SEO Made Easy Part One: How Free WordPress Plugins Are A Handy Start (But Not Everything)

SEO. The letters inspire hope, promise, frustration, fear, and many other emotions. Maybe you think of how much money it will cost, (or how much time). Indeed, there almost seems to be a new class form of "haves" and "have nots" when it comes to being savvy with search engine optimization.

But what are the rules of engagement? What tools are effective? Where does one begin? I hope to answer a few of these questions, leaving the "kid gloves" on for newcomers.

We Need Another "S" in SEO

We should never talk about SEO without immediately mentioning another "S" word: Strategy. Without a solid strategy your SEO success will be a distant dream. My practical advice? Start simply, with a single keyword phrase, and then plan your actions with intention. Believe me, you'll be glad you did! Remember, start thinking "SEOS," and you'll stand a good chance out there.

The Current State of Affairs

The truth is, search engine optimization is getting easier, not harder (in this author's opinion). Part of the reason is thanks to the widespread adoption of the SEO-friendly WordPress publishing platform (and the thousands of available plugins that enhance its functionality).

Another important factor to note are the many improvements Google has made to its search algorithm in recent years in order to filter out spammers/non relevant content creation. "Kudos" Google!!

The HeadSpace2 WordPress Plugin

I recently started using the HeadSpace2 plugin which is a quick and painless way to control the page titles and meta descriptions on pages and posts. It also helps suggest tags for your posts and apply them lightning fast. It even allows you to control which links on your site are to be followed by search engines. And of course it's free to use!!!

Other Plugins

There are many free and paid SEO plugins for WordPress; such as Yoast, Platinum SEO, Etc. However, I personally found that many of them are too complicated and have too many settings that need attention before you can get started. I appreciated HeadSpace2's simple starting process with the option of adding more complexity.

What Else Is There To Know?

WordPress is great, and the plugins I have mentioned do improve your ability to optimize your website for search engines. However, only using tools like those mentioned above misses a couple of important steps in optimization. I have personally seen a bit of attention paid to these other steps make a huge difference in my SEO endeavours...

I'll cover these in a subsequent article. Sorry to leave you "hanging!"

Drew Clifton is a certified, professional SEO in Canada, whose website Website Design Canada features examples of his work, a description of his services, and free advice and offers to qualified visitors.