Need Definitive Source on Wordpress SEO

[dcmike]

I am a longtime practitioner of classic asp. I build sites with SEO built-in and administer largely to sites I have built.

I have, up til now, had a policy of not working (SEO) on Wordpress projects because -

1. I don't presently build Wordpress sites
2. Am unfamiliar with how SEO could be implemented on CMS

I have a long time client who wants me to do contract SEO work on various Wordpress sites on his servers.

Can someone point me to a definitive source on the latest methods for Wordpress SEO. I am very proficient in SEO with conventional web sites - I just need to know how to implement it in Wordpress.

I don't see how plug-ins can implement serious SEO, but my mind is open.

[dcmike]

@[Vadim Mialik

I](http://moz.com/users/view/145337) think your "familiarization with the platform" is the answer. I know how to optimize - just not in Wordpress or other blog tech.

RE:"what you mean by serious SEO"

I presently rebuild pages to spec, in asp, rather than try to un-corrupt old code. I rename pictures, rename page filenames, edit the existing copy, etc. IOW, I build the pages around the SEO target. As I write the code, I make sure everything "fits" together. I have been getting excellent results this way.

If I start retrofitting Wordpress sites, I won't have that kind of access to customize.

I don't agree that Wordpress is inherently search friendly, but can imagine that demand has forced them to come up with workarounds.

I think Vadim has the right approach -  learn the mechanics of what can be manipulated in Wordpress - then learn what I need to make up for what I can't do - my way.

I will definitely take a closer look at the Yoast plug-in.....Thanks for all replies

[MikeRoberts]

Yoast is good though one of the blogs I manage ran into a compatibility error with Yoast recently after the update to WordPress 3.6 (which was not fixed in 3.6.1) that lead to all of our pages serving a 500 status code to bots even though it showed everything correctly to users. We couldn't get it fixed and weren't sure what the exact cause of the issue was... so we're now using the All-In-One SEO plugin for one site to handle certain meta data for posts. We also use Headspace on another blog (which was because of a compatibility issue with AIO a while back). Honestly we're running pretty much 99% of the same plugins on every blog yet with every update there's always one that has a crazy compatibility error the rest won't and then we cycle through "seo" plugins until something works.

Overall though I don't mind WordPress... I've learned to live with its myriad quirks.

[FRUTIKO]

Nowadays we have a desire to establish a micro site using wordpress(watched couple of videos allready) Can you please advuse us a  beginner guide how to establish from zero?

Thanks in advance

Frutiko Team

[JMacSupply]

The Yoast SEO plugin is the way to go, as jStrong and Vadim have mentioned.

[Whebb]

Have been doing SEO for a few years now and have to say that Yoast SEO Plugin does great things to get your site setup and well positioned for SEO, at least in terms on on-page optimization.

http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/

It gives you a lot of flexibility for managing the SEO on different pages and posts. Sets up sitemaps, open graph tags, will give you recommendations on content in relation to targeted keywords, and helps you setup Google Authorship, just to name a few things. Another thing I like about it, is that it is not overly bloated. It just provides what you need and little else that you don't. You can set all this up yourself, certainly, but the amount of time you save using this plugin is huge and I'm all for that. Would not setup a wordpress build without this plugin.

[vmialik]

"I don't see how plug-ins can implement serious SEO, but my mind is open."

If you could talk more on the above statement and let us know what you mean by serious SEO? Because the most popular and functional plugin http://yoast.com/wordpress/seo/ covers good majority of the on-page SEO optimization requirements.

Also a little background on Wordpress CMS as a platform, out of the box, It is a very SEO friendly content based platform.

These are great beginner to advanced guides to setting up the SEO plugin in the Wordpress CMS platform: http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-seo-chapter-4/ plus this: http://yoast.com/articles/wordpress-seo/

Hope this helps