Written by Introduction –
Learning how to add keywords to your WordPress website can greatly improve your chances of having your posts show up on search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s like making your content more visible to the people who are looking for it. If you want more people to see your content, knowing how to use keywords in WordPress is essential.
What are Keywords?
Keywords are specific words or phrases that are significant and indicative of the main topics or themes in a piece of content, such as a document, web page, article, or even a search query. They are used to help identify and categorize content, improve search engine optimization (SEO), and assist in information retrieval. Keywords are essential in various contexts, including digital marketing, content creation, and information organization.
Keywords are like special words or phrases that tell search engines and people what your website or content is all about. These words can be really short, like “shoes,” or longer, like “best-running shoes for beginners.” They help search engines find the right stuff when someone searches online. So, if someone looks for “comfortable sneakers,” and you used that keyword, your content might show up in their search results. Keywords are like the labels that make sure your content gets noticed by the right people.
To figure out if a web page is a good match for what someone is looking for on the internet, search engines like Google check if the page has words that are the same as the ones the person typed into the search bar. They look for these words in different places on the page, like the web address, the short description, the title, headings, words that describe pictures, and the main text. Also, if the search is about a place or location, they try to show results that are nearby. So, search engines use these tricks to find the best web pages to show you when you search for something.
Why is learning how to add SEO keywords to WordPress websites important?
Using keywords on your WordPress website is important because it helps more people find your site when they search online for information you have. Search engines, like Google, use these keywords to figure out what your website is about and decide how high it should appear in search results.
So, to make sure your WordPress site gets noticed, you need to pick the right keywords that match what your audience is searching for and use them well in your content. If you do this right, your site can show up on the first page of search results when people look for those keywords.
Although keywords aren’t the only thing Google looks at when deciding which websites to show first, they’re really crucial for making your site easy to find. So, adding the right keywords to your WordPress site is something you shouldn’t skip.
How to Add Keywords to WordPress Sites?
Now that you’ve figured out that adding keywords to your WordPress website is a good idea, let’s talk about some simple tips for making your content better by using the right keywords.
1. Title:
Let’s begin with the first thing people see when they search on Google: the title. When someone looks for something online, the title of your web page is what they see first. So, it’s a good idea to include the keyword you want your page to be known for in the title. If you can, put the keyword at the beginning of the title, especially if the title is longer than 60 characters. This way, even if the title gets shortened, your keyword will still be there for people to see.
Pro Tip: When it comes to titles, it’s best to keep them short and easy to understand. That’s because the title is the first thing people see, and if it’s too long, complicated, or not related to what they’re looking for, they might just skip it and move on.
2. URL: Add Keywords in WordPress
On the search results page, right under the title of your web page, you’ll see the website address or URL. It’s a good idea to have your keyword in the URL too. In WordPress, you can edit a part of the URL called the “slug” and add your keyword there. To make the slug better, get rid of unimportant words like “a,” “the,” and “to,” and use hyphens to separate the important words.
The ideal slug should be a bit like the title of your page but not exactly the same.
Pro Tip: When the web address part (URL slug) of your page is similar to the title of your page, it makes people feel more sure that they’ll find what they want when they click on it. But if the web address is very different, it can affect how well your page shows up in search results, and it might make people think your page doesn’t have what they’re looking for. So, it’s a good idea for the web address to be somewhat like the title of your page to keep things clear and predictable.
3. Meta Description: Add Keywords in WordPress
Now, let’s talk about something called the “meta description.” It’s a brief description that comes along with the title and web address in search results. It gives extra info about what your page is about. The meta description is your chance to persuade people to click on your page. Keep it short, around 160 characters, and make sure to use the keyword you want to focus on in it.
Pro Tip: Imagine the meta description as a quick introduction to your page. It’s what people on social media see, and if it doesn’t catch their interest right away, they won’t click on it. So, make it short, clear, and direct about what your page is about.
4. Header Tags:
Header tags are big, bold titles that break a page into different parts. You can see one right at the beginning of this section – it says “H3”. These headers aren’t just for looks; they’re also important for SEO, which helps your page show up in search results.
Headers are great for organizing your content and making it easy to read. They’re also a good place to put keywords. When people and search engines look at your headers, they quickly understand what your page is about. So, headers are useful for both people and search engines.
Pro Tip: Let’s focus on our headers for a moment. While some of them have our main keyword phrase like “how to add keywords in WordPress,” most of them don’t. Just like we talked about with the main text, using the keyword too much in headers can actually have a negative effect instead of helping.
5. Image Alt Text:
You might not see descriptions for images in this post, but they’re there. These descriptions, called alt text, are important because they help people with disabilities and slow internet connections understand what’s in the pictures.
The alt text appears when an image can’t be shown. People who use special devices, like screen readers, and search engines use this text to figure out what the image means in the context of the web page.
It’s best to keep alt text short, around 125 characters, and only use your target keyword if it makes sense for the image. You don’t need to force your keyword into every image description.
Pro Tip: When you write alt text for images, it should make sense with what’s in the picture. If your keyword doesn’t fit naturally, don’t try to make it fit. Instead, use words that are related to your keyword. For example, in the alt text for our first image, we didn’t force “how to add keywords to WordPress” because it didn’t match the image. Instead, we used “adding keywords to WordPress” because it made more sense with what was in the picture.
6. Body Copy: Add Keywords in WordPress
You might already be aware that repeating your main keyword too much in your article or page is not a good strategy. It’s called “keyword stuffing,” and it’s frowned upon by search engines. They can penalize your page for doing that.
The important thing is to find the right balance. You should use your keyword enough so that search engines understand your content is related to what people are searching for, but don’t use it so much that it looks like you’re trying to trick the search engine or annoy your readers.
Usually, it’s a matter of using one keyword for every 200 words in your content. But it’s also a bit about using your best judgment to make it look natural and not forced.
Pro Tip: Just to remind you, don’t overuse your main keyword. But it’s a good idea to use different versions of your keyword in your content. For example, on this page, we’ve used phrases like “adding keywords to WordPress,” “adding keywords to WordPress,” and “optimizing your WordPress website.” This makes your content more natural and diverse.
What makes a ‘good’ keyword for your WordPress website?
Now, let’s go over some quick tips to help you pick the right keywords for your WordPress site.
1. It’s attainable.
If you’re new to adding keywords to your WordPress site, it’s not a good idea to choose keywords that many other established websites are already using. These keywords are tough to rank for because a lot of competition is already there. But that doesn’t mean you can’t write about the same topic. Instead, look for similar keywords that aren’t as competitive. You can use tools like Ahrefs to find these keywords that are easier to target and rank for.
2. It’s instructional or informative.
This isn’t a strict rule, but it’s a good idea to think about. Lots of useful keywords are about teaching or giving information. For example, if you have a website that sells jewelry and you sell both gold and silver items, you could write a blog post on your WordPress site about “how to mix metals in jewelry.” This helps people learn something, and it can bring the right people to your website.
3. It’s worth your investment.
Making content on your website to show up in searches for a specific word takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why it’s important to check if the word you’re targeting is actually worth it. To do this, you can use a tool to see how many people search for that word each month. This helps you figure out if enough people are looking for it to make it worth creating content about.
How to Add Keywords to WordPress With a Plugin?
If you’re interested in figuring out how to put keywords on your WordPress site and you want to make it easier and keep everything the same across your site, you can use a plugin. These are helpful tools that can save you time. Here are some plugins you might want to check out.
1. Yoast SEO:
The Yoast SEO plugin is like a helper for making your blog better for search engines. One cool thing it can do is help you choose a specific keyword or phrase you want your page to be known for. You can find the place to put this keyword in the SEO tab under where you write your blog post.
2. All-in-One SEO:
The All in One SEO plugin is used by over 3 million websites and has been around since 2007. It helps websites get better at SEO, and it gets updated often to stay in line with Google’s rules.
The people who made this plugin think that you shouldn’t need to be an expert to make your website better for search engines. They’ve made it user-friendly so that even regular website owners can use it to improve their keywords and SEO.
3. WP Meta SEO:
The WP Meta SEO plugin gives you total control over everything related to SEO on your website. You can do things like check lots of content and images at once, fix problems like broken links, and make sure your pages have the right information.
With WP Meta SEO, you can quickly change lots of information about your site in one place, which saves time. It also helps make sure all your pages have consistent descriptions.
Plus, it makes it easy to connect your website to Google Analytics so you can see how well your SEO work is doing.
4. Rank My WP:
Rank My WP tool can work well with other popular SEO plugins like Yoast. So, if you already have other SEO tools on your website, this one can still be a good choice to help with keyword research, and they can work together nicely.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, optimizing your WordPress website with the right keywords is crucial for improving its visibility in search engines. Remember not to overuse keywords but instead use them naturally in your content, titles, and descriptions. Finding the right keywords that match your content and have a good search volume is essential. You can also use SEO plugins like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO to make the process easier and more efficient. By following these tips and best practices, you can boost your website’s chances of ranking well in search engine results and attracting more visitors.
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