WordPress is, without doubt, the world’s most influential content management system (CMS). In fact, it’s estimated that around 43.6% of all websites globally are powered by WordPress. That’s a staggering figure, and it’s not hard to see why this platform has become the go-to solution for businesses both big and small.
From small startups to multinational corporations, WordPress has created an ecosystem that is unrivalled in its scale and support. So, what makes WordPress such a powerful tool for businesses aiming to climb the search engine rankings? The team at KIJO have put together 10 reasons you should use WordPress for SEO so you can see how WordPress’ SEO features help websites stand out from the crowd.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) refers to the practice of optimising your website and its content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines like Google. The goal is to make your site more discoverable to people searching for relevant terms, ultimately driving organic (unpaid) traffic to your website.
This involves a range of techniques, such as using targeted keywords, optimising metadata, improving website speed, and ensuring it’s mobile-friendly. For WordPress websites, its SEO features help businesses maximise these opportunities, leveraging tools and plugins to simplify and enhance the process.
Related Read: KIJO’s Easy Guide to On Site SEO
Here are the 10 reasons why WordPress makes the most sense for businesses looking to rank on search engine result pages (SERPs) like Google.
One of WordPress’s standout features is its rich ecosystem of plugins, which makes it incredibly easy to optimise your site for search engines.
Take Yoast, for example. It’s one of the most popular SEO WordPress plugins ever created and offers a suite of tools to help you optimise your titles, meta descriptions, and tags. Even better, it automatically alerts search engines whenever you make updates, giving your content the best chance of climbing the rankings.
Related Read: A Quick Guide to Yoast
Another strong contender is All in One SEO, which offers similar functionality and compatibility with other plugins. Available in over 57 languages, it’s a great alternative for businesses that operate globally.
Permalinks (URLs) play a vital role in how search engines perceive your content. Clean, concise, and keyword-rich URLs are far more likely to perform well in the search rankings.
Fortunately, WordPress makes it easy to customise your permalink structure. With just a few clicks, you can transform a generic, unhelpful URL into something optimised for both users and search engines. This ease of use makes it simple for business owners without technical expertise to maintain SEO-friendly links across their site.
Images do more than just make your site visually appealing – they also provide an excellent opportunity to boost your SEO.
Using WordPress, you can easily add relevant keywords to image titles and alt text, which helps search engines understand the content of your images. Plus, resizing images to optimise page load speeds ensures your site performs well, improving both user experience and SEO rankings. Breaking up large text blocks with compelling visuals also reduces bounce rates and increases time spent on your site – both of which Google rewards.
Social media and SEO go hand in hand. By driving traffic to your website through social channels, you’re giving search engines even more reason to rank your content higher.
WordPress offers a wide range of plugins to simplify social media integration. From embedding feeds and adding sharing buttons to automating posts, these tools make it easy to connect your site with your social campaigns. For marketing managers, this creates a seamless bridge between your content and your audience, keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds.
Related Read: KIJO’s 15 Best WordPress Plugins
Google loves WordPress, and that’s no secret. The fact that WordPress is used so much across the internet means Googles Crawlers knows what a WordPress site looks like – it crawls millions of them daily! In addition, WordPress’ simple site architecture makes it easy for search engine crawlers to index pages effectively. In fact, Matt Cutts, a former leader of Google’s web spam team, once said that WordPress handles 80-90% of SEO best practices right out of the box.
For businesses with no technical know-how, this means WordPress automatically takes care of many crawling issues, giving your website a strong foundation to perform well in search results.
Over 60% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices, and this trend is only set to grow. With Google prioritising mobile-first indexing, having a responsive website is no longer optional – it’s essential.
Most WordPress themes are fully mobile-responsive, ensuring your site looks great and performs well on any device. Customisation tools also allow you to preview your mobile site before publishing changes, giving you peace of mind that your visitors will have a smooth experience no matter how they access your site.
Related Read: 10 Guidelines for Responsive Website Design
Metadata, including titles and descriptions, plays a crucial role in attracting clicks from search engine results pages (SERPs). By using a plugin like Yoast, you can automate this process, ensuring each page on your site has optimised metadata tailored to relevant keywords.
Good metadata not only improves your rankings but also boosts your click-through rate, bringing more traffic to your site without the need for additional advertising spend.
Related Read: How to Add Keywords and Meta Descriptions to Your WordPress Site
Page speed is a critical factor in both user satisfaction and SEO performance. Research shows that you have just 5 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention before they leave your site. WordPress offers a range of tools and plugins, like PageSpeed Ninja, to help you maintain fast loading times.
You can also use tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to monitor your site’s performance and identify areas for improvement. A faster site not only keeps visitors engaged but also signals to Google that your site is high-quality.
Sitemaps provide a clear picture of your website’s structure, making it easier for search engines to index your pages. Plugins like Yoast and Google XML Sitemaps allow you to create and manage sitemaps effortlessly, helping crawlers understand your content and improving your visibility in the SERPs.
WordPress is the ideal platform for businesses looking to maximise their SEO potential. Its user-friendly interface, powerful plugins, and built-in optimisation tools make it a standout choice for businesses. Whether you’re running a small local business or managing a global brand, investing in WordPress and its SEO features properly can save you time, money, and effort while delivering measurable results.
That’s why we developed our package KIJO Optimise. KIJO Optimise looks at all the factors that contribute to WordPress website performance, including SEO, and ensures that your site is performing as best as it can, month by month.
Contact us today to find out how we can help you unlock the full potential of these 10 WordPress SEO features with our KIJO Optimise package.
Need expert guidance on your WordPress website’s search engine optimisation? Book a complimentary, 30-minute consultation with our Head of Partnerships & Co-Founder, Kirk Thompson. During your call, we’ll review your website’s current performance, discuss your goals, analyse competitor insights, and explore the potential of a WordPress-powered website. Let’s bring your vision to life—book your free consultation via the link below: