WordPress is a platform that is not just easy to use, but it has the capability of running like a well oiled machine when it comes to its search engine optimisation capabilities. That said, out of the box, the platform itself has very little SEO functionality, which means that you are going to need to do some work first in order for your blog to be optimised for the search engines. This is quite surprising considering that it is fast becoming the most commonly used platform online for publishing websites.
To start with, I will mention that as good practice, I will generally great a blog with all of the optima plugins and settings modifications, and copy it so that I can easily migrate WordPress blogs to new domains as I need them. As much as I do recommend this, it really is an essential skill to have, as it will make your life much easier when it comes to creating new websites and blogs.
To start with, you are going to want to become familiar with the SEO plugins that are available. There are a few that you can use such as Platinum SEO, All in One SEO, and there is also a great new plugin from Yoast. These plugins all allow you to add in some meta data to your posts, which as we all know is extremely handy when it comes to making your content appear much more relevant to the search engines. A vital step.
Next, you will more than likely want to make sure that you have a plugin that will generate an XML sitemap for you, so that you can submit it to Google Webmaster Tools. This just makes sure that Google can always be aware of what is happening with your website, and can index it accordingly.
This next tip is not entirely related to a plugin, but more related to functionality which is actually located within WordPress. I’m talking about Permalinks. You see, by default, the link structure within WordPress is not great at all. It is not keyword rich, and offers no benefit at all in the search engines when it comes to competing for the attention of those people who may be searching for your content. The key here is to select a permalink structure that will use your post title, as this will give you the opportunity to embed your keywords in your URL’s, making them much more optimised for search.
Now, I could speak about the many ways and other pluginsthat will help you optimise your blog for the search engines, but there is just too much to cover in one simple post. At the end of the day, here’s what I recommend that you do. Search in the WordPress directory for the pluginsthat you need (simply search for the functionality that you need), and test the pluginsthat you find. Once you have found the right configuration, make sure that you make a copy of the blog so that you can simply clone and migrate WordPress blogs on new domains when you need to. This is especially a powerful skill to have if you own a large number of blogs, and are ever expanding.