Objective

This SOP focuses on the steps developers need to implement and verify for SEO optimization of WordPress websites. It includes tasks for technical, content, and performance optimization during development or for existing projects.

Developer-Centric Optimization Tasks

-Technical SEO

  1. Site Structure:
    1. New Site: Use a clean and hierarchical URL structure (e.g., /category-name/page-name)
    2. Re Development : Kindly Discuss with SEO team and client regarding the site’s URL structure to maintain the existing Ranking.
    3. Ensure proper permalink settings (/%postname%/ in WordPress).
  2. Meta
    1. Add a Meta title, keyword, and description provided by SEO team or client or just leave it blank.
    2. Add relevant Image Alt tag
  3. Page Speed Optimization:
    1. Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or WordPress plugins (e.g., Smush or ShortPixel).
    2. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files using plugins like Autoptimize, W3C Total Cache, or WP Rocket.
    3. Implement lazy loading for images and videos.
    4. Enable Gzip compression (via .htaccess or hosting settings).
    5. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) like Cloudflare for faster delivery.
  4. Canonical Tags:
    1. Ensure proper canonical tags are implemented to prevent duplicate content issues.
  5. SSL (HTTPS):
    1. Install and configure an SSL certificate.
    2. Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.
  6. Redirects:
    1. Set up 301 redirects for outdated or removed URLs using plugins like Redirection.
  7. Crawlability:
    1. Disallow Search Engine while working on the Staging Site.
    2. Check and optimize the robots.txt file to allow search engines to crawl necessary pages.
    3. Ensure noindex tags are correctly placed (e.g., on admin or private pages).
  8. Schema Markup:
    1. Add schema markup for rich snippets (e.g., FAQ, Breadcrumb, Product) using Rank Math or Schema Pro.
  9. XML Sitemap:
    1. Generate an XML sitemap using an SEO plugin (e.g., Yoast or Rank Math).
    2. Verify it is accessible (e.g., example.com/sitemap.xml).

-On-Page SEO

  1. Meta Tags:
    1. Ensure each page has a unique and descriptive meta title and description.
    2. Use plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to manage metadata.
  2. Headings:
    1. Use a logical heading hierarchy:
    2. Only one <H1> per page.
    3. Subheadings as <H2>, <H3>, etc.
    4. Ensure keyword inclusion in headings without overstuffing.
  3. Image Optimization:
    1. Use descriptive file names (e.g., keyword-rich-image.jpg).
    2. Add alt text to all images, ensuring accessibility and SEO compliance.
  4. Internal Linking:
    1. Link relevant pages internally with proper anchor text.
    2. Avoid orphaned pages by ensuring all pages are linked to at least once.
  5. Breadcrumbs:
    1. Enable breadcrumbs for better navigation and SEO using an SEO plugin.

-Mobile Optimization

  1. Responsive Design:
    1. Ensure the site is fully responsive using media queries and frameworks like Bootstrap or ZealousWeb Framework.
    2. Test across devices using Google Mobile-Friendly Test
  2. Touch Targets:
    1. Ensure clickable elements are appropriately sized and spaced.
  3. AMP (Optional):
    1. Set up Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) if required, using the AMP for WP plugin.

-Analytics and Tracking

  1. Google Tools:
    1.  Integrate Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager for tracking.
    2. Verify site ownership in Google Search Console.
  2. Goals and Conversions:
    1.  Set up conversion tracking (e.g., form submissions, calls).
    2. Verify implementation via test data in Google Tag Manager Preview Mode.
  3. Performance Verification
    1.  Use the following tools to validate performance improvements:
    2. Google PageSpeed Insights: Check scores before and after.
    3. GTMetrix: Verify loading time and waterfall analysis.
    4. Pingdom: Test global performance.
  4. Tracking and Analytics
    1. Scripts or tracking codes to add.
    2. Specific goal tracking
  5. Monitor Website Speed
    1. Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to monitor site speed and performance regularly.
    2. Optimize and reduce render-blocking resources and unnecessary third-party scripts.

Required Plugins

  • SEO Plugins: Yoast SEO, Rank Math, Schema Pro
  • Performance Plugins: Autoptimize, WP Rocket, Smush, ShortPixel
  • Redirection Plugin: Redirection
  • AMP Plugin: AMP for WP
  • Schema Markup Plugin: Rank Math or Schema Pro
  • CDN Service: Cloudflare