WordPress SEO Without an SEO Plugin

I optimize a few of my WordPress websites with out an SEO plugin as a result of typically, they merely have extra options than I want for sure tasks.

In this column, you’ll learn to do WordPress SEO with out an SEO plugin.

This is just not meant to influence you to not use one, however to point out you the way to take full management of your SEO with out a plugin should you so select.

SEO Plugins Are Useful

SEO plugins are advisable options for publishers who can’t code PHP, who’re misplaced with HTACCESS information, and for these to whom robots.txt information are a thriller.

The technical facet of SEO has a comparatively excessive bar when it comes to coding. SEO plugins democratize internet publishing.

A significant grievance about SEO plugins is how bloated with pointless options they’re. But this isn’t the case throughout the board.

There are SEO Plugins which are lean and quick in addition to modular, so you possibly can select which SEO options you want.

An instance of this sort of SEO plugin is The SEO Framework. It’s an wonderful selection for individuals who need extra management over their SEO however want to select and select the options they want.

SEO plugins are the secure selection for publishers who’re risk-averse and don’t need to experiment with alternate options. Rather a lot is at stake, so the only option is usually probably the most trusted resolution.

Why I Don’t Use SEO Plugins

This 12 months, due to the complications attributable to an SEO plugin bug, I launched a website with none SEO plugins. I used to be pleased with my outcomes and transitioned different websites away from SEO plugins.

I moved away from a single SEO plugin just because it appeared I may management an internet site’s SEO higher.

It was a spherical journey journey again to the place I had began with WordPress — optimizing WordPress with out a devoted SEO plugin.

Reasons I Do Not Use an SEO Plugin

There are 4 the reason why I don’t use an SEO plugin:

1. Features that duplicate what’s already in WordPress or in a theme.
2. Unnecessary options that resolve presumed issues.
3. The complexity of SEO plugins can introduce quite a few bugs and conflicts with different plugins.
4. Greater management over SEO.

Reasons Why I Prefer Standalone Solutions

1. Easier to code an answer that handles one downside.
2. Some SEO options don’t want a plugin.
3. Standalone options are simpler to keep up.
4. Leaner WordPress set up with out pointless options.

SEO Features You Need for WordPress

WordPress has a reasonably sturdy core these days. Things like canonicals are performed robotically.

Many WordPress themes comprise SEO options like schema markup, breadcrumb navigation, Open Graph meta information, and so forth.

While your actual wants will fluctuate in keeping with the template you utilize, right here are some things to search for.

Necessary WordPress SEO Features

• Breadcrumbs with Schema.org Structured Data.
• Meta descriptions.
• Open Graph meta information.
• Removal of class base.
• Schema metadata.
• A method to simply add the nofollow attribute to chose hyperlinks.

WordPress Plugins for SEO

Optional WordPress SEO Features

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs is a helpful characteristic.

Adding Schema structured information to it would get you enhanced listings should you rank within the SERPs. And the improved listings might assist the click-through price.

It’s attainable to code breadcrumb navigation with out a plugin. The code is meant to enter your web site’s “little one” capabilities.php file.

Most tutorials say so as to add it to your theme’s perform.php file however you’ll lose your breadcrumbs if the theme is up to date and the capabilities.php file is a part of that replace.

Getting breadcrumbs proper can even change into difficult since you nonetheless have to affiliate schema markup with the breadcrumbs. So that’s much more coding.

It will be performed however at this level, it is likely to be simpler to dump the duty of creating certain it really works to a plugin.

I’ve discovered that utilizing BreadCrumbs NavXT WordPress Plugin is an enough resolution. It handles the breadcrumbs and the schema information.

The NavXT plugin was the topic of a medium-level vulnerability nevertheless it was rapidly patched. This was uncommon for this plugin and in contrast to extra severe occasions related to devoted SEO plugins, it didn’t trigger issues for customers.

Meta Description

I’ve discovered Easy WP Meta Description an enough resolution for meta descriptions. Meta descriptions aren’t a rating issue however they do present within the SERPs should you rank.

Google will rewrite your meta description if a phrase out of your internet web page is a greater match. With that mentioned, Google does a fantastic job of offering a related snippet out of your web page.

So it’s as much as you. You can add your individual meta description or let Google inform the consumer why your website is related to the question.

Title Tag

I craft an article title that’s enough to make use of as a title tag. If it’s adequate to function the title of the article, it must be adequate because the title of the net web page. There are workarounds for coding this into the theme in addition to plugins however I feel these are superfluous.

Open Graph Meta Data

Strictly talking, this isn’t an SEO characteristic however may affect how a lot visitors goes to your website. It means that you can specify an picture and wording to point out when your URL is shared on Facebook and Twitter.

Open Graph Meta Data plugin helps you current an expert look that can attraction to potential website guests.

Remove Category Base from WordPress

The phrase “class” isn’t obligatory in your URL construction. Shortening your URL to the area title, the precise title of the class, and the web page title is a finest observe.

A shorter URL is less complicated to recollect, much less prone to be mistyped, and might inform customers and search engines like google what the web page is about utilizing the least quantity of phrases. Read extra in regards to the Remove Category Base plugin here.

WordPress Plugin for Schema Structured Data

The Schema WordPress plugin will combine most Schema structured information you’ll want, together with opinions and article schema.

Schema markup will be coded by hand, as nicely. For instance, you possibly can take the JSON-LD script for opinions and paste it into the underside of your overview straight into the WordPress editor whereas in Text Mode.

Then, manually alter the descriptive fields for ranking, product title, and many others.

JSON-LD overview template with creator:

Pretty a lot each factor of structured information will be handcrafted and manually and even robotically inserted on a post-by-post foundation, or by enhancing your template straight.

You don’t have to make use of a plugin. But the plugin is clearly one of the best ways to scale this course of and have it updated regardless of how typically WordPress updates.

Ultimate Nofollow Plugin

The Ultimate Nofollow plugin provides the choice to make a particular URL nofollow in the mean time you might be creating that URL. There are further choices for sitewide nofollows, must you want these. But I don’t use them.

Optional SEO Features for WordPress

Attachment Pages Redirect

If you might have inadvertently created internet pages for each picture attachment in your WordPress website, this plugin will simply resolve your downside.

The Attachment Pages Redirect plugin will restore your particular person attachments to their right conduct. Just set up and activate it and that’s it, your downside is solved.

The Attachment Pages Redirect plugin wants no establishing. Just activate it and neglect it. Fixing rogue attachment pages couldn’t be simpler.

Just make certain to make use of the right setting for redirecting attachments to the publish when importing media sooner or later.

Redirect supervisor

This is a helpful plugin should you really feel uncomfortable enhancing htaccess information to create redirects. Use this in case you have a legit motive to redirect an previous web page to a brand new web page.

404 Responses Are Not Unhealthy

Don’t use a redirect supervisor to redirect a deleted web page to the house web page.

Some SEO plugins attempt to scare you into believing that 404 error codes have an effect on the “well being” of your website. But that’s incorrect. 404 response codes should not inherently dangerous to the “well being” of your website.

• Some 404 responses are as a consequence of spammers linking to your website with a partial URL. That’s regular and nothing to fret about. The 404 response is the proper response.
• Some 404 responses are as a consequence of an inner linking error by the writer. That’s your error (you mistyped the URL). That’s one thing to repair by updating the URL to the right URL.

The fact about 404 response codes is that they are completely pure and don’t make your web site much less wholesome.

Google’s John Mueller states that 404 response codes are not something that needs fixing. He additionally states that 404 response codes are pure:

“There’s no have to “repair” crawl errors in your web site. Finding 404’s is regular and anticipated of a wholesome, well-configured web site.

If you might have an equal new URL, then redirecting to it’s a good observe. Otherwise, you shouldn’t create pretend content material, you shouldn’t redirect to your homepage, you shouldn’t robots.txt disallow these URLs — all of this stuff make it tougher for us to acknowledge your website’s construction and course of it correctly. We name these “delicate 404” errors.”

Here is more information from Google about 404 response codes.

XML Site Map

Google makes use of website feeds to crawl an internet site. If you add a web page, Google can discover your feed and uncover it in that method.

That’s why I checklist XML website map as an non-compulsory resolution. Here’s what Google’s developer page says:

“Use Pubsubhubbub should you use Atom/RSS in your sitemap and need to broadcast your modifications to different search engines like google along with Google.”

Google can even uncover the net web page via the traditional technique of crawling from hyperlink to hyperlink.

Another choice is you could select to submit the URL individually or via a website map; see complete instructions from Google here.

If your website is just not up to date typically, you possibly can crawl it with an app like Xenu Link Sleuth and select the choice to create an XML website map. Then you simply add it to your server. No webhosting sources are wanted to generate the map apart from permitting Link Sleuth to crawl your web site.

Or, you should utilize a plugin just like the Google XML Sitemap Generator plugin.

Redundant SEO Plugin Features

You might discover options included in SEO plugins which are redundant or not obligatory.

Canonical URLs

Canonical URLs are constructed into WordPress. You don’t want an SEO plugin to deal with this.

Robots.txt and htaccess File Editors

If you might have a textual content editor or an HTML editor, then you might have all you want for enhancing a robots.txt file or updating an htaccess file. Additionally, you must solely mess with these information if you realize what you’re doing.

If you might be expert sufficient to edit these, then you definitely don’t want a WordPress plugin to deal with this. Just open your textual content file and an FTP app like a standard particular person, proper?

404 Status Code Redirection

SEO plugins present this beneath the mistaken perception that 404 standing codes are dangerous. As famous above by Google’s John Mueller, 404 response codes are fantastic. Just repair those which are as a consequence of precise errors, like a typo within the URL.

Sitemap Generators

As famous above, a website map is just not strictly obligatory as a result of Google crawls URLs by way of RSS feeds and hyperlinks.

However, a website map is beneficial in case you have made main modifications and wish Google to find them as quick as attainable. In this case, a manually generated website map is beneficial, as you don’t have to put in a plugin to generate it.

You can nonetheless set up a website map generator plugin and that makes way more sense to do than putting in an enormous SEO plugin to do that one single job.

Keyword Research and Word Processing

WordPress and your server sources may not be the very best platform for conducting key phrase and phrase processing capabilities. If you need a real-world app for checking your content material, use an actual software program program just like the Hemingway App. If you need to do internet web page evaluation use an actual app that generates a phrase cloud.

All of those sorts of capabilities are restricted on an SEO plugin anyway. A standalone app will do a greater job.

Why Use Six Plugins Instead of One?

An all-in-one SEO plugin is likely to be only a single plugin, nevertheless it’s nonetheless behaving as if it’s ten or extra plugins.

Count the options in your SEO plugin and depend every one as a single plugin. You’ll be shocked that you may be larding up your WordPress website with the options of twelve plugins – options that you could be not want.

So the query shouldn’t be about whether or not you want six plugins versus one. The query must be what number of options do you want?

For me, the clear reply is quite a bit fewer options which are supplied by all-in-one WordPress SEO plugin options.

All in One is Not the Same as All You Need

As you possibly can see, SEO plugins are helpful for customers who’ve little to no talent with coding or WordPress. SEO plugins accomplish an necessary job for customers who don’t have the talents to decide on what options they want.

A devoted SEO plugin is an effective selection for a big group that wishes to play it secure and never need to cope with particular person plugins or handcrafted options.

However, for these with extra talent or who aren’t constrained by bureaucratic constraints, SEO plugins will be overkill.

People are putting in SEO plugins by default, primarily sleepwalking via their WordPress SEO.

This article reveals that you simply don’t want all the things a devoted SEO plugin gives.

There are alternate options to putting in an SEO plugin with options you don’t actually need. An all-in-one resolution is probably not what you want.