SEO encompasses a wide range of small and large signals that all mix together into one big stew. You can think of your content as the meat, the site design as the broth base, and so forth. Yet no stew is complete without spices, and in SEO, those spices are the little things. There are a lot of little things.The use of dashes – and underscores – in your URL can have some importance, but is it detrimental to your SEO? Let’s look at dashes, underscores, and other elements of your URL that might be important to Google and to your users.Google’s Word on DashesIn any discussion like this, it’s generally a good idea to go as close to the source of the concern as possible. In this case, that means looking for any instance where Google, or a representative of Google, has put forth an official perspective on hyphen use in URLs.Unfortunately, Google doesn’t have one big singular resource guide for SEO. Our lives would be so much easier if they gave out some … [Read more...] about Does Having a Hyphen/Dash in Your Domain Hurt SEO?
Why wordpress is good for seo
How to Reduce Your Server Response Time with WordPress
A fast server response time is one of the most important factors for site load speeds. It doesn’t matter how smushed your images are, how compressed your scripts, if the server takes seconds to respond.To a certain extent, there’s only so much you can control with your server. I’ve attempted to list as many factors as I can that can help you speed up your server, which in turn helps your site load quickly and your PageSpeed ranking increase.Reduce PluginsYes, I know. One of the primary selling points of WordPress is the ability to use plugins to dramatically expand functionality of the platform. If you’ve been using WordPress for long enough, you likely have a stable of plugins you can’t live without. Feature enhancements, security plugins, all sorts of customizations; they’re the creature comforts that make WordPress worth using.Some plugins are entirely passive and only apply to certain actions your users never see. A plugin that you run once to … [Read more...] about How to Reduce Your Server Response Time with WordPress
Do WordPress Sites Rank Better Than HTML Sites?
There are so many fiddly bits going into the calculation of Google’s search ranking that it’s no surprise when business owners question another fiddly bit. “Does X influence SEO?” is one of the most common questions in marketing online.The question of whether WordPress has any inherent advantages or disadvantages is a common one as well, and it makes sense. WordPress is a site architecture, and sometimes those come with extra baggage – or extra advantages. The question is, does it this time?A Simple AnswerThe simple answer here is that no, WordPress sites do not have any inherent advantage or disadvantage over home-developed HTML/CSS websites. Google treats both kinds of sties the same, in broad strokes.If you want proof, just look at the web around you. If Google gave preference to WordPress over other CMSs or over custom code, 99% of the web would be using WordPress. Anything Google does give preference to is dominant on the web, so it should come as no … [Read more...] about Do WordPress Sites Rank Better Than HTML Sites?
About To Launch A WordPress Site? Here’s What You Need To Know About SEO
WordPress is the most widely used content management system (CMS) in the world — roughly half of sites that use a CMS use WordPress. There is good reason for WordPress’ popularity. It’s versatile, easy to use and highly customizable, due to the numerous plugins and themes available. Many believe that using WordPress to host a site automatically guarantees good SEO. As the belief goes, all you need to do is start a WordPress site, and your SEO will take care of itself. It doesn’t work that way. If you’re on the cusp of launching a new WordPress site, here’s what you need to know to maximize search engine visibility. My goal in this article is to provide several overarching strategies (rather than a technical how-to) that will improve your search potential. 1. WordPress Is Not An Automatic SEO Solution First, let me reiterate the fact that WordPress is not an SEO silver bullet. The value of WordPress for SEO is that it is simple and intuitive. The … [Read more...] about About To Launch A WordPress Site? Here’s What You Need To Know About SEO
4 Things Most Leaders Don’t Understand About SEO
In an online business environment that’s heavily dependent on organic search, the lack of an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is detrimental to your growth and profitability. In this column, we will look at three SEO facts that business leaders should know to achieve excellent results. Fact #1: SEO Is Not An Add-On, But A Build-In Search engines have become an indispensable part of the consumer’s decision-making and buying process, which means that organic search is important for every business. Being visible in Google and other search engines matters because that’s where most searchers go to look for things — and where most traffic to your website will come from. Organic search connects you with buyers. Factors that affect your ranking on search engines are not limited to your own site, either. Some of the most important ranking factors are external, such as getting links from other authoritative websites in your niche. Google counts them as … [Read more...] about 4 Things Most Leaders Don’t Understand About SEO