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WordPress SEO
Presented by:
Scott Hendison
About Me
• Began marketing (selling software) online in 1999, and
turned full time internet marketer in 2004.
• Discovered WordPress in July 2005, and since then
developed over 500 WP sites for clients and ourselves.
• Developed 5 unique niche WordPress plugins
• In 2007, I began SEO Automatic, now with nearly 3000
members worldwide
• A founding board member of SEMpdx and damn happy
to be doing this stuff for a living...
Setting Up WordPress
• There are dozens of steps for WP setup after install
• Most people work off a checklist, taking about 20 min.
• I‘m inherently lazy so I had a plugin developed, that I
called Core Tweaks
– Our Core Tweaks plugin does *not* replace SEO plugins
– As features get added to others, we remove them
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
WordPress Core Tweaks
It does what you‘re going to do anyway, and it‘s free!
Now What?
• WP is setup and settings > privacy is still protected
• Content is in place
• Time for an SEO plugin?
• There are over a dozen, and All-in-One SEO is #1 used
• However, I prefer Joost de Valks‘ WordPress SEO
(* Says me)
Joost was a WP developer and practicing SEO,
who saw a need in the community, and filled it
better* than anyone else has so far.
(* Says me)
Released in early 2011
New SEO Menu - Dashboard
Titles
Titles
Titles
Import & Export
Titles
Titles
Titles
Indexation
Indexation
Indexation
Indexation
XML Sitemaps
• This is slightly “out of the norm“
• Joosts‘ file is named /sitemap_index.xml
• Delete your old sitemap from Google WMT
• Add the new sitemap_index.xml to GWMT
XML Sitemaps
Permalinks
Internal Links
RSS – HIGHLY recommended!
Import & Export
Edit Files Option
Page & Post Specific Settings
• Options are below each “edit“ box
• The default setup only does so much
• Titles, descriptions and kw‘s can be fine-tuned
• Full “on page analysis“ tab available
• Advanced options, like noindex, nofollow, etc.
Edit Screens
Edit Screens
Edit Screens
Edit Screens
Edit Screens
Category SEO Settings!
Learn More:
• ThemeLab.com – simple wp_head code explanations
• Yoast explains FB Open Graph Protocol
• Yoast explains rel=author
WordPress SEO by Joost de Valk
• Try it
• Easy Import from All in One or Headspace
• There is no “correct“ answer or setting for every site
• Don‘t forget to reset Google WMT Sitemap and delete old
• Remember to set custom category descriptions too
Now what?
Three related topics...
• Speed - Going on two years now since the announcement
• Security – You will be hacked - maybe already have been?
• Backups – Think your webhost has you covered?
Speed Matters for SEO
• Brand new site should be set up correctly
– Caching, compression and 27 other factors are
foundational
– A couple of plugins won‘t cure 100% but it‘s a good
start
• For an existing site, test w/ Google Page Speed
Speed Matters for SEO
Google Page Speed test
• Read about all 29 here
• I‘ll only address:
– Caching
– Compression
– Minimizing DNS requests
Speed Matters for SEO
• Caching – Stop forcing people to download every image
on every page every time.
• Compression – Like right click > send to > compress any
file or folder on your computer. Smaller file = faster
• (and STOP using high resolution images)
• Minimize DNS calls - A DNS call is any call to another
domain - umpteen different scripts, image calls etc.
Speed Matters for SEO
Speed Matters for SEO
Speed Matters for SEO
Speed Matters for SEO
• Caching and compression via W3 or any other
performance plugins can often lead to “issues“
• Caching & performance plugins are often turned off when
“working on“ a site.
• Be sure to test shopping carts, forms and the user
experience in general after activating to ensure
functionality for end users
Speed Matters for SEO
Minimize DNS calls
• A DNS call is any call to another domain
• Facebook, Google+, feeds etc all slow you down
• Many "Badges" contain images too, and you can see them
EASILY in the code that you copy paste into WP widgets.
Speed Matters for SEO
• Highlight / copy the source srs= URL between the quotes
• Paste into browser tab
• Right click the lone image and “save as”
• Navigate to WP Admin Media and upload
• Highlight/copy the URL before saving
• Paste that into the still highlighted widget code
• This ON PAGE SEO takes almost no time, and works for
advertisements, profile codes, affiliate banners, etc
Speed Matters for SEO
Plugin Mayhem
• Most Experts Agree
– Plugins slow you down
– Use only those that you absolutely need
– When you need a function, program it
– Try to hard code everything
– Edit the WP core files
– Edit your theme
– Use “hooks“ to make things happen
• I agree, and thats why I only use about 40 ;)
Speed Matters for SEO
Plugin Mayhem
• I personally LIKE using plugins, because of the continuous
evolution, community, flexibility, innovation and ease.
• Delete or at LEAST upgrade all unused plugins. They are
a security issue AND slow you down, especially in Admin
• Keep all plugins updated. Plugins that go for 6 momnths
or more w/ no undates had better be scrutenized i.e.
check the reviews, ratings problems and developer site.
• Plugins abandoned by the dev should be replaced
Aside from speed...
Security
• WP is a target, like Windows
• Backing up your WP database is nice, but not enough.
• You Need all of your theme files
• You need all of your /uploads (WP media)
• A restoration will NOT, in most cases, fix a hack entirely
Backups
• We run automated database backups weekly
• We run a backup plugin combined with AWS
• We run ManageWP.com
Backups
• We run automated database backups weekly,
sending to Gmail with filter / label
Backups
• We also run a Automatic WordPress Backup
– Uses Amazon Web Services
Backups
• Easy restoration – assuming you can get in ;)
Backups
Backups
Backups
• But sometimes you cant get in to your
WP, and that’s when we use WP Twin.
Backups
The bad news...
Restoration will not* fix a hack!
• Restored backups don’t ERASE rogue files!
• Often a hack is not just edits, it’s ADDITIONS files/folders
• You have to KNOW when something happens
– Not from Google and not from a customer
– You need to know what changed, exactly when & how
– Use your own warning system
– WP File Monitor Plus Plugin
* usually
Security
Security
• Generates cool emails like this…
Security
• Looks like a folder was added
• FTP / Looking at the index.php file I see
this encoded crap going on for 2 feet!
Security
• How do you fix it? – What were the changed files? Restore ‘em.
– What are the added files / folders? Delete ‘em.
– Unfixable? Never, with a good backup / restore process
• How was I hacked? Examine server logs – Tedious process 1000’s of lines of code
– Online tools are available for more frequent needs
– Having the time / date from the warning email made it
easy for me to spot the behavior, and just go to the
server and delete the old ftp account
Am I out of time yet?
Thank You
• My own WordPress SEO plugin export -
http://seoautomatic.com/wpseoexport
• This presentation may be downloaded -
http://seoautomatic.com/sempdxwpseo
Contact me any time...
Scott Hendison
