Now we get into the really cool stuff only the advanced warriors know. It’s common knowledge that keywords in domain names are given high importance by the search engines. But it’s not possible to have a separate site for every keyword phrase that applies to your business.
With a WordPress blog, you can do the next best thing. Every blog post you create has a unique page name. By default, that page name often looks something like, www.800biz.com/blog/?page=25 . No search engine value there. Take heart. There is a simple fix and a stealthy super fix.
The simple fix first. At the top of each post between the title box and the body box, you will see the Permalink. Following that you will see an edit button. Clicking the edit button will allow you to change the name of the post to the article title or any keyword phrase you want. This will give the search engines a keyword phrase to work with.
Now for the stealthy super fix. Under the setting tab on your dashboard, click on Permalinks. This will open the permalinks settings page. You will see several choices. Choose the Custom Structure option. In the blank box, enter the following:
/%category%/%postname%
Once you save the changes, immediately test your blog and see if your page displays. Some servers may not be setup for this and may require a manual entry to the .htaccess file. (Your web designer or server should be able to help. If your site does not work or you don’t have access to change this file, use the simple fix above.)
What this change does is make the url of each blog post the domain name plus the category and post title. Assuming your category is also a keyword or keyword phrase, now you’ve doubled your SEO keyword exposure in the prime real estate of your domain url.
You’re almost there. One more big secret to share before you become a black belt blogger, so stay tuned. The secret to skyrocketing traffic is the final secret.
Gary Wagnon and 800biz.com specialize in online marketing solutions, including web design, search engine optimization, social media marketing and mobile text marketing.