ version of the main page. The hreflang attribute includes the language and region code.

For the example code above, ‘en’ is the language code, in this case, English. And ‘us’ specifies the region the language is specific to, in this case, the United States.

Benefits of Using Hreflang Tags in WordPress

Although adding hreflang tags to your website doesn’t directly improve your website’s SEO, it does have some benefits.

For starters, it improves the overall user experience by showing them content in their local language. It sends a signal to the search engine and shows the content that closely matches the users’ language based on their IP address.

Additionally, it reduces bounce rate on your website because users will likely stumble upon the page that matches their language. And if users easily find content matching their search, your website conversion increases.

Lastly, using hreflang tags reduces the risk of duplicate content on your website. For example, you may want to serve slightly different versions of your website to audiences in Spain and Mexico due to currency differences.

While both versions will be in the Espanol language, you can use the region code to differentiate them. This prompts search engines to treat each as a separate page and serve them on SERPs (Search Result Pages) when users from each region search.

Adding Hreflang To Multilingual WordPress Sites

There are 3 main places to add hreflang tags in WordPress: on-page markup, HTML headers, or your sitemap. We recommend adding it to one location. Adding it in multiple places may result in conflict.

For this guide, we’ll share 3 ways to add hreflang tags to your WordPress installation.

Using Plugins

The easiest way to add hreflang to WordPress is by using plugins. Fortunately, most WordPress translation plugins automatically generate and add hreflang whenever you translate your site to another language.

This relieves the stress of manually adding the hreflang tag to your website’s header.

One of the most popular translation plugins for WordPress is WPML. This plugin generates and adds hreflang tags upon translating your content.

We have a complete guide explaining how to set up and use WPML in WordPress. Do check it out if you need help setting up the plugin.

WPML is a premium plugin and may not be suitable for online beginners. If you are looking for a free alternative, consider using the Polylang translation plugin.

It works quite similarly to WPML, automatically generating the necessary hreflang tags for your content after translating your site.

Manually Adding the Hreflang Tag

Another way to add Hreflang tags to WordPress is to manually add the code to your header.php file. You can manually edit the header.php file or use a plugin such as WPCode to insert code snippets to your site.

We’ll use the WPCode plugin to add the code for this guide. This method ensures you don’t accidentally lose the code you’ve added when you update your WordPress theme.

To start, you’ll need to install and activate the WPCode plugin on your site. Please see our guide if you need help with installing WordPress plugins.

After activating the plugin, go to Code Snippets >> Header & Footer to access the plugin’s page.

Here, paste the code below into the Header block.

<link rel="canonical" href="https://yoursite.com/"/>

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://yoursite.com/"/>

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://yoursite.com/"/>

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="https://yoursite.com/es/"/>

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://yoursite.com/fr/"/>

The snippets above use dummy content. When adding the code to your site, remember to replace yoursite.com with your actual website URL. Ensure each link corresponds to the URL of the translated version of your site.

In the tag above, the x-default attribute specifies the main URL of the webpage, which is the English blog page in this case.

On the other hand, the French and Spanish URLs redirect to the respective translated version of your content. It’s up to search engines to decide which content to serve the users based on their location.

After adding the code snippet, be sure to save your changes.

Manually adding hreflang tags requires precision to avoid errors that could negatively impact your SEO. For site owners who prefer to leave this technical task to experts, our WordPress support packages offer the necessary expertise to handle it smoothly.

Add Hreflang Tags to XML Sitemap

Another way to manually add hreflang tags to WordPress is by editing your sitemap.xml file. This method will ensure Google finds your alternate-language pages and properly index them.

The benefit of using this method is that it doesn’t increase your site file sizes. And this can help maintain a stable and fast website.

Below is an example hreflang tag for the XML sitemap. Keep in mind that the code is slightly different from the regular hreflang tag.

<url>
  <loc>https://yoursite.com/</loc>
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="https://yoursite.com/es/" />
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://yoursite.com/fr/" />
</url>

<url>
  <loc>https://yoursite.com/es/</loc>
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://yoursite.com/" />
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://yoursite.com/fr/" />
</url>

Be sure to replace yoursite.com with your actual website domain. Also, replace the translated URLs with the ones from your website.

This method helps to get your content indexed quickly. However, implementing it can become tedious, especially for large websites with a lot of content. If you’re uncomfortable editing sitemap files, we recommend using the plugin method covered above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below we’ve answered some top questions about using Hreflang tags in WordPress.

How do I implement hreflang tags in WordPress?

There are 3 ways to implement hreflang tags in WordPress. You can add them to your website’s header, with multilingual plugins, or add them to your XML sitemap. If you are a beginner, we recommend using the plugin method. It is straightforward and doesn’t require manually adding code to your site files.

What is an example of a hreflang tag?

Below is an example of hreflang tag showing 2 URLs to web pages in English and Spanish language versions.

<link rel="alternate" href="https://yoursite.com/" hreflang="en-us" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://yoursite.com/es/" hreflang="es-es" />

What does a hreflang tag do?

Simply put, hreflang tags help search engines decide which version of your webpage to display to users based on their region and local language.

What is the difference between Lang tag and Hreflang?

The main difference between Lang and Hreflang tags is that Lang tag tells the browser the language of a webpage. In contrast, hreflang tags tell search engines the web page’s language. Hreflang tags are responsible for changing the URL of a webpage on SERPs to match the users’ local language.

How do I validate if Hreflang is properly configured?

To quickly validate your hreflang tags, you can use a free online tool such as Sitrix’s or Merke’s hreflang tags testing tools. These tools will analyze your website to validate your added hreflang tags. It’ll also show any errors with your configuration.

Conclusion

If you have a multi-language website, adding hreflang tags helps improve your users’ overall search experience. And this can boost your website’s conversion.

In this guide, we explained what hreflang tags mean and how they work. Then we showed you 3 ways of adding them in WordPress.

If you run into issues with adding hreflang tags to your website, you can reach out to our support team for further guidance. Finally, check out the rest of our blog for more WordPress tutorials.

The post How to Add Hreflang Tags in WordPress to Improve SEO appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Adding rich snippets to your site can be challenging because of the technicalities involved. Fortunately, with plugins for WordPress rich snippets, much of the heavy lifting is already handled.

In this guide, we will show you how to easily add rich snippets to WordPress sites using plugins. Before that, what are rich snippets, and why are they important in 2024? Let’s find out together below.

Content:

1. 1. What are Rich Snippets?
   2. Benefits of Adding Rich Snippets to Your WP Site
   3. How to Add Rich Snippets using WP Plugins
      • Schema – All in One Schema Rich Snippets
      • WP SEO Structured Data Schema
      • Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP
      • KK Star Ratings
   4. How to Test WP Rich Snippets
   5. Conclusion

What Are Rich Snippets?

Rich Snippets provide a means to add extra features and information to your website’s listing on search engines.

They are ideal for special schema types such as reviews, recipes, events, etc. When enabled, you can add details such as rating, votes, price range, and any other information you specify.

Rich snippets allow search engines to communicate with your sites’ backend and pull out the extra information.

To illustrate how it works, let’s say you type “recipe for chocolate cake” on google search (I mean, who doesn’t like chocolate cakes?).

Most of the results ranking for that keyword includes additional information such as rating on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) as seen above. These extra details can improve your click-through rate (CTR) on search engine directories.

To enable rich snippets on your sites’ listing on search engines, you need to add structured data to your websites’ backend.

Structured data is a piece of code you add to your website to aid search engines in displaying more information about your web pages. Using a rich snippets WordPress plugin, you can easily add structured data to your site without writing any code.

Note however that Google ultimately decides whether or not to display rich snippets for a page or other content.

So configuring rich snippets does not guarantee that you will see them on your sites’ listing on SERPs. It only makes your site ready and gives Google more information about your page.

Benefits of Adding Rich Snippets to WordPress

Before listing the benefits of enabling this feature, we will like to point out that rich snippets will not directly increase your ranking on SERPs. That is, it won’t move you from position 8 to 3 on search result pages.

However, it does have some advantages such as increasing search visibility. For instance, when a user searches for a review of a device on Google, the user is naturally drawn to results with rich snippets.

Even though the results with the snippets are not in the first position, most users would want to click on it because it is visually appealing.

Secondly, rich snippets help search engines understand your web page and have more information about the content of your page.

If you have a WooCommerce store, enabling rich snippets gives potential buyers more details about your product on SERPs. These extra details tend to drive more users to your web page. Thereby increasing your online sales.

Lastly, rich snippets can increase the Click Through Rate (CTR) of your page on SERP leading to an increase in organic traffic.

How to Add Rich Snippets in WordPress Using Plugins

Earlier we stated that you need to add structured data code to your website to enable rich snippets. There are two ways of doing this. You can manually add the code to your webpage or use a WordPress plugin to add them to your website.

We will go with the latter in this guide because it is relatively easy to configure and does not require writing any code.

There are many rich snippet plugins you can use to add structured data to WordPress. Here we will show you how to use a few of them.

Side note: Some WordPress SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, and Rank Maths have a schema feature that can be used to add basic structured data.

Schema – All in One Schema Rich Snippets Plugin

This plugin is one of the easiest to configure rich snippets on WordPress websites. The plugin supports up to 9 different schema types.

A schema type is simply the type of content you are creating such as reviews, recipes, articles, events, etc. The plugin lets you choose which type of schema you are creating before publishing your post.

To get started, you need to install and activate the All in One Schema Rich Snippets plugin on your WordPress website. Please check this guide to learn how to install WordPress plugins.

After installing the plugin, go to Rich Snippets on your WordPress dashboard to open the plugin’s Settings page.

On the “Configuration” tab, you will find all the schema types the plugin supports. Here you can click on a particular schema and set default parameters for it. Click on Update after making your changes.

To use the plugin, create a new post or edit an existing post on your WordPress site.

Below the content editor, you will find the “Configure Rich Snippets” section. Here, click on the dropdown to select what your post is about. We used “Item Review” in this example, but you can choose whichever suits your blog post.

Depending on the schema you choose, the form below may differ on your website.

Enter all the details on the form. You can set the rating for the post under “Your rating”. After adding the details, hit the Publish/Update button to publish your post.

Schema Preview

When you preview the post on your website, you will see a section containing the schema details.

The plugin adds this by default. Removing it would require the premium version of the plugin. All in One Schema premium starts at $249 for lifetime access.

The premium Schema Pro plugin supports 20 schema types, compared to the basic version which supports only 8 schema types.

Schema Pro also automates the process of adding schema to pages and posts while also mapping schema markup to custom fields.

Considering the benefits, Schema Pro is definitely worth the upgrade!

WP SEO Structured Data Schema

This plugin uses the recommended JSON-LD format to add structured data to your WordPress site. The plugin supports 12 schema types on the free version. Upgrading to the pro version gives you access to up to 20 schema types.

To add rich snippets with this plugin, simply install the WP SEO Structured Data Schema plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

After installing the plugin, create a new post or open an existing post for editing. You will find all the schema types the plugins support under the “WP SEO Structured Data Schema” section.

Select the type of schema you want to create. In this example, we used the Article schema, but you can use whichever suits your content.

Next, tick the Enable checkbox and then enter the schema details in their respective boxes.
Click on Publish/Update after entering all the WP SEO Schema details.

Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP

This plugin can automatically create schema information from your content.

The plugin supports over 35 schema types such as Blog Post, Article, Item Review, Event, Job Posting, etc. It uses the recommended JSON-LD format and also supports breadcrumbs listing on search engine directories.

To start, install and activate the Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP plugin from your WordPress admin panel.
Next, you have to set the schema types you want to use on your website.

For this, go to Structured Data >> Schema Types. Here, you will find all the schema types you have added. To add a new schema type, select the Add Schema Type button.

On the configuration page, click on the Schema Type dropdown and then select the type of schema you wish to add.

After that, click on the Next button to continue.

Under Placement, you can choose the post type you want to use this schema on. The default is “post” which works for most websites. If your site uses custom post types, you may want to select that as well. You can add other placements by clicking And and creating a new display rule.

Click on the Next button to continue. On the next page, click on Let’s Go to complete the setup.

Now, you can use the schema type you just configured on your WordPress posts.

Adding Schema to Blog Posts

To start, create a new post or edit an existing post on your site. Under the “Schema & Structured Data” section at the bottom, you will find all the schema types you have added to your site.

Select the schema you wish to use. The plugin will automatically fetch all the details for the schema from your content. However, you can modify these details. For this, click on the Modify Schema Output button.

Next, you will need to manually enter all the details for the schema.

After adding the details, click on the Add Product Reviews button. Note that this button may vary depending on the schema type you chose.

Click on Publish/Update once done.

After publishing the post, Google will be able to detect rich snippet data on your web page.

KK Star Ratings

If you want to add a means where your users can vote on blog posts, pages, or other content, then the KK Star Ratings plugin is your best bet.

The plugin adds structured data to your WordPress site upon installation. This structured data tells search engines to look for rich snippets on your WordPress page.

Side note: This plugin is ideal if you only want to display a rating below your post listing on search engines. The plugin does not support many schema types.

To start, you need to install and activate the KK Star Ratings plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

After installing the plugin, select kk Star Ratings to open the plugin’s Settings page. Next, select the “Rich Snippets” tab.

Here, you would want to make sure the Status is set to “Enable”. Hit the Save Changes button once done.

Now to use the plugin, create a new post or edit an existing post on your website.

Below the content area, you will see the “kk Star Ratings” section. Here, set the status to Enable and then Publish/Update your post.

This will add a rating/voting so your users can rate individual posts. The ratings are sent to search engines for rich snippets.

How to Test WordPress Rich Snippets

As noted earlier, search engines may not pick up your rich snippets or display them. However, you can use the rich snippet testing tool provided by Google to validate the snippets.

Once you enter your URL on the tool, Google bots will crawl your website and look for the structured data code (which is added automatically by the rich snippet WordPress plugin you installed).

If Google detects the schema code, you will see a result similar to the one below.

However, if Google does not detect the rich snippet code on your website, then it is probably an issue with the plugin you chose.

You can uninstall and reinstall the plugin before testing again. If the issue persists, you might need to install another rich snippet plugin on your website.

Does Rich Snippets Improve Site Ranking?

According to search engine giant, Google, rich snippets are not a ranking factor. However, it has been proven that they increase CTRs (Click Through Rate) on search result pages.

Google has stated that high CTR is an important ranking factor. So we can say that rich snippets can indirectly increase your ranking on search engine directories.

This guide has shown you how to add rich results to your blog posts, website pages, etc., using rich snippet WordPress plugins.

We hope this article helped you. If you want to further improve your website’s ranking on search engines, then check out this complete guide on WordPress SEO.

Recommended reading:

• White Label WordPress Support

The post How To Add Rich Snippets To Your WordPress Website With Plugins appeared first on FixRunner.com.

If your site has many pages without internal links, it can negatively affect your SEO rankings.

In this guide, you’ll learn what orphan pages are, why they are bad for SEO, and how to fix them on your WordPress site.

Content:

• What Are Orphan Pages?
• Causes of Orphan Pages
• Why They Matter
• How to Find and Fix Orphan Pages
  • Using AIOSEO Link Assistant Tool
  • Manually Fix Orphan Pages
• How to Prevent Orphan Pages
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

What Are Orphan Pages?

Orphan pages are web pages that are not linked to any other pages on a website. This means there is no way to access them directly from the website’s navigation or through links on other pages.

Orphan pages can be a problem because they are not easily discoverable by users or search engines, and may not receive as much organic traffic as other pages on your website.

Causes of Orphan Pages

Orphan pages are accidental and can occur due to a couple of reasons. Below we’ll list out some of the common causes of orphan pages:

• Forgotten page: You may create a page or post and then forget about it. This can lead to it becoming an orphan page.
• Link removal: If you previously linked to a page from another page, but that link is later removed, the page may become an orphan page.
• Website migrations or restructuring: If your site structure undergoes significant changes, pages may be moved or removed. This could result in some pages becoming orphan pages if you don’t update your internal linking structure.
• Broken links: If you link to a page from another page, but the link is broken, the page may become an orphan page.
• Inconsistent linking practices: If your website does not have a consistent internal linking structure, it may be more likely for pages to become orphan pages.

So to avoid having orphan pages, regularly reviewing and updating your website’s internal linking structure is important. This ensures all pages are easily accessible to users and search engines.

Why They Matter

Orphan pages are bad and can harm your site’s technical SEO for the following reasons.

Orphan Pages Cannot be Indexed

It can be difficult to discover and index orphan pages, resulting in lower visibility and ranking in organic search results.

Also, orphan pages can hurt user experience on your website. As an end user, it can be frustrating to stumble upon an orphan page without being able to navigate back to the main site.

They don’t perform well on SERPs

We’ve mentioned that search engine crawlers find orphan pages hard to discover and index. If they somehow get indexed, ranking such pages on SERPs would still be difficult.

This is because no link authority is passed to the orphaned page from posts that already perform well on search results pages.

How to Find and Fix Orphan Pages

Before you can fix orphan pages, you must first identify them. We’ll show you 2 ways to find them in WordPress.

Using AIOSEO Plugin

All in One SEO is a popular SEO plugin for WordPress users. It comes with many features on the free version that enable site owners to improve their content quality.

They have a link assistant addon that can identify orphan pages on your website. The tool also has a one-click fix to help you fix all orphan pages on your website.

Note, though, that this feature is only available on the pro version of the plugin. So you’ll need to upgrade your account to use the Link Assistant addon. The pricing to access this feature starts at $174/year.

If you don’t have this plugin installed on your website, check our beginner guide to learn how to install and set up AIOSEO.

After installing and activating the plugin, you can access this feature by going to All in One SEO >> Link Assistant. Here, you’ll see details about the internal links on your website. You can access the orphan pages by clicking on the Orphaned Posts tab.

On the “Link Report” tab, you’ll see all the posts on your websites without any internal links. The “Internal” tab contains 2 columns for inbound and outbound internal links.

• Inbound Internal Links: These are internal links from other posts on your WordPress site to a particular post. If there are no inbound links, the page is orphaned.
• Outbound Internal Links: These are internal links to other posts on your website from a particular post.

On the “Suggestions” tab next to the orphaned pages, you’ll see an icon with the total number of internal linking opportunities. When you click on the link icon, it will open a dropdown with suggestions for adding inbound and outbound links.

Adding Inbound Internal Links

On the “Inbound Internal Suggestions” tab, the plugin will show you the texts on the posts that you can link to. It uses AI to look for the best linking opportunities on your content.

To add internal links to the post, click on Add Link.

A popup will appear, prompting you to confirm your option. To proceed, click on Yes, I want to add this suggestion.

Note: Once you add the link, you’ll only be able to edit or remove it by manually editing the post from the post editor.

You can follow the same steps to link the orphaned page from other related pages.

Adding Outbound Links (Optional)

If you’d like to add outbound links, you can do so from the Outbound Internal Suggestions tab. Once here, you’ll see links to other posts that you can add to the orphaned post. To proceed, click on Add Link.

Similarly, a popup will appear, prompting you to accept the suggestion. Go ahead and click the Yes, I want to add this suggestion button to continue.

Using the Link Assistant feature, you can easily transfer link authority from a high-performing post on your website to new pages, which is a good onpage SEO practice.

Manually Resolve Orphan Pages in WordPress

The Link Assistant feature by AISEO is a useful tool to find and resolve orphan pages. However, it is a premium tool. If you don’t have the budget to use the plugin, you can manually resolve the orphan pages issue on your website.

Manually finding and resolving orphan page issues can be time-consuming and tedious. You’d have to locate the orphan URL, then look for linking opportunities on other posts from your website.

The free version of Yoast SEO can detect orphan pages on your website. However, you’d need to manually link to the orphan pages across your website.

Note: If you don’t want to go through the stress of troubleshooting to find and resolve orphan pages, you can request our service and have our experts resolve any issues on your WordPress site.

Step 1: Finding Orphan Pages With Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO is one of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins. This method is ideal for users with Yoast SEO installed on their websites. If you don’t have it installed and wish to follow the steps listed here, check out our complete SEO guide to learn how to set up Yoast SEO.

After installing the plugin, it adds 2 columns that list the number of inbound and outbound interlinks on your posts.

To access this feature, log in to your WordPress dashboard and then go to Posts >> All Posts to list all your posts. You’d see a column for inbound and outbound links by Yoast SEO on the right side.

Click on the column that reads “Number of internal links linking to this post”.

It will filter the posts to show orphan pages first. Knowing this, you can copy the orphan URL and look for opportunities to link to this post from existing posts on your website.

Step 2: Internal Linking Orphan Pages

To add interlinks to related posts, you can perform a google search with the focus keyword of the orphan page. Then filter the result to show posts from your website.

Here is how to implement this site search in Google. First, go to google.com, then follow this syntax to search for related content.

Site: yoursite.com keyword

On google, replace “keyword” with the post’s focus keyword. Then replace example.com with your website. When you perform the search, it will show posts on your website that mention the keyword.

For example, we could use “site: fixrunner.com digital” to search for all pages where the word ‘digital’ appears on our site.

Once you’ve found the related posts, you’d need to edit some of them and manually add the link to the orphan page.

If you have multiple orphaned pages, you need to repeat the same process of searching for related content on Google. After that, you’d need to manually link to the orphan page from related posts on your website.

Solid SEO strategies such as regular SEO auditing and an internal linking plan will save you from having to deal with orphaned pages. Below we’ll list some tips to help prevent orphan pages on your website.

How to Prevent Orphaned Pages

As a website owner, you’ll often come across orphan pages. Here are some helpful tips for preventing such issues.

Regularly Update Your Sitemap

If you do not already have one, you should create a sitemap for your website. This will make it easy for search engine crawlers to find your content.

Using a sitemap that automatically updates once a new post or page is added to your website makes it easy for search engine crawlers to discover new content.

SEO tools such as Yoast SEO and AIOSEO automatically generate a sitemap upon installation. The sitemap they generate will update automatically when any change is detected on your website.

To use sitemaps, you’ll need to submit your sitemap to Google Search Console for easy indexing. To learn more about this, check our guide on submitting XML sitemap.

Setup Your Website For Success

You should have a link building strategy whenever you publish a new blog post on your website. This should include linking to the new blog post from other related post content.

But if you manually interlink new posts, you may miss some of them. This is where a link assistant tool is essential. If you have the budget, you can opt for the AIOSEO link assistant tool we discussed in this guide.

This tool will prevent you from dealing with orphaned pages by helping you interlink new content as soon as they’re published. If you don’t have the budget to use this premium tool, you can have a manual checklist for interlinking your content after publishing a blog post or a page on your website.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are answers to common questions by content marketers about orphan pages.

Do orphaned pages impact SEO?

Yes, they do. Orphan pages do not show up on SERPs. So no matter how much work you put into keyword research and creating masterpiece content, if there are no links to the page, search engine crawlers will have difficulty finding and indexing the page.

How do I find orphan pages in WordPress?

The easiest way to find orphan pages in WordPress is to use a plugin. If you use an SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, or AIOSEO, you can easily find and resolve them on your website.

How do I find orphan pages in Google Analytics?

You can use Google Analytics to find pages on your website that aren’t linking to other pages. However, the process is rather long and stressful.

This is because you’d have to extend the date range on these tools to show search traffic over a long period. Then export the report as a CSV file before you can analyze it on a tool like screaming frog to identify orphan pages.

For this reason, we recommend using a plugin to easily find and resolve orphan pages on your WordPress site.

Conclusion

After publishing an article on your website, you should set aside some time to perform internal linking for the new content you publish. This would help you reduce, or even avoid the issue of orphaned pages.

This guide explained what orphan pages are and why they are bad for SEO. We also showed you how to find and fix them on your WordPress site.

If you’d like to learn more SEO best practices, check out our definitive guide to WordPress SEO for more information.

Orphan pages can undermine your SEO efforts and hinder user navigation. By proactively identifying and fixing them, you improve your site’s overall health. Don’t forget that security plays a crucial role in site management. Incorporating regular malware removal for WordPress into your maintenance routine ensures your site remains both user-friendly and secure.

The post Orphan Pages – What Are They, Why They Matter, and How to Fix Them appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Do you want to add schema markup to your WordPress content? Schema Markup provides additional information about the content of a page on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

Imagine this scenario, you search for a review or recipe article online. In the vastness of Google search results, one seems to draw your attention. It has more elements such as a picture, a rating, or some organized text in a way you haven’t seen on the others.

What are the odds you will be attracted to and therefore click on that one versus the normal, generic link? I guess the odds are huge, or precisely 35% higher according to this study from CXL Institute. And that is the power of Schema Markup.

We want you to use all of the possibilities your WordPress website has to offer. So, let us show you how to add schema to WordPress!

Content:

• What is Schema Markup?
• Types of Schema Markup
• How to Add Schema Markup to Your Website
  1. Using Yoast SEO
  2. Using a Schema Plugin
  3. Manually Add the Code
• Testing Your Schema Markup
• Schema Markup Guideline
• Conclusion

What is Schema Markup?

Schema (also referred to as Google Structured Data) is a type of microdata added to your page to help search engines display extra information about your page on SERPs. The schema code is interpreted in the form of rich snippets.

Adding schema markup to your page does not automatically improve your search rankings. But it makes it stand out visually from the crowd through rich results.

Which can improve your website’s clickthrough rate on SERPs. And high CTR is an important ranking factor as stated by Google.

It also adds context to your link. Search engine bots will know that the link they are showing is referring to a person, an event, a video, or even a grandma’s pie recipe.

Does It Work On Mobile Too?

Of course, it does! Structure data markup works everywhere across various screen sizes.

Why Schema Markup is Important

Aside from adding rich results to your page on Google SERP, it helps search engines to better understand your content.

Here is a practical example. If you are creating a post and the title contains the term “Avatar”. Search engines can only tell that it is a text element or a heading element (if you use the HTML tag for headings – H1 tag).

Using this information, search engines may not be able to easily classify the content. This is because “Avatar” can be used to describe a popular movie or user profile picture on a website.

With schema markup, you can exclusively specify the context for the article. This helps search engines understand your content better.

There are schema types for any content you are creating. From movies, reviews, recipes, you can use the one that best describes your content. And like we mentioned earlier, sites that display rich snippets tend to perform higher on SERPs.

Adding schema markup to your WordPress site can enhance your search engine rankings and make your content more attractive to users. To ensure your schema remains effective and aligned with search engine updates,  our WordPress maintenance and support services offer continuous updates and troubleshooting to keep your site optimized.

Types Of Schema Markup

Schema has different types and properties. Depending on the content you want your viewers to be focused on, you should choose accordingly. There are many schema “presets” available, both in schema markup plugins and by using specific codes. Some of the more common ones are listed below:

• Product – You can add things like a price, a review, and even availability.

• Movie – You can see how the rating system can complement the information given to us by IMDB.

• Video – You can even show a video thumbnail with your link. That is a sure way to attract some views to your videos.

• Event – Showing dates, information about sales, and locations.

• Recipe – This grandma either has 162 grandchildren, with a liking of her cooking, or she shared her recipe with other people. Either way, she showed us how we can use rich snippets to know something about her cooking, without even looking inside.

• Rich Cards – With Schema markups, you can create a profile for your company. It will show up as rich snippets when someone searches for your company. Below is an example of how the featured snippet markup looks when you search for ‘Facebook’.

There are more elements you can put in any of these types, but not all of the sites use the full power of it. Certainly, that could also be a Google algorithm’s choice.

How To Add Schema Markup To Your WordPress Site

There are many ways to add schema to WordPress. You can manually generate the schema code for your content or use a dedicated WordPress schema plugin. Additionally, some SEO plugins now include structured data into their plugins. If your SEO plugin supports it, you can simply use it to create schema for your content.

However, there are more features and customizations that come with using a schema plugin or manually generating the schema code. We will explain all 3 methods here so you can choose the one that best suits your business needs.

Using Yoast SEO

Most SEO plugins now include structured data and schema markup in their services. Plugins such as Yoast SEO and RankMath include this feature on their free plugin.

If you are already using Yoast SEO on your website, you can set up schema types and properties for your posts and pages.

To set this up, log in to your WordPress dashboard and then go to Yoast SEO >> Search Appearance. Under “General”, scroll down to the “Knowledge Graph & Schema.org” section.

Yoast SEO will require you to choose whether your website represents an Organization or a Person. If you choose an Organization, you need to enter your business name. Otherwise, if you choose the “Person” option, you need to select a user from your site under “Personal info”.

Finally, upload your logo or user profile picture and click on Save Changes.

Yoast Premium also includes support for Local SEO. This will optimize your Google My Business profile and display rich results such as opening and closing times.

To select a default schema type for your posts, select the Content Types tab and scroll to the “Schema settings” section.

Here, you can choose the default page type and default article type for your posts.

You can scroll down and repeat the same process for your pages and other content types your website supports.

Ensure you click on Save Changes after setting your default schema types.

When you scroll to the “Yoast SEO” on your post editor, you will find the schema information for the post by selecting the Schema tab.

You can modify the schema from here as well. If you publish the post, Yoast SEO will generate a schema for the content based on the type you selected.

Using Schema Plugins

There are a lot of WP plugins to choose from, but we will present some of the popular ones.

You can go through our guide to learn how to install WordPress plugins. With that in mind, here are some useful plugins for adding google structure data in WordPress.

Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets

This is a free rich snippet plugin made by Brainstorm Force (the team behind the popular Astra theme). The fact that it is free, and that it works just as well as paid ones should be its biggest “selling” point.

The plugin has 70,000+ active installations on the WordPress plugin directory. It is easy to use and comes with a number of premade item types:

•  Review
•  Event
•  People
•  Product
•  Recipe
•  Software Application
•  Video
•  Articles

After installing the plugin, it will add a section where you can configure rich snippets from the post editor.

To generate schema for your content, open the post/page you wish to create the snippet for. After that, go to the “Configure Rich Snippet” section (somewhere at the bottom of the page you are editing).

Next, choose the schema markup type and fill in the necessary information. Here we used the Item Review schema to add extra information about a logo maker tool. When you Publish/Update the page, it will add a schema field toward the end of the post on your website.

That’s it. As a result, your rich snippet is added to the page, and if the Google algorithm approves it, you just got a pretty professional-looking site/link.

There are other schema types you can choose from. For instance, if you are creating the schema for a blog post, you can choose the Article schema from the dropdown menu.

The major con about this plugin is that you have to manually enter the details on individual posts on your website. So if you already have many posts on your website before installing the plugin, it can be tedious to enter the details manually.

Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP

Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP comes with some extra options and possibilities when compared to the plugin we described above.

The plugin supports over 35 schema types such as Blog posts, News Articles, Local Business (Google My Business), Video Objects, etc.

It has a free and premium version (99-499$), but the free one already offers a lot. The plugin has over 100k active installations as well as a great score.

Running the Setup Wizard

After installing and activating the plugin, you will be taken to the plugins page. Here you can click on Setup Wizard to open up the configuration page.

On the Setup Wizard, click on Start to get started.

After that, select your Data Type from the dropdown menu under “General Settings”. Click Next to continue.

On the “Social Profile” option, you can enter all the social media account your website has. Click the Next button to continue.

Now you need to choose a default schema type for your WordPress post and page content. The option you choose here will automatically apply to all your web pages (ie, posts and pages).

Finally, click on Let’s Go to complete the setup.

You will be taken to the plugin’s settings page. Here you need to give schema.org more information about your website. Choose your website’s contact and about page from the dropdown menu.

Also, choose your site’s navigation menu and click on the Save Settings button to save your changes.

Making a Preset

Aside from the default presets you chose for your posts and pages, the plugin also lets you create new presets for your content. This can be useful if you have custom post types on your website. Here is how to create a preset.

Go to Structured Data somewhere on the bottom left of your screen. After that, click on Add Schema Type.

A quick wizard will pop up where you will choose a type. Then, click Next to continue.

Finally, choose a placement for it.

Using the Schema Presets in WordPress Posts

To add/modify schemas on your WordPress posts and pages, go to the post you wish to update, then hover over the post and click Edit.

On the post editor, you need to scroll down and find the “Schema & Structured Data on this post” section. The plugin will automatically fetch the schema you chose for posts when configuring the setup wizard.

You can update this schema by clicking on Modify Article Schema Output. The button text might be different depending on the preset you chose during the setup. Here, you can modify the schema the plugin generates for your content and fill in the details you wish to use.

You can click on Restore to Auto Fetch to revert to the markup the plugin generated.

If you have more than one preset, you will see a similar list of choices for the post type. The plugin also lets you enter your custom schema markups.

To use this option, click on Custom Schema. It will show a textbox where you can enter your custom schema in JSON-LD format.

Schema Pro

Schema Pro is a premium schema rich snippet plugin for adding structured data to WordPress.  You can get it for either $67 a year or pay $237 for lifetime access. It is developed by the same team as the Schema – All In One Schema Rich Snippets. So you can be sure you are getting your money’s worth.

The plugin provides 13 different schema types, which are more than enough for standard users. It also comes with more options than the All In One Schema plugin. It is user-friendly, and all the customization is one click away.

The plugin has color and some other customizations that let you blend schema with your site’s theme/design.

The Manual Way Using Schema Markup Generators

There are different ways to go about this. You could manually generate the structured data code or use an online schema markup generator. We will use an online generator here for simplicity. But we will also explain the code it generates so you can have a better understanding of the code.

To start, go to the RankRanger markup generator. Here, you need to choose the type of schema you want to create.

After that, a form will pop up that you need to fill in with details about your website. You will see the schema markup the tool will generate for you on the right. You can copy this by clicking on Copy.

Next, you will need to add the code generated into your website. If you created the schema for your primary domain, then you need to add the code to your theme’s <head> tag.

If the code is for a specific post, you can directly add it to your post from the post editor.

Adding Schema Code to <head> Tag in WordPress

the easiest way is to use the WPCode plugin (formerly insert headers and footers). After installing and activating the plugin, you can access the plugins page by going to Code Snippets >> Header & Footer.

Next, paste the schema markup code in the header code block. After that, click on Save Changes to update your site.

Gutenberg Block Editor

You can directly paste the schema code into your WordPress post using the block editor. This is ideally useful if you created a post-specific schema. To add the schema, open the post you wish to edit.

In the post editor, add a new HTML block and paste the HTML code you copied from the markup generator into this block.

Finally, save the post by hitting the Update/Publish button.

Adding Schema to WordPress Using Classic Editor

If you are using the classic editor, you can switch to the Text tab in the post editor and paste the schema code at the end of your content.

Once done, click on Publish/Update to save your changes.

Regardless of the method you use to add the schema code, schema.org will still recognize the presence of structured data on your web page.

Understanding A Simple Code

There is an in-depth tutorial on how to get started using microdata on schema.org, so we will cover just the basics. The recommended format is JSON-LD, but we will use microdata in this guide since it is easier for beginners to understand. You should start your code with something fairly similar to:

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Movie">

The word “itemtype” defines a type of schema from schema.org. Here we used a “Movie” schema type. Next, you need to tell us what movie you are talking about. This is where we are adding an item property called “name”.

Matrix

Now you can add more details about a movie like the director and some information about him. We will use a new itemtype here called “Person”.

<div itemprop="director" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
   Director: <span itemprop="name">Lana Wachowski</span>
   (born <span itemprop="birthDate">June 21, 1965</span>)
</div>

You can then add a genre, some other information, a movie rating, and a bunch of other data. It’s all up to you. Go wild!

A JSON-LD code would look something like this:

<script type="application/ld+json">
   {
     "@context":"http://schema.org",
     "@type":"Movie",
     "name":"Matrix",
     "director":{
        "@type":"Person",
        "name":"Lana Wachowski"
     },
     ...
   }
</script>

Testing Schema Markups

After creating structured data for your web pages, you can use a schema markup validator to test the markup. Google’s structured data markup helper provides 2 options for testing your markup.

If you use the Schema Markup Validator, it will only validate whether schema.org structured data is available on the page. It does not show warnings specific to Google. Rich Results Test tool on the other hand is Google’s official tool for testing structured data. With it, you can also see how your page will display on Google SERPs.

We will use the Rich Results Test tool for this example. To start, click on Go to the Rich Results Test.

Next, enter the link you wish to test and then click on the TEST URL button. Google will run some checks on the link you entered.

If there are schemas present on the page, you should get a notification with the number of items found on the page. It will also notify you of warnings (if any) and tell you if your site is eligible for rich results.

Sidenote: Validating your schemas does not automatically add rich results to your web pages. It is up to Google to decide whether or not to add them to your search results. However, adding them positions your website to be considered for rich results.

Schema Markup Guidelines

Things you should be careful with:

• Check if your schema is based on potentially misleading content.
• Do not make the content you are referring to in schema hidden from search engines.
• Double-check if your Shema data is incorrect in a way that the test tool doesn’t check.
• Your content should be up-to-date. Data including old dates won’t be shown.
• Schema needs to have original information, no copyrighted material, please!
• Don’t make false claims or link false reviews, the ones we showed in examples are just for show (and fun).
• Above all, there must be no promotion of violence, hatred, or dangerous activities. Read more about guidelines here.

When it comes to available formats, you can choose one of the following: 

• JSON-LD
• Microdata
• RDFa

Note: If your site doesn’t comply with Google’s guidelines, there is a big chance Google will take action. Though, even if that happens, you can fix it and submit your site for another review.

Conclusion

Adding schema to WordPress is not a hard thing to do. You can use a schema plugin or manually generate schema with code.

Just follow the guidelines and it should all work out. If you already did everything to make your site the best it can be why not go another step forward? Using schema markups is not a need, it’s a luxury. The luxury anyone can afford. So just use it and prosper!

Also, while schema is great for presenting your content in search pages, your site needs to rank well if your schema markup will get any visibility. Read our beginner’s guide to technical SEO for WordPress users to learn how to optimize your website.

More Resources:

• How to Navigate Around your WordPress Dashboard
• Top WordPress GDPR Compliance Plugins Compared
• How to Optimize your website for core web vitals

The post Using Schema Markup To Make Your Site Pop appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Search Engine Optimization is the most effective way of increasing traffic to your site. In WordPress, SEO plugins such as All in One SEO and Yoast SEO help anyone with basic knowledge to properly optimize their content for search engines.

When people talk about SEO in WordPress, the Yoast plugin comes to mind, however, there are other popular and reliable options available such as the All in One SEO Pack plugin.

In this guide, we will show you how to install and properly set up this SEO plugin on a WordPress site. Before that, let’s see the benefits of using an SEO plugin in WordPress.

Content:

1. Why you need an SEO Plugin in WordPress
2. How to Install and Configure All in One SEO Pack Plugin
   • Basic Setup
   • Connecting your Site to Search Console
   • Sitemaps
   • How to Optimize Blog Posts
   • AIOSEO Tools and Miscellaneous Settings
3. Conclusion

Why You Need an SEO Plugin

SEO increases your chances of ranking on search engines. When done properly, this leads to an increase in your websites’ organic traffic. In the past, you would need to hire a professional to perform an SEO audit and optimize your WordPress site.

But things have changed – thanks to CMS platforms such as WordPress which provides plugins that are easy to use. Anyone with basic knowledge about WordPress and SEO can perform on-page optimization on their website with these SEO plugins.

These SEO plugins provide optimization guidelines when creating or updating a post or page on your WordPress blog. If these steps are followed properly, it increases your chances of getting noticed on search pages.

This plugin offers features like XML sitemap support, meta tag generation, and social media integration. By efficiently managing these SEO elements, the All in One SEO Pack can indirectly improve WordPress load speed by reducing the need for multiple plugins handling similar tasks.

How to Install and Configure All in One SEO Pack Plugin

All in One SEO is one of the best WordPress SEO plugins. The plugin is free to use, but you can upgrade to the pro version that comes with additional features.

With this plugin, you can optimize your website content, pages and posts so they rank on search engines. It also generates XML sitemaps upon installation which can help search engines understand the content of your website. Below are some of the features of the plugin.

• Easily integrates with Google Analytics.
• Step by Step WordPress SEO Setup Wizard.
• On-page SEO Optimization for posts and pages.
• TruSEO score provides detailed content & readability analysis to help you optimize your pages for higher SEO rankings.
• Supports unlimited SEO Keywords.
• Built-in support for WooCommerce SEO.

To start, you need to install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard. Please check this guide to learn how to install WordPress plugins.

Basic Setup – All in One SEO Plugin

After activating the plugin, you will be redirected to the plugins’ setup wizard. To begin configuring the plugin, click on Let’s Get Started.

Side Note: The settings you enter in the setup can be updated later if you change your mind about any of them. So you can proceed without overthinking each setup step.

Step One – Site Category

On the first step, select the category that best describes your website. If you are more focused on creating content, then you should select the blog option.

Other options are available as well such as News Portal, online store, portfolio, or small business website. Simply choose the one that best describes your website.

Below the website category, you will find the home page title section. This setting tells search engines what your website is about. It uses dynamic parameters to display the meta title and description you set when you first installed your WordPress website.

Once done, click on the Save and Continue Button

Step Two – Additional Site Information

On this page, enter additional parameters about your website. This will help search engines to gather as much relevant information about your brand.

First, specify whether your website is a personal site (for example, a personal blog), or an organization’s website (eg, an agency site). Next, choose a user to associate with the All in One SEO Pack plugin.

Below that, you will see “Your Social Profiles” options. Here, enter all the social networks of your website in their respective boxes.

Once done, click Save and Continue.

Step Three – SEO Features

This section is where you set some useful tools such as SEO sitemaps and analytics. By default, sitemaps and search optimization are enabled. The Search Optimization tool provides you with tips and edits to make to your site and content to ensure you rank on search engines.

Other options such as Analytics, Image SEO and Local business SEO (for small business owners) are available. However, some of them are paid options available on the pro version of the plugin.

After selecting the SEO features you wish to enable, click Save and Continue.

Step Four – Search Appearance

On this page, you can set how your website is displayed on search result pages. This is more like a follow-up of the SEO settings in step one above.

The plugin also has a cool feature to enable Maintenance Mode on your website. When turned on, search engine directories will not index your web pages. This is a cool feature to enable if you are still building your site.

You can leave the Live Site option selected if your site is not under construction.

Below that, turn on the option to ‘Include All Post Types’. Leave the ‘Enable Sitemap’ option checked.

If your site has multiple authors, select ‘Yes’ to enable the All in One SEO option for all authors.

Next, keep the option to redirect attachment pages. Lastly, hit the Save and Continue button.

Step Five – Site Analyzer

Here you have the option to enter your email address to receive notifications about recommended optimizations, as well as about updates and new features.

You can click the button to Skip this Step if you don’t want to.

Step Six – AIOSEO Premium

If you have a license key for the premium version of this plugin, simply enter the key and connect with your site.

To continue using the free version of the plugin, click on Skip this Step.

With this basic configuration, you can start using the plugin on your website. However, there are still some technical SEO settings such as submitting your site and sitemaps to search engine consoles.

Connecting your Site to Search Console

Google search console is a tool that provides reports about your websites’ performance on the search engine. Adding your site does not directly improve your SEO ranking, however, the reports and error log provide guidelines on steps required to improve search ranking.

To submit your site to a search engine, go to All in One SEO >> General Settings.

Next, click on Webmaster Tools. Here, you will find popular search tools where you can submit your site.

To add your site to google console, click on the Google Search button, a text box will appear where you will paste your google verification code.

The verification code can be gotten from google search console. Once here, login with your Gmail account.

Now, click on the Add Property button.

On the URL Prefix section, enter your site’s address and then click on Continue.

Next, you will be required to verify ownership of the domain name. For this, select the HTML tag option.

Copy the code and then head back to your WordPress dashboard and paste it into the google verification box.

Next, click on the Save Changes button.

Lastly, head back to your search console and click on the Verify button.

The plugin has detailed documentation on how to add your site to each of the tools it supports.

Sitemaps

XML sitemaps help search engines to understand your content better. All in One SEO plugin supports XML sitemaps, video sitemaps, news sitemap and RSS sitemap. However, only the default XML sitemap is available with the free version of the plugin.

After following the Setup process above, the plugin will generate an XML sitemap for your website. To access this sitemap, go to All in One SEO >> Sitemaps.

Under the General Sitemap tab, click on Open Sitemap to view your XML sitemap.

The plugin provides additional settings to configure how your sitemap works.

For this, scroll down to the ‘Sitemap Settings’ section. Here, you can increase the number of links your sitemap supports.

The default is 1000 links. If your site has more than 1000 posts, simply increase ‘Link Per Sitemap’ to a much higher value. The maximum number of links you can add is 50000.

You may leave other settings as is because they work just fine.

Once done, scroll down and click on Save Changes.

Submitting your sitemap to search engines makes it easier for your content to be crawled. If you wish to submit your sitemap, please check this guide to learn how to submit a sitemap to Google and Bing webmaster tools.

If you have a YouTube channel where you share video tutorials, you may consider upgrading to the premium version so you can also rank your videos. This is another additional tip to easily improve your SEO ranking.

How to Optimize Blog Posts

The on-page optimization feature along with the TruSEO score provide an easy way to optimize your posts and pages for better search engine performance.

The plugin provides an editor with SEO guidelines that you can implement to increase your chances of ranking on search engine directories.

This tool is available on the content editor page. To access it, simply edit an existing post, or create a new post from your WordPress dashboard under Posts >> Add New.

On the content editor, scroll down and locate ‘AIOSEO Settings’. Here you will find all the tools and settings available for that particular post.

General

First, you will see a snippet preview of how the page you are editing will appear on Google search page.

Below that, you will find the ‘Post Title’ and ‘Meta Description’ options. The SEO title and meta description are what is shown on SERP (Search Engine Result Pages).

The plugin automatically generates the title and meta description from the post title and post excerpt respectively. But you can manually add both values if you rather not use the defaults.

Focus Keyphrase

A focus keyphrase is an exact keyword you intend to target with a blog post. This is the term users type on search engines.

Note that adding a focus keyphrase does not directly increase your search traffic. Rather, the plugin uses it to provide an on-page SEO audit checklist that you can implement to optimize your page for search engines.

When there are red alerts, it means your content needs to be optimized properly. Luckily, the plugin will show you practical steps to improve the content.

The goal is to get as many green ticks as possible. The more green ticks you get, the greater your chances of ranking for your chosen keyword.

The plugin has an option to use additional focus keyphrases but requires a premium account to use this feature.

Page Analysis

Below the focus keyphrase section, you will find the ‘Page Analysis’ option. This section shows your content analysis in terms of SEO and readability.

The SEO score mainly shows the results from the focus keyphrase optimization. While the readability score determines how easy and understandable your content appears to your users.

On the Basic SEO tab, you will see the list of things you should strive to improve on your page content. Similarly, the goal is to get all guidelines to green as this improves your chances of ranking.

Next, click on the Title tab and check if your page title is properly optimized. If all checks are met, you should see “All Good” next to the Title.

Readability Analysis

After optimizing your title, go to the Readability tab. Here, you will see any readability error on your content. These are usually highlighted in red along with details on steps to improve your content.

For instance, the passive voice shows the percentage of words that use a passive tone (e.g. used, stored, improved, etc) as opposed to their active version (use, store, improve, etc).

The maximum percentage should be less than 10%. If the passive tone on your content is greater than the maximum, it will be highlighted in red as seen in the example above.

To fix this, you can use a tool such as Datayze’s Passive voice detector to find and replace passive words with active ones.

Another error from the example blog post above is the subheading distribution. The plugin requires that headings and subheadings should contain less than 300 words.

So to resolve such warnings, you should consider breaking your content into subheadings as they make your content user-friendly.

When optimizing for readability, you should be careful not to overdo it. While it is great to get all checks green, you shouldn’t change your content or remove important points just to get green checks.

AIOSEO Score

After optimizing your content for SEO and readability, the plugin assigns an SEO score to the content of your page based on the optimization practices you followed.

This SEO analysis score can be found on the right side of the content editor in the Publish section. When optimizing your content, you should aim for a score between 85-100.

Social

This tab contains all the social meta options for your content. Here, you can control how your content appears on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

You can switch between the Facebook and Twitter tabs to see if your content appears well on social media.

If there are issues with the sharing option, such as images not showing, you can resolve them with this plugin.

To fix image issues, scroll down to the image source option, then click on the dropdown and select the image of your choice.

The default Image Source uses open graph tags and Twitter tags to automatically detect and configure how your link will appear. You can simply use the featured image as the Image Source whenever your image is not displaying on social media platforms.

There are other advanced settings and tools such as Schema markup that will help search engines better understand the content on your page. However, these features are only available to pro users.

AIOSEO Tools and Miscellaneous Settings

A few other tools are included in this plugin, such as Robots.txt Editor and .htaccess Editor that provide an easy way to modify your server files.

If you previously used another SEO plugin such as Yoast SEO, the plugin has an option to import your configurations and settings from the previous plugin.

To access these settings, go to All in One SEO >> Tools.

Robots.txt Editor

The robots.txt file is a configuration file that you can use to tell search engine crawlers which page(s) to index and which to avoid.

By default, this file is auto-generated when you install WordPress on your server. However, this SEO plugin provides an easy to use interface to edit the content of the file.

To use this file, simply tick the “Enable Custom Robots.txt” option. This will override the default WordPress robots.txt file.

This file works well out of the box so we recommend not making any changes to the file – except you are an advanced user and know what you are doing.

.htaccess Editor

This file holds all the server configuration of your WordPress site. The file is available on your WordPress hosting, which means you need to have cPanel or FTP access to edit the file.

However, with the AIOSEO plugin, you can edit the file right from your WordPress admin dashboard.

To access this option, simply click on the .htaccess Editor tab. Click on Save Changes when you are done editing the file.

Side Note: Before making any change to this file, you need to download a backup of the file so you can revert your changes if anything goes wrong. The file can be downloaded through FTP on your web host. Please check this guide to learn how to use FTP.

Import/Export

In this tab, you can export your current configuration or import configurations from another SEO plugin on your site. This is convenient for those who just changed from one SEO plugin to another.

To access this page, click on Import/Export. On the right, you will find the option to export the settings on your plugin.

Tick the boxes to Export All Settings and Post Types. Then click on the Export Settings button. It will download the settings as a JSON file.

To import/restore your settings, click on the Choose a File button under “Import / Restore AIOSEO Settings”.

Next, select the exported file from your computer. Lastly, click on the Import button.

If you want to import settings from another SEO plugin, simply select the previous plugin from the dropdown.

In this example, we selected Yoast SEO plugin. Next, select which settings to import. Tick the ‘All Settings’ option to import all configurations.

Lastly, click on Import.

Conclusion – All in One SEO Plugin

The goal of every website owner is to drive traffic to their website either organically or using a paid service. Growing organically entails optimizing your content so it can easily rank on search engines.

WordPress SEO plugins provide an easy way to optimize your site and pages so they can rank on search engines.

In this beginners guide, we showed you how to install and properly set up the All in One SEO pack plugin on a WordPress site. Additionally, you saw how to optimize blog posts for the best search engine ranking.

Using an SEO plugin is one of the first steps towards optimizing your site for search engines. For a more detailed tutorial, please check our guide on WordPress SEO best practices. You can also check our WP-College for more WordPress tutorials.

Installing and configuring the All in One SEO Pack plugin is a significant step toward enhancing your site’s visibility. Remember, if you need any help along the way, 24/7 WordPress Support is there to ensure you achieve the best results without delay.

The post How to Install and Configure All in One SEO Pack Plugin appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Sitemaps provide a means for search engines to easily understand your website’s content. If you use an SEO plugin on your site such as Yoast, then a sitemap will be generated for you by default. However, knowing where to find the sitemap can be a problem.

In this guide, we will explain what an XML sitemap means and then show you how to set up a sitemap using the Yoast plugin and other methods. In addition, we will show you how to submit your sitemap to popular search engine directories.

Content:

• What is a WordPress XML Sitemap
• Benefits of Using Sitemaps in WordPress
• How to Create an XML Sitemap in WordPress
  • Default WordPress Sitemap
  • Using Plugins
  • Other means of Adding XML Sitemap
• How to Submit Sitemap to Search Engines
  • Google Search Console
  • Bing Webmaster Tool
• Conclusion

What Is a WordPress XML Sitemap

The meaning of the word ‘sitemap’ has changed over the past decade or so. Internet technologies evolve constantly, therefore, it is completely natural that things change over time. Sitemaps are no exception to this rule. What once was WP HTML sitemap now is WordPress XML sitemap.

Back in the day, an HTML sitemap was simply a page containing links to all other pages and resources on your site. You will rarely see this today, but I have recently been working on a site with an old-fashioned sitemap. This kind of sitemap helps humans navigate the site, but that is now considered to be obsolete. The reason is that sitemaps are not intended for humans anymore. They now target a different crowd – search engines and search engine bots.

What does this change mean in practice? First off, the sitemaps are not made to be in HTML format anymore but rather stored as an XML file. The second thing is that modern sitemaps mean little to the human eye, as they are formatted to contain URLs and metadata that are useful to bots. The metadata saved in the sitemap is:

Last modified – When was the last time the page was changed

1. Priority – What priority should search engines give to a page (expressed in percentage)
2. Frequency – How often the page will change

Technical aspects of a WordPress XML sitemap

Limits

There is a maximum of 50.000 URLs per WordPress sitemap.

Number of sitemaps

You don’t necessarily need to have just one WordPress sitemap. You can have multiple sitemaps with one master sitemap (which would be the sitemap of all sitemaps). This can also provide a workaround for the maximum URL limit as you will have multiple sitemaps with 50k URLs as the limit.

How XML sitemap benefits your WordPress site

The sitemap for your WordPress site will help in the following ways:

1. Search Engine Bots will crawl your website much quicker if you have a sitemap
2. It will enable that bots prioritize crawling of certain pages based on the metadata
3. Additional information will be taken from ‘Rich media content’ – in case you use a lot of videos and images on your posts and pages
4. There’s no downside to adding a sitemap – the worst-case scenario is that you will not see any improvement, but certainly, nothing bad can come out of it

The sitemap, however, does not guarantee that all items in it will be crawled and indexed. For example, search engines like Google require a good internal link structure to index an item. There would have to be internal or external links pointing to that particular item on the sitemap.

How to Create an XML Sitemap in WordPress

WordPress provides several means of setting up a sitemap. Here, we will show you how to access the default WordPress sitemap and also show you how to set up XML sitemaps using plugins.

Default WordPress Sitemap

Since the release of WordPress 5.5 in august 2020, the WordPress core now features a sitemap that is available on every WordPress site by default.

The sitemap works pretty well out of the box and does not require any setup or plugin installation. The only downside to using the default sitemap is it doesn’t give you the flexibility to control how your sitemap works.

To access the default sitemap, simply add “/wp-sitemap.xml” to your web address. For example, if your site is example.com, then your sitemap will be available at example.com/wp-sitemap.xml.

Side Note: If you are using a plugin to generate your sitemap, then the default sitemap URL above will redirect to your new sitemap address.

How to Create a Sitemap Using a Plugin?

There are several plugins that can be used to create an XML sitemap for your WordPress site. Most SEO plugins automatically create a sitemap upon activating them on your site. So if you are already using an SEO plugin on your site, you do not need to install a new plugin to get started.

Creating a Sitemap Using Yoast SEO Plugin

One of the most popular SEO plugins for WordPress is the Yoast SEO plugin. It has a lot of features and one of them is the Sitemap Generator.

The Yoast SEO plugin usually auto-generates the XML sitemap in WordPress immediately after installation. Please check this guide to learn how to install WordPress plugins.

You can check to see if the sitemap is active by going to SEO >> General. Next, click on the ‘Features’ tab and then scrolling down to find the ‘XML Sitemaps‘ feature and turn it on if it isn’t.

In case there’s an error with the sitemap, toggle this feature off and on and the map will auto-generate again.

To access your sitemap, tick the button next to the XML sitemaps feature and then select the ‘See the XML sitemap’ link.

Since the release of version 7.0, Yoast SEO authors have drastically simplified the sitemap settings, or better yet, there are none left. You can basically just turn the feature on and off.

Additionally, you can set the search appearances for certain content types and decide should they be included in the sitemap or not.

For this, go to SEO >> Search Appearance. Next, click on the “Content Types” tab.

Many users have welcomed this change. There are those who prefer to have more options when setting up the site map.

Google XML Sitemap Generator

Unlike Yoast SEO, the Google XML Sitemap Generator for WordPress gives more control over the sitemap settings.

This plugin allows the users to specify frequency and priority parameters alongside the sitemap content settings (what to include and what to exclude).

To start, you need to install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

You can find the plugin settings under Settings >> XML Sitemap. All of the plugin settings are on the same page which is very convenient in my opinion.

In addition to the normal sitemap URL, this plugin lets you create sitemaps for RSS feeds, HTML sitemaps, and news sitemaps as well.

Some other plugins you can check out are:

• All-In-One SEO Pack
• The SEO Framework

Other ways to create a sitemap

Some people don’t like to pile up WordPress plugins if they can help it. This is good thinking since WordPress plugins always slow down sites to a certain extent.

Luckily, there are other ways to create a sitemap, besides using the Yoast plugin. One of the tools that we can recommend is XML Sitemap Generator. The tool is available in the form of:

• Online generator
• WordPress Plugin
• Desktop program (Windows only)

We will explain how to use the Online Generator in this article.

Click on ‘Online XML Sitemap Generator’, which is on the left side of the screen. This will open a page where you need to:

• Enter your domain name
• Select the method of calculation for ‘Last modified’ date
• Choose the frequency of page changes
• Set the default priority for crawling
• Enter your email address
• Click on the ‘Generate Sitemap’ button

After you click on the Generate Sitemap button, you will have to wait for a while. Some sites will take longer to be crawled, therefore, this process can last. Be patient.

In the end, there will be an option to download a zip file containing the generated sitemap, logs, and a ‘readme’ file. All you need to do is unpack the archive and copy the sitemap to the root folder of your site using an FTP client such as FileZilla.

How to submit the WordPress XML sitemap to Google

If you haven’t added your site to the Google Search console, now is the right time. One of the fastest ways is to add your site using the ‘URL prefix’ option.

If your site is using both ‘HTTP’ and ‘HTTPS’ you will have to add it twice, once with the HTTP prefix and once with the HTTPS prefix.

This method might not be suitable for websites that have a lot of subdomains or are made available under different URLs, depending on the language (like example.com/fr/, example.com/en/).

But, if you have a website without a complex URL structure, this is the easiest way.

Enter your site URL (with https:// or http:// prefix) and then you will need to verify ownership.

The Google Search Console will generate an HTML file, which you will need to download and upload to the root directory of your site. After you have uploaded the file, click ‘Verify’. You will get the following message:

Next, go to Sitemaps and you will see the ‘Add a new sitemap’ form. Enter the URL of your sitemap. If you are using Yoast SEO, the sitemap is available at yourdomain.com/sitemap_index.xml.

If you are using a different plugin, you will need to enter a different sitemap URL. Every plugin specifies its own sitemap URL which is visible in the plugin settings (depending on the plugin).

It is possible that you will see a ‘Couldn’t fetch’ error after adding your WordPress XML sitemap. A lot of users have reported this error and it seems to be a bug in the Search Console itself.

The new Search Console actually shows ‘Pending’ as ‘Couldn’t fetch’. This will disappear after a certain period which can be anywhere between 24 hours and 24 days.

You can find more information here.

How to Submit Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tool

Another popular search engine is bing. This platform works similar to the Google search console. It lets you monitor your site performance on bing search engine.

To start, go to Bing Webmaster Tool and then signup or log in to your account. Next, you will need to verify your domain ownership as we did in the google search option above.

After the domain verification, click on Sitemaps and then click on the Submit Sitemap button.

Enter your sitemap URL in the popup box, then click on Submit.

Conclusion

Generally, SEO optimization is a gray area with a lot of obstacles. No matter what you do, it can happen that Google will not index some of your pages and often, there will not be an obvious reason.

It requires a lot of trial and error and research, especially if you are new to this. If you want to save yourself some time and avoid frustration, we can install and configure Yoast SEO for you. Feel free to contact our professional WordPress support team.

More resources:

WordPress Mistakes That You Must Avoid – A Beginner’s Guide

WooCommerce SEO

The post What Is a WordPress XML Sitemap and How to Set It Up appeared first on FixRunner.com.

These vitals will be added to the other page experience signals Google already uses. The other signals are mobile-friendliness, site security (HTTPS), and avoiding needless pop-ups.

In this article, you’ll find out what Core Web Vitals are, and how you can optimize your website for this algorithm update.

Content:

• What are core web vital(CWV)
• How to measure core web vitals
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
    • What is a good LCP score?
    • What causes a poor LCP score?
    • How to improve it.
  • First Input Delay (FID)
    • What is a good FID score?
    • What causes a poor FID score?
    • How to optimize it.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
    • What is a good CLS score?
    • What causes a poor CLS score?
    • How to optimize it.
• Conclusion

What are Core Web Vitals

Google Core Web Vitals are a set of page speed metrics that give site owners a glimpse of how their website is doing.

At the moment, there are 3-page speed metrics that constitute Google Core Web Vitals. They are:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• First Input Delay (FID)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

We’ll show you what they are and how to improve your core web vitals. But first, let’s have a look at how to measure them.

How to Measure Core Web Vitals

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

This simply refers to the length of time it takes for the largest item on your website to load.

What Is A Good LCP Score

A good LCP score falls between 0-2 seconds. It needs improvement when it’s between 2-4s loading time. Anything beyond that is poor.

What Causes A Poor LCP Score?

The causes of poor LCP include:

Slow Server Response Times

Poor LCP could be a result of a slow server. When a browser sends a request to the server, but the server doesn’t respond speedily, it affects your page’s load time as well as your Core Web Vitals.

Render-blocking JavaScript and CSS

When a browser receives content from the server, it has to parse the page’s HTML. After this happens, the content will be displayed. However, there are times when scripts and styles block the HTML parsing.

Slow Resource Load Times

Elements that take too long to load affect the LCP score especially when they are rendered above-the-fold. Some of the elements include images, videos, and block-level elements.

You’ll have to manage the resource load times by compressing files and optimizing images.

How To Improve Your LCP Score

Here are the things to do if your LCP score is poor or needs improvement.

Upgrade Your Web Hosting Plan (or change WebHost)

This is a no-brainer. A good web hosting plan helps to improve your overall load time and gives you a  better LCP score.

A web host plan with good resources like a solid-state drive, more bandwidth, and RAM gives you better site performance.

Remove Third-Party Scripts

When it comes to loading speed issues, third-party scripts are usually the culprits. This is why you need to do a little site cleaning, check for unnecessary third-party scripts, and remove them.

These scripts may include ads, embeds, and social media sharing buttons that make a website more relatable but jeopardizes speed in the process.

If the scripts aren’t helping a site’s functionality, you can let them go.

Remove Large Page Elements

If there’s an element affecting your LCP score, a Google PageSpeed Insights test will reveal it to you.  Simply enter your site’s URL, and click the Analyze button and you’ll get a report.

If you need to, remove the suggested large elements.

Minify Your CSS

Tools like Better WordPress Minify plugin can help minify CSS. It takes your well-coded CSS and removes its spacing, indentation, newlines, comments, and other elements not required for the implementation of the code.

First Input Delay (FID)

When a user clicks a link on your site or taps a button on your web page, he expects a response. The time between the user input and when the browser responds is called First Input Delay.

This is the length of time it takes for a website to respond after a user interacts with the site.

What Is A Good FID Score?

FID is measured in milliseconds. 100ms or less is regarded as a good score. Scores between 100ms – 300ms needs improvement. Anything above 300ms is poor.

What Causes Poor FID?

Poor FID occurs when the browser’s main thread is busy executing heavy JavaScript after the page content has loaded. A user tries interacting with some elements on the page, but the browser is busy with other stuff. This is the primary cause of poor First Input Delay.

To fix it, optimize how a browser deals with JavaScript on your website. This automatically reduces the First Input Delay in WordPress and improves your Core Web Vitals.

How To Optimize First Input Delay

There are a couple of ways to enhance the First Input Delay score in WordPress. They include:

1. Deferring JavaScript

You can handle JS issues by deferring Javascript files. When you do this, the render-blocking resources will load only after the browser has rendered more important content. Consequently, the loading performance improves as well as the FID score.

First, identify the JS resources to defer, then add the defer attribute to the JavaScript files. The defer attribute tells the browser not to execute immediately. Rather the browser continues to process HTML and build DOM. The script runs only when DOM is complete.

Here is an example:

<script defer src="/js-script-file-example.js"></script>

You may also use plugins like WP Rocket to defer JavaScript.

2. Remove Unused JavaScript

When you install themes and plugins on your WordPress site, they load scripts on your pages to do their job. While some scripts are useful, others may not be essential to the functionality of your site.

To find out the list of JS files you don’t need, check the PageSpeed Insights report. It gives you a breakdown of unused JS files to remove.

If you do not want to remove the files, you can load only them when necessary. You can use the PerfMatters WordPress plugin for this purpose.

You may also delay JavaScript execution until the first user interaction (e.g. scrolling, clicking a link or button, scrolling down the page, etc.). So, except the user interacts with your site, no JS script will be loaded. This will improve your site’s Core Web Vitals.

3. Minification Of JS Files

Another way to improve FID score (and your Core Web Vitals in general) is minifying JavaScript files. This means you’ll be removing line breaks, comments, and white spaces within the code. When you do this, the file size becomes smaller.

You can use a minification tool like Closure Compiler to do the job.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Have you ever tried opening a link on a website, and then the site layout changes. Instead of clicking the link, you ended up clicking an ad, a banner, or some other element on the site.

Even worse, you try purchasing a product on an online store. But, the products seem to have a mind of their own – moving left and right, up and down the page. Now, you have the wrong product in the cart. If this has happened to you, you’ll understand how unpleasant it is.

That sudden change in page layout is called a Layout Shift. It occurs when a visible element is forced to shift because another element was introduced to the page or resized. These elements are referred to as unstable elements.

The sum of all layout shifts that occur throughout a page (excluding those caused by user interaction) is called Cumulative Layout Shift.

What Is A Good CLS Score?

To provide the best experience to visitors, it is important to keep your CLS score at 0.1 or even less. It may seem difficult to achieve, but it is possible. Any score between 0.1 and 0.25 needs improvement, and anything beyond 0.25 is poor.

What Causes Poor CLS?

If your CLS score is low, it could be as a result of the following:

Images Without Dimensions

Before now, it was usual practice for web developers to add the width and height attributes to the <img> tag. This ensures that sufficient space is allocated to the image by the browser. However, with the introduction of responsive web design, developers stopped using the width and height attribute. Rather, they adopted the CSS approach (using CSS to size the images).

While this approach is a good one, it has its downside – the browser does not allocate enough space for the image. So, each time an image downloads, other elements have to readjust. This is a very common source of unexpected layout shifts.

Dynamic Ads

Dynamic ads are one of the biggest contributors to layout shifts on a webpage. Although the ads are easy to install and they run automatically on your website, their sizes vary.

Embeds

Just like dynamic ads, embeds contribute to layout shifts.  When you embed videos, maps, and feeds on pages, browsers do not reserve enough space for them. So, when they download, several other elements would have to readjust to create space for the embedded element.

Dynamic Content

Dynamic content comes in the form of banners, call-to-action buttons, forms, etc. Just like ads, embeds, and images, if there are no spaces allotted for dynamic content, other elements have to move as soon as they load.

Custom Web Fonts

Custom web fonts can affect your CLS score. When you use custom fonts on your site, your browser first has to use a fallback font before your custom fonts downloads. Your browser may also use invisible text.

After a full download of custom fonts, the location of elements changes.

How to Optimize Cumulative Layout Shifts

If you are looking to have a CLS score of 0.1 or less, here are a few things to do:

Specify The Dimensions Of Images And Videos

When introducing an image or video element, don’t forget to specify its width and height. You may just set the width and the browser automatically sets the height. There will be no layout shift when you do this. This, in turn, improves your Core Web Vitals.

Reserve Space Using CSS

Reserving space for ads and embeds can reduce the number of layout shifts on your site. You can adopt techniques like the CSS aspect ratio boxes. This tells the browser how much space it needs to allocate to ads and embeds while the page loads.

Do not place ads close to the top of your viewport

Ads placed close to the top of the viewport result in more layout shifts than when they are placed middle. The reason is simple – ads at the top of the viewport have more content below them. This means more elements will have to shift. On the other hand, ads located in the middle of the viewport do not have as many elements below them. This means there will be lesser layout shifts.

Conclusion

Don’t be caught unawares! Beginning in June 2021, core web vitals will be used as ranking factors on Google. This means you will lose ranking if you do not optimize your site now.

In this article, we have explained how to perform a core web vitals assessment on your site, and how to optimize the results. Of course, if you need professional help with any of these optimizations, our WP Support team can help you with them.

For more WP tutorials on SEO basics, WP site optimization and more, pls check out our blog.

The post How To Optimize Your WordPress Website For Core Web Vitals appeared first on FixRunner.com.

Broken link building. When it comes to increasing website traffic and boosting rankings in google search there are many strategies out there. Depending on your WordPress website, some might be more successful than others. Learning new link building tactics is always a good idea. Once you found what works you scale up your efforts and reap the rewards.

Today we are going to use a broken link building strategy. There are many reasons to use this strategy to name a few:

• It’s a white hat so no hacking or using shady websites needed.
• You don’t need to spend money. However, you can if you want to be more efficient.
• Also, it’s easy to scale your efforts.

Content:

1. Key Terms Used in This Guide
2. Broken Link Building Strategy
3. Outreach
4. Conclusion

Key Terms Used in This Guide
If you are new to SEO you might get confused by all the big words tossed around. So let’s just quickly go over some key terms used in this guide to broken link building. Also, you can check our Ultimate SEO Guide.

What are backlinks?

This one is really simple. A backlink is just a link from some website that leads to your website. In general, you want as many quality backlinks as you can get. When we say quality we mean getting links for well-respected sites in your niche.

What are 404 pages?

When browsing the internet you have seen 404 pages (aka broken pages) at last few times. If the website you visited has removed a page you are trying to view you will see a message saying something like this:

We can’t find that page.

Either something went wrong or the page does not exist anymore.

There many reasons why 404 pages happen. Mistakes when editing pages, moving website to a different host, expired domains to just name a few.

What are the broken links and broken link building?

Broken or dead links are links that point to 404 pages. And broken link building is an SEO strategy where you go out looking for dead links. Once you find the good broken link opportunity you recreate the content of that dead page. Then ask all people that are linking to dead resource to link to your new page instead.

Broken Link Building Strategy

We can break this strategy in three steps:

1. Find the broken link on a website from your niche. This is usually referred to as the prospecting phase.
2. Create content that is similar to the webpage that the broken link is pointing to. This step might be optional if you already have content that is similar to the broken page.
3. Outreach phase. This where we find an email address of the person to contact and write an email.

In theory, this sounds simple, right? Wrong! If you ever did the broken link building campaign you know that is not so simple. To ease this process there are many free and paid tools that you can use. In this tutorial, we’ll cover both free and paid options.

1. How to Find Broken Links?

There are many broken link building opportunities you just need to find them. Also, there are many methods to find link prospects. In this section, we’ll take a look at various methods for finding broken links.

Find broken links on top competitors websites from your niche

You probably have an idea who your competitors are. So when you read there their posts you can also check for broken links. To do this you can install Check My Links Chrome extension. This extension will highlight all links on the webpage you are on including 404 links.

While Check My Links is free and easy to use it’s not highly scalable. You are limited at checking one page at a time.

To build links faster we can use Ahrefs’ Broken Link Checker. This way more efficient way of finding broken resource pages. With this tool, you can check all pages on the domain and find all broken links neat right? It gets even better you can sort broken pages by amount of referring domains. This way you are targeting broken resource that has a lot of links going to it.

Scraping resource pages for links

First of all, what is the resource page? A resource page is a page on a website that lists links and resources on a specific topic. They are usually packed with links so this is a good place to find broken links. To find broken links on resource pages you need to follow few simple steps:

1. First, make a list of keywords from your niche. We’ll go over what are good keywords to use.
2. Then use keywords in combination with Google search operators to find pages you are interested in.
3. Scrape all the search results.
4. Look for links leading to 404 pages on pages you scraped.
5. Then look for pages with lots of inbound links.

So let’s got through all the steps in depth.

1. How to pick good keywords?

When it comes to keywords you want to pick relevant keywords for your niche. The idea is to pick more general keywords not something specific. For example, if you have a cooking blog your keyword will be cooking. There is also a different approach you can target your audience with a keyword or location. Your audience is other chefs right? So you could look for resource pages for chefs. You can also try adding a location to mix if it fits your goals.

2. How to use Google search operators to find resource pages?

If you did not use Google search operators yet they are like super-powerful filters for google search results. We are going to use a few but just research them if you have time you might find some additional one that can give you even better results. So how do you go use them? There are a few ways to get good results. You can use this method:

• Keyword + “resources”
• Keyword + “useful resources”
• Keyword + “helpful resources
• Keyword + “links”
• Keyword + “useful links”
• Keyword + “helpful links”

You can add intitle:” ” or in inurl:” ” operators. This would look something like this:

• Keyword intitle: “resources”
• Keyword inurl: “links”

You get the point go over your keywords and try mixing various google search operators to get results.

3. Scrape all the search results

Then you need to scrape all of the results with tools like Scrapebox. Please note that Scrapebox is not a free tool. But don’t worry there is a free way to do it you can use this SERP scraping bookmarklet for Chrome.

4. Look for links leading to 404 pages

The next step is to use Screaming Frog, Scrapebox or Xenu Link Sleuth to extract outbound links and look for 404 status code links. In the free version of Screaming Frog, you can only extract up to 500 links at the time. So you might need to invest in software if you are going to do this on a larger scale. There two more programs that you might find useful Domain Hunter Plus and Check My Links.

If you are using Screaming Frog make sure you select External (aka outbound) links and sort them for Status Code.

Alternatively, you can use this Google Sheets formula:

=IMPORTXML(“page url”,”//a[not(contains(@href, ‘domain’))]/@href”)

Then use a LinkMiner to check the HTTP status of all outbound links.

To speed up this process you try one of these methods. 

Look for pages with lots of inbound links

The last step is to use the Ahrefs Batch Analysis tool or similar tools to find a good broken link building opportunity. To access Batch analysis go to More then Batch analysis.

Then paste your 404 links list in to box. You can do 200 links at a time and one URL per line. Then look at Referring domains column and sort for Total. This is going to show broken pages with a lot of backlinks.

Use Citation Labs broken link builder

Citation Labs broken link builder is a paid tool that automates scrapping pages. It’s the one-click solution where you just punch in keywords and it gives you broken links. That said you need to pay for this tool. Pricing starts at $67 per up to $1000 per month depending on how many keywords you need. For $67 you get 15 keywords to use each month.

Pay a freelancer to do the scraping for you

If Citation Labs broken link finder was a bit too expensive. There is an alternative called Fiverr. Ryan Stewart in his guide on broken link building recommends this two Fiverr gigs:

• Fiverr Gig 1
• Fiverr Gig 2

For just a few dollars you can hire a professional to use there ScrapeBox and find broken links for you.

2. Content Creation

To find out what original page was about you can use Wayback Machine. This website archives the web so you can see websites that no longer excite.

Then recreate the original piece of content. When we say recreate don’t just go and copy and paste from original post. Instead, you need to write your own piece of content that is similar to the original one. Also, there is a chance you already have something similar on your website. If this is the case you might review that page maybe improve it a bit. Make it a better match for the dead page you are going after.

3. Outreach

When it comes to broken link building outreach is where most campaigns usually fail. There are two reasons for this contacting the wrong person or making robotic-sounding emails. So let’s see how to do this thing the right way.

Finding email of person to contact

While there are many automated options for finding contacts doing it manually might give you better results in some cases. This because an automated tool might scrape the wrong email. Imagine a bigger site that has many people working on it. Would it make sense to contact them through info@example.com or sales@example.com? Well, it would not make sense but if you don’t double-check what automated tool found that might be the case.

If you are reaching out to a smaller website that is run by one person you can try reaching them on twitter. This way you do two things you get an email and you already introduced your self to this person. Then when you send an email they will know what that email is about. This will increase your conversion rate.

With all said about we don’t think you should not use automated tools just keep check what they found is correct. And if you need a few good tools to find emails this our list:

• Hunter.io has easy to use chrome extension. Alternatively, you can use it on their site. You get 50 free searches each month. If you need more searches you can check their pricing page.
• VoilaNorbert is an email finder it also gives 50 free searches each month.
• Buzzstream is more than just an email finder. You also get more outreach tools in a nice package.
• Pitchbox is an outreach and content marketing platform.
• AeroLeads – You can find the email address and phone number of prospects from LinkedIn using this tool

Broken link building – Writing a good outreach email

Your success rate will greatly improve if you can write good Outreach emails. Sending hundreds or thousands of emails that sound like robots wrote them is one sure way to get a low success rate. It’s better if you add some personalization to each email. This also means that you need to have wort while prospects. You don’t want to waste time getting links from sites with low traffic.

Before you use some outreach email template make sure you have the name of the person that you are contacting. If your mail starts with “Dear Mr/Ms. Last name,” or you are not addressing the person at all this is one sure way for your mail to get deleted.

Next, the important thing is don’t go straight into you have a broken link on your website. Instead, you should read the last post on their website and maybe say what you liked about it.

Ok. Finally, we get to plug our link. To do this properly make sure you say on which page you found broken link include the URL. Also, you need to include anchor text of the broken link so they can easily find the link. Alternatively, you can include a broken link they can find it that way too.

One extra thing that you can do before you end the mail is asking them about something related to there content.

Finally, thank the person for reading the mail.

Example email

Ok, let’s put everything together into an example. We are contacting Jack who is a chef that runs a food blog. In his last post, he wrote about how to make the best turkey for thanksgiving. The email would look like this:

Hey Jack,

I love reading your recipes. The last recipe about cooking the best turkey for thanksgiving looks awesome I’ll try it for sure.

While researching receives I found a link that leads to a dead resource. You might want to update the link.

The link is on this page: “LINK TO A PAGE”

I got an error when I tried to open this link: “BROKEN LINK”

Here a  link to a similar resource that you can use instead: “LINK TO A PAGE THAT YOU CRATED”

Best,

First Name Last Name

Write follow up emails

If you don’t get a response in a few days you can send a follow-up email. Don’t do more than two follow-up emails there no point. If you do too many your mails might get tagged as junk.

Track your results

The last tip that we have is to always track your results. This so you know what works. For instance, you can do A/B tests with emails to see which one does better.

Ok, so how would you track results? First of all, you should have a spreadsheet with all the link prospects as we talked about. Then if you get a response and your links have been added you highlight that column green. If you don’t get a response after 1-2 follow-ups highlight that column red. At the end of the campaign, your conversion rate by dividing the number of emails sent with the number of successful emails.

One extra tip if you get a response don’t just assume that link has been added. Double-check that page to see if a link is there. You can do this by looking for anchor text with CTRL + F shortcut. Then simply click on it to see if it opens your page. Alternatively, you can right-click the page go view page source. Then you use CTRL + F and paste your link to see if it is there.

Want to do it even faster? If you have access to SEO analysis tools like ahrefs site explorer. You can explore your domain for new inbound links to see who has linked to your page recently.

Broken link building – Conclusion

In this tutorial, we looked at the complete process for launching a broken link building campaign. In general, you want to put a personal touch on every step of this process. Find best prospects, write even better content than original broken resource and finally write personalized emails for outreach. Basically don’t be lazy the more effort you put into this strategy the better results you’ll get.

For more WordPress tutorials check the rest of our blog out here. If you have further questions write them in the comment section below. Have a great day!

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