SEO for WordPress: “How I hit page #1 of Google in 27 days!”
Chapter 5 - WordPress Optimization: Homepage
In this short chapter, I’m going to show you how to optimize your homepage for SEO. When you setup your homepage, you want to make sure that your exact keyword is placed in your:
Title tag
Description tag
H1 tag
H2 tag
H3 tag
You already setup your title tag and description tag using the “All In One SEO” plugin. In this chapter, I’m going to show you how to set up the H1, H2, and H3 tags on your homepage.
The first thing you need to understand in the proper structure for SEO. Your homepage should have only one H1 tag, one H2 tag, and the rest of the tags can be H3 - H6. So here’s the setup:
H1 tag = heading of page (one per page)
H2 tag = subheading of page (one per page)
H3 - H6 tags = subsections (multiple per page)
These tags are very important for SEO, but most web designers completely ignore these tags. Most WordPress themes have multiple H1 and H2 tags on the homepage. A lot of web designers use H1 and H2 tags to make the font bigger on certain areas of your homepage, but that’s a problem.
If you have ten H1 tags on your homepage, then you’re communicating to search engines that your homepage is focused on ten different things. If you just look at your homepage, there’s no way to know where your tags are (H1 - H6).
You can scan your website using the tools below to reverse engineer your website. After you scan your website, these tools will show you which phrases on your homepage are your H1, H2, and H3 tags. Find the corresponding phrases on your homepage to identify your tags.
Here’s the tools that you can use:
http://seositecheckup.com (may have to sign up for free)
https://www.site-analyzer.com (maybe have to sign up for free)
https://seocompanylosangeles.us/free-seo-analysis-tool
After you scan your website, you’ll probably notice that you have multiple H1 and H2 tags on your homepage. If you’re capable, change the unnecessary H1 & H2 tags into H3 & H4 tags. If you don’t know how to make the changes yourself, don’t panic! You can hire someone from Upwork.com or Fiverr.com to make the changes for you for less than $30 USD.
After you make the changes, make sure that you add your keyword to your H1 tag and your H2 tag. Also, it’s important that you don’t update your WordPress theme after you make the changes. If you update your theme, you’ll reset all the tags on your homepage and you’ll have ten H1 tags again.
When setting up the tags on your homepage, it’s important that you don’t skip any tags either. For example, if you’re going to have an H5 tag on your page, then you’ll need to have an H1-H4 tag on your page too that leads up to the H5. This may sound confusing, but it’s not. All you have to remember is this:
H1 tag = heading of page (one per page)
H2 tag = subheading (one per page)
H3 - H6 tags = subsections (multiple per page is okay)
Don’t skip any tags. Set your tags in order.
Word Count
Depending on your website’s theme, you may or may not be able to add a lot of text to your homepage. If you’re able to add a lot of text to your homepage, then add 2,000 words or more describing your product or services. Search engines love content, so the more content you have, the better.
Optimized Content
As you’re writing content on your homepage, you should use your exact keyword within the first few sentences. You should also bold, italicize, or underline your exact keyword within the first few sentences.
You don’t want to stuff your homepage with keywords because it will look like spam. To be safe, use your exact keyword only 2-4 times on your homepage, then use the related keywords from your keyword lists.
Your exact keyword should be found in your “anchor text” too. Anchor text is a word or phrase that’s a clickable hyperlink. Simply highlight your keyword, select the “insert link” option on the toolbar, then enter the URL to your homepage. Now your keyword is a clickable link the redirects users to your homepage.
Link To Your Blog & Sitemaps on Your Homepage
Most people have blogs on their website, but a lot of people don’t link to the blog on the homepage. You need to make sure that you add your blog to your menu bar so search engines and users can find it easily.
Your blog page is usually updated more than any other page on your website. Search engines are always looking for new updated content which is why blogs rank higher in the search results. Your blog is one of your most important pages, so make sure it’s easy to find.
You also need to link to your XML Sitemap and your HTML Sitemap on your homepage. Why? The XML Sitemap tells the search engine about the pages on your site, their relative importance to each other, and how often they’re updated.
HTML sitemaps are designed for the user to help them find content on the page, and don't need to include each and every subpage. This helps visitors and search engine bots find all pages on the site.
As you can see, both sitemap pages are important so it’s important that you link to those pages on your homepage. You can link to your sitemaps in a footer widget so it’s not intrusive.
You should have already setup and installed the Google XML sitemap plugin, and the WP sitemap plugin. All you have to do is link to both of those sitemap pages.
Summary & Action Plan
Add one H1 tag to your homepage (include main keyword)
Add one H2 tag to your homepage (include main keyword)
Hire help with tags if needed (upwork.com, fiverr.com)
Add 2000+ words to homepage if your theme allows for it
Use your exact keyword within the first few sentences
Bold, underline, or italicize your main keywords
Use your exact keyword as anchor text on your homepage
Use your exact keyword only 2-4 times on your homepage
Link to your blog on your homepage
Link to your XML sitemap on your homepage
Link to your HTML sitemap on your homepage