5 Underrated On-Page SEO Practices You Should Implement On Your WordPress Blog

Last Updated on May 16, 2024 by Freddy G. C.

It’s already 2016, yet SEO or Search Engine Optimization is still a complex puzzle for a lot of digital marketers.

Being one of the most elusive and fluid areas of online marketing, SEO involves a lot of moving parts that encompass several processes.

This includes link building, keyword optimization, and so on.

As the world of SEO gains so much depth, you may overlook some of the fundamental practices that must be integrated with your site.

In the language of SEM experts, this is called on-page SEO.

If you’re running a WordPress blog, here are five of the most underrated practices that will optimize your site for search engines:

1. Using Schema Markups

Schema markups are rich snippets that allow search engines to return more informative results in SERPs.

It can be used to add bits of useful information such as schedules, price ranges, branch locations, and so on.

By instantly providing value for searching users, you can stimulate the CTR for your organic placements.

It is so effective, yet only 0.3 percent of all websites utilize schema markups to increase click-throughs.

For WordPress users, here are markup plugins you can use to easily utilize schema markups.

2. Lazy Load

Google is all about user experience, and they will reward sites that can provide excellent performance for their visitors.

This is Google indicating page load time as a key metric in its algorithm for ranking pages.

For this, you can also utilize the practice known as “Lazy Load”.

Lazy Load works by focusing on loading the site elements above the fold.

This is the part of your site that’s instantly visible without scrolling.

It will then load the rest of the page once the visitor scrolls down.

There are several Lazy Load plugins you can use to speed up the page load time of your WordPress blog.

3. LSI Keywords

Latent Semantic Indexing is a system in Google’s search algorithm that brings in results that are related to the search terms.

It works by mapping search patterns that link together different keywords.

For bloggers, LSI makes it easier to target a diverse pool of related keywords rather than using the same one over and over again.

To make sure you are indeed taking advantage of LSI, you can rely on SEO tools that support LSI keywords such as SEOpressor.

4. Minimize Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is a robust metric that can indicate the relevance and usefulness of a website.

It measures the number of users who leave your site before clicking anything else. This consequently has direct repercussions in the users’ dwell time.

Remember that dwell time or session duration is an important SEO metric that describes user engagement.

You can check this using a tool such as Google Analytics.

When it comes to minimizing bounce rate and increasing dwell time, you can start with a tool like SumoMe Content Analytics to spot problem areas where users start leaving.

5. Load Speed

In addition to using Lazy Load, you should also implement practices that will reduce your page load time down to 3-4 seconds.

Remember that the online audience is quite picky. In fact, 40% of users will leave a website if it loads for more than 3 seconds.

For WordPress bloggers, there are several things you can do to improve your page load time and keep your visitors happy.

Below are five of the best tips:

1 – Pick a Fast Host – In addition to maximum uptime, a good web host is also reliable in terms of speed.

Avoiding 1-dollar hosting is a good rule of thumb. And if you have sufficient budget, try to go for dedicated web hosting from proven companies.

2 – Use Caching – Caching your web resources is an excellent way to improve your blog’s page load time. For WordPress users, there are several caching plugins you can use to get started.

3 – Optimize Images – No, this doesn’t mean you should manually scale down images one by one. You can automate this process by using a plugin such as WP-SmushIt.

4 – Choose a Simplified Theme – Apart from your content, the theme you want also takes a toll on your page load time. This is why you should pick a speedy and functional theme.

5 – Use a CDN – A Content Delivery Network lessens the load of transferring data by utilizing a network of globally-positioned servers.

CDNs also take into consideration the physical distance between the user and the server – ensuring that the nearest possible network will be utilized for each DNS request.

Conclusion

SEO is a broad landscape that must be navigated with patience, tremendous effort, and the willingness to learn.

As a WordPress blogger, you need to ensure that every facet of your site is built to compete in SERPs.

Remember that SEO is one of the most rewarding pillars for inbound marketing. It may be a tedious aspect of your blogging life, but it will surely pay off in the end.