WordPress SEO by Yoast: 101

Site optimization is something every webmaster works towards. A well optimized site makes it easier for interested visitors to find what a site has to offer. The WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin offers a step-by-step approach to a fully optimized WordPress site.

Since most people use search engines when searching on a topic, this plugin’s parameters cater to the major search engines by helping webmasters set up each page in an orderly and readable format. The features available with WordPress SEO by Yoast help with fine-tuning keyword usage, meta descriptions, linking as well as a host of other needed optimization tasks.

Focus Keywords

Most, if not all of the settings for the Yoast SEO plugin revolve around the proper use of keywords within all aspects of a site’s structure. The plugin optimizes page content and formatting based on whatever focus keyword is selected. As search engine visitors typically enter anywhere from one to three words, a focus keyword can be either a single word or a phrase.

After installing the plugin, a Yoast SEO settings box appears underneath the post editor. It also shows a Snippet Preview of the post title and meta description as they appear in search results. If there are any problems with keyword usage or placement, the plugin will tell you where to look.

Page Analysis

Included in the Yoast SEO settings box are a series of tabs that allow webmasters to optimize different areas of a site. The Page Analysis tab shows a report of the post content as well as specific notifications addressing potential problem areas. Notification types fall in one of three categories: notices, warnings and messages.

Notices may point to problems with the images in the post (or lack thereof), such as missing alt tags or failure to include the focus keyword in the alt tag. Warnings have to do with critical optimization components like a page title that’s missing the focus keyword. Message notifications usually report on what’s been done right, such as a good keyword density or proper use of the focus keyword in the page title.

The Page Analysis feature also helps webmasters improve –
•    Meta description content
•    Subheading usage
•    Link usage
•    Reading ease

Each of these areas affects how a site appears in search engine results whenever someone searches on a particular word or phrase. Optimizing these areas also improves a site’s overall rankings in the search results.

Site Navigation Features

Since search engines use spiders to index all the sites on the web, improving a site’s optimization makes it easier for spiders to crawl a site. A well optimized site also enables spiders to accurately list the different areas of a site in search results.

The WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin includes an added XML sitemap feature that clearly displays a site’s structure to search engine spiders. This plugin also makes the XML sitemap function user-friendly so problem areas are easier to find.

Social Media Features

With the number of people using social media networking sites like Facebook webmasters cannot afford to overlook the potential traffic these sites can bring. Because of this, the Yoast SEO plugin includes features that integrate with Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

The plugin includes a Facebook OpenGraph implementation that allows Facebook to display important page or post features, such as images, titles and descriptions whenever content is linked to from Facebook. Since other social networks also use Facebook’s OpenGraph, Yoast plugin enables even more site exposure through its Facebook OpenGraph feature.

Twitter and Google+ site integration works in much the same way as Facebook when using the Yoast SEO plugin. Webmasters do have to have social media profiles set up with each networking site in order for the Yoast SEO social media features to work.